Ask Clear Admit

Hi,

I wanted to get your perspective on my candidacy for Fall 2010 admissions to a full time MBA program. My details are:

i) Background: 29 year old Indian male (US citizen)

ii) Undergrad: Top 5 Public School in the US with major in Econ and minors in math and phil, GPA 2.95

Low GPA statement: self supported my way through school working a few part time jobs

iii) Career: (a) 2 years in market research, last 4 years in supply chain consulting firm which is market leader in its niche. Promoted once from analyst to associate and currently a project manager (org restructuring lead to addition of another layer below Associate and consequently increased work responsbilities across the board for all associates who are now project managers); pay raise every six months. Have moved from analytical spreadsheet work when I started to now leading international projects with tons of leadership without authority experiences in managing large international stakeholder teams. Expected to be promoted to manager in Jan/Feb 2010.

(b) Most of my work ex has been in the US, however for the last 6 months I have been on assignment in London working in our firm's EU operations - international projects, expansion of my team's practice, bringing standardization between NA and EU practices

iv) GMAT: Last score in Oct 2008 was 710 (49Q and 38 V). Have taken the GMAT three other times in 2007 and 2008 with scores being (650,640 and 630 in chronological order).

v) Extra curriculars:

College- editor of a publication for a student organization, camp counselor for a summer for middle school and high school kids, boxing club, philosophy club

Post College: volunteer for non-profit for a 2 years now - recently fundraising work and developing a program to generate more volunteers in different cities for this organization

vi) Post MBA career - continuation in a different niche in supply chain and using MBA to gain specialized knowledge and develop networks

My questions are:

1. Could you please provide your perspective on my target school list in terms of stretch, sweet spot and safety:

Stern, Columbia, LBS, Oxford, Cambridge, Chicago and Kellogg

2. Will my multiple GMAT retakes over a 2 year period be frowned upon my any of the schools listed above?

Hi Mayheat and thanks for your post. Please see my comments below:

i) Background: 29 year old Indian male (US citizen)

ii) Undergrad: Top 5 Public School in the US with major in Econ and minors in math and phil, GPA 2.95

Low GPA statement: self supported my way through school working a few part time jobs

Your GPA is certainly below average for top 20 programs, but it sounds like you have a good reason for it. Econ is known as a challenging major, so often Econ grads have lower GPA's than say English majors. You will want to write an optional essay for each school briefly explaining that you put yourself through school and as a result it had an impact on your GPA. Adcoms like to see "bootstrappers" and will be pleased to know you worked so hard to earn your education.

iii) Career: (a) 2 years in market research, last 4 years in supply chain consulting firm which is market leader in its niche. Promoted once from analyst to associate and currently a project manager (org restructuring lead to addition of another layer below Associate and consequently increased work responsbilities across the board for all associates who are now project managers); pay raise every six months. Have moved from analytical spreadsheet work when I started to now leading international projects with tons of leadership without authority experiences in managing large international stakeholder teams. Expected to be promoted to manager in Jan/Feb 2010.

It sound like you've had a solid career trajectory to date. Your steady increase in pay and responsibility will be noted by adcoms.

(b) Most of my work ex has been in the US, however for the last 6 months I have been on assignment in London working in our firm's EU operations - international projects, expansion of my team's practice, bringing standardization between NA and EU practices

This sounds like great experience. Hopefully you can write an essay about this for your applications.

iv) GMAT: Last score in Oct 2008 was 710 (49Q and 38 V). Have taken the GMAT three other times in 2007 and 2008 with scores being (650,640 and 630 in chronological order).

Congratulations on breaking the 700 mark! The adcom will be pleased with your latest score.

v) Extra curriculars:

College- editor of a publication for a student organization, camp counselor for a summer for middle school and high school kids, boxing club, philosophy club

Post College: volunteer for non-profit for a 2 years now - recently fundraising work and developing a program to generate more volunteers in different cities for this organization

Your extracurriculars sound great. Hopefully you can pull some essay topics out of the volunteer work you've been doing post-grad.

vi) Post MBA career - continuation in a different niche in supply chain and using MBA to gain specialized knowledge and develop networks

Your goals sound solid. You will want to expand on them a bit more for your essays. Be careful about mentioning networking in your applications. While schools like to talk about their strong networks, you don't want to appear as though that is why you are applying. In other words, while it's a sellling point for them, it's not something you should mention.

My questions are:

1. Could you please provide your perspective on my target school list in terms of stretch, sweet spot and safety:

Stern, Columbia, LBS, Oxford, Cambridge, Chicago and Kellogg

This is a solid list of schools, although it isn't clear which ones you've identified as your "sweet spot" and "safety" programs. You'll want to be sure to highlight your international experience as well as other personal qualities that will help you stand out amongst others in the applicant pool.

2. Will my multiple GMAT retakes over a 2 year period be frowned upon my any of the schools listed above?

No. See my comments above.

Feel free to send your resume to [email protected] if you would like to further discuss your profile.

Best,

Stacey

Stacy,

I appreciate the detailed evaluation of my profile.

I actually was hoping you could share your perspective on how the schools within my target list can be classified along the lines of reach, sweet spots and safety. I am essentially trying to prioritize which apps I should target for R1 vs R2, given my work-schedule and demands that the apps will place on my recommenders.

Secondly, I understand that not mentioning networking explicitly per se is important in the essay. Nonetheless, I do want to comment on a school's class profile and alum profiile in terms of the types of common qualities they espouse (be it excellence, collaborativenes etc) as one of the basis for my school selection. Would this be a better approach?

Regards.

Hi Mayheat,

Thanks for the clarification. You have compiled a solid list of top programs. I think you can be competitive at Stern, Columbia, LBS, Oxford, Cambridge, Chicago and Kellogg, but you will want to think through your strategy as well as your essay topic selection. Being able to diversify yourself from others in the applicant pool will be key. You should also try to apply in round 1 if possible.

Secondly, I understand that not mentioning networking explicitly per se is important in the essay. Nonetheless, I do want to comment on a school's class profile and alum profiile in terms of the types of common qualities they espouse (be it excellence, collaborativenes etc) as one of the basis for my school selection. Would this be a better approach?

Yes, this is a much better approach. Essentially you want to draw parallels between yourself, current students, and alumni.

Best,

Stacey