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

[Accepted]

Originally Posted by confuseaspirant

Hi Jennifer,
My profile is
GMAT score 740
Academics: - I have done MCA after BCA with 3.3 GPA.
Work Experience: - 3 years in an MNC (as an IT professional) by the time I take admission. I have been working as a developer and don't have any international experience except for 3 weeks in Germany.

Extra curricular: - Not beyond my college.

My question is which colleges lie in the reachable category for me and which colleges lay in the sure shot category for me.

Also what are the kind of experiences should you include in your applications to show your leadership qualities. Can the experiences be from your personal life?

Hi, Confuse. Leadership is recruiting a group of people who don't necessarily have to answer to you to support and work toward your vision. Unfortunately, I am not seeing enough leadership in your profile yet, but the good news is that you are still young and have time to gain experience in this field!

The top MBA programs are also seeking candidates who have earned a fast rate of career advancement, so push for additional responsibility, management roles, and impact wherever possible. This void in your background is much more of an issue than the lack of international experience. Indian applicants with no international experience are certainly accepted to the top programs, but applicants with little leadership are not.

You may be able to gain more leadership through extracurricular activities or even the company's community service group. If by "personal life" you mean family activities or the like, I doubt they have the size, scope, and impact that the MBA programs are seeking.

I don't see any MBA program as a "sure thing" for you right now – but don't feel bad, I don't view anything as a sure shot for anyone. You may wish to consider low-ranked programs, but in my opinion even they will be looking for examples of your ability to build and lead teams.

Regards,
Jennifer Bloom, CPRW
Accepted – Helping you write your best!

[$hanky]

Hey Jen

Can u guide me for an international MBA programme.I need a lot of info,u can think that i am beginner with a too less of info in this feild..
My requirements are below..
I wanna join cllg in fall 2009 or starting 2010..I will be having 3+ IT exprnc by then. I have started my preparation for GMAT..
I have heard getting something around 700+ would do the needful, but still i would like to hear about the latest scores with the exprnc they demand???
Also i want to do something that would not let my technology exprnc go waste,i wanted to have MBA in IT field..wot are all the available options/courses i can target??
What is the course fees(have heard its currently above $50,000)???
I am thinking of setteling back in india after that ,wot is the scope of this after that??


Thanks!!

[gmat__800]

Hi Jennifer,
My profile is
GMAT score: 770
TOEFL score: 117/120

Academics: I have done MCA from India (Distinction) from a top rated university.

Work Experience: 5 years in an MNC (as an IT professional) by the time I take admission. I have been working as a client-facing team leader for last 3 years in Europe. Work profile mainly involves interacting with the client and handling the teams located in offshore location (India).

Extra curricular: Not beyond my college.

Awards and merits: Received many awards/merits at school and college/graduation level. Topped various exams etc.

I have following 2 queries:
1. Which colleges are in reachable category and which are in sure shot category. Europe and US (top 10-20 only).

2. I want to switch to consulting, but how best can i justify this in my essays considering only IT specific (client is a finance company) experience in my professional life.

[arunsdevine]

Originally Posted by Accepted

Hi, Arunsdevine. Thank you for your patience - I went on a vacation and it is time for me to catch up!

Your goals sound inspiring, but you must do a lot of research to prove 1) your career path is something that is possible (ie., others with similar backgrounds to yours have gone on this type of mission and made it work), 2) and MBA degree is the essential next step to reaching this goal and why, and 3) you will be able to tailor the specific programs to which you are applying to your educational goals.

I can certainly tell you that the schools will want to see leadership in a sports or educational organization in your past to prove that you have what it takes to reach the type of impact you and they are seeking from their graduates. The leadership and impact, from what you wrote so far, do not seem to be on the level that are neccessary yet.

My advice is for you to get involved in a national sport education organization and begin making the type of impact you are hoping for. This will prove to the MBA programs that your goal is attainable and you are the man for the job.

Regards,
Jennifer Bloom, CPRW
Accepted - Helping you write your best!

