[binny.gen]

Hi Jeniffer,

I have a general query on the essays in applications. Most Bschools give a word limit for each of their essays.
My question is, how strict are they on this word limit? Is, say, a 10% leeway acceptable?

Thanks in advance,
Binny

[tarusardana]

Hi Jenifer

I need your help in selecting US Univ. for MBA and giving a first hand view of my profile and standing and areas of improvement. I am interested in
General MBA.

GMAT- 740
Xth---- 84.16%
XIIth--- 79.2%
B.Tech( Info. and Comm. Technology) -- 76.8% (from an rapidly growing in rank private college DA-IICT)

Extra-curricular- Avg. Was member of organizing committee for 1year in college and have organized various cultural and sports events.
Won a few drama contest etc.

Work-Ex: 3years as of today in IT-Software.
Have been a step ahead of my peers. received accolades from customer (i-Pod shuffle). have also trained new joinees.
but the problem is in IT-Software in such time u can't get a managerial profile n experience and to prove such traits that i have displayed there is no tangible proof like certificate etc.

Schools selected:
ISB (India)
Rotman (Canada)

From USA

CMU-Tepper
Michigan-Ross
Texas-McCombs
NC-Kenan Flagler
Indiana-Kelley
Duke-Fuqua

please help me in gauging my chances.
and what do above schools look for.
areas of improvement.

[Zeus09]

Hi Jennifer and the rest of Accepted.com team,

2 things before I start talking my specific case.

Firstly, kudos and bravo! This thread is one of the best I have come across thus far in many websites on MBA discussion.

Secondly, I have read as many questions as possible and have got answers/more clarity to many of questions/doubts. As much as I have got answers to my questions, I also understood that each candidate is unique and that what he/she requires to do in the way forward also differs which is why I put forward my case to you.

About me:

- Xth class: 80.4%
- Xth class: 94.4% (stood first in the school in commerce and could easily be amongst the top 20 in India cos my score was 472/500)

- Post schooling went to a well known reputed college for B Com but discontinued after 20 days as I wanted to focus on my Chartered Accountancy course (CA). Pursued B Com through distance education and scored 58% overall.

- Performance in CA was good with all the 3 levels cleared in the first attempt with good scores. In the first and the second level called PE-I and PE-II got scores close to all India 30th rank and all India 50th rank resp. In the final secured All-India 38th rank. Here I can probably justify my low score in B Com which really does not carry much value and also given the fact that I wanted to focus on B Com and did so quite effectively. Your thoughts pls...

- I also did my 3 year internship during CA with PricewaterhouseCoopers. The first two have been learning while the third year has been further learning plus managing and leading small teams of 2/3 and small assignments. This meant planning the audit, allocating work to other team members, reviewing and guiding the junior members and liaising with client personnel. Can this be a case for my leadership/managerial skills? You may disagree cos this was merely an internship and was for a short period where I did not build on it and take it forward.
So academically I think I am quite well positioned. Please let me know your thoughts. My only concern is that adcoms might raise eyebrows over my dismal B Com scores which I hope justify through my much better scores in a professional exam, CA. Am I right?

- Post qualification, I have been working with Morgan Stanley for the past 21 months in the investment banking division. However, this is the back office of Morgan Stanley. In terms of the exposure I have got and my acquaintance with the banking world, the work that we do here is exactly the same as any of the front office analyst. Working on live deals, pitches, etc. The one thing that is lacking is client interaction.

- On my professional experience (and I would like to talk about this cos I am looking at a similar career post MBA and thought would make sense to talk about this) I have had a very good exposure when it comes to investment banking and have good transaction experience. Have been a part of and played the role of the primary analyst in 3 IPOs, 3 M&A transactions (2 of them high profile cross border) and several projects. To this end, I have been exposed to all of what an analyst is expected to do but for client interaction (however have had that experience in PwC). And my performance has been acknowledged by my seniors (associates, VP and above) and can get that on my recos as well.

- I have also been selected for a rotation with the front office for a 3 month period amongst 10 candidates who were interviewed. This would now give me the one thing that was lacking ie client interaction. This probably closely resembles promotion and would be exactly that if I can convert that rotation/internship to a permanent role. However I consider this an achievement all the other candidates were quite senior to me (even those who have spent 12 months more than me) and also the fact that I am the youngest to be selected for a rotation in the present market condition. Just to clarify, interviews were not the only selection criteria as feedback from colleagues also counted immensely and the 10 candidates for the interviews were shortlisted based on their work experience and credentials.

- So guess, professionally it has been pretty good and enriching. However the one thing that is nagging me is, despite my work experience and exposure being comparable and close to a real investment banking analyst, I fear that on paper since I have been a with a back office and not the front office might work against me. This has been my biggest concern when I think of MBA as I understand that the quality of workex matters a lot to the adcoms.

