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Hi David,
I have a question regarding volunteer work - I did not have time to volunteer in the past, do you recommend that I start doing volunteer work in order to improve my admission chances? how important it is?

supermario wrote:Hi David,
I have a question regarding volunteer work - I did not have time to volunteer in the past, do you recommend that I start doing volunteer work in order to improve my admission chances? how important it is?

Hi Supermario:
Volunteer work can indeed help, especially in a leadership-oriented context. The contribution will be small in my estimation, but not insignificant.
Best of luck,
David
Senior consultant
Aringo.com

sonam_gmat wrote:Hi Aringo ,

I am an Indian female
Age- 23
GMAT-650 (q-47 ,v-33)
Undergrad - Bachelor of Engineering in Computer Science- 78% (Reputed university-Non IIT)

I have 28 months of work experience in an IT firm as an engineer and business analyst . I work for a Retail client , we develop and maintain a supply chain management software . I have been promoted twice and I have also been offered the role of a Business Analyst.
I have worked with Non profit and charitable organizations from a very young age and I am also a professional swimmer.

I have gained good knowledge while working with a retail giant . I want to pursue MBA in Supply Chain Management / Operations.

I am applying to - Purdue - Krannert ,
Penn State - Smeal ,
Indiana - Kelley (R2),
Michigan state -Broad.

Can you please evaluate my profile and tell me whether I am a competitive candidate for these programs. Please suggest more schools for MBA in Operations/SCM . Please suggest 1/2 stretch schools as well.
Will it help if I retake GMAT ?
Thanks in advance.

Hello Sonam,
Thank you for submitting your profile. You seem like a strong applicant for Penn State and Michigan State, and competitive at Indiana Kelley. I would also recommend that you look into Ohio State University's program, as well as Michigan (Ross), in which you would be a stretch to competitive candidate.
It would indeed help to take the GMAT again if you believe you can increase your score by at least 20-30 points. You are young- unless there are reasons that you want to start your MBA very soon, I would suggest re-taking, and preparing for next year when you can also submit all applications Round 1.
Good luck!
David
Senior Consultant
Aringo.com

Hi Aringo,

Kindly evaluate my profile and provide your valuable inputs on B-schools i should be aiming for.

Indian Female working in F&S domain in Accenture
Location: Bloomington,IL,USA
Age: 25

GMAT:
GMAT - 690 - Q46, V39 ,IR-7

Education Qualification: Bachelor of Engineering - Electronics and Communication 71.01% First Division:2008
 10th Standard: CBSE: 88.8% school topper :2002
 12th Standard : CBSE: 78.2% 2004

Summer trainings and Internship:

DRDO: Defense research and Development organisation
Research assistant for Solid state physics LASER. Was actively involved in:
"¢ Creation/Assembly of Solid state laser
"¢ Analysis on the research papers presented on Solid state results

ERTL: Electronics regional testing lab
"¢ Study of State-of-the-art Anaechoic Chamber
"¢ Study of the process of CE certification of digital instruments(Surge and Burst test)

WORK EXPERIENCE:
Currently working as a Test lead for a leading auto insurance client in USA.
The responsibilities include:
"¢ Test plan,Test strategy and other tesing deliverables
"¢ Testing coordination
"¢ Requirements Analysis
"¢ Creating detailed design
"¢ Creation and Execution of System test cases
"¢ Defect Tracking in TRAC "¢
Involved in Peer Review
"¢ System Testing


Extra curricular actvities
Accenture
*GCP (Global career program)onboarding team:
Aimed at:
1)Helping new joiners at onsite during their initial stay.
2)Assisting them in documentation and paperwork

*GCP Scheduling team:
Interviewing Subcontarctors for accenture and aligning them as per job openings.

*GCP LKM team:
Planning and coordinating:
1)Rewards &recognition programs
2)Mentoring Lunches
3)Know your leads initiative
4)Cultural diversity programs

*GCP Corporate citizenship:
Helping homeless and needy(Food,clothing and monetary help)

*Akshaya Patra Initiative (For providing food to the needy)
* Technical paper presentation on : Impact of driver less cars in Auto insurance
* Participated in Bloomington -Normal Half Marathon.


