Ivey Mba 2008

[Peruvianguru]

Hi all, I have been thoroughly researching 1 year MBAs around the world and have decided to apply to 5-6. These schools - in order of preference - are Ivey-UWO, Judge-Cambridge, Said-Oxford, INSEAD, Instituto de Empresa and ISB. There are lots of threads for the last 5 but Ivey threads are scarce. So why Ivey?

1 year MBA
Case study method (I love this approach)
Excellent job prospects in Management Consulting (my future career choice)
Good value for money
Excellent reputation in Canada and increasing presence in Asia and Latin America.
Consistently ranked in the top 30 programs globally
Small class size (more contact with professors and students)
London, Ontario is small enough to provide a strong learning environment, and very close to Toronto and Detroit.

I posted a brief personal background on the "introduce yourself" thread. However I would like to post a more detailed profile for some smart and honest feedback from my Pagalguy friends.

Peruvian citizen, 31 years old.
Academic background
BVSc and Licenciado in Veterinary Medicine from Universidad Mayor (Chile). This university is ranked top 3 nationwide among private institutions. Got a 5.5 out of 7 (3.16 GPA), Top 10% of my class (140 students)

Diploma in Financial Administration from ITESM (Mexico). ITESM is the leading business school in Latin America. Got 95 out of 100.

MSc in Development Studies from Victoria University of Wellington (New Zealand). Awarded a full NZAID Scholarship (Govt. of NZ, only 10 scholarships for the whole Latin American & Caribean Region) . Got an A- final grade (A+ highest).

MSc in Political Science - Public Policy track at Pontificia Universidad Catolica del Peru (PUCP). PUCP is the top Peruvian university. Finished coursework, already working on my thesis. Degree completion expected July 2007. Graded 14 out of 20, very good marks form Peruvian standards. Studied while working PT and FT.

Additional qualifications

Certificate in Entrepreneurship Development from Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India (EDIIndia), Ahmedabad, India. Awarded a full ITEC Scholarhip (Govt. of India) . Stayed for 2 months and visited Dehli, Mumbai, Jaipur, Jodhpur and Agra (Taj Mahal can only be compared with Macchu Picchu!).

Other small certificates in bovine biotechnology and stock markets (yeah, sure, I love diversity!)

Work experience

Currently working for the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) as an Avian Influenza Project Consultant for the Andean Region (Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela and Peru). 1 year assignment

Short term consultant (2 weeks) for the World Bank. Reviewed, amended and submitted a US$19.4 MM project on behalf of the Peruvian Trust Fund for National Parks and Protected Areas (PROFONANPE) towards the creation of the new Peruvian System of Natural Protected Areas.

Consultant for the Global Environment Facility (GEF). Developed a US$1.95 MM project in environmental financing on behalf of the Latin American & Caribbean Network of Environmental Funds (RedLAC) (4 months + 2 months follow up).

English and Spanish teacher for Berlitz and British-Peruvian Cultural Assoc. Taught at Diplomatic Academy of Peru, Embassy of Canada and top companies in Peru. (1.5 years). This was a harsh period, I was underemployed - no jobs in Peru during those years. However I feel very proud cuz I performed at the highest level and was permanently ranked as best teacher by customer feedback.

Research Assistant for an Inter-American Development Bank project in Risk Disaster Management. 6 months.

CARE (Not for profit global institution), Consultant (6 months) for a Livestock Development project in rural Peru. Developed an artificial insemination strategy to improve dairy production of peasants.

Relevant Internship
Embassy of Peru to New Zealand, Foreign and Development Policy Analyst (1 year). Prepared fortnight foreign policy papers submitted to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Peru about New Zealand and Pacific Island States´ issues. Provided direct advise to the ambassador on a wide range of topics.

I scored 8/9 on the Academic IELTS (270+ TOEFL?)

Have never taken the GMAT, will do so in August and October (if first score is pathetic). I believe my score(s) will range from 550 to 650. I dont expect more (worst case scenario, consider a 550 GMAT).

