BREAKING: Target Test Prep releases Brand New 2026 On Demand GMAT prep course

Redeem

Profile Evaluation Greatly Appreciated.

Free advice from the world's top MBA consultants
This topic has expert replies
Post new topic Post Reply
Previous Topic Next Topic
Newbie | Next Rank: 10 Posts
Posts: 6
Joined: Wed Apr 24, 2013 5:43 am

Profile Evaluation Greatly Appreciated.

by jml12357 » Mon Jun 03, 2013 5:26 am
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!
Top
Source: — Ask an MBA Admissions Consultant |

GMAT/MBA Expert

User avatar
Legendary Member
Posts: 1088
Joined: Thu Apr 18, 2013 3:29 pm
Thanked: 171 times
Followed by:52 members

by CriticalSquareMBA » Mon Jun 03, 2013 11:56 am
Hi jml2357,

At a high level, you have a solid chance at the 5 - 15 schools. You have a great GMAT (congrats!) and a solid GPA that will crack the door at even the top 4 programs but at that point it will come down to differentiation and, without knowing the details of your work experience and roles in community activities, it would be difficult to say how you would fare there.

From an undergraduate career, you have it covered. Good grades, strong GMAT, unique involvement, and supporting yourself financially (this is not something most kids do and it's definitely an insight into your character and drive). Not to mention, the singer/actor thing is pretty cool!

Professionally, it's hard to assess what your experience is actually worth. For one, an analyst is a rather vague title (I know they all give this title) so I would like to ask you what you actually DID. What were your project experiences like at both Accenture and KPMG? Were you involved within the firm?

Community wise, I can't tell if this is a gap in your application or something you simply haven't mentioned? If you're very involved within your firms, that would go here or if you're involved outside of work, that would be what I'm going for here. In other words, aside from client engagements, what else do you do?

As we look to differentiation and candidacy, it really comes down to understanding the nuts and bolts of what you actually did versus what your titles say.

If you could share some more information that would help or if you'd like to chat about this (which might be easier than recreating your resume in a forum post), I'd be happy to help you how I can.

I look forward to learning more about you!

Bhavik
Critical Square | MBA Admissions Services

Web | Facebook | Twitter

Sign up for a free consultation today!

We love helping! Was this post helpful to you? Thank us and let me know!
Top
User avatar
Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts
Posts: 60
Joined: Tue May 21, 2013 11:30 pm
Location: New Delhi
Thanked: 6 times
Followed by:5 members

by ErinaApphelp » Mon Jun 03, 2013 11:11 pm
Hi,

You've excellent GPA and a good GMAT score. Your ECs with passion of acting/singing seem to be fine. However, I am concerned about your achievements in or outside work place and low work experience. What are your short/long term goals? What is your leadership style? What will you bring in the classroom? How will you contribute to the b-school society? These are few questions on which b-school adcoms gauge the applicants. If you are able to skillfully articulate the above questions in essays and interviews then you would stand a chance in b-school(s). You may try your chances in b-school(s) by clicking https://tinyurl.com/k6r5w6x

Hope this helps!!

Regards
Erina


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!
GMAT-720
Undergrad- Top 5 college in India
MBA- Top 15 FT ranking b-school
Free Profile Evaluation- https://www.apphelp.co.in/
Top
User avatar
MBA Admissions Consultant
Posts: 810
Joined: Thu Jun 16, 2011 1:12 pm
Thanked: 127 times
Followed by:35 members

by MBAPrepAdvantage » Sat Jun 22, 2013 6:40 am
I think your strong GPA, GMAT score, name companies, the fact that you are applying from management consulting (selective field) and come from an underrepresented applicant group (females) puts you as competitive for Top 3-7 (Wharton, MIT Sloan, Kellogg, Chicago Booth, Dartmouth Tuck) and reaching into HBS and Stanford.

Obviously emphasize as much responsibility as possible, leadership competencies within work and community service, etc.

Good luck,
Michael Cohan
MBAPrepAdvantage Founder & AIGAC Board Director
305-604-8178
www.mbaprepadvantage.com

Please thank and/or like individual posts.

Follow Michael Cohan on Image Image and BeattheGMAT.
Follow MBAPrepAdvantage on Image Image Image.

For a free assessment email [email protected] your target schools, goals, resume, GPA and GMAT or fill out our Free MBA Admissions Consultation Form.
Top
Newbie | Next Rank: 10 Posts
Posts: 6
Joined: Wed Apr 24, 2013 5:43 am

by jml12357 » Sat Jun 22, 2013 1:52 pm
I am an Asian male. how would this alter things?
Top

GMAT/MBA Expert

User avatar
Legendary Member
Posts: 1088
Joined: Thu Apr 18, 2013 3:29 pm
Thanked: 171 times
Followed by:52 members

by CriticalSquareMBA » Sat Jun 22, 2013 2:02 pm
Hi there,

It doesn't change what I wrote. I kind of assumed you were Asian given the stint in South Korea and since you didn't explicitly state you were a female, I also figured you were a male.

