Ask Jennifer@Accepted.com: Application-writing advice for the best global B-schools

[iim.aspirant]

Can you please address this query ? Thanks in advance !

Originally Posted by iim.aspirant

Hi Jennifer,

I am targeting the 2009 entry at 10-20 ranked US Schools. Though I like INSEAD, Darden, Tepper and Stern, I am not sure of my chances as well as other schools where I should apply. But first, my profile at a glance:

Electrical Engg from one of the top colleges , 720/5.5, 4 years work-ex by June 09 - (presently) front-end research in a strategy consulting firm as a senior analyst, (past) 2 years equity research (US cap goods sector) as an offshore associate of a top-3 US IB client in Mumbai(my ex-company's client, and I worked as a full time equivalent (FTE) associate). I can get recos from the analysts I worked with - two of whom are Director/VPs in NY. My acads are average (first class but no distinction), but I believe my extra curriculars and varied work-experience should somewhat compensate. Also, I was actively involved in corporate trainings and recruitment in my previous organization.

I am interested in pursuing a career in MC.


I have won few certificates in litrary activities such as debates, GDs etc and other events such as Business plan and business case contests in various colleges across India. Though I have not pursued social service as a full-time activity, I do make sure that I donate enough to sponsor 5 cataract operations each year and have also sponsored 1 child's complete education. Besides this, I am a frequent blood donor.

While in college, I started a club that was aimed at improving the communication skills and business acumen of engineering students. This was because I realized even the best students found a tough time writing cover letters/ CVs, and such an effort would go about helping them. The club was a success and drew almost 100 members in a short space of time.


I changed my job because after two-years of back-end work, I had nothing much to add to my cv/learn, and the front-end role came as a pleasant breather, an opportunity to learn further, and gain diverse work-ex. Though I am quite happy with my career progress till date, I will soon come to a point where my company will only hire MBAs (as consultants), and hence, I see not much further upside to my growth. An MBA, therefore is what I am looking at.

Coming back, what more should I do and which schools should I really look at ?

Regards
I.A

[raj_deb]

Hi Jeniffer,

I had one quetion regarding extra currciculars. What is menat by this term in the context by Bschool admissions? Do the foll classify as extra curricular:

paragliding over the weekends
supporting an orphanage monetarily and in kind over the years

Is one expected to prove the above if put down in one's essays as extra curricular? As I do not know how to prove the above.

Pls help.

Thanks,
Raj

[Accepted]

Originally Posted by vineetdixit

Dear jennifer,

I am aiming from Harvard, Wharton and INSEAD for MBA. Could you please comment on my profile for these schools. I am also contemplating Stanford.
I have already applied in Harvard (R3) and INSEAD (R1). I know that Harvard R3 is very tough to get in but I did it as i could save one year in case i get in (Do i have a good chance???). How strong is my profile for INSEAD as i donot have any international experience and my exp is on the lower side??? Should i Apply in harvard again in case i do not make it this time (read some comments in other forums (BW) that Harvard does not take re applicants favorably???) Should i apply in wharton and stanford this year in R1 (- is my profile strong for these schools??)

Post MBA I am looking at a Finance career preferably in a PE. Since Private Equity does not usually pick up people from schools I will be first joining an IB firm / management consulting and take good experience and then try to move in to PE.

Personal Profile:
Male, 28 yrs Indian Citizen
Undergrad – B.COM (66%) (First Class)
Chartered Accountant – 2004, Company Secretary (intermediate) – 2002
Left CS in-between because i did not wanted to go to compliance or accounting profiles

GMAT 1st Attempt:740 (49Q, 42V)AWA - 5/6

Experience – 4 years by the time I start MBA

TATA Steel (bearings SBU) (1.25 years experience) : selected from campus. Placed in one of the Business Units (standalone) as financial analyst – Monthly MIS, performance analysis reports (customer wise / product wise etc), adhoc management requirements, costing, trade policy monitoring & annual plans. Apart from that handled sales and receivable accounting, excise and indirect tax accounting and compliance.

Dr Reddys Laboratories ltd: Part of corporate analytics and MIS group – working closely with top management (CFO primarily) for presentations, performance analysis (MIS along with qualified notes on performance of each Business unit), one – of adoc analysis and reports to attract attention towards potential area of improvements, Due diligence on BU (7 different segments) planning & preparing company plans, back office support to IR department, External benchmarking, preparing MD&A for annual report

I joined this company in Feb 06, was promoted in June 07

Extra Curricular:

* Vice captain in school
* Active participant in Plays in school and collage
* Black Belt Shito Ryu Karate.
* Core team member (3 members in total) – rolled out first ever finance magazine in company B – involved in conception, design & editing and final release. Also pasrt of core committee for organizing Global Finance meet
* Creator and one of the first core member of cultural committee in collage
* Scripted, directed and Acted in street plays in slums to motivate people to send their children to school

Hi, Vineet. I am not seeing much leadership in the profile you submitted, so I do not see HBS happening in the near future. HBS is looking for the best of the best - not just in academics but in every field of personal interaction as well. INSEAD will definitely want to see more international experience and insight as well.

