[delmia]

Hi Jennifer,

I am planning for MBA in US for fall '10 intake.
My GMAT score is 750.

Here is the brief outline of my profile:

-4 yr workex....first 2 yr in software development. Switched to fixed income research after clearing CFA. Have been wrking with one of the UK's top banks as an assistant manager.
-CFA two level cleared.
-done my graduation from IIT roorkee with cgpa of 6.8.

I can show an outstanding performance during my two years at current firm. But my major concern is my low CGPA.
Can I target for top 15 B-schools in US?

Many Thanks

[pushing_hard]

Hello Jenifer,
At first, I appreciate your efforts in responding to so many queries.
I too have a major concern right now, and I guess you could be the right person to give a neat answer.
As I said, my concern is that I have been waitlisted by the Rotman School of Management for the current year intake. I had send an email to the director (who had sent a mail regarding my admission status), asking her to comment on my application. Fortunately or Unfortunately, I have not got any response from her . During an MBA Fair, I got a chance to meet the person who had interviewed me earlier. The response I got from the admission member was to send an email and he said he will add the email content in the admission file. As said, I have sent an email stating my career progression since I had submitted my application.
Could you suggest me, what else I can do in this regard? Do I need to do something in addition to this?
How should I make the adcom team understand that I am very much interested in the program? and how frequent do I need to send them email?

Thank you,
Pushing hard

[Accepted]

Originally Posted by aks_breathless

hi. thanks for the great work ur doing.

plz tell me if its worth applying in the top5 mba progs.

1. CA (chartered accountancy) rank 20 all india, CFA all levels cleared, b.com 76%
2. gmat 740
3. have two and half years full time articleship experience(compulsory for CA) at a CA firm.
4. leadership- led a team of 5 and had significant contact(face time) with the clients at the CA firm.
5. specialization in taxation.
6. social work- involved in a ngo as a fund raiser for the last 4 years raised upto 20000$
4. currently at a bulge bracket i- bank ( have been there for 1 year )- equity research analyst.


ques??
1. will my full time articleship experience count as work ex?
2. i am interested in buy side asset management in future. is it better to do mba or msc finance?
3. have traded on my own capital&racked up 40% gains on 100k $, should i mention this in my application?

thx a lot.

Hi, aks_breathless.

Your GMAT is good and your IB experience does sound interesting, so yes I would say it is worth applying. Keep in mind that the top programs are only interested in the top applicants, so your job will be to prove that you have interesting experience that will benefit the class. Both the MBA and MSc degrees are helpful in a buy-side future; in my experience, it is easier to earn an acceptance to the MSc programs than it is to the MBA programs.

Yes, your full time articleship experience will count as long as it was after graduation. But I wouldn't focus much of the application on that experience since MBA programs are not wooed by accounting or accounting experience.

Best of luck!

Regards,
Jennifer Bloom, CPRW

Accepted-Helping you write your best!

[Accepted]

Originally Posted by kampar50

Hi Jennifer,

I am planning to enroll for full time MBA in USA. I have 14+ years of experience in IT industry and currently working as Director of a small US based MNC in India. Could you please advice which US schools would take my application seriously for full time MBA

Regards

Hi, Kampar. With over 14 years of experience, most full-time MBA programs will consider you "overqualified" and not appropriate for their programs. Remember that their job is to prepare graduates for positions that recruiters are offering; with 14 years of experience, you are not what the recruiters are looking for.

On the other hand, EMBA programs are especially designed for you and would probably love to have you. I recommend you look into the top EMBA programs - the Wall Street Journal ranked Kellogg and Wharton the best in this field. I also highly recommend the one year, full-time immersion programs aimed at older students: MIT Sloan Fellows, Stanford Sloan Masters, and LBS Sloan Fellowship.

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

[Accepted]

Originally Posted by sleeper911

Hi Jennifer,

I am planning for my MBA in UK for Sept 09 intake.

Please find below my profile :

GMAT: 610 ( I know its low but i cant give it again)
3 years work ex .. wil be around 3.8 by sept 09
Industy : Media
Job profile : Sales
Extra Cur: National Cadet corp , Working with NGO on weekends
college events.
do you review SOP also if yes please let me know your email ID.

Regards

Sumair

Hi, Sumair. While your 610 GMAT probably precludes you from an offer from LBS, there are other excellent programs in the UK.
I do review the essays. Feel free to send them to me at jbloom@accepted.com for a free assessment of what work they may need.

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

[Accepted]

Originally Posted by sushilbansal

Hi Jennifer,

I want to apply for an enterpreneuship program. Can you please suggest me the top10 colleges.

