[Accepted]

Originally Posted by rahuluce1

Hi Jennifer..
Just read all your posts in less than 2 hrs (around queries posted by fellow gentlemen). I found them just too good. Hope you can help me with the below given profile and asses the same for me:
Planning to app for full time MBA Fall 2010 session in top 10 US b Schools.
Educational Background
Majored in Civil Engg from Indian Institute of Technology with 6.72/10 in 2005.
GMAT 700 (49,35 ) AWA 5.0
Work Experience
Total workex anticipated till Aug'10 - 5 years
First 14 months of workex into R&D in IT
Past 36 months in Citigroup and Credit Suisse on Credit Risk Management desk.
Grew from nothing in Citigroup to person handling the exposure management on credit derivatives. (4 direct reports) Developing the methodology on how to clac exposure on credit derivatives. Witnessed the turmoil in credit markets. Instrumental in saving banks capital. Was promoted from India desk to Singapore desk in a span of 6 months.
Also started my own quant based trading firm based out of india. Intent was good but the timing was wrong. Had to wind up my operations and joined Credit Suisse AG.
Worked in Citigroup for 17 months for their sub prime loan and mortgage business. (Securitization and MBS stuff)
part time teaching stuff mainly into quants.. helping students with CAT for 1 year.
Internships
Internships with government and research organizations for almost 6 months. Represented my institute at IISc Bangalore fellowship programme.
Hobbies
My hobbies would include reading Japanese mangas and watching Japanese animation serials. Apart from the above I love watching international movies and trek a lot during my adventure trips. As an ardent member of The Himalayan Explorers Club I organized and participated in many adventure sports events like white water rafting, rock climbing, cycle races, etcetera etcetera. My interest in adventure sports can be judged from the fact that I am now getting trained at a scuba diving school, which in turn would help me complete the trio of adventure sports in air, land and sea. Apart from a die hard fan of adventure sports, people consider me a good cook specializing in Indian vegetarian delicacies.

Extras

Convener of college cultural festival .
Resurrected and revamped the dying NSS program. Awarded the post of secretary of NSS (National Service Scheme).
Elected member of student senate for the session 2002-2003.
Co-coordinator publicity and promotion cell for the college technical festival
Won the third prize in the inter college quiz FLUIDUS.
Organized inter college quiz FLO at IIT .
Awarded 1st prize at the institute level Entertainment quiz.
Won 1st prize at the institute level debate competition “Cross Fire”
Won 1st prize at the institute level quiz competition “Shock $Awe”
Event organizer annual cycle race at IIT for Himalayan Explorers Club .
Organized 2nd Open National Taekwondo Championship-04
Representing Credit Suisse in Indonesia (Batam) for building homes for the under privileged.
Career Goals
Would like to resurrect and revamp my trading firm. Looking more closely towards acquiring the skill sets required to "at least" get the timing right and networking through international MBA.
Personal Traits
Through and through I am passionate about whatever I decide to do. My biggest achievement “My Trading firm”….., my biggest mistake I couldn’t time it well…… But still that gives me a hard enough kick to revamp it and resurrect it again.
My most intimidating personal trait- beat the very best in the game.
My weakness- an ever increasing incontrollable aggressiveness.
My biggest strength – would do anything to make two ends meet.
Generally, I would be the one who would start building a structure from the scratch and oversee that it gets completed within the given timeframe, given resources and given conditions.

Would be great if you have something to say about the above or particular schools I should target..

Thanks
Rahul

Hi, Rahul. Whatever you do, tone down the "incontrollable aggressiveness" for the MBA applications; these programs are looking for people-oriented leaders, and aggression is the antithesis of that!
I have two suggestions for you. First, you can apply to a range of MBA programs. Frankly, I don't see Wharton/HBS etc. in your future (your GMAT is just average and I don't see exceptional leadership yet in your profile), but I do think you stand a chance at the second tier programs if you talk about your entrepreneurial experience, your adventure activities (and how you get others involved in them), and your position on the vanguard resurrecting the MBS markets ;-). I highly recommend Accepted's Finance Professional's Guide to MBA Admissions Success as a resource to get your application process started.
I also suggest you consider MSc in Finance programs. These require less evidence of leadership experience and are more focused on your number crunching ability, which you seem to have a lot of. If you attend one in a renowned university, you get an excellent advanced education plus a great name on your resume, and access to new recruiting opportunities.

