Ask Prep MBA : Ask Admissions Consultants - Page 5

Hey teM PREP MBA
And HOWDIEEEE.. to anyone who reads this...!!

Now I have a very specific situation (thats what i think ) so i am submitting my info to which i would love to hear from anyone who has the adequate knowledge to address my concerns
Heres my BACKGROUND

10th grade=> 73%
12th grade => 74% (a science student)

Then i took an year off as i did not get into the a decent engineering college..Trust me here- i got into many colleges but all of them were Pretty much CRAP (sorry for the curse but i am being bluntly honest here)
In the mean time I assisted my father during the day and studied during night..I am not sure that experience will count for business schools nevertheless i am very proud that i did that as at an early age i got to understand as to how someone who runs an industry actually functions..
The Gap year proved fruitful as i got into GGSIPU Delhi plus i got a pretty good and a decorated college in the Capital city..
Engineering was Good in fact great ..

Aggregate=> 71%(B.Tech In Information tech)
Now to be honest with you guys i was working with my father during my engineering years as well ..I would literally pick up documents and do other chores for him (Yes He Paid Me too)

Here is the real problem why i wrote this piece =>
My age is 23 years and 330 days
I will be 24 next month..!!


I graduated in June 2015..
And from DAY 1 i have been working with my father in our Family business..
Initially i was hesitant to join him as i was an IT engineer and my family is into Footwear business. Then I started to love my job [Common we make shoes and other footwear's for a living. Who would not love that right ]
Now almost an year later i feel like i need to grow my business outreach..
Trust me when i say this - Work is Fine..But the glitch is => "i want to take my family Business to places" Actually i want that to be Awesome instead of just Fine (sorry for the choice of words )
Hence i need an MBA..
And to much of my surprise my father stands right by me in this decision..! In fact He told me that its a very mature move..!!

I know most of you might think its too early for an MBA
But honestly guys Waiting for another 2 or 3 years will not take my business anywhere .It will be in a stand still.

Plus i think i have the added advantage of working with my father in my initial GAP year where i assisted him if it counts.

So it goes without saying => I DON'T ONLY WANT AN MBA ; I NEED AN MBA..!!

secondly i am a bit confused about this work experience thing ..!!
Most of the business schools require 2 years of work experience in there applicants ..
What does 2 years mean?
till the program actually starts or till the time you fill out your application
If i apply in 2016 for fall 2017 admissions then by the time i actually start my school in September i will be having 2 years and 2 months of experience.. I guess that would do..???

WHAT ARE THE SCHOOLS I CAN TARGET ???

Top 20 can i get in ?
Okay Top30?
Top40?
i am flexible as long as it in the Top 40-45
Common Guys Help me get into top 40 at-least..!!!! I don't want to wait ..!!
I am into manufacturing shoes and other footwear so anything related to marketing and advertising would be Fabulous ..Plus i like Advertising.
Now if (only if) i wait another year( which probably would not do any good to my industry ) then will it increase my chances of getting admitted..

GMAT => Appearing this October..I think i can get a good score..i will try for 700 maybe ..I will Dig that (i have started preparing)

now to the most important part=>

Community services => I am an active part of an Organisation which rescues street dogs and treats them until they are healthy..I have been a part of this organisation from my engineering days ..the reason i do it it i honestly believe in the work we do..We organise dog shows too..

Positions held => "I am not given any designations actually .. I am responsible for marketing and supply ..Plus sometimes manufacturing too. Family business comes with several added responsibilities too
The Post MBA goals => " I WOULD LIKE TO RETURN TO MY HOME COUNTRY THE DAY AFTER I GET AN MBA . Off course i would like to do an internship however..But apart from that i have one any only one vision that is to Do Justice to my family business and take it to a level it deserves"

ANYONE WHO READS THIS Please Feel free TO POST any suggestions You guys Have for me... It will be really helpful..

Also i know that chetan2u Vyshak and Abhishek009 are Mathematics Wizards/Gmat experts and not admission consultants .But given that they have been super awesome in replying to every query i post(or anyone posts) i would love to hear from you guys as to what should i do..!! Any Advice guys?

Love and respect to everyone
Stone Cold


P.S => i am posting on multiple forums a i am looking for any advices i can get

Hello,

Can you please evaluate my profile?

US Citizen, Male, Asian American
Age at matriculation- 26
GMAT- 700
Undergrad School- Community College for 2 years then UC Riverside for 2 years
Undergrad GPA- 3.8 Transfer GPA & 3.15 at a 4 Year GPA- Combined GPA is roughly 3.47
Degree- Bachelors in business administration with a concentration in financial economics

Work Exp - Financial Advisor for 1.5 years at boutique financial services firm
Part of a team that specialized in working with business owners in areas such as: advanced estate planning, business tax planning, and succession planning. Took this job right out of college for one reason: I knew that my presentation skills, sales skills, and relationship building skills were lacking and I wanted to put myself in a position that would force me to improve those skills. This was not the scenario where a college grad joins a company and starts selling insurance.

After that I began working at AAA Insurance as a Product Management Analyst. I took this role because it requires the analyst to lead multiple projects while working with multiple departments to directly meet and exceed revenue, sales goal, and retention goals for the company. This role involves presenting recommendations to executives that would impact the company. I will have worked here for 2.5 years when I matriculate at an MBA school. Prospect for me to receive a promotion looks slim not because I am undeserving but because it takes a long time for people to get promoted (i.e. all the managers in my department were working for 7+ years before they got promoted)

Extra Curriculars-
I have been the Vice President of a Young Entrepreneurs Organization for 2 years. The objective of this group is to promote an environment for young entrepreneurs to network, incubate ideas, form partnerships and learn from experts (we host a monthly workshop where we bring in a speaker). My responsibility is to increase our member base and increase participation at our events. We have grown to 1,500+ members and average 25 members per event.