- On the community service, been a part of an effort initiated by a group of professional to semi-adopt an under privileged kid studying in a particular school for the last 15 months. This means that I sponsor the education of one kid, follow the progress of the kid, talk to him regularly, motivate him to get higher scores, talk to the school teachers and parents about his progress. In addition, for the group of kids as a whole, we take them out for some special occasions to restaurants/gaming places that they cannot afford and take classes on every weekend. Though we work together we are also individually responsible for ensuring the progress child that we have semi-adopted. Am also a part of the charity committee of our office where we organise various programs/drives.
So been involved in community service only post qualification but guess have done justice.

- Extra curricular has been pretty decent. Been a part of the school football team and was the vice-captain in 11th and then the captain in 12th. No college after 12th and hence limited scope for extra-curricular activities. Have formally learnt chess and have participated in tournaments and won not too many prizes. Have learnt vocal classical music and have participated in many competitions and won a few prizes too. Continued learning vocal music even after 12th for about 2 years when my internship took a toll on my time where I had to discontinue. Keen on keeping my association with classical music cos of my interest, have been learning classical music on an instrument for the last 8 months and hope to continue learning for as long as possible.
So extra curricular to me was football, chess and classical music.

- Finally, GMAT where I am confident of getting a good score that would make the top schools consider me for a moment. 750 is what I am aiming though it is too early for me to talk give a number.

- At the end of the story, and if you have been reading all the way till here a special thanks for that, I would like to know the following:

1. How my profile looks for an MBA finance from the top b-schools?
2. What should I do to improve my chances/compensate for the shortfalls that I cannot do much about like say my B Com score or my back office experience (if at all that really matters)?
3. May sound like a stupid question, yet do u think there is something that I can do which will secure my chances of getting an letter of acceptance? I am willing to take any effort and go the extra mile
4. What do you think is the character/accomplishment/strong point that stands out JUST WITHIN MY PROFILE? Did not mean to brag here. Honestly wanted to know it so that I can leverage on it effectively.
5. Please list the best schools for finance. I am quite passionate about finance and wanna do an MBA in it from a top b school just for the knowledge it provides. Ofcourse I am interested in the money that it brings along with it.

Thanks again if you are still reading it and would be very happy if you could answer my questions above. Happy to give you further details if you want. Thanks again!

[USS]

Hi Jennifer
I aspire to do an MBA and have taken the GMAT recently. I need your help regarding the selection of B Schools . I have gone through many posts and replies in this section and want to express my gratitude to you for painstakingly clearing doubts of other MBA aspirants. Before I frame my question I want to brief on my profile.

Class X - 90 %
Class XII - 76%
B Tech in Ocean Engineering and Naval Architecture from one of the premier engineering institutes of India (Indian Institute of Technology).
Undergraduate GPA - 8.65 on a scale of 10
Work Exp - 3 years in the ship building /ship designing sector ( No foreign deputation till now )
My work experience due to the nature of the industry is not strictly
managerial though I m presently holding the position of a Team Lead.
Extra Curricular - Decent , not so striking.
GMAT - 760 ; QA(50) VA(41)
AWA - 6

Now I shall briefly state my difficulties . My first job entailed a good amount of responsibility and I worked in that company for 18 months .
My second job, which is also the present one, has not helped me bag too many achievements mostly due to the cancellation of several projects as an aftermath of recession.I have almost been for 19 months in my second job too. Also , since the shipbuilding industry has the culture of assigning significant managerial roles and responsibilities only to the experienced ones (5 yrs +) it is quite difficult to mould my cv in the conventional B School way. I am currently preferring 1 year MBA course and hence have boiled down to 3 choices ISB Hyderabad , INSEAD and NUS for the approaching session.Do you think that my choices are level-headed considering my profile. I would also request you to state some more B Schools which you think might be suitable for me . Moreover , I am not ruling out 2 year program absolutely and therefore if you feel I should consider applying to a few of them please suggest .

Thanks and Regards
USS

[alphasumit]

Hi Jennifer,

I am a 2010 fall aspirant. My Profile is as follows:

GMAT: 710(Q: 49, V: 38 )

Exp.: 4+ yrs by Sep,2010 IT

Acads: ok ok
X: 78%
XII: 67%
B.Tech.(CSE): 71.3%

Extra Curr.: Not much. I play a lot of games like Lawn Tennis, Badminton, Pool ,Snooker, Squash, cricket etc. I am an avid reader and read a lot. I was also one of the organizers of the Technical Festival in my college.

