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Hi,


I have recently taken the GMAT and considering an MBA, but I'm curious as to whether I'd be competitive at some of the schools I have in mind. So I'm looking to get some feedback from the experts!

Age: 30 Male, Australian (Asian background)

GMAT: 710/Q49/V38/AWA5.5/IR8

Current experience: 2 years @ assistant product manager at a financial institution but with a digital focus (Android Pay)
Prior experience: 3 years @ investment ops at a Swiss insurer. In addition to role, also managed company's internal efficiency improvement program and received regional award.

Undergrad: Bachelor (psych) @ top Australian uni (poor marks/pass average due to lack of direction on where I was headed at the time)
Postgrad: Master (finance) @ mid-tier Australian uni. Top 15% class. CFA Level 1 completed.

ECs: International volunteering helping poor communities (1 month at a time, been 3 times). Student mentoring through NPO. Leadership @ church and band. Also I'm not too sure this counts, but I took the Bloomberg Aptitude Test @ Bloomberg Institute and scored the 4th highest in APAC.

I'm very interested in the APAC region and because of my relatively older age, currently considering INSEAD. LBS is a backup, as are the two Aussie schools MBS/AGSM.

Would only consider the US schools if general feedback is that I'd be competitive at the M7 level.

Thank you!

Thanks for sharing your profile.

Scoring 30 points or more above the GMAT average of your target schools would help mitigate concerns about your GPA, if these are at the lower end of the range. Your CFA level 1 & Masters in Finance should help demonstrate your aptitude, as well. Complementing these with work achievements, such as winning regional awards and other distinctions/promotion/bigger responsibilities should help distinguish you from applicants with similar backgrounds.

Strong EC especially with international dimensions and leadership responsibilities will help make your profile more attractive particularly for INSEAD. Also, you would need to clearly show how an MBA at your target program fits with your current profile towards your career goals.

Wish you all the best!

mitwg wrote:Hi,


I have recently taken the GMAT and considering an MBA, but I'm curious as to whether I'd be competitive at some of the schools I have in mind. So I'm looking to get some feedback from the experts!

Age: 30 Male, Australian (Asian background)

GMAT: 710/Q49/V38/AWA5.5/IR8

Current experience: 2 years @ assistant product manager at a financial institution but with a digital focus (Android Pay)
Prior experience: 3 years @ investment ops at a Swiss insurer. In addition to role, also managed company's internal efficiency improvement program and received regional award.

Undergrad: Bachelor (psych) @ top Australian uni (poor marks/pass average due to lack of direction on where I was headed at the time)
Postgrad: Master (finance) @ mid-tier Australian uni. Top 15% class. CFA Level 1 completed.

ECs: International volunteering helping poor communities (1 month at a time, been 3 times). Student mentoring through NPO. Leadership @ church and band. Also I'm not too sure this counts, but I took the Bloomberg Aptitude Test @ Bloomberg Institute and scored the 4th highest in APAC.

I'm very interested in the APAC region and because of my relatively older age, currently considering INSEAD. LBS is a backup, as are the two Aussie schools MBS/AGSM.

Would only consider the US schools if general feedback is that I'd be competitive at the M7 level.

Thank you!

Thank you for your post. Your volunteer / extra-curricular experience is interesting. Have you taken time off work each of the three months you went to volunteer?

Your profile would be competitive at the schools you mentioned though it will not be a sure thing because of the lower GPA (it would be great to know just how low). The Aussie schools will be much more likely to happen.

I don't see you being very competitive at M7 with a 710 GMAT and a low GPA with your current work experience. As mentioned above, if you can raise the score closer to 750 then the story changes.

Good luck and reach out if you want any assistance with your applications. [email protected]

Best,
Scott

Thanks for the respones

The volunteering experiences was a team effort and we've timed it over the Christmas period so we didn't need to take off that much time. We went to places like Calcutta, India to teach English to the local kids.

Undergrad GPA is very low unfortunately. I actually studied medicine for around ~2 years but I absolutely hated it (only really enrolled in it because I had no idea what I was doing with life and thought being a doctor as prestigious) so I ended up quitting half way through the course and graduated with a psych degree because this was the fastest way of quitting uni while keeping credit for what I've studied already. Although, one thing positive is that the GPA even at undergrad did improve from the 1st year through the 4th year (i.e. I actually started caring about the GPA in my 4th year, but it was already too late to fix the whole thing).

Understood about the GMAT and I probably expected this to be the case at the top US schools. I thought to myself that I could probably do better with a retake, as during my exam, there was this spectacular idiot in the room that literally spent half is time complaining very loudly about whatever problem it is that he was having. It was very distracting and I honestly thought about complaining myself, but given that I saw a 710 at the end (which isn't fantastic but nevertheless I thought was 'enough' for INSEAD), I decided not to make a big fuss.

I know the US schools do not recruit until later so if I do not get INSEAD for whatever reason, I do plan to re-take the GMAT to try and score a 750+.