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

Redeem

Universities in Europe for my profile?

Free advice from the world's top MBA consultants
This topic has expert replies
Post new topic Post Reply
Previous Topic Next Topic
User avatar
Newbie | Next Rank: 10 Posts
Posts: 5
Joined: Mon Oct 31, 2011 7:34 am

Universities in Europe for my profile?

by shashankmallya » Mon Oct 31, 2011 7:43 am
Hi all,

I have a GMAT score of 710, a TOEFL score of 107, 2 years and 4 months IT consulting work experience with one of the 'Big 4' companies.

I was hoping if you guys could recommend some universities for an MBA in Finance in Europe that would suit my profile. (PS: I have background knowledge in Finance)

Thanks in advance for your assistance.
Top
Source: — Ask an MBA Admissions Consultant |
User avatar
Legendary Member
Posts: 795
Joined: Sun Sep 20, 2009 10:41 am
Thanked: 177 times
Followed by:85 members

by essaysnark » Mon Oct 31, 2011 8:19 am
Hi shashankmallya--

Your academics from college actually matter a lot too, but even without that datapoint, you are checking off all the boxes and it appears that you're qualified to try for many of the top schools. Several Europe programs including LBS and INSEAD prefer to see more work experience, with an average of 5 yrs, however you could potentially still have success at those programs if you are able to communicate a) strong past leadership experiences, and b) important reasons why now is the right time for you to get an MBA. Your career goals will need to be fully developed, and it will also help if you can explain why you want to make this big career transition from IT to finance. If you already have international work experience, it will be a very big help to you as well. Those are the elements that can differentiate a profile. You have to show the adcom through your application (particiuarly the essays and letters of recommendation) how you're in a position to take advantage of the opportunities that they offer, based on what you've done in the past and what you want to do with the education. It can be tough for candidates from the oversubscribed pools of Indians in IT (we assume that's your basic profile) to stand out from the crowd. So, you'll want to explore stories in your essays of how you have made an impact in the environments you've been in. This is the biggest hurdle, frankly, even greater than GMAT score.

You have the essentials going for you with the GMAT and the TOEFL and you have a foundation of relevant work experience. In order to choose the right target school, much depends on your career goals (and why you want to go to Europe for the MBA - Europe is a big place and it would help if you narrow that down). And then, how the adcom responds to your application will depend on how you position yourself through the stories you present in the essays.

If you want to ask about a specific school, feel free, and we'll offer some pros and cons if we can.

In the interim, here's a couple articles that we posted on our blog awhile back that might help:
https://essaysnark.blocked/2010/06/ ... chool.html
https://essaysnark.blocked/2010/07/ ... es-at.html

Best of luck!
EssaySnark
EssaySnark has MBA application guides for HBS, Stanford, Booth, Wharton, NYU and pretty much any other school you can name - including a fully revised and expanded 2015 Columbia essay guide!
https://essaysnark.com/bookstore/
* * * * * * *
The Indians' Guide to Getting In maps out everything you need to evaluate your own profile and select your schools. https://essaysnark.com/ssguide/quicksnar ... ans-guide/
* * * * * * *
MILITARY CANDIDATES! We've got some pro bono offers just for you: https://essaysnark.com/military-mba/
* * * * * * *
Follow EssaySnark on Twitter!
Top
User avatar
Legendary Member
Posts: 510
Joined: Sun Sep 11, 2011 6:15 am
Location: London
Thanked: 122 times
Followed by:22 members

by throughmba » Mon Oct 31, 2011 8:23 am
LBS stands tall and is best suited to your goals. They have started looking at younger applicants.

INSEAD,IMD,IE,IESE to follow.

I am sure you notice that your experience is on the lower side.

Said and Judge will give you a thought if you can prove to be an excellent performer till date.
ThroughMBA Consulting
The No. 1 B-School Admission Consulting of U.K. is now the most Affordable.

https://throughmba.com
email : [email protected]

Alex Wilkins
Senior Admission Consultant, ThroughMBA.com
Panelist | MBA Admissions Achievers Meet
Interviewer | MIT Sloan | Former
Management Consultant | McKinsey & Company | Former

"Regardless of who you are or what you have been, You can make what you want to be."
Top
User avatar
Newbie | Next Rank: 10 Posts
Posts: 5
Joined: Mon Oct 31, 2011 7:34 am

by shashankmallya » Mon Oct 31, 2011 8:46 am
Thanks EssaySnark and ThroughMba !!

My preference for locations in Europe would be UK, France or Spain.

Would you be better able to assess my profile I say that I graduated with a Bachelor In Engineering degree(Computer Science) from the University of Mumbai with an aggregate of around 65%?

I have had leadership opportunities and I also have some ideas wherein I would be leveraging my knowledge in IT for financial analysis. I have mentioned the same in my essays for other B-schools where I have supplemented the aforementioned information with my career path and my reasons for the shift from IT to Finance.
I am aware that my work-ex is on the lower side; consequently, schools like LBS, INSEAD and IESE appear distant. I have applied to some schools in the US (Booth, Anderson to name a few) but I was on the lookout for a decent 'backup' university, just in case I do not get an admit from any of the schools on account of my work ex.

PS: Do you really think I stand a chance at LBS or IESE !!??
Top
User avatar
Legendary Member
Posts: 795
Joined: Sun Sep 20, 2009 10:41 am
Thanked: 177 times
Followed by:85 members

by essaysnark » Mon Oct 31, 2011 8:55 am
shashankmallya wrote:PS: Do you really think I stand a chance at LBS or IESE !!??
Hi shashankmallya--

We are not too confident with your amount of work experience at LBS. IESE, maybe... it totally depends on the rest of your profile. Average work experience at IESE is 4 yrs so you're closer to the range there.