Specialization interested in: General Mgmt/Strategy/Entrepreneurship

I have lead a team for around 18 months and was responsible for the training activities of the new joinees in the project.

My USP is the diversity I offer. I have worked for 3 different clients like Bank of America, Wachovia and American Express and many domains like credit cards, Data warehousing, Credit Bureau , Associate application development etc. I have worked for 5 different projects and 6 different technologies . So, I have had to adapt quickly to the technology, people and work culture of the different teams. 4 of the 5 projects that I have worked had really tight deadlines and since my company had got work in those areas for the first time, there was additional pressure to do well to gain a foothold in that area.

Though I have no International experience, I have interacted with clients from different locations like Australia, US and China. Also, I have stayed at 6 states and 9 different cities across India and have had to deal with different cultures and different mindsets of the people. I am a punjabi born in Rajasthan who belongs to Delhi.

I have always been above average at everything but not exceptional at anything. So I would like to pursue MBA in General Management with a focus on Consulting so that I gain insight into the various aspects of running a business as my long term goal is to start my own business in 10-15 years after MBA.

1. So could you please suggest 2-3 Stretch schools and 2-3 schools where I stand a very good chance with a good scholarship. Please take into consideration that securing finances is a big issues for me. So basically I am looking for decent schools with good ROI.

2. Do you think it would be good decision to join an average B-School in the current scenario?

3. Also, do you think I will be able to switch my domain from IT to General Management or Consulting post MBA in this slowdown, even if I graduate in fall 2012?

[Accepted]

Originally Posted by @nee!

First of all, thanks for your time and wonderful replies. I am an MBA aspirant and have a few queries. Here, go my details

10th : 85.4%
12th : 92.3%
B-Tech :87.2%

GMAT : Yet to be taken,
Age : 23

Experience: Will complete 2 years this June

Organization: Infosys Technologies
Role : S/W Engr and acting technical lead


Leadership and community services:
1.
a) Was Class Representative during engg for 4 years
b) School Captain
c) Was Sercretary Of Mechanical Engineering Association
2. Trained in BOXING,KARATE
3. Participated and Lead a team of 5 in national Symposiums organised by reputated colleges during Engg.
4. Was head of Personal Relations and Organizer of the Technical Symposium organised by us(my college)
5. Member of ECO club,dealing with environmental based problems.
6. Is a member of Canteen Committee at work place
7. Partcipate in community services organized by my organization.
8. Regular blood donor. Need based as well as in camps(But dont have certificate for all)
9. Joined an NGO and doing good work there.


Awards/Recognition/Certificates:

1. Several awards related to work from my Company.
2. Blood Donationation certificates
3. Won many prizes, certificates from IITs in ROBOTICS competitions conducted at national and international level.
4. Volunteer certificate for organising events in college.
5. Paper Published in International Journal.
6. Diploma in SPANISH. planning for the same in FRENCH


Recommendation Letters:
Have 3 strong Recommendation letters from Superviser, Manager and Lecturer from college(MCA).


My Queries:

1.Could you please let me know the the B Schools out of GLOBAL TOP 30 schools which provide 100% Loan?

2. Suppose, if I get a score of 740 or above then what are my chances in top 20 B-Schools if I target MIT, Chicago, Columbia, Yale, Duke, Tuck, Ross, Boston,? I see my carrer in Sales and Marketing/ Finance.

3. Can you please suggest other reputated schools where my chances are bright?

4. What more can I do to substantiate my profile?

5. Having a work-ex of just 2 years, shall i wait for 1-2 years n get a 3-4 year exp to get into TOP 20 Schools ?

Hello, @nee!. You are still very young and I encourage you to try for the next couple of years to advance to roles beyond the typical "software engineer with Infosys" before you apply to B-school. Right now your profile can be written by literally hundreds of others; however, the top 30 b-schools are seeking candidates who have demonstrated an ability to lead people and initiatives at work beyond the typical.

A 740 GMAT will not be enough to get you into these programs – it's a good GMAT score, but without the leadership and business experience it has little value. To prove that you have what it takes to succeed in a career in sales, marketing, and/or finance, you will need to share in your essays examples of your experiences in these fields (even if your official title is not in these departments, you can still earn experience in them by stepping up to new roles and earning responsibilities beyond the norm – this is the exactly the quality that the top b-schools are looking for in their applicants).

Most of the top MBA programs have now repaired their ailing loan programs and are once again partnering with banks in the US to offer no-cosigner loans for non-US citizens, so financial aid should no longer be an issue.

Good luck with the applications!

Regards,

Jennifer Bloom, CPRW

Accepted-Helping you write your best!

[Accepted]

Originally Posted by petesam

Hi Jennifer,

Could you please evaluate my profile an advice a rank bracket(US and CANADA b schools) where I have a reasonable/fighting chance.