I will get amazing references (one from a client, another from a supervisor)

Most of my professional experience has been as a project consultant. I have visited, studied and worked in countries/regions such as Chile, Argentina, Bolivia, Guatemala, Costa Rica, US, Europe, India and New Zealand.

Please be very objective in your views. I truly appeciate the time you have spent in going through and assessing my MBA admissions chances. Shukrya very much! and, of course, I will keep posting Ivey MBA comments. best regards from Peru

Vajk

[Baby]

Woh that's some profile

Mridul

[Peruvianguru]

I forgot to add some important info:

University Lecturer at Universidad San Martin de Porres, Lima since August 2006 up to date. I teach a social science course entitled "National Reality" for engineering undergrad students. My course was assessed as outstanding by the university´s academic office and will become a core course in March 2007.

University Tutor at Victoria University of Wellington, NZ. I tutored geography and social science students in the course "Development in the Asia-Pacific Basin". Taught social development issues with a focus on APEC Latin American countries.

Why MBA? Because I want to have increased choice in my career direction. Additionally, I want to frame up my previous experience and skills with a practical degree. Business development and top-notch management skills are critical for the promotion of social, economic, political, environmental and even cultural development of nations. Of course, this is a very (I mean very) brief and simple statement but it basically contains my main motivations.

Hope to find replies very soon. Thank you!

[Anurag83]

Absolutely fab profile.......

[Peruvianguru]

Originally Posted by Baby

Woh that's some profile

Mridul

Dear Baby, your comment is very flattering. Thank you!

[Peruvianguru]

Originally Posted by Anurag83

Absolutely fab profile.......

this kind of comments make me feel more confident on gaining admission. Thank you Anurag!

[Peruvianguru]

Dear All:

By the time I start writing this post, most of you will be sleepling on the other side of the world. Although my thread is a young one, I hope soon many if you will join me.

Ive been surfing this website for the past 3 days and am amazed by the number of members it has; more than 100,000!! Of course, India has a wooping pop. of almost 1.1 billion while in Peru we sum aprox. 28 million. We all must give credit to the founders of this excellent site as it gives as the opportunity to share our struggles and aspirations towards gaining admission at our B-School(s) of choice. Who knows, maybe Ill also develop some friendships in the near future.

Getting into more "technical" aspects, Ive noticed that most Indian students place a strong preference over MBA programs in the US, followed by European, Asian, Asia-Pacific and Canadian programs. I guess this trend is based on the following reasons:

1. Given that most apps. are young (below 28 and most havent studied at postgraduate level (no MSc, MA, MPP, MPA, etc degrees), the 2 year format of US b-schools suits them best.

2. The US culture has a very powerful influence over Indian youth. I personally witnessed this while spending some time visiting India last year. Its not only Harvard, Stanford, Wharton or other big names´appeal but also its music, food (McDonalds rest. where always full!!!), modernity and, above all, the promise this country delivers to make dreams come true. With no intention to generalize, Indians hold strong to faith, hope and dreams, being love their bonding element. I confirmed this talking to my Indian mates, watching their movies (Swades my fave movie and Saawariya my fave song!), attending their religious ceremonies and historical places among other activities. Many Indians look at the US as the place to be and let me tell you that in Peru it is exactly the same. I dont want to further expand on this issue as it gives me plenty of elements to write endless essays but I think the US appeal is, by far, the strongest of any other country over India.

However, if we look beyond the US, we will be able to find excellent schools that offer a great education and an amazing personal experience. I have been lucky enough to visit many countries and have found that all of them offer unique and special experiences. Great schools can be found in the UK, France, Spain and the Netherlands to mention a few. Asia can feel proud of schools like CEIBS, the IIMs, ISB and AIM while Australia hosts names such as MSB and AGSM. Even in Latin America we have excellent institutions such as INCAE, ITESM, IPADE, ESAN and COPPEAD. My point is that diversity is much stronger than the US centric view of the world and that we should delve deeper into this diversity.