I take health and wellness seriously, I eat right and consistently exercise 3 days a week and play basketball 4 days a week. Not sure if I can incorporate that in any way.

I have formed a Volunteer Organization. This is simply an organization where I post volunteer events and get groups of people to come out. I typically volunteer a couple times a month and have been doing this for about a year.

Goals with MBA:
Short Term: Management Consulting
Long Term: C-Suite Executive

Target schools: Booth, Kellogg, Darden, Ross, Cornell, Duke, UNC, McCombs, NYU, Columbia and USC.

LakersFanCali wrote:Hello,

Can you please evaluate my profile?

US Citizen, Male, Asian American
Age at matriculation- 26
GMAT- 700
Undergrad School- Community College for 2 years then UC Riverside for 2 years
Undergrad GPA- 3.8 Transfer GPA & 3.15 at a 4 Year GPA- Combined GPA is roughly 3.47
Degree- Bachelors in business administration with a concentration in financial economics

Work Exp - Financial Advisor for 1.5 years at boutique financial services firm
Part of a team that specialized in working with business owners in areas such as: advanced estate planning, business tax planning, and succession planning. Took this job right out of college for one reason: I knew that my presentation skills, sales skills, and relationship building skills were lacking and I wanted to put myself in a position that would force me to improve those skills. This was not the scenario where a college grad joins a company and starts selling insurance.

After that I began working at AAA Insurance as a Product Management Analyst. I took this role because it requires the analyst to lead multiple projects while working with multiple departments to directly meet and exceed revenue, sales goal, and retention goals for the company. This role involves presenting recommendations to executives that would impact the company. I will have worked here for 2.5 years when I matriculate at an MBA school. Prospect for me to receive a promotion looks slim not because I am undeserving but because it takes a long time for people to get promoted (i.e. all the managers in my department were working for 7+ years before they got promoted)

Extra Curriculars-
I have been the Vice President of a Young Entrepreneurs Organization for 2 years. The objective of this group is to promote an environment for young entrepreneurs to network, incubate ideas, form partnerships and learn from experts (we host a monthly workshop where we bring in a speaker). My responsibility is to increase our member base and increase participation at our events. We have grown to 1,500+ members and average 25 members per event.

I take health and wellness seriously, I eat right and consistently exercise 3 days a week and play basketball 4 days a week. Not sure if I can incorporate that in any way.

I have formed a Volunteer Organization. This is simply an organization where I post volunteer events and get groups of people to come out. I typically volunteer a couple times a month and have been doing this for about a year.

Goals with MBA:
Short Term: Management Consulting
Long Term: C-Suite Executive

Target schools: Booth, Kellogg, Darden, Ross, Cornell, Duke, UNC, McCombs, NYU, Columbia and USC.

Thanks for your query. I think that your GMAT is solid, though it would be nice to know the splits quant versus verbal as there is such a thing as a good 700 and a red flag 700. If I am reading your GPA correctly, it looks like you dropped down to a 3.15 at UC Riverside--that is not ideal. And I think that coupled with working at less well known or non feeder firms (especially the first one) will make schools like Booth, CBS and Kellogg quite hard for you. The Entrepreneurship group is great, but would/will be more meaningful if you have some side venture going, as you are now working in a very corporate position.

Overall, I think top 7 ish schools are likely out of reach, and you are better off targeting top 15-25 schools.

Good Luck!

Alex
_________________

Hi there,

Could you please review my profile and provide your insights and opinions regarding chances of mine to be admitted to the schools listed below. Thanks in advance for your valuable insights.

Harvard Business School
Stanford Graduate School of Business
MIT Sloan School of Management
Haas School of Business

I'm 30 years old executive from Azerbaijan, Baku. I believe the name of my country might tell nothing since it used to be part of the Soviet Union and located far away from USA to which I would like to take my journey. Moreover, it is just small:) Yet I believe it might enhance my profile because there have been few applications for top MBA programmes from my motherland.

As for my work experience, currently I'm Director of Development Company and, at the same time, Chief Strategy Officer of the parent company which has activities in following spheres: real estate development, publishing house, and largest printing company in Caucasus. Previously I had been working in telecom for almost 10 years and was CEO of the biggest Pay TV in Azerbaijan in terms of footprint of its broadcasting network prior to joining Baku European Games Operations Committee (BEGOC) which was established with a sole purpose of organization of the first ever European Games. Before that, I managed the nation-wide project regarding deployment of digital terrestrial television network and simultaneously worked as Head of Business Development of the company in charge of this project, which then was the part of the biggest Telecom Group in Azerbaijan which had two mobile operators and other telecom and IT companies in the Group.
In parallel, I have had some start-up experience (I developed First Pay Radio Project in Azerbaijan (although it didn't become a full-fledged company) and consulted start-ups in the sphere of fin-tech, retail, media, and education).

On top of that, I fluently speak 4 languages: Azerbaijani (native), Russian, Turkish, and English.

Why do I want to get an MBA degree? In essence, unlike dozens MBA candidates (no offense intended to brilliant MBA candidates out there for whom I wish nothing but best), for me MBA is not as much about increase in salary or the honing of my management skills and the acquiring of knowledge, as about overall experience it provides. It is like a destination you want to travel and constant immersion in environment where you will be part of something significant whether it is people, projects, or new knowledge. As for my post-MBA plans, I want to pursue my journey in in some start-ups or venture capital firms or companies which is trying to have an impact on as much people as possible like Tesla, SpaceX, and the like.