From what you've told me in this post, there are a few areas I would suggest you work on:
1) international insight - you may need to move companies or just get involved in a different area of the current company, but the schools (espectially INSEAD) are looking for the Indian applicants who understand the global business environment

2) more finance and less accounting and MIS - you will need to demonstrate that you are more than just a number cruncher; you have the ability to take those numbers and guide the direction of the company

3) extracurricular leadership - all of the schools are seeking professionals who juggle career and community; we need to see you taking a leadership role and influencing others in a non-work environment

Yes, HBS is the only school that I know of that is not re-applicant friendly. I actually do not think it is a negative for them if you reapply (in other words, you aren't rejected immediately just because you were rejected in the past), but HBS has no warm feelings about you just because you are trying again.

As an applicant from a very competitive pool, I strongly recommend that you research programs outside of the top three. The top 30+ all offer excellent business training to prepare you to lead and manage, and there are several among them that provide excellent finance training.

Regards,
Jennifer Bloom, CPRW
Accepted - Helping you write your best!
www.accepted.com

[Accepted]

Originally Posted by iim.aspirant

Dear Jennifer,

I am targeting the 2009 entry at 10-20 ranked US Schools. Though I like INSEAD, Darden, Tepper and Stern, I am not sure of my chances as well as other schools where I should apply. But first, my profile at a glance:

Electrical Engg from one of the top colleges , 720/5.5, 4 years work-ex by June 09 - (presently) front-end research in a strategy consulting firm as a senior analyst, (past) 2 years equity research (US cap goods sector) as an offshore associate of a top-3 US IB client in Mumbai(my ex-company's client, and I worked as a full time equivalent (FTE) associate). I can get recos from the analysts I worked with - two of whom are Director/VPs in NY. My acads are average (first class but no distinction), but I believe my extra curriculars and varied work-experience should somewhat compensate. Also, I was actively involved in corporate trainings and recruitment in my previous organization.

I am interested in pursuing a career in MC.


I have won few certificates in litrary activities such as debates, GDs etc and other events such as Business plan and business case contests in various colleges across India. Though I have not pursued social service as a full-time activity, I do make sure that I donate enough to sponsor 5 cataract operations each year and have also sponsored 1 child's complete education. Besides this, I am a frequent blood donor.

While in college, I started a club that was aimed at improving the communication skills and business acumen of engineering students. This was because I realized even the best students found a tough time writing cover letters/ CVs, and such an effort would go about helping them. The club was a success and drew almost 100 members in a short space of time.


I changed my job because after two-years of back-end work, I had nothing much to add to my cv/learn, and the front-end role came as a pleasant breather, an opportunity to learn further, and gain diverse work-ex. Though I am quite happy with my career progress till date, I will soon come to a point where my company will only hire MBAs (as consultants), and hence, I see not much further upside to my growth. An MBA, therefore is what I am looking at.

Coming back, what more should I do and which schools should I really look at ?

Regards
I.A

Hi, I.A.
Those schools sound like good targets for you, but this coming year may be a bit early. You might want to consider giving it another year and really concentrating on two things in the meantime:

1) Leadership at work: You may have this, but it isn't clear from what you summarized for me here. These programs are looking for the equity analysts/researchers who are able to identify growth stocks, areas for niche investment, or even tapping new markets to sell their research. If you are able to demonstrate that kind of insight and influence in the coming year, your application will be much stronger.

2) Community leadership - What you are currently doing is obviously wonderful, but it doesn't demonstrate leadership of peers and people who don't need to follow you. Perhaps you could organize a group to contribute to the community through work? This grows your impact beyond just what your own two hands (and myriad veins!) can do

You do seem to have good statistics and a nice international background working with the team in NY, fitting for the schools you are targeting. I just believe that the extra leadership experience will demonstrate your readiness for the MBA and future career in consulting.

Regards,
Jennifer Bloom, CPRW
Accepted - Helping you write your best!
www.accepted.com

[arunsdevine]

Hi!

The following is my profile:

Engg Grad - NIT Surathkal(Top 10 in India) -3.8/4 GPA
2 years Work Ex at Samsung India
Responsibility: S/W Engineer
Multiple Business Trips To South Korea

Achievements at work:
1) Developed components that have earned rave reviews in the world's tech press
2) Initiatives taken to successfully develop and sustain a culture that fosters innovation within the team
3) Recommendations to evolve a direction for the team to work towards.

Extra Curricular Activities at College:
1) Convenor, Publicity Committee, for both the Technical Fest and the Cultural Fest of the college. Both events budgets are to the tune of 17-20 lakhs.
2) Core Member of the students' chapter of Institution of Engineers'. This chapter conducts two 3-day events per year, and the events showcase various technical and personal attributes of the college students.

I am taking my GMAT on May 17.

The following is what i would like to know from you:

1) What is the band of B-Schools(Asia, Europe, US) that i should be focussing on, given that I will be applying later this year?
2) What are the kind of things that I need to do between now and the time I do send my applications, so that i can give a significant fillip to my prospects?
3) What would be a decent GMAT score?

Ideally, I would like the B School to be in the global top 30. But I do not know anything about my prospects.