Regards,

Jennifer Bloom, CPRW

Accepted-Helping you write your best!

[Accepted]

Originally Posted by prashantvaid

Hi,

What role does GMAT essay score play in MBA admissions?

Please advise.

Thanks...

Hi, Prashantvaid. I like to compare GMAT score to the foundations of a house: no one buys a home because it has a strong foundation but no one wants a house without one!
The schools use the GMAT to determine whether you have the ability to perform well in their program. A great score does not get you in but a bad score can keep you out.
Also, keep in mind that if you come from a large applicant pool (say, Indian IT guys), then there are many people like you. If the schools have to choose between two equally great guys but one has a 740 GMAT and the other has a 690 or 700, obviously they will choose the 740 - since GMAT scores are used in the rankings that are so critical to the top global MBA programs.

Regards,

Jennifer Bloom, CPRW

Accepted-Helping you write your best!

[rahuluce1]

Just one more question...
tier II schools in my case = ?

Many Thanks
Rahul

[varun.bullseye]

Hi Jennifer,

It must be a cliché for you by now, but I must say that you’re doing a commendable job!

Would request you to have a look at my profile and opine on my self-designed plan

GMAT – 710(Q47 V40) – 4th attempt

Work Experience: Currently 3.2 years; 4 years at matriculation

I spent the entire term working for one of Asia’s largest software exporters. I worked for clients based out of India, UK and USA. I worked as an assistant systems engineer, systems engineer and a business architect for each of the past 3 years.

Achievements at work:

• Awarded 100% Customer Satisfaction by the Additional Commissioner of Income Tax.
• Conferred with the Best Propeller award for training associates in the Proactive Program for Learning (PROPEL).
• Accredited by the Human Resources for presenting a paper on Information Security that helped associates to minimize security incidents.
• Adjudged the Best Defect Prevention & Causal Analysis Prime, an award granted for efficient defect tracking.
• Felicitated by the Head of Northern Region, for leading a team of 14 associates in the annual cultural confluence of one of the biggest Indian Conglomerates.

Academic Qualifications

• Bachelor of Engineering (Information & Communication Technology) 2002 - 2006 with a CGPA of 3.3/4.0

• Senior Secondary Certificate Examination (Central Board of Secondary Education) 2001 - 2002
with an overall score of 75.4 %

• Higher Secondary Certificate Examination (Central Board of Secondary Education) 1999 - 2000
with an overall score of 82.6 %

Community Service

• DCWA (Delhi Commonwealth Women's Association) - Have been teaching computer basics and English conversation classes for kids of all age groups, housewives and senior citizens, for the past one year.
• PROPEL (Pro-active Program for Employee Learning) - Organized 5 sessions aimed at team coherence .These sessions enable associates to hone their team building skills.
• As part of MAITREE – The corporate sustainability arm of my company, successfully organized outbound trips to slums and old age homes. Provided health awareness and consultation sessions to the underprivileged.
Co-Curricular Activities

• Received professional training in rappelling, archery and shooting from the National Adventure Foundation, New Delhi.
• Adjudged 2nd runner up, in university level Mr. Personality Competition, 2005.
• Led the rock band-Solstice, as lead singer, in 2 inter-college competitions.
• Led a team of 57 students in initiating the Club for IT interaction for Information Technology department.
• Won 6 awards in inter/intra college fests. Worked with the student council for organizing technical events for IEEE.
• Have won 12 awards for music, debating and calligraphy in school.
• As member of the student editorial board, led the HINDI Editorial section of the school magazine, 2001.
• Worked with the student council for organizing inter-school competitions and symposiums.
• Represented the North Zone in Earth Day Declamation Competition conducted by the DELHI MIDTOWN TABLE in 1996.