Below are my scores:

IELTS score - 7.5
GMAT - 650/76%
Verbal - 38/85%
Quantitative 41/48%.

As for references, I can provide references from peoples ranging from the former minister (of the ministry I worked with on some projects) to current CEO of the Group I work in and Deputy CEO of one of the biggest banks in Azerbaijan.

I believe that my sub-par quantitative score (which is result, based on my CAT experience, of silly mistakes and bad time-management) may make admission committee raise eyebrows and may result in my application being rejected and, therefore, I would like to know how I can strengthen my overall profile.

Thanks once again in advance.

Hi Allex

Can you please evaluate my profile. I am very interested in doing MS, or MBA, in finance from some good asian university. Also, can you please suggest me some schools?

My GMAT score is 640 (Q50, V26, IR6). I have also taken GMAT last year. My score was: 620 (Q49, V26, IR:5). I am in no mood in taking another GMAT :p . Got some other engagements as well.


Work Experience:
----------------

Regular Check Up Polyclinic (2013-Present)
------------------------------------------------------
Description: I started a polyclinic, currently 3 clinics. We provide passive health-care services, such as dental, ayurved, and cardio.
Designation: Proprietor, Founder
Role: Founder , Entrepreneur- administrative and management , Marketing

NJ Solar Infra (P) Ltd. (2014-Present)
------------------------------------------------------
Description: We consult our clients on solar project.
Our consultancy services include: developing of financial models-using excel, calculating depreciation and carrying out techno-economic viability
Working with another solar consultants to raise funds for small rooftop projects based on net metering
Designation: Director, Co-Founder
Role: Co-Founder, Entrepreneur, Consultant, Marketing: B2B & B2C

BU Group (Jun-Aug, 2012)
------------------------------------------------------
Description: Focus on NDT testing
Designation: Intern
Role: Assisted company CEO (IITR Alumni)
Assisted the marketing team to carry out seminars in different companies and colleges for business development

WILLmed, Columbus, USA (May-Jul, 2010)
------------------------------------------------------
Description: tech startup, focusing on non invasive glucose-meter
Designation: Intern
Role: Conducted competitive analysis with application of strategic and management tools
Analyzed medical data using MATLAB
*On tourist visa
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Education:
----------

Graduation College: Indian Institute of Technology, (IIT) Ropar
Major: Electrical Engineering
GPA: 7.55
Year: 2009-13

XII: 79.6% (2008-09)
X: 86.4% (2006-07)
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Academic Achievements:
----------------------

2016 Course: EDP on solar energy, under Ministry of Small and Medium Enterprises Certificate of Completion
2011 IIT Sem: 4 EE204: Signals and Systems Course rank # 1, Grade A
2010 IIT Sem: 2 MA102: Mathematics: Calculus 3D, Matrices, Space top 10 students among 800, Grade: A+
2010 IIT Sem: 2 Environmental Studies top 20% among 800, Grade: A
2009 IIT Sem: 1 PH101: Physics top 20% among 800, Grade: A
2009 IIT Sem: 1 MA101 Mathematics: Calculus 2D, Matrices top 20% among 800, Grade: A
2009 IIT Sem: 1 EC101A: C++ programming top 20% among 800, Grade: A
2009 Engineering Entrance Exam Results:
Category- GENERAL
IIT JEE: top 1% among 400,000 applicants
AIEEE: top 0.5% among 1,000,000 applicants
UPTU: top 0.1% among 250,000 applicants
2008 Senior Secondary Class Rank-1, IX
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Projects:
---------
Year Place Topic
2012-13 IIT To develop different market models for trading RECs in India
2012 IIT Valuation of Options, using Black Schole Method
2011 IIT Analysis on Modeling and Simulink of DC Motor and its Driving System Used for Wheeled Mobile Robot, using MATLAB
2011 IIT Valuation of Ford Share Price using Kalman Filter
2011 IIT Developed shoes that charge mobile phone using piezeo-elctric material, awarded: 2nd among 12 teams, certificate of honor & Trophy
2010 IIT Developed mobile appication: encrypting messages
2010 IIT Developed Solar Mailbox
2008 Class XII Recycling of Aluminium slab
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Social Services:
----------------
Participation in Anti Child Labor Rally and Global Warming
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Extra Curricular Activities / Skills / Achievements
---------------------------------------------------
Tennis
2011: IIT Kanpur- Sports fest - Certificate of Participation
2010: Inter IIT meet - Certificate of Participation
2004: Saifco Tennis Tournament - Certificate of Participation

Collage Magazine, IIT
Member, Editorial Team - Magazine Copy

Drama
2004 School Drama - Delhi Public School - Certificate of Participation

Debate/GD/ Speeches
2007-09 - Reference Letter

Vocab Competition
Mother Dairy Spell Vocab Challenger, Reached round-2 - Certificate of Participation

Science Competition
Young Scientist Talent Search Exam, under category-A - Certificate of Participation

Art Competition
1998 Class-2 - Certificate of Participation
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Post MBA/MS plans:
---------------------------
short term: work in private equity
long term: start my private equity funds in India, focusing mostly on small companies that are still working on old management techniques.

FaRiKo wrote:Hi there,

Could you please review my profile and provide your insights and opinions regarding chances of mine to be admitted to the schools listed below. Thanks in advance for your valuable insights.

