Ask an MBA Admissions Consultant

Hi,

This is Gughan Bose. I haven't given my GMAT yet. I am working in a Telecomm company developing Software solutions for wireless products now for 1 year and 7 months. I have always been interested in marketing and branding. After MBA, if B school doesn't change that, I want to get into marketing. So, I am thinking of trying marketing research jobs now.

Extra curriculars:

· Organized a national level Poster designing contest on my own - This includes Marketing, Designs of multiple posters for the same competition, conducting the event and evaluating along with a designer working for Maya Academy of Advanced Cinematics.

· Was part of the organizing team of national level cultural fest and another national level tech fest.

· Photographer and Photo editor of most of the college culturals, tech fest, symposiums and concerts

External links:
Vogue Portfolio - https://www.vogue.it/en/photovogue/Profi ... 9bada/User
500px Portfolio - https://500px.com/GughanBose
Photo Blog - https://gughanbose.wordpress.com/

Thanks a lot!

gughanbose wrote:Hi,

This is Gughan Bose. I haven't given my GMAT yet. I am working in a Telecomm company developing Software solutions for wireless products now for 1 year and 7 months. I have always been interested in marketing and branding. After MBA, if B school doesn't change that, I want to get into marketing. So, I am thinking of trying marketing research jobs now.

<<snip>>

External links:
Vogue Portfolio - https://www.vogue.it/en/photovogue/Profi ... 9bada/User
500px Portfolio - https://500px.com/GughanBose
Photo Blog - https://gughanbose.wordpress.com/

Thanks a lot!

Dear Gughan,

Thanks for sharing your detailed profile here. Consider the following points:

1. You have not mentioned when you want to do your MBA, so I am going to assume that there isnt a strict timeline there. You'll have to think a bit deeper than only marketing/branding. Now that you are part of the corporate rut, do you know which industry you'd like to do those in for instance and why those functions? Before you take your next step, that's a question worth answering for yourself
2. Your college is known, so that shouldnt be a big issue. On the point of joining market research, that will definitely help if you are planning marketing as a career. But you'll have to devote 2-3 years before you can leverage that experience before MBA.
3. The ECs in your profile obviously stand out. As you grow in years of experience however, it is common to lose touch with them. That will help give another dimension to your profile from an application perspective

Hope this helps,

Cheers,

Who can help me with my assignment for crystal ball?

daria123 wrote:Who can help me with my assignment for crystal ball?

Dear Daria,

Not quite sure what you mean by 'assignment. But if you'd like to get in touch with us, you can follow the links in my signature.

Cheers,

Hi

I would really appreciate if you could please give your opinion about cranfield mba program. I have been offered a place at cranfield and finding it difficult to make a decision.

About me:

Indian, Male, 26 years old.

Work ex : 3.5 years Software Engineer, from a top MNC.

Have done online courses in finance, marketing and human resource ( had to prepare myself beforehand, so that it could be easy for me during my MBA)

Short term goal :Work in Consulting or Finance domain for a 3-5 years

Preference to work in UK. (Top priority)

My concerns are below:

"¢I have searched linkedin to get an idea of Cranfield MBA alumni. But couldn't get a response from those people. Could you please tell me how Cranfield MBA would put my career on a fast track?

"¢Looking at the job prospects in England, or Europe, is it feasible to invest 35000 pounds in cranfield MBA?

"¢I completely agree that getting a job depends on one's capabilities and intellect . But how well recognized in Cranfield MBA in India .Will I get a decent job in India if I couldn't get a job in Europe?


Good things about cranfield (i searched the internet for this)

"¢Focus is on Personality development.

"¢Good in consulting

Would request you to please suggest and help me make the best decision

maverick2014 wrote:Hi

I would really appreciate if you could please give your opinion about cranfield mba program. I have been offered a place at cranfield and finding it difficult to make a decision.

<<snip>>

Would request you to please suggest and help me make the best decision

Dear Maverick2014,

Congrats on the admit. Here are the responses to the queries you raise:

1. Its a good program, but certainly not the top league. That said, I would strongly suggest getting in touch with the adcom and asking 'them' to put you in touch with alums. Schools frequently do that to retain top talent
2. Related to 1 above. Tough to respond objectively - but we've not had many cases of folks coming back from the program
3. This will be a hard sell. The name doesnt ring much bells in India and definitely not in the same league as say an Oxford or a Cambridge. So no, if you plan to get back to India - not the best thing to do.