Age : 22
Qualification: Electronics and Telecommunication engineering (16yrs)
Internship: 1 yr (Electronics firm)
Full time work ex: 1yr (as a trainer in an IT institute), I also do freelance web site development stuff.
GMAT: 730 (48/42/4.5)
GPA: ~3.7

>> Have been genuinely leading student council activities in college and have relevant certificates.

>> technical paper that won prizes in reputed events.

>> Won district level talent search contests and many other contests in schools.

------------

I have been reading your posts and have noted your opinion that good schools expect 3-5 years of work ex.

*1* So on their websites, why do they encourage early career MBA aspirants to apply? What do they look for in such applications.

*2* As an early applicant, what should I most focus on in my application?

*3* What exactly constitutes community leadership?

*4* Rankings on b schools in CANADA differs a great deal. Could you shed some light on these?

Thank you

Hi, Petesam.

In my opinion, "early career" means at least two years of experience and it is for applicants who have demonstrated exceptional leadership and impact in college and in those first two years of work. So far, your profile does not seem to reflect that, so it does not appear to me that you are a good fit for early career admission. While the schools are definitely interested in recruiting younger students – both because this keeps good prospects in the business school pipeline and out of the law school pipeline and because recruiters like younger applicants – I also believe that they encourage so many early career applicants to apply because this boosts their own statistics (a higher number of applicants with the same low number of acceptances equals a more statistically competitive admissions process, a value that is used in b-school rankings).

Early career applicants need to demonstrate

1) that they have gained relevant experience that will be helpful to their classmates,

2) that they have already developed a high level of leadership and business experience that will be the foundation for their MBA studies and future career

Community leadership is not just volunteering or donating; it is recruiting people to join you in a mission and then cajoling and guiding them in executing that mission to make a significant impact. For example, leading student council activities is nice, but to impress admissions committees you would have to show that you led very large initiatives involving a lot of people who are not usually involved.

Yes, the Canadian rankings do vary. I suggest you compare recruiting/salary differences and speak to current students and recent graduates to gauge their satisfaction with the programs before you apply.

Regards,

Jennifer Bloom, CPRW

Accepted-Helping you write your best!

[USS]

Hi Jennifer
I aspire to do an MBA and have taken the GMAT recently. I need your help regarding the selection of B Schools . I have gone through many posts and replies in this section and want to express my gratitude to you for painstakingly clearing doubts of other MBA aspirants. Before I frame my question I want to brief on my profile.

Class X - 90 %
Class XII - 76%
B Tech in Ocean Engineering and Naval Architecture from one of the premier engineering institutes of India (Indian Institute of Technology).
Undergraduate GPA - 8.65 on a scale of 10
Work Exp - 3 years in the ship building /ship designing sector ( No foreign deputation till now )
My work experience due to the nature of the industry is not strictly
managerial though I m presently holding the position of a Team Lead.
Extra Curricular - Decent , not so striking.
GMAT - 760 ; QA(50) VA(41)
AWA - 6

Now I shall briefly state my difficulties . My first job entailed a good amount of responsibility and I worked in that company for 18 months .
My second job, which is also the present one, has not helped me bag too many achievements mostly due to the cancellation of several projects as an aftermath of recession.I have almost been for 19 months in my second job too. Also , since the shipbuilding industry has the culture of assigning significant managerial roles and responsibilities only to the experienced ones (5 yrs +) it is quite difficult to mould my cv in the conventional B School way. I am currently preferring 1 year MBA course and hence have boiled down to 3 choices ISB Hyderabad , INSEAD and NUS for the approaching session.Do you think that my choices are level-headed considering my profile. I would also request you to state some more B Schools which you think might be suitable for me . Moreover , I am not ruling out 2 year program absolutely and therefore if you feel I should consider applying to a few of them please suggest .

Thanks and Regards
USS

[Accepted]

Originally Posted by aarti.batra

hello.
can u plz let me know wat are the top 15 colleges in mat(sept-09).
M an avg student (75 to 80 percentile scorer), so which 5 colleges would u suggest me to fill in mat.
please let me know. my email id i<Snip>
I will be greatful to you.
Regards
Aarti

I'm sorry, Aarti, but I have no idea what you are asking me here. What is mat?

Regards,

Jennifer Bloom, CPRW

Accepted-Helping you write your best!

[viren15288]

Hello mam,
i hav just passed my B.E degree in information technology and going to appear for MAT,CAT,XAT this year. regarding this i need a better counseling for which branch to select in the B-schools.although i hav done my BE in information tech. i need to know which stream will be suitable for me.......

and one more thing is that how i should prepare so that i can crack MAT this year......