Dear Applicants,
Wanted to share this with you- a lot of you are reaching out
to me to take my services as you were Rejected by TOP
Schools last year. I get to hear from SO MANY Re-applicants(
Indian Male Candidates primarily) with HIGH GMAT Scores-
Why do so many Indian Male Candidates with GMAT scores
ranging from 700-770 face so many rejections from top-tier
schools? And if we add another distinction of “Information
Technology Background”, the results get even worse.
Seriously!
I will share some recent conversations with the
“REJECTED 700+ (GMAT) Indian Male Applicants”
- Candidate 1: I recently spoke with an applicant from
Calcutta. With a GMAT 730, and 4 years of work experience,
he did not make it to any of his target schools last year.
Neither was he invited for an interview by some or all (I
can’t recall) of those schools.
- Candidate 2: GMAT 740 + Infosys 2.5 years: Faced 10
out of 10 rejections last year with an admissions consultant
that apparently did not showcase the case very well. He was
finally heading to Sauder( Canada) this year and had paid
the deposit too. I am happy that he decided to not go, and
work with us in his endeavour to make it to a better place.
Sauder comes at a price tag of INR 40 lacs with a 65%
probability of getting a job( Check their placement statistics)
with an average salary of $65,000. An immigration
consultant will do better than that if you have worked with
Infosys.
- Candidate 3: GMAT 760 and 3 years of work
experience in Educational Start ups and an above average
career progression: Did not make it to any of the top schools
he applied to last year (He did not share the name of the
consultant who worked with him)
- Candidate 4:GMAT 720, and 4 + years in Accenture:
We did not get the opportunity to see his story, but it was
sad to find out that he got wait-listed by NUS, and dinged by
all the other schools on his list.
Our understanding of the reasons
- The Candidates did not pick the right schools and the
goals story did not match with the schools they were
applying to.
- The Candidates did not have the right goals. Click here
if you feel you are unable to understand what we are
referring to when we say “Short Term and long Term Goals”.
- Did not know the importance of essays and story
building. Yes ! A lot of times applicants spend an entire year
in experimenting before waking up to the reality that
selection mechanism of the international schools is not
driven by only the scores. In India, the IIM’s have a very
different way to identify talent, and are too much CAT
centric, and one barely needs to write anything before
starting up with the these colleges. So! Different target
schools: Different approach.
GMAT 700 + Applicants: What is your category? ( See the
Table Below).
Through this note, I will also emphasize on the importance
of interviews, and other components in your application,
and make you understand the importance of the quality of
communication with the very elite MBA Programs.
This communication is directly with Indian/Males/High
GMAT Scorers and the purpose is to give a better
understanding of the blind spots.
You decide what category describes you most appropriately-
I neither support nor denigrate any of the following
categories. I am just describing in a very open space that
these categories exist)
Work Experience
More than 3 years at Microsoft or Google Or an Investment
bank/PE Firm/Consulting Firm/ and other global
organizations( Domestic /International) that have very
well defined leadership, and candidates bring a strong
credibility to the overall story
More than 3 years at any of the companies mentioned in
“Candidate A” + Other companies( Including start ups) in
IT/Finance/Marketing
/Operation , and other supporting Roles.
Written Communication Skills
Have average to above average writing skills, and have the
ability to pick up the Networking exercise very well, and
follow the steps. Do not need an intensive handholding in
writing emails, and engaging existing students, and adcom
members. Put them on the right track of constructing
communication themes while they are in action and
reaching out to the existing MBA students of their target
schools, and other adcom members, and one can be certain
that their essay inputs will have a lot of meat and not just
the verbiage from the website.
Are not very articulate in their overall written expression.
There are times when applicants need help and a lot of
push in starting over with the first paragraph. It is quite
common for applicants to not possess great writing skills,
and they require a lot of support in their communication
while writing to the adcoms or other people in the same
category.
Oral Communication
Can lead a very powerful 30-40 minute conversation with
the alumni/adcom members over the phone or in person.
Will know how to create “What questions to ask” and won’t
just copy from the networking guides and other resources.
CAN DELIVER WITH MINIMAL SUPERVISION.
Can memorize the answers to the questions, but they need
the interviews to be very predictable. These applicants if
sent under prepared will become very nervous in the
interviews with School Alumni as Alumni tend to be more
elaborate in their discussions. Alumni interviews have
lasted for 1.5 hours.
They need extensive supervision while preparing for
difficult/unpredictable questions.
Understanding of their Future ambitions
SHORT TERM AND LONG TERM GOALS
While they might not know what their future career path
would look like, they are open to following the procedures,
and carry a thoughtful and meaningful research into
understanding the importance of various career
positions/paths after MBA.
There are some who are very focused, and are really aware
of what they want out of their MBA program.
These candidates require a lot of hand holding in
identifying the short term and long term ambitions.
Most of the times, the initial expression is very naive. And
we are not talking about only changing the paragraphs, or
selection of words, but the entire thought process.
Personal and/or community Accomplishments
I would have loved to state “Above average participation”
in areas outside academics and professional careers, but
sadly, it is not the case. However, I can establish peace with
that.
I would have loved to state “Above average participation”
in areas outside academics and professional careers, but
sadly, it is not the case. However, I can establish peace with
that.