College Level:"¢ Founding member of Orator's club
"¢ Founding Member's of spiritual Club.
"¢ Active member of Electronics group :The digitals
"¢ Organised Technical fest for ECE dept.
"¢ Was active contributor for College Fest

School level:
"¢ Got many awards and accolades for debates ,declamation ,group song and Poem recitation.
"¢ Won Poem reciation competition for regional level for Kendriya Vidyalaya
"¢ Won drawing competition organised by Bal Bhawan
"¢ Was House captain and participated and won many prizes in Kendriya Vidyalaya

Hobbies/Interests:
"¢ Jogging/Long Distance Running
"¢ Hiking/Canoeing
"¢ Cooking (Indian/International cuisine) Desserts &Baking in particular
"¢ Music
"¢ Watching Historical movies &Documentaries

I plan to apply in R2.
Also, kindly suggest whether aiming for ISB with this core is justified or not.

Thanks
Ritz

Aringo.com wrote:

jml12357 wrote:Hi, I would really appreciate an evaluation of my profile for the top 15 business schools.

-I graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign with an accounting degree and a GPA of 3.98/4.00. (During my junior and senior years, I also worked around 30 hrs/week as a head research assistant to support myself financially)
-After graduating, I worked at Accenture as a technology analyst for one year and currently, work at KPMG in their management consulting divison and will have worked here around 2 years when applying.
-Obtained CPA on first try
-GMAT Score of 730 (50Q, 40V)
-Volunteer experience includes acting as student representative for an organization that helps promote and develop international trade between the US and Korea. My role is to help recruit and organize students for a trade school that educates upcoming professionals about the importance and development of international trade.
-During my college years, I traveled to South Korea to train to become a singer/actor under a large Korean entertainment company (didn't work out in the long run, but was a good experience of teamwork). Went every summer/winter break with a 16month stint during my junior year in school.


Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!

Hi JML,
You have a solid profile and are a strong candidate for top 15 programs.
It will be important to bring out management experience in your application, which could be a bit of a stretch. It might help that you're in management consulting, depending on what kinds of projects you took.
You can try the Admission Chances Calculator https://www.aringo.com/MBA_admission_cha ... ulator.htm for a more refined estimation of your chances.
Good luck!
David

Hi David,

I was wondering if you could provide me a little more details on how competitive I would be in the top 10 programs (whether I am strong, competitive, and reach and what these mean in % terms). Projects I have been on have been a major loan remediation project for a Fortune 100 bank where I took a leadership role and helped lead a team of 10 associates (project timelines, status reporting to upper management). For a smaller team project, I have worked to revamp and reorganize the IT governance structure of a Fortune 200 bank. I would greatly appreciate your feedback,

Thank you.

brat_ritz wrote:Hi Aringo,

Kindly evaluate my profile and provide your valuable inputs on B-schools i should be aiming for.

Indian Female working in F&S domain in Accenture
Location: Bloomington,IL,USA
Age: 25

GMAT:
GMAT - 690 - Q46, V39 ,IR-7

Education Qualification: Bachelor of Engineering - Electronics and Communication 71.01% First Division:2008
 10th Standard: CBSE: 88.8% school topper :2002
 12th Standard : CBSE: 78.2% 2004

Summer trainings and Internship:

DRDO: Defense research and Development organisation
Research assistant for Solid state physics LASER. Was actively involved in:
"¢ Creation/Assembly of Solid state laser
"¢ Analysis on the research papers presented on Solid state results

ERTL: Electronics regional testing lab
"¢ Study of State-of-the-art Anaechoic Chamber
"¢ Study of the process of CE certification of digital instruments(Surge and Burst test)

WORK EXPERIENCE:
Currently working as a Test lead for a leading auto insurance client in USA.
The responsibilities include:
"¢ Test plan,Test strategy and other tesing deliverables
"¢ Testing coordination
"¢ Requirements Analysis
"¢ Creating detailed design
"¢ Creation and Execution of System test cases
"¢ Defect Tracking in TRAC "¢
Involved in Peer Review
"¢ System Testing


Extra curricular actvities
Accenture
*GCP (Global career program)onboarding team:
Aimed at:
1)Helping new joiners at onsite during their initial stay.
2)Assisting them in documentation and paperwork

*GCP Scheduling team:
Interviewing Subcontarctors for accenture and aligning them as per job openings.

