sarfraz wrote:Hi and thanks for all the help you are providing us mba-hopefuls with.

Here's a brief profile of my background. I'll ask my questions at the end:

- 28 / Male / India / Entrepreneur
- BCom with 75% aggregate from one of the best colleges in Mumbai
- MMS (MBA with a different name) in Finance from one of India's best business schools - JBIMS, Mumbai (2003 batch)
- Post MBA 15 months with Tata Consultancy Services as Assistant Business Analyst in New Delhi
- Quit TCS to launch a startup that I've been running successfully for the past 4 years. Incidentally it's a venture in the Pet (dogs, cats) industry and is the only company of its kind in India and has received extensive media coverage both on TV and in print.
- Active Extra curriculars - Held leadership positions in diverse clubs in college from Dramatics to Poor Students Education Relief
- Chairperson of the placement committee at JBIMS
- Actively involved with an animal welfare NGO for the past 15 months
- GMAT score of 740 (Q-48/V-44)

I am very clear on why I wish to pursue another MBA and my career direction post MBA (which incidentally is to get into Management/Strategy consulting with Mck, BCG, Bain) and I should be able to express this clearly in my essays. I'll also be able to explain what I plan to do with my startup if I join B-school.

Now I am only looking at applying to the following 5 schools - Harvard, Stanford, Wharton, Kellogg & INSEAD. I am not interested in applying to any other schools since I already have an MBA and am doing reasonably well for myself so I only want to go to the schools of my choice else I would continue with what I am doing at the moment.

With this information, could you please answer the following questions for me:

1) Do I stand a chance at any of the schools of my choice?
2) If Yes, then in which school or schools do you think I stand a stronger chance?
3) Any aspects of my application that you feel I should pay extra attention to, in general or with regards to specific schools?
4) Any other school that you think I should apply to (given my career focus- Consulting/Big 3)?

Thanks a lot for your help.

Sarfraz

Dear Sarfraz,

Thanks for your note. Please see my responses to your questions below:

1) From the basic information you have provided, you should certainly be 'competitive' at the schools on your list. You have a nice blend of traditional (TCS) and entrepreneurial experiences and your GMAT is above the average for the programs you are targeting. Of course, there are many competitive applicants at these top schools (often as many as 40-50% of the pool), so the key is whether or not you will find yourself in the top 10-15% of applicants. To answer this question, I'd need to see your applications, recommendations, etc - as much of it will likely come down to execution.

2) By nature, your odds at Kellogg and INSEAD will be stronger than your odds at Harvard/Stanford and Wharton.

3) There are several issues you will need to pay careful attention to. First, you essentially already have an MBA, so you will need to explain why you need the second degree. Second, your career goals are very pedestrian since many candidates want to work for a top consulting firm and they all mention McKinsey, BCG and Bain. This is especially true for the segment of the applicant pool in which you are grouped (Indian male). Third, the fact that you are leaving your entrepreneurial venture behind to go off to b-school may raise questions about how successful that venture has been - and as you pointed out, will require an explanation. While I could see your leaving the company you launched for a period of study, it may strike the adcom as odd that you aren't aiming to return to it at all. Fourth, I'm not hearing any sort of long-term vision from you in terms of goals.

4) There are many leading MBA programs that have strong track records with placement at the leading consulting firms. Programs like MIT, Columbia, Tuck and Chicago all come to mind. You might want to look at the stats to compare how each of these schools does with your target field. The Clear Admit School Guides (www.clearadmit.com/guides) offer a lot of information in this regard.

Best of luck,

Graham

Dear Graham

Continuing with my earlier query, have received an interview invite from Wharton scheduled for the 19th of Nov.

Was just wondering if you would have any specific tips/advice with regards to the same.

Regards
sarfraz

Dear Sarfraz,

Thanks for your post - and congrats on the Wharton invite!

Here are a few ideas for gathering information on Wharton interviews and effectively preparing:

Blogs
Applicant Blogs: Many applicants report in on their interview experiences with detailed lists of questions posed, an evaluation of the interview experience, etc. As such, you may want to run some Google 'blog searches' on the school(s) in question and see what turns up.

Admissions Blogs: Several admissions consulting companies keep blogs that frequently offer admissions tips - including specifics about the interview process. Our company has these kinds of tips categorized here: https://blog.clearadmit.com/category/interview-tips/. Other firms, like Accepted.com and MBAMission do the same.

Interview Databases/Wikis
For in-depth reports on hundreds of real MBA interviews, you may want to check out the Accepted.com interview database (https://www.accepted.com/mba/interviewfeedback.aspx) as well as the Clear Admit Wiki (www.clearadmit.com/wiki). Both of these resources are applicant-generated and free.

Interview Guides
Clear Admit publishes a host of school-specific Interview Guides with information on the interview process, key questions and applicant accounts of their experience. Guides to 18 schools are available at $20/per. They can be ordered and downloaded instantly as PDFs. You can find them here: https://clearadmit.com/guides#interviewguides

Mock Interviews
Most applicants practice for their MBA interviews by engaging in mock interviews - either with an admissions consultant, friends, family, etc. It never hurts to practice before the real thing.

Best of luck,

Graham