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INSEAD/LBS/Columbia/Booth - Profile evaluation

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INSEAD/LBS/Columbia/Booth - Profile evaluation

by NickD » Wed Aug 30, 2017 2:55 am
Dear all,

Can you please evaluate my profile for the following MBAs: INSEAD (Paris or Singapore), LBS, Columbia and Chicago Booth? Any advice much appreciated.

My profile:
- GMAT: 710 (expected)
- 5+ years of experience in Finance & IT, including 2 years as a Software Engineer for a niche ERP Provider and 3 years as a Management Consultant at E&Y
- French Male, currently working in Paris with a broad international exposure: worked in 15+ countries during my time at E&Y (US/South America/Europe/Africa/Asia)
- International exposure : in addition to my professional experience abroad, I have travelled to 30+ countries and have some ties with an African country I travel to on a regular basis
- Good academic record: MSc in Operational Research and Information Systems at a good French Engineering School
- Stellar profile at E&Y, with top ratings. Part of E&Y High Potential program. Soon-to-be promoted Manager
- French native speaker and fluent in English. Good working knowledge of Spanish (worked in Colombia a few years ago)

Objectives post-MBA:
- 1/ Return to a BIG 4 (in France or elsewhere) and moving up the ladder to Partner, for which an MBA would be a great asset
* Trying to break into MBB and the likes might be an option too. However, my gut feeling is telling me that I may not be a good fit. Additionally, in the end I can see no difference between Partners at Big 4 and MBB (we have former MBB at E&Y), while it seems much more competitive to me to make Partner at MBB
- 2/ Get a management role at a big Software Editor (e.g. SAP, Microsoft), with a focus on financial services (to stay consistent)

Looking forward to your feedback.

Many thanks.

Kind regards,
Nick
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by Michelle@ARINGO » Wed Aug 30, 2017 7:59 am
NickD wrote:Dear all,

Can you please evaluate my profile for the following MBAs: INSEAD (Paris or Singapore), LBS, Columbia and Chicago Booth? Any advice much appreciated.

My profile:
- GMAT: 710 (expected)
- 5+ years of experience in Finance & IT, including 2 years as a Software Engineer for a niche ERP Provider and 3 years as a Management Consultant at E&Y
- French Male, currently working in Paris with a broad international exposure: worked in 15+ countries during my time at E&Y (US/South America/Europe/Africa/Asia)
- International exposure : in addition to my professional experience abroad, I have travelled to 30+ countries and have some ties with an African country I travel to on a regular basis
- Good academic record: MSc in Operational Research and Information Systems at a good French Engineering School
- Stellar profile at E&Y, with top ratings. Part of E&Y High Potential program. Soon-to-be promoted Manager
- French native speaker and fluent in English. Good working knowledge of Spanish (worked in Colombia a few years ago)

Objectives post-MBA:
- 1/ Return to a BIG 4 (in France or elsewhere) and moving up the ladder to Partner, for which an MBA would be a great asset
* Trying to break into MBB and the likes might be an option too. However, my gut feeling is telling me that I may not be a good fit. Additionally, in the end I can see no difference between Partners at Big 4 and MBB (we have former MBB at E&Y), while it seems much more competitive to me to make Partner at MBB
- 2/ Get a management role at a big Software Editor (e.g. SAP, Microsoft), with a focus on financial services (to stay consistent)

Looking forward to your feedback.

Many thanks.

Kind regards,
Nick
Looks solid enough, possibly for all 4 schools but especially for INSEAD and LBS as they will value all that international experience the most, I think. What you would need, however, in order to make sure you secure a spot at those schools is some kind of distinguishing or interesting/unique angle, backstory or similar. While your profile is good, it is a bit boring (pardon me for saying so!) so you need to think about how you are going to give it that little special edge to really get you in the door. (Feel free to get in touch at https://aringo.com/mba-process-registration/ if you'd like to brainstorm a bit about what that unique point could be!)

But all in all, there is definitely potential for an admit here, for all 4 schools, if the application is done right!

Good luck!

JL
ARINGO MBA Admissions Consulting
https://ARINGO.com/

Specializing in candidates with GMATs under 720

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by Donna@Stratus » Wed Aug 30, 2017 8:42 am
NickD wrote:Dear all,

Can you please evaluate my profile for the following MBAs: INSEAD (Paris or Singapore), LBS, Columbia and Chicago Booth? Any advice much appreciated.

My profile:
- GMAT: 710 (expected)
- 5+ years of experience in Finance & IT, including 2 years as a Software Engineer for a niche ERP Provider and 3 years as a Management Consultant at E&Y
- French Male, currently working in Paris with a broad international exposure: worked in 15+ countries during my time at E&Y (US/South America/Europe/Africa/Asia)
- International exposure : in addition to my professional experience abroad, I have travelled to 30+ countries and have some ties with an African country I travel to on a regular basis
- Good academic record: MSc in Operational Research and Information Systems at a good French Engineering School
- Stellar profile at E&Y, with top ratings. Part of E&Y High Potential program. Soon-to-be promoted Manager
- French native speaker and fluent in English. Good working knowledge of Spanish (worked in Colombia a few years ago)

Objectives post-MBA:
- 1/ Return to a BIG 4 (in France or elsewhere) and moving up the ladder to Partner, for which an MBA would be a great asset
* Trying to break into MBB and the likes might be an option too. However, my gut feeling is telling me that I may not be a good fit. Additionally, in the end I can see no difference between Partners at Big 4 and MBB (we have former MBB at E&Y), while it seems much more competitive to me to make Partner at MBB
- 2/ Get a management role at a big Software Editor (e.g. SAP, Microsoft), with a focus on financial services (to stay consistent)

Looking forward to your feedback.

