Ask MBA Crystal Ball : Ask Admissions Consultants - Page 38

confusedengineer1 wrote:Undergrad college- Tier 2 college , GPA- 3.5
Employer- well known German automotive supplier
One promotion so far
Applied to Kelley, UND and Smeal last year.Interviewed by Smeal but dinged by all 3 ( RD 2)

Possible cause of rejection- Essays

Hope this helps!

confusedengineer1, a few thoughts on your profile evaluation.

1. The academic arc looks about decent (is that a converted GPA btw? If yes, don't need to convert as most schools don't ask for it). The GRE score will definitely prop it up. In that sense, the target schools, could be even more aggressive, with the right strategy and plan.
2. On that latter note, there seems to be definitely some work to be done. Since, after a request, your response about the profile details is still very sketchy. Auto as a sector is under-represented is all I can say, without having any idea about what you've done and scale/impact therein. The idea should be to present your profile in a compelling manner and your essays as well as the resume have to do a good job of it. Being brutally honest, you've not done a good job on that front so far here. Do share a resume directly, if there is hesitation in sharing on a public forum.
3. While you've mentioned ECs and CSR, but once again, not clear as to any scale/impact. Schools value ECs. But only if presented in the right manner.
4. The post-MBA plans need to be thought through. Consulting might work but Fintech doesn't seem to make sense. Only by doing certification, it is hard to justify such a move.

Hope this helps some. There does seem to be a lot more than what you've shared/been able to articulate. Make sure to do a good job in your applications so you get mileage your profile seems to have. And feel free to reach out, if you need help.

Cheers,

MG4MBACrystalBall wrote:

confusedengineer1 wrote:Undergrad college- Tier 2 college , GPA- 3.5
Employer- well known German automotive supplier
One promotion so far
Applied to Kelley, UND and Smeal last year.Interviewed by Smeal but dinged by all 3 ( RD 2)

Possible cause of rejection- Essays

Hope this helps!

confusedengineer1, a few thoughts on your profile evaluation.

1. The academic arc looks about decent (is that a converted GPA btw? If yes, don't need to convert as most schools don't ask for it). The GRE score will definitely prop it up. In that sense, the target schools, could be even more aggressive, with the right strategy and plan.
2. On that latter note, there seems to be definitely some work to be done. Since, after a request, your response about the profile details is still very sketchy. Auto as a sector is under-represented is all I can say, without having any idea about what you've done and scale/impact therein. The idea should be to present your profile in a compelling manner and your essays as well as the resume have to do a good job of it. Being brutally honest, you've not done a good job on that front so far here. Do share a resume directly, if there is hesitation in sharing on a public forum.
3. While you've mentioned ECs and CSR, but once again, not clear as to any scale/impact. Schools value ECs. But only if presented in the right manner.
4. The post-MBA plans need to be thought through. Consulting might work but Fintech doesn't seem to make sense. Only by doing certification, it is hard to justify such a move.

Hope this helps some. There does seem to be a lot more than what you've shared/been able to articulate. Make sure to do a good job in your applications so you get mileage your profile seems to have. And feel free to reach out, if you need help.

Cheers,

Thanks for your honest review.

I agree with your assessment with regards to the work ex.
Will definitely get in touch with you directly.

Thanks.

Posted from my mobile device

Why MBA after chemical engineering from IIT Bombay

A world known chocolate brand, Mondelez. Top engineering degree from IIT Bombay. Ashish was on an accelerated career path that took him all over the world. At IIT too, he had excelled in academics as well as other areas.

Why did he decide to do MBA? We go in depth on the thought process that eventually led him to HEC Paris.

Want to know more? Read here

Other Selected articles

HEC Paris MBA: Admissions, Scholarships, Academics and Careers
Improving workforce diversity starts with understanding it says HEC Paris Professor

Relevant Videos

MBA in France for international students
Master in Management (MiM) Degree

ISB placements for senior executives with 8 years of experience

A second MBA and 8 years of experience. Veena had already been in Indian MBA scene but wanted to revisit it for specific career reasons. While she had multiple offers from outside India too, she chose to go to ISB despite the general belief that it may not be the most ideal when it comes to experienced candidates.