Cant this be viewed as a normal career switch? Like people moving from writing software to strategy consulting? And, in such cases, they dont generally demonstrate their expertise in the domain they wish to switch to, right?

[applicant]

Hi Jenifer,

For an assignment, I would have to go to USA soon.
But the timing is such that the trip will be after the R1 deadlines for some colleges.
My question is, to bring in the US experience in my essays, etc, should I apply in R2? Or should I go ahead with the applications and submit them in R1 and maybe mention that I'd be going to US shortly and hope to gain such and such experience/exposure....
I wanted your advice on this issue

Thanks in advance,
Applicant

[ganeshnkulkarni]

Hi,
I am an Indian applicant with 3 years of work experience.
I have not yet appeared for GMAT but hope to reach to 710.
I have an Engineering Degree and have passed in First Class with Distinction.
I have good extra-curricular in sports, volunteering etc.
I have 1 gap year during Engineering, but have earned merit scholarships throughout my schooling.
what are my realistic and stretch schools in US and Asia-Pacific?

Thanking you in anticipation...

[p_jez]

Jennifer,

I have a query regarding the essay topic "Describe the Single Event or Achievement that has significantly influenced your life."

Does this necessarily have to be something that is career oriented? Or can it be something which has changed me as a person?

In other words, when I write how it has changed me, do I need to write about situations in the workplace, or can I get away with writing about situations outside work?

Thanks

[Accepted]

Originally Posted by Girdhari

Dear Jennifer,
I am Girdahri, great to see you helping others make their decisions.

My profile

Age: 28 years

Education: B.E (Computer Sc & engg.) , 69%

Work Ex: 50 months (till now)

• 15 months in Satyam Computers Ltd. as Software engg, did a 1 million $ project in gas domain for a fortune 500 client and was one among 10 peers selected to do that, successfully developed an analysis tool while leading a team of three.
• 24 months Rashtiys Ispat Nigam Ltd.(RINL), a govt. PSU, was Junior manager - was involved in automation activities of the plant - automated a process increasing efficeincy by 7%.
• 11 months (and going) Rural Development Institute (NGO): I am Project Officer for Uttarakhand state, and heading Village Resource Centre project (along with ISRO)for the state. Catering tele-medicine , tele-education, tele agriculture servies to 160 remote villages with 16 centres and 30 more coming up bringing total villages to ~500. My work ranges from need assessment study to content delivery at these centres to facilitate social development through IT and the biggest task being making these centres self sustainable.I lead a team of 10 people and coordinate with 4 different NGO's and various govt. agencies.
• Also heading other projects with community upliftment and environmental concerns.

GMAT: not given yet, but aiming at 700+

Extra cirricullar: Football captain at college and represented college in Cricket, hostel secretary for 2 years
in college representing 200 students.

Institutes aiming at: Kellog, Harvard, Wharton, Tucks, Yale

Future aspirations: Want to do MBA with Marketing and entrepreneurship as majors, would like to go to non-profit consultation after MBA in short term and becoming a social entrepreneur in the long term.

Kindly comment if I fit into the above colleges with below-average acads and such work ex. And your suggestions for B schools.

Hi, Girdhari. Your recent work experience sounds interesting and just the type of non-traditional leadership that the top programs are seeking. Get a GMAT over 700 and demonstrate that you have the mindset of a leader and not just a programmer, and yes, I do believe you stand a chance at the top programs. Be sure to explain your class rank (if it was in the top 10-20% of the class) to explain the low GPA.

Best of luck!
Regards,
Jennifer Bloom, CPRW
Accepted-Helping you write your best!

[Accepted]

Originally Posted by target-09

Hi Jennifer,

I am planning to apply for Fall 2009 to top US/UK B-Schools. Could it be possible for you to please suggest few reputed B-Schools for my profile.

GMAT: 680 ( Q-50, V-32)
B.Tech: IIT Delhi ( Ranked no. 1 in India and 23rd worldover )
GPA: 5.5/10
Sex: Female
Work Ex.-till August 2008- 5 years ( 1 year in a Business Research and analytics firm, 4 years in leading Public Sector Enterprise )
Extracurriculars: Average
Community work: Nil , but for some rehabilitation work as part of job in the Public Sector Enterprise.