My GMAT score is 720
I am IT professional with 3.5 years of experience

And how to respond to the following question:

- Describe yourself

Hi, Sushilbansal. The top entrepreneurship MBA programs include UCLA, MIT, Stanford, HBS, Haas, Wharton, Tuck, Columbia, and Babson.
The "describe yourself" question is a challenge, I agree. What I like to do for this one is look at the rest of the essays and determine what examples you will be sharing in those first. Then, we can assess what areas of your background are "missing" and concentrate on those characteristics in this essay with supporting examples that demonstrate "you in action."
Best of luck!
Regards,
Jennifer Bloom, CPRW
Accepted-Helping you write your best!

[Accepted]

Originally Posted by delmia

Hi Jennifer,

I am planning for MBA in US for fall '10 intake.
My GMAT score is 750.

Here is the brief outline of my profile:

-4 yr workex....first 2 yr in software development. Switched to fixed income research after clearing CFA. Have been wrking with one of the UK's top banks as an assistant manager.
-CFA two level cleared.
-done my graduation from IIT roorkee with cgpa of 6.8.

I can show an outstanding performance during my two years at current firm. But my major concern is my low CGPA.
Can I target for top 15 B-schools in US?

Many Thanks

Yes, Delmia, you can certainly target the top 15 programs. Your GMAT and CFA exams offset your GPA to some extent, and it will also help if you can demonstrate that you graduated well within the class (top 25% would be good, in my opinion). The key is going to be demonstrating through your essays that you have the intellect, drive, and interpersonal abilities that these programs are seeking.
Regards,
Jennifer Bloom, CPRW
Accepted - Helping you write your best!

[Accepted]

Originally Posted by pushing_hard

Hello Jenifer,
At first, I appreciate your efforts in responding to so many queries.
I too have a major concern right now, and I guess you could be the right person to give a neat answer.
As I said, my concern is that I have been waitlisted by the Rotman School of Management for the current year intake. I had send an email to the director (who had sent a mail regarding my admission status), asking her to comment on my application. Fortunately or Unfortunately, I have not got any response from her . During an MBA Fair, I got a chance to meet the person who had interviewed me earlier. The response I got from the admission member was to send an email and he said he will add the email content in the admission file. As said, I have sent an email stating my career progression since I had submitted my application.
Could you suggest me, what else I can do in this regard? Do I need to do something in addition to this?
How should I make the adcom team understand that I am very much interested in the program? and how frequent do I need to send them email?

Thank you,
Pushing hard

Hi, Pushing hard. The waitlist is not a death sentence, so hang in there!

First, I think it will help you if you understand how they make their decisions about the waitlist. Basically, they have decided you are good enough and now they are trying to shape their class. As they review other applications and receive answers from the applicants they have offered places to, they will have a better sense of whether you will make a good fit to round out the class.

The first thing you should do is assess any weaknesses in your application and work to overcome them (you can send me your application at jbloom@accepted.com for a free, brief assessment of what those weaknesses may be). If your GMAT is only just in their range, then boost it to above the average. If you have fewer years of experience, then be sure to include details in your updates of the leadership and fast progression you have achieved in your career. If your extracurricular leadership is limited, then take the time to lead a large initiative in the next month and write to them about it. I suggest you write to them with an update every 3 weeks to a month.

You may also want to visit the school to prove your interest – and this is another great opportunity to gather information and personal contact to write about in your updates. A visit not only shows your sincere interest; it also allows you to demonstrate that you really do know that you will fit in well. Also, if you get along particularly well with a student or students on campus, you can ask them to write a brief email in support of your candidacy to the admissions office.

As you can see, there is a lot for a waitlisted candidate to do to keep him/herself busy! If it doesn't work out this year, waitlisted candidates do very well when reapplying in the subsequent year. So, really, your waitlisted status is not bad at all!

Good luck!

Regards,

Jennifer Bloom, CPRW

Accepted-Helping you write your best!

[puneetmathur200]

HI Jennifer ,

I am Puneet Mathur , from New Delhi ,India . I have completed my Bachelors in Engineering (Computer Science) from A+ Indian Universtity .

I wanted to apply for the Masters Of Applied Information Technology course at Monash University .

Please can you tell me the Placement scenario & Job prospects of the students haven done this course in the past .
Also if i get myself sponsered by an Australian citizen , then how much less do i have to pay .

Thanks & Regards

Puneet Mathur

[t.rawal]

Hi Jennifer. Have a query that has been nagging me for some time now. My work experience is on the lower side (2 years as of today) and I want to switch fields after my MBA (currently in merchandising exports switch to media/FMCG branding).However I am concerned that even if I get into a good MBA program (in Asia/Europe), I will not be able to get a creative job profile in an industry of my choice as recruiters would prefer candidates with more work experience in a related field.
I don't want to invest so much time/money in an MBA and end up in an industry/job I have no interest in.This is my biggest fear.

Will I be considered a fresher due to my unrelated work experience? Plus it is in a family business so will this go against me? Am quite worried about this.

Please advise urgently.