Cheers!

Bhavik
Critical Square | MBA Admissions Services

Web | Facebook | Twitter

Sign up for a free consultation today!

We love helping! Was this post helpful to you? Thank us and let me know!
Top
User avatar
MBA Admissions Consultant
Posts: 810
Joined: Thu Jun 16, 2011 1:12 pm
Thanked: 127 times
Followed by:35 members

by MBAPrepAdvantage » Sat Jun 22, 2013 2:30 pm
My bad in that I thought your profile said a female applicant.

Even if you are not from an underrepresented group, I still feel your strong GPA, GMAT score, name companies and the fact that you are applying from management consulting (selective field) puts you as competitive for Top 3-7 (Wharton, MIT Sloan, Kellogg, Chicago Booth, Dartmouth Tuck) and reaching into HBS and Stanford. The percentages might just be a little less. You might wish to add a school or two, though, from outside the top 7 but in the top 15 to diversify your chances.

Good luck,
Michael Cohan
MBAPrepAdvantage Founder & AIGAC Board Director
305-604-8178
www.mbaprepadvantage.com

Please thank and/or like individual posts.

Follow Michael Cohan on Image Image and BeattheGMAT.
Follow MBAPrepAdvantage on Image Image Image.

For a free assessment email [email protected] your target schools, goals, resume, GPA and GMAT or fill out our Free MBA Admissions Consultation Form.
Top
Newbie | Next Rank: 10 Posts
Posts: 6
Joined: Wed Apr 24, 2013 5:43 am

by jml12357 » Sat Jun 22, 2013 7:17 pm
Hi Mike,

Thank you for your quick replies. I was wondering what the percentage was of admission when you say that I would be competitive? Also, I am looking to go into the entertainment industry or stay in management consulting post MBA. What schools that are ranked 8-15 do you think would be ideal for me? I appreciate your advice.
Top
Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts
Posts: 204
Joined: Thu Apr 28, 2011 10:22 pm
Thanked: 51 times
Followed by:6 members

by MBAApply » Sun Jun 23, 2013 2:39 pm
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!
As a Big-4 consultant, focus on the top 16 as your sweet spots (Stern, Cornell, Yale, Duke, Darden, Ross, UCLA). As for the top 8, you have an outside shot at Kellogg, Tuck, Sloan, Haas, Columbia and Booth that it's worth looking at 1-2. Safeties would be in the top 30 such as USC, Texas, Tepper, Emory, Georgetown, etc.

If you're looking into film/tv, focus on the following based on the above list:

Stretch: Columbia, Haas
Sweet spots: Stern, UCLA
Safeties: USC

Also, you may want to look into the USC Film School's Stark Program (it's an MFA to train/groom producers).

Speaking from experience, film/tv is all about networks (as you may have been exposed to in Korea). Regardless of what part of the business you're in (agency, production, talent, technical, legal, etc.) you'll find a ton of alums who went to NYU, UCLA, and USC in particular. So while schools like say Kellogg may have a stronger rep *outside* of entertainment compared to UCLA, you'll simply find a lot more UCLA alums (Anderson and others) within the industry.

Also, being close to the action is crucial - you need to be out there meeting people, and as you know, the hub of the industry is in LA and NY. From the list above, Haas obviously isn't in LA, but it's close enough for you to network (Pixar, ILM, Lucasfilm, etc. not to mention all the Internet companies getting into new media such as Google/Youtube - although a good chunk of their entertainment presence is now in their Venice campus I believe).
Top
User avatar
MBA Admissions Consultant
Posts: 810
Joined: Thu Jun 16, 2011 1:12 pm
Thanked: 127 times
Followed by:35 members

by MBAPrepAdvantage » Mon Jun 24, 2013 10:56 am
I agree. For entertainment you would want to attend UCLA, USC, or NYU because of the Los Angeles and New York locations. Add Columbia in there as well for the same reasons.

Competitive means somewhere between target and stretch i.e. it is foreseeable you would be accepted to at least one of these school if you applied to say the group of them. Exact percentages are difficult to forecast but you should be assessing whether an application to these schools has a reasonable chance of success and in your case with your background, I feel it does.

Good luck,
Michael Cohan
MBAPrepAdvantage Founder & AIGAC Board Director
305-604-8178
www.mbaprepadvantage.com

Please thank and/or like individual posts.

Follow Michael Cohan on Image Image and BeattheGMAT.
Follow MBAPrepAdvantage on Image Image Image.

For a free assessment email [email protected] your target schools, goals, resume, GPA and GMAT or fill out our Free MBA Admissions Consultation Form.
Top
Post new topic Post Reply
• Page 1 of 1