Ask an MBA Admissions Consultant

Okay so I am writing this post out of desperation more than anything else. This is not for the first time I am requesting a profile evaluation.

My background:

GMAT:
710 - Q49 (81%le) and V37 (82%le) IR 7 (82%le) and AWA 4.5 (43%le)

Undergrad:
- Tier B Indian Engineering College - Chemical Engineer - First Class Grades
- I Have some shady grades in Math in my first and second year; Passing grades are 40 and I have one math score as 31+09; As such the grading system was demanding.
- I was a Training and Placement Coordinator
- I was not a good test writer but I was good at practical applications of study - Although there isn't any attestation on my transcripts, I scored highest grades in laboratory and project work in all subjects in final two years.

Work Experience:
I have been working for a Fortune 100 MNC as a Technical Advisor for past 64 months in the oil and gas sector

Job Description/Work Type:

Lead multicultural teams of 6-8 individuals in EMEA on refinery and petrochemical industries change implementation and transformation projects (technical description would mean precommissioning, commissioning, startup, troubleshooting, and multiple units optimization and integration projects)
-Provide onsite engineering consultation; assist clients in project planning, feed and product blending and scheduling
-Assist client to monitor Key Performance Indicators (KPI) and guide performance analysis of refinery operations
-Resolve unit performance related conflicts to ensure smooth acceptance of guarantees from clients; negotiate guarantee waivers
-Conduct client training to familiarize them with our proprietary technology; mentor new technical advisors

Details:
1) I worked in India office in Engineering Design for 1 year
2) Posted in my organization's R&D division in Chicago for 1 year; Worked in renewable energy sector during this time
3) Then I started traveling more frequently; I have worked at client refinery sites
Multiple locations in India - June 2011 to January 2012
Taiwan - February 2012 to May 2012
Italy and Switzerland - June 2012 to October 2012
China - November 2012 to December 2012
Norway - February 2013 to March 2013
India - April 2013 to May 2013
Iraq (Volunteered to take up this project) - May 2013 to October 2013
India - December 2013
Oman - January 2014 to February 2014
Saudi Arabia - March 2014 to June 2014
India - July 2014
Singapore - July 2014 to September 2014
China - October 2014 - Present

I have a couple of awards and recognition at the organization where I work:
- I have two promotions from Career Development Program to now Technical Advisor-II
-Generated more than ~$1.5M in revenue from billable consulting time spent on client sites
-Created patent pending engineering design of refinery equipment; received my organization's global recognition for innovative design

Certifications: I am Six Sigma Green Belt Certified Professional and have led a couple of Six Sigma projects that have been helpful in reducing overhead expenses and downtime

Extra Curricular Activities:

-Part time volunteer since 2009 at a remote location at a NGO for physically challenged kids
-­Helped improve living conditions by preparing project proposals to receive state government funding of over USD 180,000 in last three years
-­Supported quarterly and biannual audits conducted by the District Backward Class Welfare Officers of the Disabled Welfare Dept.
-­Now that I travel a lot. I am only involved remotely; currently building NGO website to expand reach and monetary support

Guitar Teacher: While I was in undergrad engineering school - Taught playing guitar to kids and friends; Trained ~40 students in five years. I have a youtube music channel where I upload recordings and videos.

Photography:
-Traveled across 3 continents and 21 countries (22 if you consider Vatican City as separate country ), pursuing landscape and monument photography; photographs have been published on my organization's annual calendar
- Have been winning prizes in office competitions for last two years
- I run a flickr photography channel

Post-MBA career goals

Short Term - Consulting with a MBB firm (preferably) in their energy practice arms/divisons;
Why?
-Because
a) I have met and seen what they (consultants) do and I feel with my current knowledge I cannot make the same level of contribution so I need to pursue a formal education
b) Fast Track my career: It's not that I don't get exposure to business side of work. However, there is no structured learning and the time taken this way, to get to where I want to be, will be longer

Mid Term -
a) Take up a role with a MNC such as Shell/Exxon and head a strategy/operations department of the organization
b) Quit traveling and Perhaps get married (provided I can find a girl)

Long Term -
Have a C-level job at an innovation and technology driven firm in the energy sector.