Why did she do that and how was her experience?

Want to know more? Read here

Other Selected articles

ISB with GRE score: Why I chose GRE over GMAT
ISB Round 3 deadline chances: MBA after PSU

Relevant Videos

ISB Hyderabad Mohali Campus Admissions, Placements, Fees, Ranking
MBA in India or abroad

Average GMAT score trends for top schools in the world

One often hears that top schools expect a high GMAT score. In this post, we examine the trend of average GMAT scores at top-50 MBA schools between 2015-2019. How real is the score increase and how severe?

Want to know more? Read here

Other Selected articles

GMAT Preparation
GMAT Syllabus, New Format & Pattern | 2020 – 2021

Relevant Videos

GMAT Preparation Guide: Exam Format, Syllabus, Best Books
How to improve & build your profile for MBA MS

We're happy to share that popular MBA website BusinessBecause reviews MBA Crystal Ball for affordable MBA admissions consulting and recommends it as a great choice for MBA applicants looking for quality consulting at a reasonable price.

International student life in Germany

Germany has been fast becoming a popular destination for higher education owing to a variety of factors such as a robust economy, low tuition, work regulations and more.

There is however a lot of information that is not as easily available as for some other English speaking countries, when it comes to international candidates. In this post, we cover some of the areas that can help.


Want to know more? Read here

Other Selected articles

MBA in Germany for Indian Chartered Accountant after 30
Best MBA in Germany

Relevant Videos

MBA in Germany for international students

MBA after mechanical engineering: Canada with scholarship for finance professional

MBA in Canada is a dream for many aspirants.

This story is about Harsh, who had done his undergrad in the US from PSU as a Dean's lister.

He recounts his tryst with GMAT and the application journey that eventually culminated in multiple admits with scholarship.


Want to know more? Read here

Other Selected articles

International student life in Canada: What to expect
MBA in Canada vs India decision for Healthcare marketing applicant

Relevant Videos

MBA in Canada for international students
Average MBA Salary in USA, Canada, India | GMAT GRE Programs

I’m not an IIT, NIT, BITS engineer. Can I get into a top MBA with an average degree?

A common doubt in several top MBA aspirants is about their background, specifically the educational pedigree.

And for no small reason since over the years, several schools globally as well as in India, have established a strong track record of feeding candidates into top schools globally.

But does that mean if you aren't from one of these, there is no hope for you?

Of course not! In this article, we explore an ABC guide to breaking from your past.

Want to know more? Read here

Other Selected articles

MBA after mechanical engineering: Canada with scholarship for finance professional
Switching from GMAT to GRE gave me better results and scholarship says Civil Engineer

<<edited>>

elPatron434 wrote:Hi!
Happy Holidays! I hope you're doing well!

At the outset, I would like to thank you for all your help to the community(I think your insights in the blogs/LinkedIn are great!).

I am looking to apply to MBA programs in the upcoming application cycle(hopefully in R1) and would be extremely grateful if you could help me with a profile eval to assess my chances in schools like ISB(primary target program; would be a 2x reapplicant; have been

<<snip>>

difficult due to the limited time I would be present in the organization. This has me extremely worried

My apologies for the inconvenience caused by inundating you with so many queries. I would greatly appreciate your thought on this

Thank you in advance
Sincerely

elPatron434, a few thoughts on your profile evaluation, queries and plans:

1. The academic profile looks decent. Though top 15 can be highly misleading and actual brand/name will help better place this. The GPA would be just about average overall (most schools do not ask for a conversion and you shouldn't unless explicitly asked for). In that context, the GRE will be certainly sub-par and a drag on your prospects. Most schools are ok with GRE; more and more, it's become fairly widely accepted. With your goals, a retake should suffice.
2. There isn't really a magic minimum GMAT/GRE number. That being said, one can usually add 20-30 points to a given school's average to get a sense of the Indian GMAT average. Similar expectation exists on the GRE front. So, plan accordingly.
3. The work experience actually is quite contextual and you've done a decent job of representing the business impact. The connect into PM roles will have to be bolstered, depending on the actual details of your work content. Anything would be better than being laid off/having a career break. It will create issues but doesn't seem like you have much control on that?
4. For reasons mentioned here, we don't speculate on school selection or chances. No interview however is a bit strange. Did you get any feedback on any of the past 2 applications?
5. The ECs arc can actually be a good differentiator so make sure to use that well! Not very common to have decent traction in multiple areas as you seem to have had.