Harvard Business School
Stanford Graduate School of Business
MIT Sloan School of Management
Haas School of Business

I'm 30 years old executive from Azerbaijan, Baku. I believe the name of my country might tell nothing since it used to be part of the Soviet Union and located far away from USA to which I would like to take my journey. Moreover, it is just small:) Yet I believe it might enhance my profile because there have been few applications for top MBA programmes from my motherland.

As for my work experience, currently I'm Director of Development Company and, at the same time, Chief Strategy Officer of the parent company which has activities in following spheres: real estate development, publishing house, and largest printing company in Caucasus. Previously I had been working in telecom for almost 10 years and was CEO of the biggest Pay TV in Azerbaijan in terms of footprint of its broadcasting network prior to joining Baku European Games Operations Committee (BEGOC) which was established with a sole purpose of organization of the first ever European Games. Before that, I managed the nation-wide project regarding deployment of digital terrestrial television network and simultaneously worked as Head of Business Development of the company in charge of this project, which then was the part of the biggest Telecom Group in Azerbaijan which had two mobile operators and other telecom and IT companies in the Group.
In parallel, I have had some start-up experience (I developed First Pay Radio Project in Azerbaijan (although it didn't become a full-fledged company) and consulted start-ups in the sphere of fin-tech, retail, media, and education).

On top of that, I fluently speak 4 languages: Azerbaijani (native), Russian, Turkish, and English.

Why do I want to get an MBA degree? In essence, unlike dozens MBA candidates (no offense intended to brilliant MBA candidates out there for whom I wish nothing but best), for me MBA is not as much about increase in salary or the honing of my management skills and the acquiring of knowledge, as about overall experience it provides. It is like a destination you want to travel and constant immersion in environment where you will be part of something significant whether it is people, projects, or new knowledge. As for my post-MBA plans, I want to pursue my journey in in some start-ups or venture capital firms or companies which is trying to have an impact on as much people as possible like Tesla, SpaceX, and the like.

Below are my scores:

IELTS score - 7.5
GMAT - 650/76%
Verbal - 38/85%
Quantitative 41/48%.

As for references, I can provide references from peoples ranging from the former minister (of the ministry I worked with on some projects) to current CEO of the Group I work in and Deputy CEO of one of the biggest banks in Azerbaijan.

I believe that my sub-par quantitative score (which is result, based on my CAT experience, of silly mistakes and bad time-management) may make admission committee raise eyebrows and may result in my application being rejected and, therefore, I would like to know how I can strengthen my overall profile.

Thanks once again in advance.

Thanks for your patience. It looks like you have some strong experience at this conglomerate, and speaking multiple languages is always attractive. Cutting to the bottom line here, I don't have any info on your undergrad institution and performance, and this is critical given your GMAT is in a tenuous spot given your listed MBA choices. Raise that GMAT if you can, but as of now you should not just be targeting top 10ish schools. Alex
_________________

Hi Prep MBA

Could you please help me in evaluating my profile?

Indian male
GMAT Score 700 Q49V35 IR5, AWA 5

X th : 92.4% out of 100%
XIIth : 94.6% out of 100%
Undergraduated ( NIT Hamirpur) : 8.51 out of 10 on CGPA scale.

Work Experience : 3 years+ in sales & marketing analytics
1. Business Associate in Sales and Marketing firm
2. Leading a team of 4 and in dialogue with clients on a regular basis.

Not impressive extra-curriculars

Target Schools : Kelley, Purdue, Tepper, Kenan-Flagler, Johnson, UCLA Anderson and other 10-20 ranked schools.
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I have applied to Kelley and Purdue in R1 but I am not sure of if I'll get the interview call. I am now comptemplating of waiting for one more year to improve on my GMAT score and profile in terms of work-experience, and extra-curricular activities.

Is it worth waiting for one more year to try for my target schools or settling for a lower ranked school (if I get selected this time) would be just fine given that my primary focus is job opportunities after MBA??

Best
Naval

navalgupta39 wrote:Hi Prep MBA

Could you please help me in evaluating my profile?

Indian male
GMAT Score 700 Q49V35 IR5, AWA 5

X th : 92.4% out of 100%
XIIth : 94.6% out of 100%
Undergraduated ( NIT Hamirpur) : 8.51 out of 10 on CGPA scale.

Work Experience : 3 years+ in sales & marketing analytics
1. Business Associate in Sales and Marketing firm
2. Leading a team of 4 and in dialogue with clients on a regular basis.

Not impressive extra-curriculars

Target Schools : Kelley, Purdue, Tepper, Kenan-Flagler, Johnson, UCLA Anderson and other 10-20 ranked schools.
--------------------------------------------------------------------

I have applied to Kelley and Purdue in R1 but I am not sure of if I'll get the interview call. I am now comptemplating of waiting for one more year to improve on my GMAT score and profile in terms of work-experience, and extra-curricular activities.

Is it worth waiting for one more year to try for my target schools or settling for a lower ranked school (if I get selected this time) would be just fine given that my primary focus is job opportunities after MBA??

Best
Naval

Hi Naval,

Sales and marketing analytics is a growing area as part of the overall trend towards business analytics--more and more b schools are adding courses in this area and more employers are pushing b schools to develop more capable grads. So this is good news for you. In terms of getting in more schools for this year, given we are getting close to R2 deadlines, maybe wait until next year vs rushing in your apps. And this will give you time to get an even better GMAT which always helps, especially coming from a popular demographic. If you are going to add an extra curricular do it ASAP so you have time to work on it. Ad coms don't value activities much that are started too soon before deadlines.