Post-MBA I wish to get into finance ( wealth management or i-banking), though I dont have any bckground in finance so far. Please suggest few schools for me. I may be wrong, but I consider that an MBA has more to do with brand value that it gives. Therefore, I am looking for reputed programs but given my gmat score I am not sure if I can be through in a top-program.

Looking forward to hear from you.
Thanks and regards,

As a woman, Target-09, you can have a lower GMAT, so your 680 will probably be fine. Your work experience seems interesting and the fact that it is in the public sector offsets the lack of extracurricular community activity. Be sure to prove that you have been leading initiatives and changing mindsets to demonstrate that you have the elements of a successful business leader.

I do agree that some of the MBA is brand, but I believe that the caliber of students (and the experiences you will hear about from them) at the different institutions matches their respective brands. The friends and contacts that students make among their HBS classes are significantly less accomplished than those at a low-ranked school. This is one reason why school visits and contact with current students and alumni are so helpful in making your decisions about programs – you will naturally select the program in which you feel comfortable.

The strong finance programs include Columbia, Kellogg, Wharton, MIT, NYU, HBS, Chicago, Ross, Georgetown and Simon (with Georgetown and Simon on the less competitive side of the admissions spectrum). I also believe that Yale may make sense for you given your public service background – the Yale network is very wide and will grant its graduates access to pretty much any industry.

You will definitely need to prove that you know something about finance and why you want to join this industry or else the schools will reject your goals as non-realistic. Be sure to think about your career path and connect your past to this ideal future.

Best of luck!

Regards,
Jennifer Bloom, CPRW
Accepted – Helping you write your best!

[Accepted]

Originally Posted by get2set2go

Hi Jennifer,

Originally Posted by get2set2go

This is Vishnu.

Below is my profile:

1) Education : Btech Computer Sciences

Always in the top 10% of the competition.

2) Work experience :

Started career with my one of the leading Indian IT service providers
I have worked in diverse fields such as Strategy ( in house Group), project execution, pre sales across various geographical regions such as the India, United Kingdom and the United States of America while working with them.


Received various performance recognition awards and was consistently rated as Star performer. Played a key role in developing a 10 million dollar business of theirs.

Since then i moved to an IT consultancy here in US .I played an important role in setting up a practice of theirs. off late working with a start up as a contractor to gain enough exposure to the world of start ups in the bay area. I have been working with them for the last 6 months. I am working with them in the role of program analyst.

3) GMAT Score : 740 ( 50Q,40V)

4) Hobbies : Script writing . Scripted a lot of plays both at the school and the college level.

5) Social Service : Worked as a volunteer for a blood bank. I have volunteered for Red cross here in the US for about a couple of times.

6) passion and Career Goal : Strategy ( Management Consulting)

What are my Stretch Schools ( I have a decent chance)?

What are my safe schools ?

If I plan to apply for the class of 2010, what should i do in the next one year to bolster my application to schools like Duke,Darden.


Thanks a lot in advance!

Hi, Vishnu. Your career sounds like it could be interesting. If as a program analyst you are guiding teams and working across departments to improve operations, then you should have little problem demonstrating your professional leadership and teamwork in the MBA applications. I am concerned that you don't seem to have community leadership – volunteering in a blood bank is nice but it isn't the type of visionary leadership in the community that the top programs (including Duke and Darden) are seeking. Your GMAT is nice, but it really does not offset that weak non-work leadership.

I suggest you spend the next couple of weeks identifying an area of the community in which you would like to make a big impact and planning how to do that. You will need to recruit people to your mission then overcome obstacles to see it through over the next 6 months or more and make some kind of quantifiable impact. This will make great material for your applications and demonstrate that you have the people skills and leadership mindset in the community that Duke and Darden are seeking.

Frankly, there are no safe schools – but you may find it easier to gain admission to schools with low GMAT averages; your score will give them a good boost.

Best of luck!

Regards,
Jennifer Bloom, CPRW
Accepted – Helping you write your best!