Hope this helps some. Feel free to reach out directly for any further discussions.

MG4MBACrystalBall wrote:

elPatron434 wrote:Hi!
Happy Holidays! I hope you're doing well!

At the outset, I would like to thank you for all your help to the community(I think your insights in the blogs/LinkedIn are great!).

I am looking to apply to MBA programs in the upcoming application cycle(hopefully in R1) and would be extremely grateful if you could help me with a profile eval to assess my chances in schools like ISB(primary target program; would be a 2x reapplicant; have been

<<snip>>

difficult due to the limited time I would be present in the organization. This has me extremely worried

My apologies for the inconvenience caused by inundating you with so many queries. I would greatly appreciate your thought on this

Thank you in advance
Sincerely

elPatron434, a few thoughts on your profile evaluation, queries and plans:

1. The academic profile looks decent. Though top 15 can be highly misleading and actual brand/name will help better place this. The GPA would be just about average overall (most schools do not ask for a conversion and you shouldn't unless explicitly asked for). In that context, the GRE will be certainly sub-par and a drag on your prospects. Most schools are ok with GRE; more and more, it's become fairly widely accepted. With your goals, a retake should suffice.
2. There isn't really a magic minimum GMAT/GRE number. That being said, one can usually add 20-30 points to a given school's average to get a sense of the Indian GMAT average. Similar expectation exists on the GRE front. So, plan accordingly.
3. The work experience actually is quite contextual and you've done a decent job of representing the business impact. The connect into PM roles will have to be bolstered, depending on the actual details of your work content. Anything would be better than being laid off/having a career break. It will create issues but doesn't seem like you have much control on that?
4. For reasons mentioned here, we don't speculate on school selection or chances. No interview however is a bit strange. Did you get any feedback on any of the past 2 applications?
5. The ECs arc can actually be a good differentiator so make sure to use that well! Not very common to have decent traction in multiple areas as you seem to have had.

Hope this helps some. Feel free to reach out directly for any further discussions.

Hi MG4MBACrystalBall
Thank You for a detailed response! I really appreciate it!

I did opt for the "application review" that ISB conducts. The feedback however was extremely superficial and provided me with nothing, despite my repeated attempts at trying to reach out to them for understanding what went wrong.

I wish to remain in India in the long term and hence ISB is a very attractive proposition. While I understand ISB is a reapplicant friendly school, are you aware of 3-time or 4-time applicants making the cut? Especially if the goals are to transition into product management? How does ISB perceive such applicants?

I would love to discuss this further with you!

Posted from my mobile device

elPatron434 wrote:I did opt for the "application review" that ISB conducts. The feedback however was extremely superficial and provided me with nothing, despite my repeated attempts at trying to reach out to them for understanding what went wrong.

I wish to remain in India in the long term and hence ISB is a very attractive proposition. While I understand ISB is a reapplicant friendly school, are you aware of 3-time or 4-time applicants making the cut? Especially if the goals are to transition into product management? How does ISB perceive such applicants?

I would love to discuss this further with you!

elPatron434, it's true the feedback tends to be a bit high level, but it's much better than most schools - hardly any school offers any feedback whatsoever.

It's not very common, but does happen. It's not that a particular goal choice candidates get more preference over others - so if your PM pitch makes sense, that is a bit of a moot point.

You can reach out on the email id shared in my signature.

Second MBA from Europe after teaching experience: Bschool professor turns Bschool student

Indian moms form a small but growing pool of MBA applicants and we've been fortunate to be a part of some of their journeys.

In this post, we share the story of Archana who had a profile with multiple elements that made it different as well as challenging - mom, career break, teaching experience, non-obvious career change.

