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Profile evaluation for top 10 US MBA school

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Profile evaluation for top 10 US MBA school

by prabal159 » Sun Jul 15, 2012 10:48 am
Hello,

Can you please tell me if my profile would be suitable for admission to one of the top 10 US MBA schools. My details are below:

29, Indian, Male
Graduation in Economics from top 10 college in India, scored a second division (very competitive with only 20% of class securing a first division)
PG diploma in management from a 2nd tier institute in India (considered equivalent to an MBA in India, top 20% rank)
CFA charterholder from the CFA institute, USA
FRM charterholder from GARP, USA
GMAT - 730 (Q:50, V:38)

Have been working as a research analyst at HSBC Bangalore for the last 4 years. I have enjoyed excellent growth in the company, by being promoted to the position of a manager within 2 years when the normal duration to be promoted is 3 years. Have won numerous awards at the company including one which is awarded to the 100 best performers in a year among the 40,000+ employees in the group worldwide. Have worked on and led projects which involved contributions from analysts in at least 3 different continents.

Aside from HSBC, I, along with 2 partners, have launched a financial consultancy, where we perform a strategic allocation for our clients portfolios. This doesn't conflict with my role at HSBC because I am not recommending stocks to my clients, but instead advising my clients how best to allocate funds among different asset classes. Due to my work commitments at HSBC, my participation is presently low, but after my MBA, I will be more actively involved in this. We started this firm last year and have a few clients, but looking to grow both within India and abroad.

Previous to HSBC, I have worked with Toyota as an Internal Auditor, and with an NGO focused on environment preservation, again as a research analyst.

I am also involved with an NGO here in Bangalore where I teach poor children English and Math. Some of the extra-curricular activities that I am involved in is the local motorsports society in Bangalore, and regular participation in corporate tournaments. My extra-curriculars during college were quite strong since I was the head representative of my students society as well as the editor of the college newsletter.

Can you please let me know whether my profile would be good enough to get admission in one of the top 10 US business schools. My preference is for one of the top finance schools since I will be continuing my work in this field after the MBA.

Many thanks
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by MBAApply » Sun Jul 15, 2012 9:18 pm
If finance is what you're after post-MBA, given your profile, here's the schools you should target:

Stretch - Columbia, Booth
Sweet spot - Stern, Cornell, Yale
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by prabal159 » Mon Jul 16, 2012 7:49 am
Thanks MBAApply,

Thank you for this honest appraisal of my application. Could you please tell me what are weakest areas of my profile?

Regards
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by MBAApply » Mon Jul 16, 2012 8:15 am
When it comes to the application, don't fixate on your weaknesses. No applicant is perfect, and it's not about that at all. Also, most applicants' biggest so-called weaknesses (or concerns) are things they can't control: too old, too young, too inexperienced, too experienced, being Indian (yes, as you probably noticed being on this site as well as others, there's TONS of Indians applying, and b-schools try pretty deliberately to limit the numbers of Indians accepted), and so forth.

Focus on your STRENGTHS instead. Unlike other Indians, you aren't an engineer (phew!!). That can help. You can and should highlight the team/leadership aspects of your experiences to date (both at work and outside of work), as well as the non-academic achievements that you're most proud of.

And finally, it is a bit of a personality contest. That's what the essays in a way are about. It's not just a place to "disclose information" - but also a chance to reveal who you are as a person based on HOW you write (and not just WHAT you write).
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by MBAPrepAdvantage » Mon Jul 16, 2012 8:18 am
I would recommend Wharton, Columbia, Booth, Stern, Anderson, and Cornell for you to look at.

Your age would be a slight weakness considering the average age at many of the MBA schools is lower (but also the average age of international applicants tends to be higher). Mitigate this by showing greater responsibilities and accomplishments for your age which you do in your first paragraph.

Also, position your entrepreneurial endeavor as strong as possible to differentiate you from others in your peer group.

