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Hello,

Can you please tell me if my profile would be suitable for admission to one of the top 10 US MBA schools. My details are below:

29, Indian, Male
Graduation in Economics from top 10 college in India, scored a second division (very competitive with only 20% of class securing a first division)
PG diploma in management from a 2nd tier institute in India (considered equivalent to an MBA in India, top 20% rank)
CFA charterholder from the CFA institute, USA
FRM charterholder from GARP, USA
GMAT - 730 (Q:50, V:38)

Have been working as a research analyst at HSBC Bangalore for the last 4 years. I have enjoyed excellent growth in the company, by being promoted to the position of a manager within 2 years when the normal duration to be promoted is 3 years. Have won numerous awards at the company including one which is awarded to the 100 best performers in a year among the 40,000+ employees in the group worldwide. Have worked on and led projects which involved contributions from analysts in at least 3 different continents.

Aside from HSBC, I, along with 2 partners, have launched a financial consultancy, where we perform a strategic allocation for our clients portfolios. This doesn't conflict with my role at HSBC because I am not recommending stocks to my clients, but instead advising my clients how best to allocate funds among different asset classes. Due to my work commitments at HSBC, my participation is presently low, but after my MBA, I will be more actively involved in this. We started this firm last year and have a few clients, but looking to grow both within India and abroad.

Previous to HSBC, I have worked with Toyota as an Internal Auditor, and with an NGO focused on environment preservation, again as a research analyst.

I am also involved with an NGO here in Bangalore where I teach poor children English and Math. Some of the extra-curricular activities that I am involved in is the local motorsports society in Bangalore, and regular participation in corporate tournaments. My extra-curriculars during college were quite strong since I was the head representative of my students society as well as the editor of the college newsletter.

Can you please let me know whether my profile would be good enough to get admission in one of the top 10 US business schools. My preference is for one of the top finance schools since I will be continuing my work in this field after the MBA.

Many thanks

Hi Prabal159,

Thanks for your post. You certainly do have the profile for top bschool program. You have solid work experience (it's great that you're earned recognition for this)and academics - both of which are necessary for top programs.

The key for your success will be to find a way to stand out in the applicant pool. Perhaps you can use your experience starting your own financial consultancy or some examples from the NGO work you've done in your essays. Using examples that take place outside of the workplace tend to make for more memorable essays. Be sure to apply early (round 1 if possible), and find recommenders who can speak to your team and leadership skills.

Best,

Stacey

Thanks Stacey,

I have 2 more doubts and would be grateful if you could help me with these. We launched our financial consultancy last year. Within a year, our firm has grown steadily, and we have between 10-15 clients, and looking to have close to 40 clients by the year end. My question is how much detail should I provide: no. of clients, income earned, description of our services and how we are different to what others are providing to their clients?

One more question: I have a post-graduate diploma in management from an Indian institute. Will that be considered equivalent to an MBA by any of these US B-schools? Would I need to use the optional essay that many of these B-schools provide to explain why I want a second MBA, or there is no need for it? In India, a post-graduate diploma or degree is essential to get a good job, but it doesn't offer any international experience. I would need a top 10 US MBA to gain international exposure, and spread our business beyond our national border. Will these be strong enough reasons to justify to the US B-schools the need for a second MBA, should I have to do so?

Many thanks for your help.

Hello,

The most important thing for you to do on your resume is to quantify the impact you have had in your roles/jobs. Numbers are often the best way to demonstrate impact, so it might make sense for you to list your companies growth in terms of clients as well as % increase in earnings since they both demonstrate the impact your firm has had (and you as well) since its inception.

As for your second question, you may wish to write a very brief optional essay explaining your management degree. Most adcoms are aware of these types of programs, but it might be a good idea to explain it none the less.

Regards,

Stacey

As a follow up question, how do the adcom confirm statistics mentioned in the resume. I mean though one would be naive to take a great risk to falsify data in the entire application, how do adcoms review achievements when reflected in the form of numbers.

Stacey Oyler wrote:Hello,

The most important thing for you to do on your resume is to quantify the impact you have had in your roles/jobs. Numbers are often the best way to demonstrate impact, so it might make sense for you to list your companies growth in terms of clients as well as % increase in earnings since they both demonstrate the impact your firm has had (and you as well) since its inception.

As for your second question, you may wish to write a very brief optional essay explaining your management degree. Most adcoms are aware of these types of programs, but it might be a good idea to explain it none the less.

Regards,

Stacey

Hi,

It's rare than an adcom member would seek to fact check a resume during application review and decision making period. However, schools do conduct background checks on all applicants who are accepted and enroll in a program, so it's best to keep your facts/data/stats accurate.

Best,

Stacey

Should have created a separate post.

Apologies for barging in prabal.

Thanks Stacey,

I have prepared a shortlist for the schools that I would be applying to and now, in the next week, I will be sending out mails to request for recommendations. I have a couple of doubts regarding this.

First, I work within a team of 8 members, and I myself manage 5 of them. I thought I would request the team leader and another very senior team member, both of whom sit in London, to write recommendations for me. I'm confident that both will write strong recommendations for me, but since we work in the same team, I doubt that their recommendations together will highlight all my strengths. Instead, I was considering requesting the Head of Research in Bangalore to write one recommendation for me. I have worked with him on a few very important projects, that perhaps highlighted some of my other strengths, which the Head of research would be able to describe better. He has a very high opinion of me and will also give me an equally strong recommendation. Should I then ask the 2 senior members in my team, or the team leader and the Head of research to write this recommendation? Which among the two groups would have a stronger impact on the Adcom? Also, do you think it would make any difference if both my recommenders are from the London office rather than one from the London office and the other from the Bangalore office?

Second, regarding my entrepreneurial venture, I've had some very positive feedback from a few of my clients and I would really like to include some of that. Should I forward this feedback to my recommenders and request them to include it, or should I include it in my essays? Is there any other place in the application where I can let Adcom know of the feedback by my clients?

Any help would be much appreciated!

Thanks

Hi Prabal,

Given the information you've shared, it sounds like it might be advantageous of you to use one team leader and the head of research for your recommendations. In regard to your question about client feedback, there won't be a place in the application for this, so it is best that you share this with your team leader so that he/she can include it in their recommendation.

Best of luck!

Stacey