Let me know if you need more formal help!

Regards,

Alex
_________________

First of all, thank you very much for this section. I have a question. I'm a citizen of Central Asian country, and I have graduated from one of the top universities in my city. However, I don't have high GPA. Not because of I didn't understand the material (I do, actually, pretty well), but because of I didn't want to make my home-tasks (they were just time-consuming routine copy-paste presentations). I preferred to work part-time, earn money and get work experience. Despite that fact that I don't have high GPA, I was considered by my university and by our top recruitment company as one of the best students. I even won a scholarship. I have work experience both in my country and in the United States. Now I'm thinking about my careers. My dream-job is a job, related to small business development in my country. I think that development of small business will help our people and enhance our GDP, so, I'm working on my own project and at the same time I have my small business with good team. My GMAT expectation is about 620-650 (because of verbal section. I'm not native speaker).
So, my question is: who would you prefer for MBA - big-4-consultant/banker/employee-of-big company or risk-taker with GPA 3.17, GMAT 650, intended to improve small business in Central Asia through big investment project (and who used to work in the US)?

P.S. I got Bachelor degree in 2015. I'm also considering to take Masters in Finance (plus CFA) in leading university of Central Asia and focus on GPA (I'm pretty sure that I can achieve at least 3.7 if I want to). And apply then. What do you think about that?

Thank you

I gave the GMAT first time around and scored a 660(q43v38). Retook within a month and scored a 750 (q49v42).

A little about my self:

Pakistani from top business school in the country.
Majoring in Economics and Political Science.

1) Last semester in College. Still haven't been recruited on Campus.
Multiple reasons: goofed off, engaged in activities I wouldn't put under Extra-currics for all 3 years.

Result: Next to no leadership experience and a 2.5 GPA as of now with Cs in my major courses. Max I can do is TRY to bring that up to a final 2.6, MAYBE a 2.7 if I do REALLY well this semester. Is it worth the effort or should I focus that effort on getting into a name brand company via networking etc?

2) Had an epiphany because of an event that led to something i'm not proud of so I decided to take the GMAT....
Studied Hard.. scored High.

3) Want to make serious money. Still not sure about career paths but i'm 'business minded' if that even means anything now a days.

4) Strong sports background especially in Sailing. Visited a few countries because of it.

My questions are what should my career path be. I'm interested in consulting type work because I consider myself a generalist because I combine deep research and a multi disciplinary approach to problem solving. Mckinsey recruits on campus in a month or so but my CV is probably not going to get short listed for a lack of GPA and leadership experience, though I have done a few internships in summer.

What industry should I go for if I want to enter a top MBA program? If I don't get a top name brand job offer, should I continue studying by applying for a MS, knowing that given my grades chances of getting into a decent program are low? Whats going on in my mind is that doing better in an MS may improve my JOB/MBA prospects?

any help is appreciated

thanks

Hello Expert,

GMAT - 710( QA 49 VA 36 IR - 7/8 AWA 6/6 )

Ethnicity- Indian
Male , 25 years old
Btech (Mechanical) - 2013 - 69% [ Under grad]
12th - 2009 -87%
10th (ICSE) - 2007 - 75%

Work Experience - 43 months as on Date will reach 48 months by August ( At the time of applying will have around 49-50 months work experience)

I am currently working as a business development executive at a startup and have worked with a government agency to design some training programs for their employees to effectively use social media for better E-Governance and have worked on building an android application along with successful launching of a online platform designed for certain companies. ( working for about 2 years here).Working alongside here , My father owns an advertising agency in which i play a role too because it is a family business and i need to look after when he is away and have helped create logos for the Government of Telangana. I am from Hyderabad , India and Telangana is the State. So i do not know how to leverage this work because in my own personal opinion I think it is great to have worked on a few government projects and design logos for it. The logo is evident on their websites and posters and all over the city . So i think i can give me some edge but any opinion regarding this will be considered. Prior to this i worked with Google for a year via a third party. I worked there as a business analyst.

EC

Sports - Swimming, basket ball , kabbadi , table tennis and badminton , Boxing .
Won the 1st Place in basketball at College (team event) .
Participated in multiple university and state level competitions . (table tennis)
Participated in a national level debate and Adjourned best speaker in a debate at a college level event.
Winner of an Extempore at a national level technical fest
Participated in multiple public speaking events and debates
The president of a Student Body in college for 2 years until the end of graduation undertaking lot of responsibilities and conducting multiple events
Organiser of the Sports Fest for 3 years along with a team under me and successfully organised multiple events. Along with Organizing as a sports player had to participate thus managing both organizing and playing.

I was the anchor for the Annual Day for 2 years and conducted the event in a splendid fashion
Class representative and event organiser for the college Fest for 4 years
Musical instruments learned - Keyboard , Guitar
Performed in the annual day and formed an own band during the college days and participated in college events.
learnt Classical singing for over 11 years and still learning
An active member of NSS during college and couple with the other activities i had , went on to form events to distribute food , books , clothes to the needy and have taught maths and physics to the needy .
Associated with an NGO as well , hope this help in application process


Academic Projects and Achievements

Always in the reckoning of the class - top 5%
95th percentile in CAT ( Management Exam in India) a neccesity to get in the reputed IIM’s ( Indian Institute of Management) and 90th percentile in XAT ( Management Exam for XLRI - Xavier School of Management)
Multiple projects in Robotics and designed various prototypes using basic principles of robotics and have done an internship in a PSU regarding steam engines

Final project in College related to Robotics – 6 degree Stewart Gough Platform
I have been to multiple industries such as steel pant , iron ore plant and a couple of thermodynamic industries to see the functioning of machines and an automobile industry as well to see the understanding of manufacture of components.
Softwares learned - CAD/CAM , Catia , Solid Works , Pro-E , Ansys (taught during academic rigour ) along with the normal C , C++ , Blue Java , MS office etc.




