Profile Evaluation

[Kamil Zaidi]

Hi,

I am planning to apply for the Fall 2014 session. My profile:

Age: 22
Nationality: Pakistan
GMAT: 740 (93rd verbal and 90th quant) 5.5 AWA and a terrible 3 (23rd percentile) in integrated reasoning

Education:
Bachelors in Business Administration from the Institute of Business Administration Karachi Pakistan.
3.37 cGPA
Majors: Finance and Economics

Achievements During Undergrad:
I was an active member of the school's various clubs and societies. Held the position of Manager Alumni Society in the last year while was the Coordinator of Finance Club in my 3rd year.
Also been very active in sports and was the Football Team B's captain in my final year.

Work Experience:
Currently hold the position of Management Trainee at United Bank Limited (3rd largest bank in Pakistan).
It has been about 8 months since i start working. By the time i am sending my applications it will be just over 1 year with approximately 1 more year before i join any program (subject to if i get admitted)

Short Term Goals: I wish to switch careers and move into strategic consultancy. Its something i have always loved during my undergrad but unfortunately Pakistan does not have many strategy consultant firms and thus i opted for the financial services sector.

Long Term Goals: Want to pursue a PhD in Strategic Management and join some university as a teacher. Would love to work as an academic consultant then.

After receiving my full GMAT score yesterday i am hoping you can answer these 2 questions for me along with the evaluation.

1) How seriously will my integrated reasoning score damage my GMAT and my admission chances?
2) What schools do you recommend i should i apply too? I had a pretty high wishlist with mostly all in top 30 but i still have not really decided what schools specifically.

thanks!
kamil

[Jon@Admissionado]

First of all congratulations on your fantastic GMAT.
Secondly, why are you applying now?

Two years of experience is not nearly enough for B-schools, and I'd put three at the absolute minimum (and 4-6 is the average, depending on the school). with one year of experience only, you are not likely to be bale to come up with as good stories as other applicants, and schools might turn you away just because you lack experience.

So why not wait at least one more year if not two? I mean things seem to be going well for you, you have the great GMAT score. You will only increase your chances of getting into a better school if you wait.

[Kamil Zaidi]

Hey

Thanks for the reply.

To be honest, its going great for me right now. But here are a few things to keep in mind

1) I understand my work experience is a real limitation. But, i have been part of a lot of part time work. For example, my father runs a law firm and i have been helping him managing financials/expenses etc over the years.

2) Its not like i am definitely going for an MBA in 2014. I am still open to the idea of applying in 2015 but i am not sure if i would want to delay it more.

3) Won't the admission committee take into account the 1 year experience i get between applying and joining?

4) I intend of switching careers. Moving into consultancy from financial services. Thus i do not want to delay my MBA a lot.

5) Since i also want to do a PhD i am not sure how long i can delay my masters.

Do let me know what you think about this. As i said, i am open to ideas and experts like you are exactly the kind of people who i want to hear from!

Thanks
Kamil

[Jon@Admissionado]

Welllllll, I still think you should wait.. but let me answer your questions first.


1) I understand my work experience is a real limitation. But, i have been part of a lot of part time work. For example, my father runs a law firm and i have been helping him managing financials/expenses etc over the years.

It's certainly a nice bonus, but still does not count to your Work Experience.

2) Its not like i am definitely going for an MBA in 2014. I am still open to the idea of applying in 2015 but i am not sure if i would want to delay it more.

Why not?

3) Won't the admission committee take into account the 1 year experience i get between applying and joining?

Of course, but that still only gives you two years experience, less than HALF of the average.

4) I intend of switching careers. Moving into consultancy from financial services. Thus i do not want to delay my MBA a lot.

I do understand you do not want to delay your MBA, but still it doesn't mean that that is the wise choice .

5) Since i also want to do a PhD i am not sure how long i can delay my masters.

You should decide that now. If you want to do a PhD, normally you can apply to a Masters + PhD and save yourself time and trouble. Plus if you want to succeed in academia it is very good if you start early. But the path is quite different from an MBA + work, and it is hard to come up with one strategy when you have two opposing goals.


Finally, I understand that you WANT to apply now, but the fact is that it will only weaken your chances to get in. And in my opinion, it's not worth it to force the issue and then to have to settle for a less good MBA program (which will inevitably be the case). It's far more worthwhile to get into the best program possible for your profile, and I think if you wait one or two years, this will be more likely to happen.

Hope this clarifies my thoughts, and if you have any other comments or questions, lemme know.