************************************************** ***

Career Objective

To work as a consultant in an IT consulting firm and strive for innovative ways to sell technology services and products to offset the dynamic consumer demands.

Since I want to move over IT Consulting/Marketing/Strategy and consider Return on investment to be a pivotal factor in deciding my B school, I have selected the following Scholarship friendly MBA Programs:

The Plan:

Krannert, Purdue University: by 1st November
Fisher, Ohio State University: by 15th November
Boston University School of management: by 15th November
ISB: by 1st December
NUS: by 1st December
Georgia Tech: by 15th December.

Keeping the above profile in mind, an average gmat score as well as having the label of the Indian IT Male written all over me, do you think I’m on the right track ? Or would you like to see more schools being appended to that list? In case you do , please mention the names of those programs with relevant reasons

Also, will it be over ambitious to apply to the likes of McCombs, Cornell, Ross and Tepper? These schools may not be scholarship friendly; however they have the best technology resources on offer.

I request you to please guide me appropriately.

PS : How will the adcom see the 4 attempts in the GMAT ?

Regards
Varun

[mvikred]

Hi Jennifer,

Could you please have a look at my profile and give any advice that you see fit to make it better.

****

I am a graduate from Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (IITB)

Bachelors in Mechanical Engineering
Masters in Computer Aided Design and Automation (Robotics)

GMAT score : 680 (q50 ; v30 ) (I plan to give it again as my verbal score took a plunge for reasons I still cannot fathom )

Unlike the numerous IT profiles that you see from India, I come from a very different background.

I worked with Schlumberger Oilfield Services Ltd. (#1 company in Oilfield Services) as a Field Engineer/Supervisor for 20 months.

Work involved managing a crew and operations right from notification of a job to delivering the final product to the client. I have worked in Peru primarily, but also worked briefly in Abu Dhabi and Rio de Janeiro.

2 months post-transfer to India, I decided to quit keeping in mind my deteriorating health because of unfavorable conditions experienced in the field life (being on the rigs and offshore platforms). Though the work was challenging, highly paid, and respected, I had to resign.

Since then I've been working with a start-up, as a Business Development Manager. The start-up is gaining momentum and getting bigger every day.

After I quit SLB, it gave me an opportunity to think about what my long-term career plan was and how I should proceed. After researching different industries, I came to conclude that Management Consulting is where I see myself. And thus my need for an MBA.

With my experience as a Masters graduate in automation and also experience in the Oil n Gas sector I can bring a lot to the table in terms of knowledge involved in Operations. Based on what my future plans are I have short-listed a few schools which will help me get where I want to be in the next 5 yrs.

Harvard (mainly because of it's strength in Strategy and a great faculty, and also it's case-based study, which suits my approach to theory)
Wharton (also for it's strong Consulting faculty )
IESE (in Spain, was set up with the help of Harvard and also follows a case-based study model)
ISB (set up with the help of McKinsey&Co. and also it's proximity to my home (30 mins drive))

I am a semi-professional drummer, played in a couple of bands and currently working with fellow musicians.
I was the chair for the Music Club in college and was involved with the organization of many music related events in my alma mater.
Picked up good amount of Spanish in Peru, along with prior knowledge of French (studied for 2 yrs, but very rusty right now). Like many Indians (who speak multiple languages), I am fluent in Telugu and Hindi.
Played sports at college level and represented IITB Cricket team.

Work related accomplishments are too elaborate to list out here, but based on the appraisals that I have received from my managers, my strengths were Initiative, Team Work, Strong Technical Knowledge and Hard Working.

Current work experience will only make sense after another 6 months, and maybe clients can vouch for my work.

Next year September, I will have a work exp of approx 3 yrs + .

This year I plan to apply in R2, just to give it a shot, but since I did not score as much as I thought I would on my GMAT, I plan to apply R1 next year(for 2011) after giving GMAT one last time.

I would be really grateful if you could advice me on how to strengthen my profile to get into the schools mentioned above, especially the first two.

***

Thanks a lot.

Regards

Vikas

[varun.bullseye]

hi jennifer

ru on a vacation ?

its been a while since we've seen ur post .

would request you to come back soon !