*GCP LKM team:
Planning and coordinating:
1)Rewards &recognition programs
2)Mentoring Lunches
3)Know your leads initiative
4)Cultural diversity programs

*GCP Corporate citizenship:
Helping homeless and needy(Food,clothing and monetary help)

*Akshaya Patra Initiative (For providing food to the needy)
* Technical paper presentation on : Impact of driver less cars in Auto insurance
* Participated in Bloomington -Normal Half Marathon.


College Level:"¢ Founding member of Orator's club
"¢ Founding Member's of spiritual Club.
"¢ Active member of Electronics group :The digitals
"¢ Organised Technical fest for ECE dept.
"¢ Was active contributor for College Fest

School level:
"¢ Got many awards and accolades for debates ,declamation ,group song and Poem recitation.
"¢ Won Poem reciation competition for regional level for Kendriya Vidyalaya
"¢ Won drawing competition organised by Bal Bhawan
"¢ Was House captain and participated and won many prizes in Kendriya Vidyalaya

Hobbies/Interests:
"¢ Jogging/Long Distance Running
"¢ Hiking/Canoeing
"¢ Cooking (Indian/International cuisine) Desserts &Baking in particular
"¢ Music
"¢ Watching Historical movies &Documentaries

I plan to apply in R2.
Also, kindly suggest whether aiming for ISB with this core is justified or not.

Thanks
Ritz

Hello Ritz,
You have quite an impressive profile. Please note that I cannot provide feedback regarding your chances at ISB.
If you are interested in other MBA programs, I would tell you that with a strong application (essays, recommendations) you would be a competitive candidate for Top 20 schools - perhaps not those at the very top, but probably those ranked 11-20. The specific schools depend on your interests, as each school has it's focus and specialty.
Good luck,
David
Aringo.com

jml12357 wrote:

Aringo.com wrote:

jml12357 wrote:Hi, I would really appreciate an evaluation of my profile for the top 15 business schools.

-I graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign with an accounting degree and a GPA of 3.98/4.00. (During my junior and senior years, I also worked around 30 hrs/week as a head research assistant to support myself financially)
-After graduating, I worked at Accenture as a technology analyst for one year and currently, work at KPMG in their management consulting divison and will have worked here around 2 years when applying.
-Obtained CPA on first try
-GMAT Score of 730 (50Q, 40V)
-Volunteer experience includes acting as student representative for an organization that helps promote and develop international trade between the US and Korea. My role is to help recruit and organize students for a trade school that educates upcoming professionals about the importance and development of international trade.
-During my college years, I traveled to South Korea to train to become a singer/actor under a large Korean entertainment company (didn't work out in the long run, but was a good experience of teamwork). Went every summer/winter break with a 16month stint during my junior year in school.


Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!

Hi JML,
You have a solid profile and are a strong candidate for top 15 programs.
It will be important to bring out management experience in your application, which could be a bit of a stretch. It might help that you're in management consulting, depending on what kinds of projects you took.
You can try the Admission Chances Calculator https://www.aringo.com/MBA_admission_cha ... ulator.htm for a more refined estimation of your chances.
Good luck!
David

Hi David,

I was wondering if you could provide me a little more details on how competitive I would be in the top 10 programs (whether I am strong, competitive, and reach and what these mean in % terms). Projects I have been on have been a major loan remediation project for a Fortune 100 bank where I took a leadership role and helped lead a team of 10 associates (project timelines, status reporting to upper management). For a smaller team project, I have worked to revamp and reorganize the IT governance structure of a Fortune 200 bank. I would greatly appreciate your feedback,

Thank you.

Hi JML,
Thank you for those further details.
Your experience looks very solid, and your grades and GMAT are excellent. You are a competitive-to-strong candidate at Top 10 programs. Unfortunately I cannot provide you with a percentage of your chances - nobody can honestly do that.
As long as your application is strong (essays, recommendations) and you apply to several schools, you should be able to gain admission to at least some.
Good luck!
David
Aringo.com

Hi David,
Will my somewhat diverse background constitute an advantage with MBA programs seeking diversity, or is it a drawback that attests to lack of focus?

