MBA Profile Evaluation.....

[salmanqsm4]

> Hello. I'd like an honest assessment of my profile and chances of getting into below mentioned schools.
>
> Preferred Schools
> 1)Harvard
> 2)Stanford
> 3)Wharton
> 4) Chicago Booth
> 5) Kellogg
> 6) Columbia
> 7) MIT Sloan
>
> Safety Schools
> 1) UTexas McCombs
> 2)Darden
> 3)Stern
>
> Detailed Profile
>
> Introduction.
> My name is Salman Qasim and I was born and raised in Pakistan. I did my Bachelor's from UK and am also Association of Chartered Certified Accountants of the UK. I have also cleared the Certified Financial Analyst Exams and have Certificate in Quantitative Finance provided by the Fitch Group. I also have the Financial Risk Manager and Professional Risk Manager credentials. I also have been involved in various extra-curricular activities.
>
> Achievements.
>
> 1)Bachelor's of Science in Applied Accounting awarded by Oxford Brookes University of UK in First Class Honours(US 3.6 GPA as per iGPA calculator of World Education Services)
> 2)Have a two Certificates of Merit awarded by Association of Chartered Certified Accountants for achieving highest marks worldwide in two of the exams.
> 3)Awarded Simpson Scholarship by ACCA on the basis of brilliantly written essays and strong academic history. 6000 applied out of which, 20 were short-listed for the scholarship. Among the 5 winners, I was the one.
> 4)Awarded Bronze medal by ACCA for achieving highest aggregate marks in ACCA exams in the year I graduated.
> 5) Have worked for PricewaterhouseCoopers, one of the big 4 accountancy firm, as an Audit Assistant and recently was promoted.
> 6) Have 750 GMAT score.
> 7) Volunteered for non-profit organization, Community Development Rural Program, which was established by my brother to work for the development of lifestyle in troubled tribal areas of Pakistan and awareness and promotin education. We established more than 5 mobile schools for the children in tribal areas and still working on it.
> 8) Was awarded a Candidate of the Year award by Professional Risk Management Association.
> 9) Completion of Higher Diploma in Accounting accredited by Scottish Qualifications Authority in shortest possible time.
> 10) Devoted to continuing professional education and has several Coursera Verified Certificates with distinction.
> 11) Have cricket played for my college internationally.
>
>
> Experience: 3 years in Audit and Consulting
> Age: 24
> Natonality: Pakistan
>
>
>
>
> So that was a some information about my background. Will please evaluate and determine whether I have chances in any of the aforementioned schools? I am looking forward to hear from you. Thanks
>
> Kind Regards
> Salman Qasim(BSc,ACCA,CFA,FRM,CQF,PRM)

[mbamissionjenK]

Hiya--

answered this in GMAT Club, pasting here...

Hello,

Thanks for your post. It was interesting to read, and I believe you would get noticed by the admissions committee. Your global experiences at Deloitte and PwC are a strength, in addition to your outstanding GMAT, solid academics, and variety of involvements and initiatives. Establishing the schools is particularly interesting and worth detailing more in your essays/interview, particularly if you can speak with passion about the experience. Your awards and recognitions are an extra strength and also lead me to believe you would do well on your application essays, which are so important, given that the essays influenced your awards in the past.

3 years of work experience is a little less than average, but if it will be 4 when you begin b-school that is more common. No matter how many years of experience, it's always a good idea to touch on why NOW is the best time for you to go to b-school, vs another point in time.

Your goals mentioned are very admirable, "Be a Finance leader and also work for the betterment of the Pakistani troubled community", however you'll want to dig deeper for your essays and interview.... HOW will you do those things? What do you have in min? Can you describe your career goals and plans for 3, 5, 10 years post-MBA for example? Many strong applicants CAN, so it's important to be able to in a competitive environment (even if the details may change some based on what you experience in b-school, that's ok).

You have quite a long schools list. Of course Harvard/Stanford/Wharton are extremely competitive, and Stanford in particular has a smaller class size so the chances are even more difficult on top of it having one of the highest average GMAT scores. I would recommend narrowing your list down based on what you are looking for in a school. (Check out our free download for more about choosing schools, at http://info.mbamission.com/Selecting-Yo ... ram-E-Book). Most candidates find they have time to apply to just 3-4 programs, since each application is so time consuming, and you have to tailor it to each school. Or at LEAST only 3-4 per round, maybe up to 6-7 total if needed. But don't sacrifice the QUALITY of your apps for quantity...each should look like it's the ONLY one submitted!! (To that school, it IS!) So maybe aim for 2-3 top 10 schools max, and a few from the 10-25 ranking, approx. I would say you may have a shot at top schools with excellent essays (do not underestimate!), recs and interview; just be sure to focus on what makes you unique, what you'll bring to the program, and why you want the MBA from their school.

