Profile evaluation request

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Profile evaluation request

by rory55 » Tue Mar 08, 2016 4:46 pm
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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by CriticalSquareMBA » Tue Mar 08, 2016 8:21 pm
Hi there,

Thanks for sharing your profile with us - love the details! I like the schools you've targeted - they fit your profile and make sense given your goals. Have you thought about the 1-year programs in the US? Harvard doesn't offer one, and HBS is a stretch for almost any profile, but Kellogg is a great, top-tier program with a few options including a 1-year program. You'll have to confirm if you meet their requirements. Other great full-time, 2-year programs in the US for your goals include Fuqua (Duke), Stern (NYU, and Haas (UC Berkley). Hope this helps and best of luck!
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