[dreamer1811]

Hi,
I am an IT professional with one of the best companies in india in the Outsources Product Development sphere with a total experience of 39 months. Below is my profile followed by my SOP for Olin B-School. Kindly provide your feedback on the same and suggest any improvements as you deem fit.
Thanks,
Dreamer1811.
----------------------------------------------------
Experience - 3 years 3 months in top notch IT company
Acads - Decent with schooling from very good schools
Extra curricular activities - V Good
Community Service - V Good, Also running my own small enterprise
GMAT - 690/5.5
--------------------------------------------------
-------------SOP for Olin Business School-------


1. Please provide a statement of purpose that describes your decision to pursue the Olin MBA or specialized master's degree for which you are applying for. Your response should include a thoughtful presentation of the personal and professional experiences that have led to your decision to pursue graduate management education. It should also provide an identification of your specific short- and long-term career objectives, an explanation of your decision to pursue this degree at this point in your life, a description of your specific interest in the Olin business school, and any other information that would help inform the admissions committee of your qualifications for our program. (500 – 1,000 words)


For me, getting an MBA from a reputed institution is both a long cherished dream, and a natural choice. Being a Bank manager’s son, I have always been fascinated by the multidimensional roles managers play in an organization and ever since my childhood I have imagined myself playing those roles someday. I have also continuously tried to broaden my horizons and to be able to be a more valuable member of the society at large. Be it my starting a book sharing club in my school so that students could have better access to books at the beginning of an academic year and the whole system of book distribution to students could be made more transparent and accountable, or starting and building my own franchisee business as an Amway Distributor and building a team for the same, I have always tried to push the boundaries that define me as a person.
I have always been someone who constantly tries to explore, learn new things and loves to interact with people. This helped me develop varied interests and have widely diverse experiences that shaped my personality thereby enabling me to make significant contributions to the organizations that I have belonged to throughout my academic and professional career.
Some of the most noticeable achievements from my early school days were representing my school at the All India Inter Public School Debate Competition held at Birla Public School, Pilani, receiving a certificate in Rock Climbing at the Rock Climbing Training Camp (RCTC) from NCC at Thiruvanantapuram, being adjudged the best Table Tennis Player in the Middles category and being adjudged the best Bowler in the Inter-house Cricket tournament while holding an Academic Star consistently for scoring more than 80% marks in my school exams.
After finishing school, when it came to selecting a graduation course, I chose the exciting field of Computer Engineering and cleared a highly competitive entrance test to secure a seat in one of the most promising Engineering Colleges in Bangalore. Even during college, I maintained a good academic record while being very active in various extra-curricular events organized in my college. I was a member of the editorial board of my college’s annual magazine, a regular emcee for various events organized in college and a member of the student placements committee. During the last semester of my Bachelor of Engineering course, I was given an opportunity to complete my industrial project at the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO). Apart from the amazing learning curve that this experience provided, this was also my first experience in the way a large organization functions and the various aspects of administration and management.