As we already said (and of course you're already well aware!) your profile is quite common. The GMAT score, the TOEFL, and the academics are all in the range that will qualify you for these schools, but none of them help to distinguish you. Thus, as with other candidates like you, you'll need to have really impressive stories in those essays. It sounds like you're working the appropriate angles, with leveraging your IT background towards finance, so you're thinking about things the right way. But as you know, these are super-competitive schools! LBS is cream of the crop. Oxford and Cambridge are a notch below, so those might be a little "easier" for you to target (they are also open to somewhat younger candidates) -- but truly, none of these are "backups" - these are all very competitive schools with selective admissions. Perhaps a school like Essec -- but even that is basically in the same category.

We're not trying to be all no-no-no on you :( but without seeing the actual essays, it's pretty much impossible for anyone to evaluate. All we can say here is Yes you have the essentials that will qualify you to TRY for any of these schools and it will come down to how you present on the page to determine if the schools will be receptive.

If you want to send over an essay for possible (public!!) review on our blog, you're certainly invited to do so!! essaysnark (at) gmail, for you or anyone else. :-)

EssaySnark
EssaySnark has MBA application guides for HBS, Stanford, Booth, Wharton, NYU and pretty much any other school you can name - including a fully revised and expanded 2015 Columbia essay guide!
https://essaysnark.com/bookstore/
* * * * * * *
The Indians' Guide to Getting In maps out everything you need to evaluate your own profile and select your schools. https://essaysnark.com/ssguide/quicksnar ... ans-guide/
* * * * * * *
MILITARY CANDIDATES! We've got some pro bono offers just for you: https://essaysnark.com/military-mba/
* * * * * * *
Follow EssaySnark on Twitter!
Top
User avatar
Newbie | Next Rank: 10 Posts
Posts: 5
Joined: Mon Oct 31, 2011 7:34 am

by shashankmallya » Mon Oct 31, 2011 10:18 am
Thanks !! I'll get back to you via email :)
Top
User avatar
Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts
Posts: 58
Joined: Thu Jul 28, 2011 9:39 pm
Location: India
Thanked: 11 times
Followed by:1 members

by Color Me One » Mon Oct 31, 2011 11:32 pm
Just adding a point since you are looking at European MBA programs. If you are working in IT & want to move to Finance then you pretty much need a program that offers some sort of internship.

The finance job market in Europe is not rosy, so make sure you figure the importance of internships in your school list.

Good Luck!
Color Me One MBA Admission Consulting

Brand Your MBA Application
www.colormeone.com

Contact us for a free essay evaluation!
Top
User avatar
Legendary Member
Posts: 510
Joined: Sun Sep 11, 2011 6:15 am
Location: London
Thanked: 122 times
Followed by:22 members

by throughmba » Mon Oct 31, 2011 11:41 pm
shashankmallya wrote:Thanks EssaySnark and ThroughMba !!

My preference for locations in Europe would be UK, France or Spain.

Would you be better able to assess my profile I say that I graduated with a Bachelor In Engineering degree(Computer Science) from the University of Mumbai with an aggregate of around 65%?

I have had leadership opportunities and I also have some ideas wherein I would be leveraging my knowledge in IT for financial analysis. I have mentioned the same in my essays for other B-schools where I have supplemented the aforementioned information with my career path and my reasons for the shift from IT to Finance.
I am aware that my work-ex is on the lower side; consequently, schools like LBS, INSEAD and IESE appear distant. I have applied to some schools in the US (Booth, Anderson to name a few) but I was on the lookout for a decent 'backup' university, just in case I do not get an admit from any of the schools on account of my work ex.

PS: Do you really think I stand a chance at LBS or IESE !!??
Hi

I would definitely comment after a few diagnostics.

It is all in the essays. I would like to have a look at the essays.

The branding can do wonders.
ThroughMBA Consulting
The No. 1 B-School Admission Consulting of U.K. is now the most Affordable.

https://throughmba.com
email : [email protected]

Alex Wilkins
Senior Admission Consultant, ThroughMBA.com
Panelist | MBA Admissions Achievers Meet
Interviewer | MIT Sloan | Former
Management Consultant | McKinsey & Company | Former

"Regardless of who you are or what you have been, You can make what you want to be."
Top
User avatar
Legendary Member
Posts: 795
Joined: Sun Sep 20, 2009 10:41 am
Thanked: 177 times
Followed by:85 members

by essaysnark » Tue Nov 01, 2011 6:03 am
Color Me One, *excellent* points which we had overlooked this time. Thank you for mentioning both those facts!!!

EssaySnark
EssaySnark has MBA application guides for HBS, Stanford, Booth, Wharton, NYU and pretty much any other school you can name - including a fully revised and expanded 2015 Columbia essay guide!
https://essaysnark.com/bookstore/
* * * * * * *
The Indians' Guide to Getting In maps out everything you need to evaluate your own profile and select your schools. https://essaysnark.com/ssguide/quicksnar ... ans-guide/
* * * * * * *
MILITARY CANDIDATES! We've got some pro bono offers just for you: https://essaysnark.com/military-mba/
* * * * * * *
Follow EssaySnark on Twitter!
Top
Post new topic Post Reply
• Page 1 of 1