[sanket11]

really#. Educational Background:
B.E. Production from Pune University in First Class with Distinction in Sept.2005. ( Top 15% in Class of 70)

GMAT: Yet to be taken. Confident of 700+ with 12 months of preparation.

#. Professional Exp:
2.5 years in Manufacturing Consulting Firm as a Sr.Consultant with 1 promotion.

• Small sized hence lots of Leadership Roles & opportunity to communicate to Top Management in all 8-9 consulting assignments.
• Experience of handling a team of 3-4 analysts over this period.
• Handled productivity improvement consulting assignments in reputed companies like Honda, Mahindra, Kirloskar, Gabriel, ITC, etc.
• Improved productivity in each of the consulting assignment by at least 20 %.
• Millions $ of saving for each client with Manpower reduction in each assignment.

Currently working with Mahindra International as an Assistant Manager. ( 2 Months)

• The Leadership roles & Team work: Leading a team of Industrial Engg Responsible for complete manpower planning for the Greenfield plant of Mahindra (investment of Rs.4000 cr). Youngest in the project team to handle a team of 3 people.
• Some of the initiatives with impact on the way things are done. Measurable outcomes.

Extracurricular Activities:

• Conducted Yoga, Meditation & Pranayama Training Programs for company consultants in previous company.
• Authored 6 articles on Mahindra’s Intranet i.e. internal communication site on subjects like Lateral Thinking, Philosophy, and Manufacturing related.
• Planning to write a small book about my personal exp/ Learning in life till now in next couple of years.
• First Level Reiki Course, practicing the same.

Community Services:

• Affiliated with Vipasyana Meditation Centers.
• Counseling to Poor children in schooling at hometown.
• Taught Pranayama to children in my Building & many others (Intangible benefits to all).
• Involved in corporate social responsibility programs organized by the company.
• Planning to set up a small library for the sum children in Pune.
• Planning to set up two small libraries in hometown for underprivileged children.
• Contributing to complete education of one child for a period of one year through a scheme of compan

Other Qualifications:

Cerified BASIC MOST® Applicator by H.B. Maynard Cop, USA.
Certified MINI MOST® Applicator by H.B. Maynard Cop, USA.

Future Goals: Planning to apply for MBA in Nov.2009 (4 years of exp at the time of application at 4.5 years at the time of joining for MBA).

Target Schools: Top 10 US

After MBA: Management Consulting.

Quesions:

• Looking at the overall profile, Can you pls tell me where should I need to improve to further strengthen my application considering that I have 1.5 years before I apply in Nov.09? How can best utilize this time?

• Is my profile competitive enough for Top-10 US B-schools? Which schools I should be looking for?

• One of the areas I believe is the lack of International Exp. I just wanted to ask that one to one interactions with the teams from Korea, US can be considered as International Exp.? Can I portray learning from this as some amount of Int. Exp?

• Is there anything common in prior exp. which these consulting firms look for? Which kind students are generally placed in these firms? will that manufacturing\ mfg. consulting background OK for Management consulting?

Thanks in advance. Sorry for the long post.

[harishshaha]

Dear sir,My nephew is interested to get admission in PGDBM(Family Business) of the Narsi Monji Institute of Management studies,Mumbai(NMIMS).However one question in the application form is bothering him. please help him.Question: Your Views about the current Indian and world business scenario?Thanking you,Yours faithfully,harishshaha.

[sid6376]

Hi jennifer,
i understand this might be a little too early for me to ask these questions but since i am seriously looking to plan my career round an mba degree not too far in the near future, i had a set of questions to ask you.
i am just out of college and till now i have had a good academic record (7th in a class of 192 in graduation).i am employed at one of the largest software firms in the world, but my job is completely technical. i also hope to secure a decent score to prove that i can cope with the academic part of my mba course.

i want to target Indian School of Business and the thing is i dont have much leadership skills to show on my resume apart from co-ordinating for technical benefit of the students at college. The thing is i dont really believe in doing community work and do not want to do them just to get an admission into a good colege as i am sure i will be caught out at that. Is it a big deciding factor on a business college's part to have students with a bend towards social activities?
I will be really grateful if you could reply
Thanks a lot,
Siddharth

[Accepted]

Originally Posted by raj_deb

Hi Jeniffer,

I had one quetion regarding extra currciculars. What is menat by this term in the context by Bschool admissions? Do the foll classify as extra curricular:

paragliding over the weekends
supporting an orphanage monetarily and in kind over the years

Is one expected to prove the above if put down in one's essays as extra curricular? As I do not know how to prove the above.

Pls help.

Thanks,
Raj

Hi, Raj. There are two levels of extracurriculars: 1) involvement, and 2) leadership. The top MBA programs are seeking extracurricular leadership - inspiring others to produce significant results/change in the community. Neither of the examples you listed so far qualify on that level yet.

Most schools rely on your honest answers and do not ask for documentation of your achievements. Some programs have been known to call recommenders and ask for details, but you don't have to submit receipts

Regards,
Jennifer Bloom, CPRW
jbloom@accepted.com
Accepted - Helping you write your best!