Let us know what other q's you have, and if you'd like to speak in more depth, we do offer a free 30 min consult, at http://www.mbamission.com/consult.php, if interested. Good luck on everything!
_________________

Jen Kedrowski
mbaMission

Website: http://www.mbamission.com
Blog: http://www.mbamission.com/blog
mbaMission Insiders Guides: http://www.mbamission.com/guides.php?category=insiders
Free Consultation: http://www.mbamission.com/consult.php

[mbamissionjenK]

Hiya,

Replied in GMAT Club already, re-pasting here:

Hello,

Thanks for your post. It was interesting to read, and I believe you would get noticed by the admissions committee. Your global experiences at Deloitte and PwC are a strength, in addition to your outstanding GMAT, solid academics, and variety of involvements and initiatives. Establishing the schools is particularly interesting and worth detailing more in your essays/interview, particularly if you can speak with passion about the experience. Your awards and recognitions are an extra strength and also lead me to believe you would do well on your application essays, which are so important, given that the essays influenced your awards in the past.

3 years of work experience is a little less than average, but if it will be 4 when you begin b-school that is more common. No matter how many years of experience, it's always a good idea to touch on why NOW is the best time for you to go to b-school, vs another point in time.

Your goals mentioned are very admirable, "Be a Finance leader and also work for the betterment of the Pakistani troubled community", however you'll want to dig deeper for your essays and interview.... HOW will you do those things? What do you have in min? Can you describe your career goals and plans for 3, 5, 10 years post-MBA for example? Many strong applicants CAN, so it's important to be able to in a competitive environment (even if the details may change some based on what you experience in b-school, that's ok).

You have quite a long schools list. Of course Harvard/Stanford/Wharton are extremely competitive, and Stanford in particular has a smaller class size so the chances are even more difficult on top of it having one of the highest average GMAT scores. I would recommend narrowing your list down based on what you are looking for in a school. (Check out our free download for more about choosing schools, at http://info.mbamission.com/Selecting-Yo ... ram-E-Book). Most candidates find they have time to apply to just 3-4 programs, since each application is so time consuming, and you have to tailor it to each school. Or at LEAST only 3-4 per round, maybe up to 6-7 total if needed. But don't sacrifice the QUALITY of your apps for quantity...each should look like it's the ONLY one submitted!! (To that school, it IS!) So maybe aim for 2-3 top 10 schools max, and a few from the 10-25 ranking, approx. I would say you may have a shot at top schools with excellent essays (do not underestimate!), recs and interview; just be sure to focus on what makes you unique, what you'll bring to the program, and why you want the MBA from their school.

Let us know what other q's you have, and if you'd like to speak in more depth, we do offer a free 30 min consult, at http://www.mbamission.com/consult.php, if interested. Good luck on everything!
_________________

Jen Kedrowski
mbaMission

Website: http://www.mbamission.com
Blog: http://www.mbamission.com/blog
mbaMission Insiders Guides: http://www.mbamission.com/guides.php?category=insiders
Free Consultation: http://www.mbamission.com/consult.php

[mbamissionjenK]

Hiya,

I just answered this today in another forum; tried to copy and paste it here several times and not sure why it won't let me, but let me know if you don't receive it on the other forum!

[SommyaM469]

1. Undergraduate school:
Bachelor of Technology (B.Tech.), Computer Science, (4 years degree), UTU India

2. Undergraduate grades/GPA
7.9/10
Xth : 88% CBSE
XII : 77% CBSE

3. GMAT score or expected score
Expected 680-700

4. # Yrs full-time work experience
3.9 years

5. Current company and role
Business Analyst in Deloitte US Consulting (Sales Performance Management domain); techno-functional role that requires a good amount of client interaction). Prior to this I have 1.5 years of experience in Technology (Accenture) in Informatica (ETL).

6. Extra-curricular leadership experience
Developed a desktop API for twitter during my internship (2011)
Won treasure hunts at state level.
Won a carom championship : Intra-Deloitte Delhi
Few other achievements but nothing at state and national level. Hosted and won couple of activities at college and school level.
Working with an NGO for the past 6 months. Organized events and won quizzes during my tenure with Deloitte as well.
Created a facebook page "FACTEZE" to analyze the mindset of the active members on fb.

7. Post-MBA goals
Getting into branding/adverstising/marketing, gaining more international experience so as to understand the customer needs better.

8. Target schools
ISB
Sloan
Cornell
Wharton
Schulich
Rotman
School of Business
Stern
INSEAD

9. IELTS Score: 7.5

Please advise the schools to aim for adnw hat are my chances for the mentioned schools with the profile that I have.

Best regards,
Sommya Mehta
sommya.mehta@gmail.com

[mbamissionjenK]

Hi Sommya,

Thanks for posting! Your grades and work experience look solid; looks like the GMAT is an estimate so you may want to check back in when you know for sure... on your list. Sloan, Wharton & INSEAD may be somewhat of reaches, again the GMAT could affect how things skew but those are quite tough for most people.... lots of good schools listed there. I'm not sure if I've followed how much total work experience you have; at any point if you'd like a more in-depth profile review feel free to sign up for a consultation with us at www.mbamission.com/consult if interested too. Good luck!