Q) Do you have a specific Company to work for? - I do not have a specific company to work for. My areas of interest are marketing and consulting . Of course every aspirant desires to be in the best of the best companies. Rather than working for a company would love to have company of my own down the line

Q) what do i want from my MBA? - I want my MBA to provide the knowledge n specific skills to run a business. It comes with experience i am sure but an MBA adds value and can make one think better in terms of the business. I would like to start a company of my own. My father has his own business and i want to diversify its services . A marketing related MBA would help me to make my company more reachable to cater to the needs of clients. At this stage my answer isn't clear and might be vague but i still haven't put a thought to it . Mostly like i wish MBA helps me better to run a business

Q) Mba full time/part time - I would want to do an MBA full time (2/1 year is fine) . I turned 25 last week so at the moment thinking i could use 2 years for an MBA unless a one year MBA suits me more. I am willing to relocate and looking for schools in India , US , UK , Singapore

Areas of Interest - Marketing / Consulting
Dream School – Kellog (Marketing)

What schools would you suggest to apply to based on this Profile assuming i still score a 710 in my retake . Targeting R1 this year , want to join a school in 2018

Other schools on my mind - Yale , Oxford , NUS , NTU , ISB . Also do i stand a chance at Harvard/ Stanford / Haas ( the elite ) if not what can i do to solidify my application for applying to these schools. I would like to apply to 6 schools One in India (ISB) , 3 In the United States , 1 in UK , 1 in Singapore , i haven't given much of a thought but any advice here would help

Target Score for Retake - 740 (QA 50 VA 40) , owing to my poor academics , i thought of giving the exam another shot and I represent a demography of very high scores

Regards,
HK


P.S - sorry for keeping it long , i might have missed out anything , feel free to ask something if it is missing

Hello,

I hope you are well.

Would you be able to spend some time evaluating my profile and recommending some top schools that I should focus on?

GPA: 3.5 (from a business school in Hong Kong; majored in Finance; graduated in 2012)
Citizenship: India but have been living in Hong Kong for ~9 years now
Work: 6 Years (by the time I enroll) of institutional business development for a top investment bank (MS/GS/JP)
GMAT: 710 (Q48/V38/IR3/AW5); this is my biggest worry.

Other points to note:
- Have shown a 'habit of leadership' throughout life (high school, university, and work); see below.
- School Captain
- Overall Student Life Award at university for leadership and community integration
- Officially recognized as one of the most promising juniors in Asia (elected to sit on multiple leadership committees)
- Became responsible to cover the largest institutional clients in Asia just after 2 years at work (based on performance); our coverage even got recognized with a "best client service" award by the client directly.
- Specially selected by our international CEO of our business to lead a project based out of Asia
- Have gone through exceptional circumstances back home to reach where I am (none of my parents are educated, extremely poor background but went to one of the best high schools in Delhi, Dad passed away at an early age)
- Worked part time during university to support myself
- Don't have exceptional community service but actively mentor students at my secondary school back home and juniors at university)
- Trained for and ran a marathon
- LGBTQ
Would appreciate your thoughts on (apologies, in advance, for the long list of questions):
1) I have taken the GMAT multiple times but I am unable to do better under time constraints (and historically, this has been the case too). Is there a way I could address this? I am confident that I have the intellectual horsepower (at least for business school) when time is not a constraint.
2) What would be the ideal short-term goal for me to highlight? I am afraid that my real goal is too...different from what my current background would permit. Should I stick to a goal in the investment management industry alone? I understand that AdComs think carefully about whether a candidate will be able to achieve their immediate goal.
3) Given the Indian citizenship (Hong Kong resident for 9 years) and a relatively low GMAT, should I even target the top 10 schools? Ideally, I would really like to make it to a top 10 US school - don't want to spend USD 250k(!!) anywhere else, really - but I am conscious of the competition from Indian male candidates.
4) Should I have one recommender from London and one from Hong Kong? Or do you think it would be better to have both from Hong Kong (since AdComs prefer to have people working close to you)?
5) Any 10 US-based school that you would recommend for someone who wants to return to Asia? I don't want to work in the US.

Thank you your thoughts, in advance!

Hello Prep MBA,,

Could you please evaluate my profile and gauge my chances at Melbourne Business School? I am also looking for some information on how the scholarships work at MBS and what are the chances of securing an interview with top Management Consulting firms with my GMAT score.

I understand that the big consulting firms do not consider candidates with a GMAT score <700. Is this true? I am planning to give another exam next month and my target score is 700+.

Profile:
Female, Age 32, Mother of 2 (3yr & 1yr old)
Australian Citizen (India born)

Education:
10th – 79.5%
12th - Diploma/Polytechnic – 76.27%
Graduation – B.E in Electronics and Telecommunication Engineering from AMIETE – 6.56 GPA
GMAT – 670 (Q45,V37,IR6,AWA5)

Work Experience:
14 years of extensive experience in managing IT Infrastructure. I have attached my LinkedIn URL for your reference -https://www.linkedin.com/in/aparnarallabhandi

Extra- Curricular:
Worked as a teacher and a helper for a non-profit school for 7 years from 2005-2012.

Post MBA goals:
I want to join Management Consulting preferably Technology Management Consulting (given my experience in the IT) after completing my MBA.