Right now, I am targeting 6 schools though I think I will end up applying to 4 or 5 at most. At this point of my app. strategy, the Richard Ivey School of Business at UWO tops my personal list. I will also apply to Cambridge and Oxford for sure while INSEAD, IE, ISB-Hyderabad and Cranfield remain in the pool.

Specifically, I am looking for

1. 1 year program
2. Small size (INSEAD and ISB ara at disadvantage here)
3. Teaching approach (Ivey´s case method rules)
4. Costs (ISB has a very clear lead)
5. Salary and placement stats in Mgmt Consulting and/or Multilateral Orgs. (WB, IADB, WEF, UN, etc).
6. Global reputation
6. Location not really an issue.

Based on the abovementioned criteria, Ivey gets the best average followed by Cambridge and Oxford. INSEAD is a great brand with excellent job prospects but its student numbers are way too large. To a lesser extent, ISB shares these features but besides being too large it has a very low number of intl. students. IE is settled in Spain so, already having a strong Spanish heritage in my country, it doesnt catch my attention that much. Cranfield is a strong school but I am firmly convinced that the names dominating the UK MBA scene in the future will be LBS, Cambridge and Oxford.

There are robust threads for all these schools except for Ivey, IE and Cranfield. I will focus my efforts on Ivey, Cambridge and Oxford so everybody sharing these preferences is welcome to attend this thread. I ask you to spend some time reading my profile for honest feedback about my admission chances. Thank you in advance for your attention and I look forward to welcome you to the Ivey (Cambridge and Oxford) MBA 2008 thread.

Best regards from Lima, Peru

The Peruvian Guru

[goldberg23684]

Originally Posted by Peruvianguru

Hi all, I have been thoroughly researching
..........
assignmentVajk

Reading your profile has just caused me to GREATLY reexamine my life. You have probably one of the most interesting profiles I have ever seen. period!

Man. You are going to get a lot of such replies. And as for the guy who started this website- he is in Wharton!

[Peruvianguru]

Originally Posted by goldberg23684

Reading your profile has just caused me to GREATLY reexamine my life. You have probably one of the most interesting profiles I have ever seen. period!

Man. You are going to get a lot of such replies. And as for the guy who started this website- he is in Wharton!

Dear Goldberg:

Sometimes we are not aware of the real power of words. When I joined this website I was only expecting to find more information and some relieve from the MBA application stress. I guess that - from time to time - we all need some reassurance from our friends, co-workers, partners et al even if we hold confidence in our life, when faced to stiff and harsh competition. I dont know of any other degree with such competition towards gaining admission as MBA programs. Not even PhD degrees!!! (ok, SIPA´s PhD in Sustainable Development at Columbia University is one of the few exceptions....). So getting back to the point, posting my profile was a matter of finding some support and reassurance that I would make a good candidate for my preferred B-schools. But now I find a post like yours which also makes me think a lot about many things. Telling me that you will greatly reexamine your life just by scanning my profile delivers such an incredibly powerful message. I can only take your words with humbleness and gratitude and wish you success in finding answers to all your questions. Regarding the person who created this website, I dont know him and maybe never will, but he has already achieved a priceless goal that not even Wharton could have given him: the gratitude and recognition of 100,000+ individuals who can exchange information, overcome their failures and share their dreams. So dream big my friend and work harder than ever to make those dreams come true. Surely I am doing so now! Warm regards from Peru.

Vajk :razz:

[Shelin_krishnan]

What to say !!!
One Awesome profile and a real good thread.
Man i am getting jitters just reading your profile jokes apart, you stand a good chance of making to all the schools you have mentioned, i feel it should be a matter of cake walk to you

And you made a real good point about folks choosing US as there dream destination when there are plenty of schools around the world which offers more diversity.

And i dont consider myself to be a good enough to comment on your profile, there are plenty of folks around in PagalGuy with truck load of experience tuck under there belly and hope soon you will get loads of replies from those expert pagals .

And one more important point even Swades is my all time favourite movie and for a change i liked Sharukh in that movie .

Shelin