Many thanks.

Kind regards,
Nick
Nick, I think you look strong for INSEAD and that Paris makes sense. LBS also looks good. I think your potential at both CBS and Booth could be excellent also as both schools will value your international background and I think from Paris your application will pop a bit. But the odds at CBS and Booth are tougher and it could help to work with someone who knows these schools well and can guide you in the process of applying. We have counselors who are alums at both CBS and Booth and if you'd like to learn more how we can help, go to this link to set up a free consult: https://stratusadmissionscounseling.com ... consult%2F
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profile evaluation

by VuWonder » Mon Sep 10, 2018 4:58 am
Hi Experts,

It would be great if you could evaluate my profile for admission to Rotman (or Ivey).

Nationality: Indian
Gender: Male
GMAT: 740

Education:
Undergrad: Electronics engineering from a well-known but Non IIT College. CGPA(3.82/4)
Post Grad: PGDM in Marketing and Communications with Digital Marketing Specialization from MICA, Ahmedabad (one of the Premium Marketing Schools in India) CGPA (3.7/4)

Work Experience: Around 5+ years

Pre-Masters Work Ex:
6 Months with India's top Automotive company Tata Motors Limited as Assistant Manager (Maintenance):Lead a team of 4 technicians in Tata Nano Retro-fitment drive to upgrade 2000 cars in record time.

14 months with a Fortune 500 MNC Bombardier Transportation as Application Engineer. Worked on product Firmware Application development, automation and testing for Delhi metro and Manhiem based German train projects. Interacted and dealt with cross-country and cross-functional stake holders with a lot of International exposure.

1 year in Business development for an Educational Start-up: Lead end to end customer acquisition initiatives for the company - right from events, liaison to institutional tie-ups and brand marketing.

Post Masters Work-ex:

1 year as Marketing Manager for an FMCG Start-up belonging to Dishman group of companies: Post my PGDM, I was inclined to a start-up role which would provide me with cross-functional role exposure with steep learning curve. As a Marketing Manager with the FMCG Start up, I led a team of 4 people and coordinated cross-functional team within the organization. Played a pivotal role in on-boarding the brand with major e-commerce portals and putting in place the digital marketing strategy for the start-up. Guided the brand's e-commerce sales from scratch to Rs 0.6 million in year 1. Was promoted from Assistant Manager to Manager in 10 months.

2.5 years with Amazon India as Marketing Manager: Currently leading Category Marketing for 4 categories with business of Rs 40 crore per annum. Driving key projects pertaining to new customer acquisition and repeat purchases.
My experience has been good mix of technical aspects of digital analytics as well as strategic aspects of online and offline marketing projects relating to customer acquisition and cost optimization.

International Exposure: No International work travel per se but have worked with Germany based and US based teams to deliver on multiple projects while working at Bombardier and Amazon. At a personal level have traveled to Europe.

Extra-Curricular:
1. Half marathon Runner and fitness blogger.
2. I've won many school level and University level Debate competitions.
3. I have been part of multiple student organizations at both undergrad and Post grad level including Entrepreneurship cell.
4. I've won university and District level science/GK quiz competitions.

Community Service:
1. Co-founder of an NGO working for rural and tribal employment.
2. Have been a regular part of company based CSR initiatives including community teaching, cleanliness drives and hygiene awareness campaigns

Post MBA Goals:
I want to leverage my Marketing and Digital Analytics to work in a Strategy consulting role or a Product Management role of a big company to get exposure and eventually start my own venture.

Thanks:)
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by sandip@mbaessayconsultant » Tue Sep 11, 2018 10:19 am
Your profile is good for LBS and INSEAD.
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by MargaretStrother » Fri Sep 28, 2018 4:17 am
Hi Nick,
Interesting profile! All four schools will love your professional international exposure and your clear career vision.
As others have observed here, there are significant differences between what European schools such as LBS and INSEAD find attractive, vs what the US schools are looking for. Since most people have responded to your query about the European schools, I'll weigh in on the question more from the perspective of American schools:

For Booth and Columbia, 710 is, I'd say, a minimum GMAT expectation, given your education and work experience, with a good balance between Q (expected from someone with an engineering education) and V (needed as someone from a non-English speaking country; judging by the quality of your writing in your profile, English skills won't be a problem for you). These schools also pay close attention to your GPA -- you want to be at or above the average for the schools you're applying to: ~ 3.5 US GPA for these schools.

Now, community involvement: US schools place heavy emphasis on extracurricular and community leadership, and that is an area I am not seeing addressed in your profile. If your travel back and forth to Africa involves community engagement, that would be a huge plus for you in the eyes of top MBA programs in the US.

Finally, goals: if you're applying to Booth or Columbia, aim for MBB. Why not? You've already done EY; time for something new and different.

Good luck!
Margaret Strother
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Stacy Blackman Consulting

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