Thank you in advance for all your help!

Cheers,
Aparna

Hi,

I have been in search of a community or a forum, to find out the best-suited courses in MBA or MSc aligned with Corporate Social Responsibility and green/sustainable management. So far it's been a struggle to find a similar pool of applicants or threads for such courses and I'm really not able to find some good measure of rankings.
General information that I'm looking for is - Job prospects after degree, ideal profile with median GMAT score, and usefulness of the course.
Following are some courses that I know of and would like to know more about -

1. The Università Bocconi MAGER - MSc in MSc Sustainability and Social InnovationGreen Management, Energy and Corporate Social Responsibility
2. HEC Paris - MSc Sustainability and Social Innovation
3. RSM Erasmus University -MSc Global Business & Sustainability
4. UBC, Vancouver - MASTER OF SCIENCE IN RESOURCES, ENVIRONMENT AND SUSTAINABILITY (MSC)
5. Oxford University - MSc in Environmental Change and Management
6. University of Toronto -Master of Science in Sustainability Management (MScSM)
7. Columbia University - Master of Science in Sustainability Management

Bit about me - Background - Indian Female, I.T. Consulting with 40 months of Experience in a Big Four Company
Cumulative Percentage - 78% (Honors Degree in Bachelor of Technology (IT major) tier 2 institute.
Extra Curricular- Associated work with WWF and a few Non-Profit driven educational institutes.
GMAT Score - 650

Please evaluate this profile and in reach schools for my score. What extra is needed for profile to be considered strong.

Posted from my mobile device

Hi,
So, I did my MBA in HR from one of the borderline premier institutes in India.
Currently am a HR Manager working with a major sales and distribution firm in India. My role is of HR Business partnering for sales division of an entire state.
Prior to this, post my engineering I had 2 years of solid work ex with a major battery manufacturing firm in the role of product development.
I plan to take the GMAT and go for a second MBA with the sole purpose of transitioning my career out of HR, preferably into general management or strategy.
My query is, would my workex in HR be a major hurdle in getting admitted in the top B schools? Are professionals with work ex in HR given a differential treatment?
Also, will my workex in HR be detrimental to the career transition that I am planning to make while getting a job post the MBA?
Please help!

I havent found any examples of people with HR workex getting into the top B schools. would be great if someone shares such profiles.
Also can anyone guide me regarding whom or where should I talk with regarding my queries?

Here is my profile:
X-92%
XII- 85%
Btech from National Institute of Technology India - 7.31 CGPA
2 years of work ex in New product development role in major battery manufacturing firm. (Market Leader)
MBA in HR from borderline premier institute in India
3-4 years of work ex as HR manager in HR Business Partner role.


TIA

Hello Alex,

Kindly review my profile and share your valuable inputs.

Profile: I completed my graduation in Fashion designing from one of the top 3 colleges in Asia in 2014 with a CGPA of 7.43. I have been working with the biggest apparel organization in India for past 4 years. Have a healthy work experience across 2 different roles.

Extra-curricular: I am a national level athlete and I am regularly involved in different sports.
Have also won national level quiz competitions. Have been involved with couple of NGOs during my college days.

GMAT (Oct’2017) : 700 (Q-50, V-34, IR-8, AWA-5).

Areas of interest : 1) General Management, 2) Marketing

I need your help in deciding which colleges I should apply.

Should I target US B schools for either R2 this year or R1 next year ? Employment after completing MBA is an important criterion to decide which schools to apply. From few current students I have heard really negative reviews regarding job scenario for international MBA students in US. The situation is not bright in even top 15 colleges. Under the current geo-political situation, will it be a viable option to try for any US school?

With my profile, should I apply in NUS and INSEAD? What are the job scenarios post MBA in Singapore?

Also, I will be looking for a scholarship. Earlier I was targeting top 15 US B schools. Though my profile is extremely unique, my GMAT score is on a lower side. Being from India would go against me. Are there any colleges in top 15 where I can expect admission with scholarship?

I am okay to give GMAT again and if required then wait for one year before applying.

My first shortlist of colleges is below. Should I apply to any of these colleges in R2?
1. Kellogg,
2. Ross,
3. Fuqua,
4. NUS, and
5. ISB

Kindly review my case. Also please let me know if you need any other input to review my candidature. Thanks!

Hi Prep MBA,

I'm considering applying in round 1 this year for full-time MBA programs enrolling fall 2019 and would love to get a profile evaluation and general thoughts on my potential career path. Any evaluation or advice you could give me would be much appreciated. Also curious if I'd gain anything from waiting another year, getting some more experience in my current role and getting some more community involvement.

White male, 26 years old

Education:
"Southern Ivy" (Duke, Emory, Vandy, etc.), graduated in 2014, Mathematics and Economics BA, GPA: 3.25 (started out pre-med which did not go well. Started to do better when I switched to math and econ, but suffered family tragedy fall of senior year which hurt my grades and recruiting as well)

GMAT:
770 (50Q/46V/8IR/5AWA)