Please evaluate my profile :

-Female
-25 Years
-GMAT : 650 Q47 V33
- 4 Years experince in Market Research and Consulting
- BITS Pilani , Mechanican Engineering GPA : 6.9

- 2 years experince with one of the well known market researh and consulting firms. Worked mainly on consulting projects for some really big names in the chemical industry globally.
- Was a purely client facing role.
- Got 3 articles published on the chemical industry on vairous magazines and economic times magazine.

- Next 2 years in joined a German company, world leaders in their product, in their in house consulting team. This move was to mainly get the knowledge of how an organisation operates from inside, being in a consulting firm did not give me that perspective.

- Interned with 2 major companies during college.One of them was pre sales, and the other was for documentation for ISO. One of the projects was with the construction supplies for Burj Khalifa and the other was with the RO plant in Palm Jumeira.

- Extra currics : Black belt in Karate.Freelance wedding photographer.Regional level gold medalist in Javelin throw. VP of college SAE club.

Want to do MBA to mainly network and to better my knowledge in Market reseach and consulting.

Looking at only US schools
-cornell
-tepper
-kenan-flagler
-Marshall
-Scheller

Please tell me how this list looks.Could there be any addition to this?

Thanks for your help.

bingo wrote:Hi David,
Will my somewhat diverse background constitute an advantage with MBA programs seeking diversity, or is it a drawback that attests to lack of focus?

Hi Bingo,
Generally speaking, schools grant certain preference to candidates from relatively unusual backgrounds, but also tend to prefer candidates who are focused (in terms of their career advancement). What usually helps in respect to your career plan is to come up with a "theme" that is connected to what you have done thus far, and continue to pursue this "theme" in your career (as well as at school and in community work) from now on. This theme can be in the form of focus on a specific industry or professional field.
Good luck,
David
Aringo.com

cd86 wrote:Please evaluate my profile :

-Female
-25 Years
-GMAT : 650 Q47 V33
- 4 Years experince in Market Research and Consulting
- BITS Pilani , Mechanican Engineering GPA : 6.9

- 2 years experince with one of the well known market researh and consulting firms. Worked mainly on consulting projects for some really big names in the chemical industry globally.
- Was a purely client facing role.
- Got 3 articles published on the chemical industry on vairous magazines and economic times magazine.

- Next 2 years in joined a German company, world leaders in their product, in their in house consulting team. This move was to mainly get the knowledge of how an organisation operates from inside, being in a consulting firm did not give me that perspective.

- Interned with 2 major companies during college.One of them was pre sales, and the other was for documentation for ISO. One of the projects was with the construction supplies for Burj Khalifa and the other was with the RO plant in Palm Jumeira.

- Extra currics : Black belt in Karate.Freelance wedding photographer.Regional level gold medalist in Javelin throw. VP of college SAE club.

Want to do MBA to mainly network and to better my knowledge in Market reseach and consulting.

Looking at only US schools
-cornell
-tepper
-kenan-flagler
-Marshall
-Scheller

Please tell me how this list looks.Could there be any addition to this?

Thanks for your help.

Hello!
Thank you for the detailed profile - this always helps. You seem like a formidable candidate.
According to back of the envelope calculations, you should be a competitive to strong candidate at all of the schools that you mentioned. With a solid application and good recommendations, you might consider applying to one or two schools that are ranked a bit higher.
Good luck,
David
Senior Consultant
Aringo.com

thanks a lot for the inputs.

Hi,

Can you pls evaluate my profile? My first preference of schools include Ivy League B-schools.

Bio -
Indian female 28yrs

Acads -
Xth - 81.8%
XIIth - 85.3%
Bachelor of Engg. (Electronics & Communications) - 67% (Non-IIT)
GMAT practice tests average - 760
Yet to give the real thing

Work Experience - 6+ years
Indian IT experience - 4 years
US IT experience - 2 yr
Started and launched a website, however, due to time constraints and personal commitments, could not work on marketing or promoting the site. - 6 months

Extra Cs -
Won medals for skating competitions - District level.
Participated in Swimming competitions, dance, debate - school level.
Significant part of my company's social service initiative.
Gathering funds for college meets.
Various charitable campaigns
Volunteer work in USA for NGO.
Husband and I involved in healthcare charity events conducted by me.