She shares her journey of navigating and coming up a winner.

Want to know more? Read here

Other Selected articles

GMAT score below 700: Admission chances of getting into ISB, Kelley, Foster
Second MBA from UK without GMAT for Indian mom

Dear Team,

I am in dire need of some advice. Can someone do a basic Profile Review for me:

Name: Arnab
Nationality: Indian
Age: 35


Education : B.Tech (Computer Science), West Bengal University of Technology, 2009 , CGPA: 8.9/10; Converted GPA: 4.0
MBA (ICICI Business Leadership Program) in Finance and Risk Management. Please note that this is not a PGDM given by the IIM's. GPA 4.0
CFA Level I cleared, Level II due in June 2021. Also appearing for Fitch Ratings' CQF (Certification in Quant Fin) in July.
Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH)
Work Ex: (Earliest to Latest)

1. 2010- 2013 : Exactly 3 years in TATA Consultancy Services: Risk Management - Implemented Basel 2 for a US Bank and worked extensively on Risk Analytics
2. 2013-2015 :MBA mentioned above. One complete year in the course was working with ICICI Bank (India's largest Pvt. Sector Bank and a SIFI) as an intern with salary.
3. 2015-2019 (Sep 2019) (Total 4 years): Senior Financial Credit Risk Manager for Corporate Funding (2 years) and Senior Information Security Risk Manager (2 years)in Ethical Hacking and Cybersecurity (Reporting directly to CISO of the Bank and earning a Promotion with highest rating)
4. Between 2016- 2019 : Start Up - Successfully Opened and Operated a 52 seater Urban Restaurant in a Posh up market Mall of L&T. We broke even in the 3rd month itself clocking a revenue of Rs. 20.0 million and a positive PAT.\in the first year itself. I sold my stake after 3 years in 2019 at a profit of 20.0% for the below mentioned Point.
5. Quit my Job and sold my Business in Sep 2019 to pursue a long awaited dream - Learning Documentary and Photojournalism (Diploma) under one of the most respected Photographers of India. I am being mentored by Mr. Raghu Rai, India's only Magnum Photographer and PADMASHRI winner from the President of India. I am one of his handful of students and the course is about to get over in March 2021. Have covered Humanitarian stories like the Delhi Riots and State Elections as part of major assignments.

I am planning to go back to Corporate once the course is over. Thus the second MBA comes into picture. I have the option to go back to my old job but I want to take a major career leap along with some International experience.
GMAT due in March.

Volunteering Work - I teach underprivileged students since last 2 years.
Hobbies: I play and teach Music (Guitar) and also run a Youtube Channel for my own compositions. Photography, of course. And I sing (used to sing at clubs)

Looking for HEC Paris and LBS.

Please let me know if I stand a chance with a 750 above GMAT score.

arnab2312 wrote:Dear Team,

I am in dire need of some advice. Can someone do a basic Profile Review for me:

Name: Arnab
Nationality: Indian
Age: 35

<<snip>>

Looking for HEC Paris and LBS.

Please let me know if I stand a chance with a 750 above GMAT score.

arnab2312, a few thoughts on your profile evaluation:

1. The academic profile is good given the WBUT pedigree and the solid GPA - don't convert unless schools ask for it. The L1 is ok, though L2 has more weight. However, at this stage of your career, not likely to have much weight. Eventually depends on your career plans though. Overall, with a 750 range score, the academic arc will be solid.
2. The professional profile is highly eclectic not just in your last two endeavors but prior to it too. While schools love diversity of experiences, but you have to make sure to connect the dots well which is not very clear at the moment. In that context, 'going back to corporate' is also a weak argument - think about how you'll convince future recruiters to understand your story, and still present a strong candidature. This part would really be a make or break. MBA after 30 can be tricky - so do bear that in mind too.
3. For reasons mentioned here, we don't speculate on school selection or chances. That being said, European schools value international experience. So bear that in mind.
4. The volunteer and other efforts will come in handy to show the richness in your personality - make sure to use those well.