MBA Application Experience

Now comes the (not so) fun part...
I applied to four schools last year and one this year:
CBS - EA, Sloan, kellogg, and Ross - Got Dinged without an interview
Duke - EA - No interview invite (possibly sitting on a ding)

I had taken some big brand admission consultants help last year - so we worked on almost most parts of my application including recommendations. However they couldn't change my fate. I can admit that each of my application have only got better with time. However, I am still not making the cut. I have spent a lot of time, energy and all that money that I made in Iraq!

Since my goals are getting into a consulting form I believe most top schools are worth applying to. You may wonder whether I put in enough efforts to research the school and answer the "Why ABC School?" question - The short answer is - I did.

Questions to admission consultants:

-Any suggestions on how I should proceed now? I mean I can take the GMAT and perhaps go for an overkill; It will take time but with 64 months of experience currently is it really worth?
-I am in a hurry to get into a "GOOD" school. When I say I good, I mean two things - recognition and reasonable MBB hiring record.
-I intend to settle in India and so US- Bschools aren't really a necessity. I am open to geographical locations of a school as long as the school I get into has a good placement record with the MBB firms.
-I am considering to apply to INSEAD now. Is it something I should proceed with current credentials or should I look at switching jobs/profiles? or GMAT retake?
-As I mentioned, I have shady marks but I don't really lament anything. Its past - done and dusted and I can't undo it. But is it something affecting my apps?
- Any suggestions on which schools should I consider now or what I can do to become a better applicant? Yes, time is a big factor but then if there is something that I can do to have a better outcome I am ready to invest it.

I can't thank you guys enough not just because you've been providing suggestions to my requests but also to others. I read other posts and pick up few things that are relevant to me here and there.

Regards,
Vishwa

Dear Vishwa,

Here are a few perspectives for you:

1. At the outset, your work-ex looks pretty interesting and non-common. I do not think the GMAT score will really be big deterrent generally speaking; but for some of the 'top' schools it will help. This is especially given the fact that your undergrad GPA/performance if what you say. Since you will anyway be targeting R2, if possible, a 730+ score should help
2. Part of the issue in my opinion could be your goals story. From my time at McK, I know that most firms have relatively small O&G practices and they rarely hire folks directly out of bschool for those. This means your pitch could have been a bit of a non-starter for adcoms though you have the relevant experience. Another spanner is O&G tends to have limited roles for international candidates in the US. Europe could be a relatively better bet
3. The other thing I would recommend would be to have a friend objectively read your essays. Despite the issues highlighted above, at least an interview invite should have come through
4. If India is your eventual aim, why not consider an MBA from India too? ISB could be a credible option with a stupendous track record for McK and BCG recruitment. In addition, I would recommend you also explore options such as LBS in Europe and the next rung of schools in US which still have good consulting placements such as Tepper. Beyond this, for reasons mentioned here, I will refrain from providing school specific recommendations.

In short, improve GMAT if feasible. In any case, seriously consider my last point.

Hope this helps,

Cheers,

Manish,

Thank you for the response.
1) That extra 20-30 points probably means another 2-3 months of prep. I took my GMAT last year so I will probably start afresh and considering that I am working too, chances are I might miss the R2 deadlines and will have to apply next year.

2) Goal Story: Well perhaps this is true. Since you worked at McK you'd have a clearer picture. I have spoken with quite a few McK consultants and the general opinion is that people with industry background post-MBA do take up alot of projects in their Pre-MBA industry domains. I don't know about most consulting firms that have energy practice arms but I am sure McK is focusing a lot of effort in their energy practice and McK Implementation track (not McKc office). I was recently interviewed for McK Implementation Role (Strategy Implementation and Business Transformation) and what I could figure out with my interviewer and what is also visible on their websites and elsewhere is that they're recruiting big time people with MBA and O&G background. So is the story with Bain. Do you think, I'll have to make the aspiration story more B-school employment friendly rather than what I really want to do?