Other points -
Constantly rated among the best in the company.
Hopefully should get good references.


My questions -
Pls let me know my chances of an MBA at Ivy league schools.
If not, which are my best bets?
I think my negative is undergrad GPA, how do I work on compensating it with something else?
I am looking for 2015 intake.
Should I even mention my website startup, I never promoted or marketed it as I think it needs more finishing.
I am interested in Retail Operations. However, I know its not related to my work experience, I do not mind IT management either, I would eventually want to set up my own company, be it related to IT or healthcare.

Thank you for going through my thread.
Your inputs are much appreciated.

Minniemouse wrote:Hi,

Can you pls evaluate my profile? My first preference of schools include Ivy League B-schools.

Bio -
Indian female 28yrs

Acads -
Xth - 81.8%
XIIth - 85.3%
Bachelor of Engg. (Electronics & Communications) - 67% (Non-IIT)
GMAT practice tests average - 760
Yet to give the real thing

Work Experience - 6+ years
Indian IT experience - 4 years
US IT experience - 2 yr
Started and launched a website, however, due to time constraints and personal commitments, could not work on marketing or promoting the site. - 6 months

Extra Cs -
Won medals for skating competitions - District level.
Participated in Swimming competitions, dance, debate - school level.
Significant part of my company's social service initiative.
Gathering funds for college meets.
Various charitable campaigns
Volunteer work in USA for NGO.
Struggled with weight issues, lost weight and became a marathon runner.
Husband and I involved in healthcare charity events conducted by me.

Other points -
Constantly rated among the best in the company. Hopefully should get good references.
Funding should not be an issue.
Affluent family background.
I wasn't a good undergrad student, never understood electronics, understood my thing was Computers once I started working in IT companies. I excelled in my field and am a pro at what I do.


My questions -
Pls let me know my chances of an MBA at Ivy league schools.
If not, which are my best bets?
I think my negative is undergrad GPA, how do I work on compensating it with something else?
I am looking for 2015 intake.
Should I even mention my website startup, I never promoted or marketed it as I think it needs more finishing.
I am interested in Retail Operations. However, I know its not related to my work experience, I do not mind IT management either, I would eventually want to set up my own company, be it related to IT or healthcare due to the family of doctors I have.

Thank you for going through my thread.
Your inputs are much appreciated.

Hi Minniemouse,
Thanks for your question.
Low grades can often be compensated-for with a very high GMAT score and excellent professional experience, both of which look promising in your case. If you indeed score a 760 (or even a bit below) you should be in good shape.
I would certainly encourage you to apply to Top-20 programs (including one or two on the lower end of the Top-20, to be safe.)
If you did any coursework (even non-degree/academic) after your undergrad degree and received high marks, you might use that to show your academic potential.
Needless to say, the rest of your application should be in top shape, in as far as essays and recommendations.
It's difficult for me to comment on your website without seeing it and knowing the particulars. If there's something tangible that shows hard work and an original/interesting concept, then it might be fine to show off even if not complete.
Regarding your interest in Retail Ops, I normally wouldn't recommend emphasizing this in the application. Better stick with IT. Once you get accepted, you can usually go for it then.

Best of luck!
David
Senior Consultant
Aringo.com

Hi! Just saw this thread... I would really appreciate your input into what my chances are if I were to proceed with R2 applications or wait it out.

I am a mid-20s Hispanic female, B.S and M.S in Chemical Engineering from non-top universities (both GPAs above 3.6), about 3 years experience in my field, currently at a top company with evidence of increasing responsibilities/leadership, lots of extracurriculars through school and work as well

I've taken the GMAT twice, jumping from low 500s to 670 which is still too low for my target schools (breakdown: IR = 8, Q = 43, V = 40). I am quite concerned that the quant is lower given my background, but I ran out of time and had to guess the last several questions on the section

Career Goal/Why an MBA: Supply Chain/Logistics or Strategy/Consulting (still deciding)

Target Schools: Booth, Kellogg, UCLA, Duke, Ross, Harvard (maybe) and Wharton (maybe)

Thank you for your help!