Hope this helps,

Cheers,

ny question. To you is. ..as GMAT score is valid for
5 years ... So is it absolutely ok ..if i take the
gmat now and apply for colleges 4 years
later ...do top colleges prefer students who have
taken gmat recently?? actually i want to go for
GMAT now as i am in touch with studies and i
belive that i can score better if i take the exam
now .. Amd then gain some work experince ..to
get taste of the real world out there and then
apply for MBA school

(indian student/btech)

thedarklight wrote:ny question. To you is. ..as GMAT score is valid for
5 years ... So is it absolutely ok ..if i take the

<<snip>>

(indian student/btech)

No, schools dont care as to when you took the test as long as its valid.

Cheers,

Hi MBA Crystal Ball,

I am a college senior.
GPA - till now aggregate 80% (will be graduating in May 2015) Highest marks in college
Degree - B.A. (Hons) Economics, University of Delhi
GMAT - Will be writing in September 14 (expected score around 700)
Extracurriculars -
Editior-in-chief of Annual Economics Journal of college for 2 consecutive years
Organizer of college fest
Active participator and winner of debating competitions
Active participator and winner of simulated United Nations Conferences

Internship - 1 summer at a leading bank of USA

The problem I am facing currently is that most of the business schools and graduate schools in USA do not accept a 3-year degree as an academic qualification. Mine is a 3-year degree. This led me to think about the Masters in Management programs popular in Europe.
My reasons to choose MiM :
1) it is a better designed course for people with no work experience.
2) it is cheaper as compared to MBA
3) Countries in Europe themselves follow Bologna process so my 3 year degree will not be an issue there.
4) I am very much interested in pursuing a career in management. I had low scores in the 1st semester, I wrote improvement exams for those courses and got high scores, I took this step so that I could show the adcoms that I am mature enough to think about my long term as well as short term goals and I can work very hard to accomplish them.

I want to know:
1) Do I stand a chance to get admission in top MiM program like that of HEC paris etc (provided I score high in gmat) ?
2) prospects of MiM in relation to MBA (with no work experience)
3) if I take 2-3 years of work experience and then apply for MBA, will my degree still be a hindrance?

Regards
Sukriti

thanks a lot

sukriti2hats wrote:Hi MBA Crystal Ball,

I am a college senior.
GPA - till now aggregate 80% (will be graduating in May 2015) Highest marks in college
Degree - B.A. (Hons) Economics, University of Delhi

<<snip>>

1) Do I stand a chance to get admission in top MiM program like that of HEC paris etc (provided I score high in gmat) ?
2) prospects of MiM in relation to MBA (with no work experience)
3) if I take 2-3 years of work experience and then apply for MBA, will my degree still be a hindrance?

Regards
Sukriti

Dear Sukriti,

Jumping into your questions straightaway:

1. Good MiM programs too value work-ex. Applying straight out of undergrad is likely to be a risky strategy from that perspective. That said, its always ideal to check with the concerned school/program as to how they look at this
2. Covered above. In terms of future prospects, generally speaking, MBA has a wider set of choices.
3. Yes, work-ex will not cover for the one year less in academics. Schools that have a 16 yr education criteria, will still need that. Check the post here for a bit more perspective on this.

Cheers,

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Hi Sameer,

I am planning to apply for Fall 2015.
I request you to kindly evaluate my profile as I am bit confused with the schools to focus on.

Profile: Indian male. Age:26

UG: BE- Mechanical engineering , from Visvesvaraya technological university,India (78% aggregate , Ranked within 5% of the batch)
XII: 88%
10th: 92%

GMAT: 710 (Q47, V40, IR:6, AWA 4.5)
IELTS: 8.0 (ReAding:7.5, Writing:8.0, Listening: 8.0, Speaking 7.5)

Work Ex: (3+ during application round)

Worked for 2 years (full time)in a reputed South Korean firm as a sales and technical support engineer.This company manufactures and deals in cutting tools for CNC machines

In these 2 years:
1)Provided technical as well as marketing support to around 7 branches across India.
2)Directly dealt with major automotive customers such as Hyundai, Ford, TAFE, Nissan etc
3)Leadership experiences:
a)Conducted product campaigns across 15 cities in india.
b)Founded a Rock band within the organisation and performed on multiple occasions
c)Managed many turn key projects for Customers mentioned above.