Hope this helps some. Do feel free to reach out directly for further discussions or queries.

Cheers,

MG4MBACrystalBall wrote:

arnab2312 wrote:Dear Team,

I am in dire need of some advice. Can someone do a basic Profile Review for me:

Name: Arnab
Nationality: Indian
Age: 35

<<snip>>

Looking for HEC Paris and LBS.

Please let me know if I stand a chance with a 750 above GMAT score.

arnab2312, a few thoughts on your profile evaluation:

1. The academic profile is good given the WBUT pedigree and the solid GPA - don't convert unless schools ask for it. The L1 is ok, though L2 has more weight. However, at this stage of your career, not likely to have much weight. Eventually depends on your career plans though. Overall, with a 750 range score, the academic arc will be solid.
2. The professional profile is highly eclectic not just in your last two endeavors but prior to it too. While schools love diversity of experiences, but you have to make sure to connect the dots well which is not very clear at the moment. In that context, 'going back to corporate' is also a weak argument - think about how you'll convince future recruiters to understand your story, and still present a strong candidature. This part would really be a make or break. MBA after 30 can be tricky - so do bear that in mind too.
3. For reasons mentioned here, we don't speculate on school selection or chances. That being said, European schools value international experience. So bear that in mind.
4. The volunteer and other efforts will come in handy to show the richness in your personality - make sure to use those well.

Hope this helps some. Do feel free to reach out directly for further discussions or queries.

Cheers,

Dear Manish,

I actually have my GMAT in March 2021. I am very worried since many people have told me that given my profile, International Colleges might not accept me, even if I score an 800 in GMAT and that Indian colleges are the only options and that too bleak. I am also learning French actually which I did not mention earlier. I am trying my best to stay calm and score well in GMAT but of course it is being difficult to not pay heed at all. I would like to take professional services from MCB once I am done with my GMAT. And I will knock the doors only with a score above 720.

Thanks a lot

arnab2312 wrote:
Dear Manish,

I actually have my GMAT in March 2021. I am very worried since many people have told me that given my profile, International Colleges might not accept me, even if I score an 800 in GMAT and that Indian colleges are the only options and that too bleak. I am also learning French actually which I did not mention earlier. I am trying my best to stay calm and score well in GMAT but of course it is being difficult to not pay heed at all. I would like to take professional services from MCB once I am done with my GMAT. And I will knock the doors only with a score above 720.

Thanks a lot

arnab2312, GMAT is but one factor in your candidature. So it's not that a 800 guarantees anything, ever at a top school.

The biggest issue will be of age/experience fit. But still, definitely worth a shot.

All the best with your GMAT buddy.

MG4MBACrystalBall wrote:

arnab2312 wrote:
Dear Manish,

I actually have my GMAT in March 2021. I am very worried since many people have told me that given my profile, International Colleges might not accept me, even if I score an 800 in GMAT and that Indian colleges are the only options and that too bleak. I am also learning French actually which I did not mention earlier. I am trying my best to stay calm and score well in GMAT but of course it is being difficult to not pay heed at all. I would like to take professional services from MCB once I am done with my GMAT. And I will knock the doors only with a score above 720.

Thanks a lot

arnab2312, GMAT is but one factor in your candidature. So it's not that a 800 guarantees anything, ever at a top school.

The biggest issue will be of age/experience fit. But still, definitely worth a shot.

All the best with your GMAT buddy.

Yeah man. Better to try and fail than not try at all.

Posted from my mobile device

Top European MBA after engineering from NIT India and masters from Canada

Pursuing an international undergrad is still not very common in India, even less so from Canada.

That is however exactly what Vipin did, after his engineering from a top Indian program.

And that, when pursuing international education or career was never in his initial to-do list, give his humble beginnings.

The fact that he is now headed to INSEAD makes this story all the more inspirational.

Want to know more? Read here


Other Selected articles:

INSEAD scholarship chances with 720 GMAT in Round 2 deadline
Competitive vs low GMAT score for INSEAD
What INSEAD Looks for in MBA Applicants


Relevant videos:

How to get into INSEAD
MBA in France for international students