GMAT 680 (48-49Q) - Profile evaluation and Top schools

[ivanzax]

Hi,
I'm applying for MBA R2 this year. I would greatly appreciate if you could comment on my profile and give me some insights.

Age: 27, Eastern European Male

GMAT: 680 (Q48, V35, IR 8, AWA ?), and previous attempt - 670 (Q49, V31, IR 6, AWA 4.0). I think my best shot could be 710, but I have no time to do that this year.

Academics: Bachelor of Financial Management - GPA 3.8 / 4.0 (top private university) and Bachelor of Translation in business communications - GPA 3.7 / 4.0 (the same university).
"¢ Best student for 3 years. Best diploma paper (increase a competitiveness of KPMG Europe);
"¢ High IELTS 8.0, speaking 8.0;
"¢ Extra education from Coursera and Stanford Edu courses.

Work Experience: 7 years (KPMG, Private Equity, Diversified IT Holding)
Strong experience in finance, venture capital and business development.
Highlights:
1) Focus on M&A, strategy and operational control of several businesses and projects;
2) Raised money for a startup from several strong investors;
3) Developed a successful strategy for several products;
4) Completed 50+ different research and valuations;
5) Implemented several features for products to increase their profit and user base;
6) Proved expertise in IT, Telecom, Natural resources and Financial sectors;
7) Completed several projects in M&A from scratch;
8) Work under CEO's supervision (large IT company);
9) Direct negotiations with investors, business owners and CEOs of companies;
10) Supervision on a budgeting process for internal ventures;
11) Team lead experience in KPMG and Diversified IT Holding;
12) Promoted to a management position 2 years ago.

Extra-Curricular:
1) Pro-bono consulting for startups;
2) Launched a discussion club for business-related young specialists;
3) Family business supervision;
4) Team-lead experience in several non-commercial IT products;
5) IT - coding experience (Java, PHP) with launched projects;
6) Sport oriented;
7) Hobbies: photo, music.
Good recommendation letters from CEO of our company and CEO of company that belongs to us.

Target schools:
Stanford, MIT, Kellogg, Tuck, Duke

Post-MBA goals:
"¢ Shift my career to biotech (has experience at my current work with Digital Health projects, developed several features, implemented strategy)
"¢ Start as a BD manager of biotech product and then go to a CEO position or start my own company

My questions are:
"¢ Are my target schools realistic?
"¢ Should I send my application to Stanford and MIT this year and if rejected then re-apply next year or should I postpone this decision to the next year, improving my GMAT to 710+? In other words, are there any disadvantages to try this year with low GMAT?

Thanks in advance!
John

[Jon@Admissionado]

John, (Nice name btw!)


Easy answer here: You're too late anyhow for this year. So just wait till next year and retake. With your current score, things would be too challenging. And anyhow you really don't want to apply R3.

So take your time NOW to study hard, kill the GMAT, and research the schools IN DEPTH.

Do that, and prepare a Round one strategy for next year and all will be good.

If you need any assistance with anything, do not hesitate to drop us a line: https://admissionado.com/free-consultati ... n=mba_blog

Best,
Jon Frank

[Melissa@Fortuna]

Hi Ivanzax,

I totally agree with Jon - best to wait until R1 at this point. You've got a great profile - thanks for all the details. Great work experience and extra curriculars- but that GMAT just won't cut it I'm afraid for your schools of choice. You really want to try and get 75-80th percentile or higher on the quant and verbal parts of exam.

Since you will have more time now, I would also make sure you keep you up with your extracurriculars to keep them current. And keep striving at work - take on additional responsibilities, get involved in new projects/initiatives within the firm (even if it's more of a volunteer role), ask for assignments abroad if you can, secondments, etc... that kind of thing. Anything to make you shine and make your profile unique.

Would love to chat with you so feel free to reach out to us anytime. All the best,