Upon completion of my engineering degree, I was selected at Aditi Technologies Pvt. Ltd., one of the best known IT companies of India in the outsourced product development domain. Working at Aditi has been one of the most enriching experiences of my life. I got my first lessons in corporate governance and entrepreneurial challenges when I started working at Aditi as a software engineer for some of the biggest and fastest growing internet-based enterprises.
It was at this stage that I became fascinated with the way a product, technical or otherwise, is conceived, built, marketed and ultimately sold to create a revenue-generating entity from a technical innovation. This fascination has grown over the past three-and-a-half years, and now I find myself enamored with the way business and technology coexist in a symbiotic relationship and the exciting opportunities this relationship provides to an individual with a technical background who aspires to have a bigger canvas to unleash his full potential by playing a bigger, more critical role of managerial nature.
I am also deeply convinced that this is the right time for me to do an MBA as I am at a juncture in my career where I have learnt a fair amount about the basics of organizational dynamics, am still young and creative and have enough fire in the belly to take on new challenges and learn new things. Moreover, growing up in different parts of the country, I have been a direct beneficiary of the social and cultural diversity of India. I am sure that this enriching experience will enable me to add value to any group that I become a part of because it has taught me to see things from different perspectives and has instilled a sense of deep respect for people – two qualities that I think are essential to the making of an effective leader. I have worked with some inspiring managers and leaders and have been greatly motivated to be able to perform similar roles. I have also led small teams successfully and have thoroughly enjoyed doing so. This has reinforced my belief that pursuing an MBA from a good institution is, for me, a decision taken in the right direction and at the right time.
I believe that an MBA degree from an institution as reputed as Olin will equip me with the precise skills, network and brand value that I need to move higher on the corporate ladder and, thus, to be able to contribute more and become a more valuable resource for my employers. I also believe that, given the amazing multidimensional diversity that has become synonymous with Olin, the Olin experience will teach me much more than just textbook knowledge and will make me better prepared to meet the challenges that a global marketplace offers to business leaders and make me a more complete person in the process. In the longer run, I am sure that an MBA from Olin will provide me with the necessary training in leadership, management, innovation and cultural sensitivity that are imperative to the realization my dream of having my own entrepreneurial enterprise with significant philanthropic contributions to the society. I hope Olin helps me realize this dream by giving me an opportunity to be a part of its luminous student community and benefit from its rich educational heritage.

[varma3008]

Hi ,
My Profile:
GMAT: 640(Q:49 V:27)
WE: 2 years 1 month as Manager(Port Logistics)
Did MS(GPA:3.5) Undergrad % : 70% Intermediate: 89 10th: 74
Extracurriculars: Good
Community sevice: Good

I am looking for MBA in Entrepreneurship.Can u suggest some good schools in Northeast(USA) that I can apply to

[Accepted]

Originally Posted by usmbaaspirant

Jennifer,

My GMAT score - 720(q50,v37)
essay-4.5
Q1. How much weightage is given to the essay score? Is my score too low to hamper my chance in Top 10 B-schools?

My B.Tech Computer score = 72%. This is an average/good score in my college.
Q2. Do colleges calculate GPA out of the above score. if yes then how? If as per their calculation the GPA is less than average, how will I know?
Q3. How can I calculate my GPA?

Your expert advice will be highly appreciated!!

Hi, USMBAAspirant. You don't need to worry about the AWA score unless it is 3 or lower in my opinion. They just use this to see how hard it will be for you to submit written assignments.
For your GPA, I suggest you provide as much background information as you have about yours to the programs. If you know your class rank or if you earned any honors or scholarships, let the schools know either in the optional essay or additional information section of your application. This will provide the context for them that they need to gauge how well you did.

Regards,

Jennifer Bloom, CPRW

Accepted-Helping you write your best!

[Accepted]

Originally Posted by spike.spin

Hi Jennifer,

I'm looking to apply to MIT for their Masters in Finance Program. Do you have any idea about the kind of traction this program sees in the industry ? How will the applications be evaluated, ie on what parameters ? (Since its a pure Finance program, I'm assuming applications will be treated differently compared to those for the MBA program)

Also, how common are low GPA-admits at MIT (both for their MBA and their MFin program) ?

I have a 1530 in my GRE, First Class with Distinction in my Bachelors degree, 2.8 GPA in my MBA (from the Indian Institute of Management).

Thanks,
Srivats

Hi, Srivats. I couldn't find placement information for MIT's MSc in Finance program; I suggest you contact the school directly to find out where graduates find jobs and what their salaries are to determine how beneficial the program is for you.

MSc in Finance programs in general are more focused on applicants' quant ability while MBA programs are seeking interpersonal and leadership skills from their applicants. Lots of MSc applicants are accepted with no work experience; whereas, for the MBA this is much more rare.

If your GPA is 2.8, I suggest you provide other information to prove that this isn't bad for your program (a good class rank, any academic honors you achieved, etc.). For MSc in Finance programs, the more important GRE score is going to be the Quant section; you'll need to be in a high percentile there to prove that you have the potential to thrive in the program.

Regards,

Jennifer Bloom, CPRW

Accepted-Helping you write your best!