Wanted to share this with you- a lot of you are reaching out
to me to take my services as you were Rejected by TOP
Schools last year. I get to hear from SO MANY Re-applicants(
Indian Male Candidates primarily) with HIGH GMAT Scores-
Why do so many Indian Male Candidates with GMAT scores
ranging from 700-770 face so many rejections from top-tier
schools? And if we add another distinction of “Information
Technology Background”, the results get even worse.
Seriously!
I will share some recent conversations with the
“REJECTED 700+ (GMAT) Indian Male Applicants”
- Candidate 1: I recently spoke with an applicant from
Calcutta. With a GMAT 730, and 4 years of work experience,
he did not make it to any of his target schools last year.
Neither was he invited for an interview by some or all (I
can’t recall) of those schools.
- Candidate 2: GMAT 740 + Infosys 2.5 years: Faced 10
out of 10 rejections last year with an admissions consultant
that apparently did not showcase the case very well. He was
finally heading to Sauder( Canada) this year and had paid
the deposit too. I am happy that he decided to not go, and
work with us in his endeavour to make it to a better place.
Sauder comes at a price tag of INR 40 lacs with a 65%
probability of getting a job( Check their placement statistics)
with an average salary of $65,000. An immigration
consultant will do better than that if you have worked with
Infosys.
- Candidate 3: GMAT 760 and 3 years of work
experience in Educational Start ups and an above average
career progression: Did not make it to any of the top schools
he applied to last year (He did not share the name of the
consultant who worked with him)
- Candidate 4:GMAT 720, and 4 + years in Accenture:
We did not get the opportunity to see his story, but it was
sad to find out that he got wait-listed by NUS, and dinged by
all the other schools on his list.
Our understanding of the reasons
- The Candidates did not pick the right schools and the
goals story did not match with the schools they were
applying to.
- The Candidates did not have the right goals. Click here
if you feel you are unable to understand what we are
referring to when we say “Short Term and long Term Goals”.
- Did not know the importance of essays and story
building. Yes ! A lot of times applicants spend an entire year
in experimenting before waking up to the reality that
selection mechanism of the international schools is not
driven by only the scores. In India, the IIM’s have a very
different way to identify talent, and are too much CAT
centric, and one barely needs to write anything before
starting up with the these colleges. So! Different target
schools: Different approach.
GMAT 700 + Applicants: What is your category? ( See the
Table Below).
Through this note, I will also emphasize on the importance
of interviews, and other components in your application,
and make you understand the importance of the quality of
communication with the very elite MBA Programs.
This communication is directly with Indian/Males/High
GMAT Scorers and the purpose is to give a better
understanding of the blind spots.
You decide what category describes you most appropriately-
I neither support nor denigrate any of the following
categories. I am just describing in a very open space that
these categories exist)
Work Experience
More than 3 years at Microsoft or Google Or an Investment
bank/PE Firm/Consulting Firm/ and other global
organizations( Domestic /International) that have very
well defined leadership, and candidates bring a strong
credibility to the overall story
More than 3 years at any of the companies mentioned in
“Candidate A” + Other companies( Including start ups) in
IT/Finance/Marketing
/Operation , and other supporting Roles.
Written Communication Skills
Have average to above average writing skills, and have the
ability to pick up the Networking exercise very well, and
follow the steps. Do not need an intensive handholding in
writing emails, and engaging existing students, and adcom
members. Put them on the right track of constructing
communication themes while they are in action and
reaching out to the existing MBA students of their target
schools, and other adcom members, and one can be certain
that their essay inputs will have a lot of meat and not just
the verbiage from the website.
Are not very articulate in their overall written expression.
There are times when applicants need help and a lot of
push in starting over with the first paragraph. It is quite
common for applicants to not possess great writing skills,
and they require a lot of support in their communication
while writing to the adcoms or other people in the same
category.
Oral Communication
Can lead a very powerful 30-40 minute conversation with
the alumni/adcom members over the phone or in person.
Will know how to create “What questions to ask” and won’t
just copy from the networking guides and other resources.
CAN DELIVER WITH MINIMAL SUPERVISION.
Can memorize the answers to the questions, but they need
the interviews to be very predictable. These applicants if
sent under prepared will become very nervous in the
interviews with School Alumni as Alumni tend to be more
elaborate in their discussions. Alumni interviews have
lasted for 1.5 hours.
They need extensive supervision while preparing for
difficult/unpredictable questions.
Understanding of their Future ambitions
SHORT TERM AND LONG TERM GOALS
While they might not know what their future career path
would look like, they are open to following the procedures,
and carry a thoughtful and meaningful research into
understanding the importance of various career
positions/paths after MBA.
There are some who are very focused, and are really aware
of what they want out of their MBA program.
These candidates require a lot of hand holding in
identifying the short term and long term ambitions.
Most of the times, the initial expression is very naive. And
we are not talking about only changing the paragraphs, or
selection of words, but the entire thought process.
Personal and/or community Accomplishments
I would have loved to state “Above average participation”
in areas outside academics and professional careers, but
sadly, it is not the case. However, I can establish peace with
that.
I would have loved to state “Above average participation”
in areas outside academics and professional careers, but
sadly, it is not the case. However, I can establish peace with
that.
