Hi there,
I'm wondering if you could give my profile a rough evaluation...
I'm particularly attracted to the European programs for their short duration, good value for money and international outlook, and am therefore planning to apply in R1 this year to:
- INSEAD
- Cambridge
- LBS
- Oxford
Nationality: Australian/Caucasian
Age: 28
Gender: Male
Undergrad: Top 5 Australian university, Bachelor of Architecture, 76/100 average, roughly equivalent to a 3.6 GPA (hard to compare)
Masters: Top 3 Australian university, Master of Management, 73/100 average, about a 3.5 GPA
Work experience: By the time I apply I will have had ~3.5 years experience at Deloitte Consulting (Digital, focusing on strategy and customer experience design). I've achieved 2 promotions in that time.
GMAT: 700
Other info:
- I have worked in both Australia and Europe (transferred from Sydney to Brussels with Deloitte). I chose Brussels over London because I wanted to experience life/work in a totally different culture, environment and language.
- I speak French to a good conversational level.
- I'm currently involved in efforts to help Middle Eastern refugees in Belgium with accommodation, provisions, etc.
- I won 2 academic/leadership scholarships during my time at uni, and a couple of other academic awards.
- I started a company during my Masters and worked on it for 18 months in my spare time. Though it never turned over revenue, we won or placed in several innovation/entrepreneurship competitions, generated interest from some major players in the industry, and learned a great deal! We eventually had to put it to one side due to the complexity of the idea and our full-time career commitments.
- I've had solid ECs throughout uni (student ambassador, volunteer work, committee member, student societies).
- I climbed Mt Kilimanjaro in Tanzania earlier this year to raise money for charity (personal family connection to the particular disease).
Post-MBA ambitions: I enjoy the professional niche I've found (intersection of strategy and customer experience), so I would like to find a more senior role in relation to this either in industry or in a higher tier consulting firm (i.e. MBB). Alternatively, I'd like to explore the start-up world again, depending on the opportunities that arise.
I'd love your thoughts in regard to how my profile looks for the schools I've mentioned, and any tips on what I need to strengthen or focus on. It'd be great if you could also give your two cents regarding a couple of US schools (as a point of comparison) - Kellogg is particularly interesting to me, but also Harvard.
Many thanks in advance!
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MargaretStrother
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Hi Rory,
There is a lot to like in your profile: your GPA, GMAT and work experience place you in the running for top business schools. However, none of these key factors are in themselves spectacular, and at age 28 you run the risk of disappearing into the mass of applicants with similar assets.
What helps you stand out is your international exposure, your work with refugees and French language skills. If I were your consultant, my focus would be on finding your leadership experiences, which you didn't specify here, both professionally and in the community/university, and on finding a post-MBA goal that is more differentiating than simply continuing in consulting.
For INSEAD/LBS, I might wish you had about 10 more points on the GMAT -- I know that's the advice everyone dreads, but you're riding just at the GMAT median, and it would be nice to have an advantage there. Nonetheless, I see you as competitive for these schools. Cambridge and Oxford, your GMAT is fine. Oxford is quirky; take a look at their essay questions, and see if you feel a fit with their mentality. Oxford loves to see you really drill down on big ideas, and they're pushing their "mission" these days -- you'll want to know what that mission is, and how your career vision aligns with it.
US schools: Kellogg yes (especially if you can work in a campus visit before you apply); HBS, I'm not seeing it. Most successful Harvard applicants have major ongoing community leadership roles in parallel with leadership in the workplace, along with blisteringly high GPA/GMAT. Kellogg cares a lot that you know the school well, both the program and the community, so you would strengthen your application by visiting the campus while classes are still in session. Same is true for LBS, by the way -- these are schools that emphasize community spirit and fit.
So, to summarize: you're on the dartboard for your target schools, but vulnerable to getting pushed out by competitors with a similar background but higher numbers or more eye-catching leadership roles. I don't always recommend this, but in your case working with a consultant would be a good idea: an experienced MBA admissions consultant can help you focus on the assets that mean the most to the schools you're applying to.
Good luck!
Margaret Strother
There is a lot to like in your profile: your GPA, GMAT and work experience place you in the running for top business schools. However, none of these key factors are in themselves spectacular, and at age 28 you run the risk of disappearing into the mass of applicants with similar assets.
What helps you stand out is your international exposure, your work with refugees and French language skills. If I were your consultant, my focus would be on finding your leadership experiences, which you didn't specify here, both professionally and in the community/university, and on finding a post-MBA goal that is more differentiating than simply continuing in consulting.
For INSEAD/LBS, I might wish you had about 10 more points on the GMAT -- I know that's the advice everyone dreads, but you're riding just at the GMAT median, and it would be nice to have an advantage there. Nonetheless, I see you as competitive for these schools. Cambridge and Oxford, your GMAT is fine. Oxford is quirky; take a look at their essay questions, and see if you feel a fit with their mentality. Oxford loves to see you really drill down on big ideas, and they're pushing their "mission" these days -- you'll want to know what that mission is, and how your career vision aligns with it.
US schools: Kellogg yes (especially if you can work in a campus visit before you apply); HBS, I'm not seeing it. Most successful Harvard applicants have major ongoing community leadership roles in parallel with leadership in the workplace, along with blisteringly high GPA/GMAT. Kellogg cares a lot that you know the school well, both the program and the community, so you would strengthen your application by visiting the campus while classes are still in session. Same is true for LBS, by the way -- these are schools that emphasize community spirit and fit.
So, to summarize: you're on the dartboard for your target schools, but vulnerable to getting pushed out by competitors with a similar background but higher numbers or more eye-catching leadership roles. I don't always recommend this, but in your case working with a consultant would be a good idea: an experienced MBA admissions consultant can help you focus on the assets that mean the most to the schools you're applying to.
Good luck!
Margaret Strother