Good luck,
Michael Cohan
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by prabal159 » Mon Jul 16, 2012 7:59 pm
Thanks Michael,

Regarding my entrepreneurial endeavor, we launched this firm last year. Within a year, our firm has grown steadily, and we have between 10-15 clients, and looking to have close to 40 clients by the year end. My question is how much detail should I provide: no. of clients, income earned, description of our services and how we are different to what others are providing to their clients?

I have one more question: I have a post-graduate diploma in management from an Indian institute. Will that be considered equivalent to an MBA by any of these US B-schools? Would I need to use the optional essay that many of these B-schools provide to explain why I want a second MBA, or there is no need for it? In India, a post-graduate diploma or degree is essential to get a good job, but it doesn't offer any international experience. I would need a top 10 US MBA to gain international exposure, and spread our business beyond our national border. Will these be strong enough reasons to justify to the US B-schools the need for a second MBA, should I have to do so?

Many thanks for your help,
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by MBAPrepAdvantage » Tue Jul 17, 2012 12:28 pm
The most important part is not how your company is different but your role in whatever your company has been doing that shows different skills sets and competencies than those displayed in your research role.

I have had many clients with a post-graduate diploma in management from an Indian Institute apply successfully to MBA schools. They usually do this in the optional essay The key is (as you mention) to highlight reasons the second MBA will better enable you to accomplish your career goals. International exposure is one reason but there should be more. Your target MBA programs should offer much more in terms of academics, programs, , network, etc. to better enable you to accomplish your career goals.

Good luck!!!!
Michael Cohan
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by prabal159 » Sat Jul 28, 2012 11:38 am
Thanks all.

I have prepared a shortlist for the schools that I would be applying to and now, in the next week, I will be sending out mails to request for recommendations. I have a couple of doubts regarding this.

First, I work within a team of 8 members, and I myself manage 5 of them. I thought I would request the team leader and another very senior team member, both of whom sit in London, to write recommendations for me. I'm confident that both will write strong recommendations for me, but since we work in the same team, I doubt that their recommendations together will highlight all my strengths. Instead, I was considering requesting the Head of Research in Bangalore to write one recommendation for me. I have worked with him on a few very important projects, that perhaps highlighted some of my other strengths, which the Head of research would be able to describe better. He has a very high opinion of me and will also give me an equally strong recommendation. Should I then ask the 2 senior members in my team, or the team leader and the Head of research to write this recommendation? Which among the two groups would have a stronger impact on the Adcom? Also, do you think it would make any difference if both my recommenders are from the London office rather than one from the London office and the other from the Bangalore office?

Second, regarding my entrepreneurial venture, I've had some very positive feedback from a few of my clients and I would really like to include some of that. Should I forward this feedback to my recommenders and request them to include it, or should I include it in my essays? Is there any other place in the application where I can let Adcom know of the feedback by my clients?

Any help would be much appreciated!

Thanks
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by MBAPrepAdvantage » Mon Jul 30, 2012 8:32 am
(1) All things being equal, I would recommend that you choose one of the senior members on your team and the Head of Research since these two people can provide different views of your profile.

(2) Depending on the strength of the recommendation you might consider using the client recommendation instead of the Head of Research because this recommendation would highlight your entrepreneurial endeavor and aspects of your candidacy that are very different from your peer group. The risk is if the clients cannot comment substantially or would write in a manner that was very unprofessional. Alternatively you could submit it as an extra recommendation for schools that allow this or use it as an extra recommendation should you be waitlisted.
Michael Cohan
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by 99Colleges: MBA Admission » Sun Aug 05, 2012 11:14 pm
Agree with Michael. You need to focus on your entrepreneurial experience in order to have a better chance. I will recommend taking recommendation from a satisfied customer even if it means investing time in preparing him/ her well for writing the recommendation. B-schools want to see leaders who have created their own path and are job creators.
Anil, MBA (Wharton)| MBA Admissions Consultant
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