Work (all at private, family-owned diversified holding company with $20B+ revenue):
-1 year as a business analyst in the Operational Excellence department in the automotive division. Acted as a liaison between business operations and IT development for the development of enterprise mobile applications, completed heavily statistical analysis to complete the business cases for these applications as well as justify a multi-million dollar acquisition, created operational tools for field use and trained several GMs on their use.
-2 years as a manager in the Financial Planning and Analysis department in the same division. Promoted to manager 3 years ahead of schedule for being recognized as a top performer. Managed a contractor and intern. Currently in charge of budgets and forecasts for several smaller portfolio businesses and on the leadership team of these businesses to provide insights that drive strategic decision-making.
-2 years (at matriculation) as a senior analyst in an elite corporate strategy & development group at the holding company level responsible for portfolio management, M&A, diversification strategy. So far led primary due diligence for several minority investments as well as played an integral role developing a strategy for the Company's extension into the clean technology industry (renewable energy, food and agriculture, water conservation, etc.). Interface regularly with C-level leaders, board members and external parties (banks, PE firms, Consultants, VCs)

Extracurriculars:
-Pro Bono consultant at an eCommerce retail store, creating the business plan, social media marketing strategy, and pricing methodology
-Half marathon participant in the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's Team In Training program. Raised $2000 for cancer research
-Finalist in my company's internal StartUp business plan event
-Mentor at Big Brothers/Big Sisters Atlanta

Post-MBA Goals:
Ultimately I want to become the CFO of a well-funded start-up in my current industries of expertise (Cleantech, Auto). To get there, I want to work in Finance at one of the external parties I regularly interface with (PE or VC if possible) unless the opportunity presents itself to be a finance leader at a start-up right out of my MBA. I think working in M&A at a particularly flexible, family-owned Strategic provides a different, interesting perspective.

Schools under consideration:
I have two routes I'm considering, since I actually really like my current job:
-Shoot for the stars (Harvard, Stanford, Wharton, Chicago) where I think the the value would justify leaving my current role and paying the tuition
-Go to the one year MBA at my local university (Emory, where I think I can get close to a full scholarship), continue working part-time or take 1 year off and come back to my current role.

Thanks in advance for your help!

Posted from my mobile device

Dear Prep MBA,

I had a question regarding my GMAT score today

I have just got a 740 with a 49 Q and a 41 V. Obviously very happy with that, but unfortunately I got a 5 in the IR as I completely misread one of the prompts that had 3 questions relating to it! My question is, if I am aiming to apply to HBS, Stanford and other top 10 schools will I need to retake the GMAt simply for the IR section?

My profile is Arab from Kuwait
3 years running a family retail business now going into one MBB consulting.

Will my profile make up for the low IR or should i retake the gmat?

Thank you in advance for your help

Hi all,

I would appreciate any feedback you could provide on my profile for Wharton, LBS and INSEAD

- Age 22 at matriculation, Mauritian
- GMAT 740
- ACCA and CFA qualified. Completed ACCA at the age of 18 and CFA program at 21. However, no GPA given I did not attend any university. Wharton, LBS and INSEAD confirmed that my ACCA qualification will be equivalent to an undergrad degree.
- Spent 2 years and 4 months at Ernst and Young in the Corporate Finance Department with 2 promotions.
- Currently a Private Equity Analyst at the biggest bank in Mauritius - will have about 1 year of experience in PE at matriculation
- Post MBA goal is to work in PE
- Volunteer - Currently a volunteer at the round table association helping the homeless people and a mentor for the CFA research challenge to university student
- Member of the toastmasters club and regularly practice kickboxing
- Speak and write both French and English

Thanking you in advance for your feedback.

Hi,

1) I am confused with the GPA conversion system of Indian percentages to U.S GPA (4.0 Scale). what is Indian Bachelor's 59.5% to U.S GPA(4.0 Scale).

2) How likely a profile like this will fetch me an MBA from top Business Schools in the U.S/INDIA & is my GMAT score good enough for me to secure a seat?


Profile

Xth - 82 %

XII th - 81.3 %

B.Tech - Dropout (2009-2013) RVR & JC College

(U.G) B.A - 59.5% (2013-2016) BR Ambedkar Open University (in Top 10 out of 120 students)

M.B.A - Dropout (2017-2017) JBIT

Graduated from ISB-C.B.A - (2.6/4 GPA) (2017-2018) Indian School of Business.

Trained In Advance Business Analytics from IIT Hyderabad


GMAT: 640 (Q47 V32)


Experience: 3.5+ (from 2016)
Founder: OffersWave ( started in UG - 2014) (Sold out to Surya Sol - 2014)
Coupon Aggregator
Founder: LocalWalt (Failure -2015)
Local e-commerce
Founder:FIXU (Raised Funds From : FACEBOOK, KHUSAKI, KP INVESTMENTS) (2016-2018) Merged With ZOBIT.
Handyman Aggregator
Co-Founder: Block-Z-Labs (2018- Present)
Blockchain
Co-Founder: EVISONV2- Technology NGO (2018-Present)
Smart Glasses for the BLIND


Awards:
Karmaveer Chakra - 2019
Global Young leaders Fellow instituted by ICONGOs & United Nations - 2019
Nominated in top 3 ALL INDIA for Rising Star Awards in AI/ML category 2019 by Nasscom
All India Top 100 Startups by The August Fest - 2016
Table Tennis 2nd price in College Championship - 2012
Carrom board 1st price in class-X


Extracurricular
Mentor entrepreneurs : given Guest lectures in 25+ Institutes & 1500+ Students ( VNR, ICFAI,CGCHS, etc)
Started a Technology NGO for the blind and helping 500+ people from Devnar School
Conducted 3 blood donation camps in my village
President of the college's annual cultural festival
Cryptocurrency Investor/trader.
Building a Tech Innovators Community.

Preferred colleges

ISB
Ceibs China
Kellog
university of Chicago
Columbia business school
MIT
TUCK
LBS
UCLA: Anderson
university of Michigan ross

Post-MBA goals
Career acceleration in the current Startup.