3)Yes, having no interview invite is something that is causing worry. There is something else that is going on which I am not quite sure off and this is the reason that is holding me back from retaking the GMAT.

4) ISB: Indian education system is grade driven and I believe ISB is no different. I have an understanding of ISB as a very good school with cut throat competition to get into the MBBs (probably just a 'MB' as Bain doesn't recruit there). This year for e.g., there were 19 McK job offers for the total of ~800 students. Combining McK+BCG+ATK this number hardly crosses 30. ISB website says 174 consulting offers however that is a misnomer as 120+ offers are in IT sector with TCS, Wipros, and Infosys IT management consulting. In a nutshell, you'd be competing with atleast ~600 students for at max ~30 offers. Compare this to INSEAD or Tuck where the ratios are quite high, the pressure to perform will be a lot less. Not that I can't compete.I want to explore and innovate while worrying less about my grades.
My friend recently graduated from there and he said that people go crazy even over 0.25 grades. With that pressure all year around thinking about grades and placement, I wonder whether I will truly enjoy the B-school experience. I haven't looked up LBS. In my honest opinion with 5 dings, I am almost low on confidence and have run out of ideas about what I must do to get in.

mcbMcK wrote:Dear Vishwa,

Here are a few perspectives for you:

1. At the outset, your work-ex looks pretty interesting and non-common. I do not think the GMAT score will really be big deterrent generally speaking; but for some of the 'top' schools it will help. This is especially given the fact that your undergrad GPA/performance if what you say. Since you will anyway be targeting R2, if possible, a 730+ score should help
2. Part of the issue in my opinion could be your goals story. From my time at McK, I know that most firms have relatively small O&G practices and they rarely hire folks directly out of bschool for those. This means your pitch could have been a bit of a non-starter for adcoms though you have the relevant experience. Another spanner is O&G tends to have limited roles for international candidates in the US. Europe could be a relatively better bet
3. The other thing I would recommend would be to have a friend objectively read your essays. Despite the issues highlighted above, at least an interview invite should have come through
4. If India is your eventual aim, why not consider an MBA from India too? ISB could be a credible option with a stupendous track record for McK and BCG recruitment. In addition, I would recommend you also explore options such as LBS in Europe and the next rung of schools in US which still have good consulting placements such as Tepper. Beyond this, for reasons mentioned here, I will refrain from providing school specific recommendations.

In short, improve GMAT if feasible. In any case, seriously consider my last point.

Hope this helps,

Cheers,

Posted twice by mistake

I would suggest for you to retake the GMAT. A GMAT score in the mid-700's would help since you are applying from the most competitive applicant pool.

I would also suggest for you to apply to more schools to diversify your options. Other good U.S. schools you might consider applying to include UCLA Anderson, NYU Stern, Darden, Johnson, Yale SOM, Tepper and McCombs. Internationally, INSEAD, LBS, HEC Paris, IE, etc. would also help you accomplish your goals.

Finally, I agree with the other poster to have your essays reviewed. MBAPrepAdvantage does a ding analysis if you are interested.

Good luck,

On the GMAT, if you didnt explore professional help the last time around, maybe that can help expedite matters? Apart from the overall score, the AWA too seems to be on the lower end of the spectrum. You'll be better off trying for this year than the next one though. I know it is a LOT of work but that's what you'll have to do as a future consultant too . Of course it is subjective, but that's the general advice I would give.

On the goals front, the point is not to write something to please the adcoms. But to write something that is practical and something that you will still like to do. And its a scenario that you should in any case be prepared to face from a probability perspective.

On ISB, your analysis is partly true. Academics is only 1 of the 3 dimensions that consulting firms look at. At ISB, perhaps that tends to be the most common one. But every year, there are cases with low/average GPA who also make the cut. So in summary, still worth a shot.

Hope this puts you on the right steps forward

Cheers,

Thanks Mike and Manish. I think both of you believe a GMAT retake is the way to go. I am starting the prep. Hope to see you here in 2 months.

Good luck and keep us informed as to your progress.