Currently I work as Tool Room Manager within the family business in which i lead a team of 20 members. I have applied my past tooling experience and facilitated major changes in the department.
Company is a medium scale organisation (dealing in engineering services)with around 80-100 employees.
It has a global presence ( and so my reasons for majoring in marketing and focusing on technical sales)

start up: cofounded a social enterpirse in march 2014 which basically provides a platform for artists across small towns who basically dont get an opportunity to showcase and market their
talent.
other activities: gathered 40+ volunteers and headed an environment drive where we planted around 200 trees around the city and conducted a cleanliness drive at the central bus stand .

Extra curricular activities during my UG studies:
1)I am a professional pianist. Me and a few friends started a college rock band during UG studies.
a)We have organised and performed in multiple concerts
b)We have received multiple national level awards
c)We will soon be launching our own album

2)Represented my College and led the Music team to many cultural events

3)Worked in the sponsorship committee to organise funds for our annual Event.

Extra curricular activities During school: ( I dont know how much weight-age is given to actives taken up during school. Nonetheless i thought i should mention)
1) member and group leader of Boy scouts
2) Member and Vice president of Interact club ( Rotary club initiative) . Through this club we organised many polio eradication drives, Blood banks , Environment awareness camps etc.

I wish to major in marketing and focus on entrepreneurship and non-profit
keeping all this in mind I am planning to apply to 6-7 universities and my Target schools are as follows:

HBS,Kellog,wharton,Ross,Kelly,Booth,tuck

i have one major concern: i have a gmat of 710 and the top 3 univs have a average of 730. coming from a over represented group (indian,engineer) will my gmat score be a hindrance?

Thank you!

Vardhu2388 wrote:Hi Sameer,

I am planning to apply for Fall 2015.
I request you to kindly evaluate my profile as I am bit confused with the schools to focus on.

<<snip>>

HBS,Kellog,wharton,Ross,Kelly,Booth,tuck

i have one major concern: i have a gmat of 710 and the top 3 univs have a average of 730. coming from a over represented group (indian,engineer) will my gmat score be a hindrance?

Thank you!

Dear Vardhu2388,

Thanks for sharing the detailed outline of your profile. Here are a few thoughts for you:

1. Your work-ex looks interesting, especially the family business experience could make for a great story. The challenge could be that at the moment, you are riding two boats - one on the corporate/business side, another on the social side. You'll have to make up you mind either ways before you knock at the doors of an MBA program. For non-profit, your experience is likely to fall short. Another concern could be lesser opportunities in that space for international candidates. So choose wisely.
2. Your ECs are super solid and its great that you have stuck to them even after school. Make sure you elaborate them well
3. I do not think that the GMAT would be a deal breaker in your case. The relatively lesser years of experience and lack of clarity on goals are bigger areas that you should focus on.

Hope this helps,

Cheers,

Carlson School of Management Interview with MBA Admissions Director

When it comes to post MBA salaries, it's not just the absolute number that's important, it's the salary jump that matters too.

The full-time MBA program offered by the Carlson School of Management is ranked 3rd for average salary increase.

Located in the twin cities of Minneapolis & St. Paul (ranked by Forbes as the best city for finding employment), the Carlson MBA program has had a spike in international applicants (including Indians).

We thought it would be good to go behind the scenes to find out more about the program, the admissions team, the students and the opportunities.

Manish Gupta, from the MBA Crystal Ball team interviewed Linh Gilles, from the Carlson School of Managment.

Read on to understand more about how the Carlson MBA admissions process works, how GMAT scores (and IR scores) are evaluated, and how many students get MBA scholarships & fellowships, the possibility of getting post MBA jobs and how you can be part of the student group that manages a $35 million investment fund...Read More