Hey farjad00 -- you have a lot of positives in your profile! Yes, on first blush you are definitely qualified to try for London, Booth, and Wharton. (We'd also ask, why isn't Columbia on that list?)

The stories you can offer from community engagement will be great, and the mountain climbing is interesting too. You've got a diversified background that should give you plenty to present in the essays - the work experience in Dubai is particularly strong. The fact that you've been fasttracked for those promotions and what sounds like high-visibility assignments will speak highly about how you are valued in the company.

Basically, you are ALL SYSTEMS GO! There's plenty you can leverage in this profile. Of course, it always comes down to how you present in the essays, but there's no reason you should not go for your top-choice schools! The basics of your background that you've shared here indicate that you should be an appealing candidate to these programs.

On your question re: recommenders - it's hard to say without knowing more, but in general, EssaySnark does advise using recommenders who can offer insight into different aspects of your profile. Also, sometimes recommenders who work at the same company end up sounding a bit alike in what they write about. So yes, you may want to explore having someone from outside the company do the second rec. It totally depends on who they are and what they would write about though - there are no strict rules in this regard. It sounds like you're thinking about this stuff the right way - you want to offer the adcom with different views into your candidacy, and often getting recommenders from different parts of your life is helpful, though certainly not required.

If you've got other questions we can help with, feel free to ask!
EssaySnark

Hey guys,

Thanks a lot for such a positive feedback. I personally am a bit skeptical due to lower than average GPA and lack of extra-curricular and formal community work post uni (mainly because I was really focused on CFA) but your encouragement has been really helpful and i'll try and give it my best shot.

I also considered Columbia but since I come from a country where 'native' language is not English (although it is one of the official languages) I'll have to sit for TOEFL which I don't think i'll be able to manage anytime soon. Even GMAT itself, which I gave recently, was pretty demanding on the time issue so I unfortunately might have to pass on Columbia.

Another quick question if you guys don't mind. Some of the MBA Applications I have seen ask about the candidates plans of financing his/her studies, would answering that question with 'Loans and Scholarships' affect my candidacy in any way whatsoever?

Ah yes - Columbia does require the TOEFL for most international candidates whereas many other programs do not. However, the TOEFL is *really* easy for most people with decent English skills, particularly since you've clearly done some studying for the GMAT verbal -- the fact that you scored a 6,0 on the AWA tells us that you'd do just fine! (Many of our American clients do not even get a 6.0!!) But, it would be yet another thing to worry about along with all the other stuff you're tackling with your apps, and the other schools on your list are certainly very very good, so no reason to knock yourself out for the TOEFL just for Columbia if it's not a top choice school for you.

On the question that many schools ask on the apps about financing - no, your answer there will not affect their decision on your application. The reason many schools have introduced these questions recently is because some candidates, particularly international ones, were left stranded after the economy went bad in 2008, and they had no plans for how to pay for school. Now, the schools want applicants to start thinking about what a big investment it is ahead of time, not only so that they don't have sticker shock once they're accepted and faced with the big monetary investment, but also so that they can start making appropriate plans earlier. It's helpful, as an example, to pay off credit cards before you start school, so that you have less stress while you're going through. The answers you provide there won't have a factor in their decision to admit; for some schools, they may have a factor in fellowship awards (many schools offer primarily merit-based awards so this doesn't always impact that area either).

Hope this helps - and glad to hear that you're feeling more confident! You've got a lot of great stuff to be highlighting - and on the ECs question, check out this response we just provided to someone else this morning: https://www.beatthegmat.com/what-do-bsch ... 92733.html

EssaySnark

Per the other poster, I would recommend Columbia in addition to NYU Stern and UCLA Anderson. On the surface, you can have two different supervisors offer different perspectives given your different duties. The only caveat would be if there was another potential recommender that could offer better insight.

I also agree with the other poster in that I wouldn't let the TOEFL dissuade you from applying to Columbia. The only caveat here, though, would be if you couldn't schedule the exam easily. In certain countries like China applicants sometimes have to schedule the TOEFL months in advance.

Best of luck,

Thank you Micheal for your insights.Really appreciate it

Out of curiosity wanted to know how would applying to UCLA Anderson or NYU Stern help me get into the schools I want to? Does mentioning the schools I am applying to on my university applications affect my chances of getting into those university in any way?

I meant that you might add those two schools as target programs, not that applying to these schools would help you get into the other schools you listed.

Hi mate, congrats!

Who is your coordinator from Insead?