Ask ARLee Consulting - Admissions Coach | INSEAD MBA | Samsung HR Head

Hi mholmes2101,

thank you so much for asking us to evaluate your profile.

Overall, you have an impressive profile.

(1) GMAT: your 770 score is 30-40 points above the average of your targeted schools (i.e. Harvard, Stanford, Wharton, Chicago) therefore this will certainly give you an advantage.

(2) GPA: as you know, your GPA is on the lower side for your targeted schools. This will be particularly an issue for H/S/W. However, your GMAT will help you compensate for this, and you can always write an optional essay explaining the extenuating circumstances (i.e. family tragedy) that led to your low GPA.

(3) Work Experience and Career Progression: your work experience seems quite strong and shows a fast career progression that includes some formal leadership experience. Furthermore, your number of years of work experience is on par with your targeted schools' averages.

(4) Extra-curriculars: your extra-curriculars seem quite strong as well with volunteering and pro bono work, alongside raise funding through sports for a novel cause.

(5) Career goals: I really like your career goals and they seem to be quite well defined.

I don't think waiting another year to gain more experience at your current role and some more community involvement would add much value to your candidacy, so I would recommend you to apply on Round 1 this year.

Regarding your two possible routes, honestly, I think you can do much better than Emory. My recommendation would be to apply this year to Harvard, Stanford, Wharton and Chicago, and only if none of them works out then consider Emory.

I hope this helps. For a more detailed discussion about your profile, candidacy and options, feel free to reach out. I would love to see your resume as well.

Thank you very much.

Good luck!
Alex

Hi!

I'd be grateful if you can evaluate my profile.

26 M, Indian. Looking to get into a top US business school.
5 years WE
GMAT - 720, 48Q/41V
Expecting 110+ on the TOEFL
Undergrad: 3.0 GPA in Engineering from a not-so-popular Indian university.

Very passionate about startups and entrepreneurship.
Battled my way through severe anxiety and depression.
(would be) First in the family to study abroad.

Work Experience:

Current:
Ø Entrepreneur. Bootstrapped an ed-tech startup from scratch to a $150,000 ARR business in 3 years. Still running it with positive cashflow. I know $150k might not sound that impressive to US adcoms, but the company is based in India, it's in a small niche, and it is growing y-o-y.
Ø Grew the business from 0 - 10,000 paying customers from over 150 countries.
Ø Singlehandedly built and grew the company's blog from 0 to 2 million annual readers without spending a dime on ads. The site is currently ranked very highly in the test prep niche.
Ø Helped over 1000 students improve their test scores, through one-on-one personal interaction and mentorship.

Previous:
Ø Director of Support for 2 years. First hire at a SaaS startup company funded by top global VC firms.
Ø Helped scale the company's online support system from 0-10,000 B2B customers.
Ø Worked with the CEO and the engineering teams to improve customer experience.

Previously, I also co-founded an offline test prep company straight out of undergrad. It did really well for a year or so, and we gave the major players (the likes of Princeton Review and Manhattan Review) a run for their money, but had to shut it down due to lack of funding (needed to expand operations). Used this experience to pivot the service into an online platform (the aforementioned ed-tech startup).

Extra-curricular:

Startup Festival - 3 years
Ø Organized the first ever startup festival in my home state (which is also one of India's largest entrepreneurship events) with over 2500 delegates attending from across the country.
Ø Led a team of 20 managers and 60 volunteers, and played a key role in raising funds, partnering with the state government, and managing over 100 speakers, startups, corporate, sponsors, and partner companies.
Ø The event kickstarted innovation and tech in our state.
Ø Not sure how relevant it is to my application, but I have a letter of recommendation from our State Minister for IT & Entrepreneurship (similar to Secretary of State), as I worked closely with the state government on building a startup ecosystem.

President and Regional Head at a major national level non-profit - 3 years
Ø Built and lead the city chapter of one of India's largest non-profits (on the lines of Teach for India) from scratch to the city's largest and the fastest growing non-profit org.
Ø Recruited, trained, and mentored over 250 young volunteers to teach, train, and mentor over 300 underprivileged children across 5 shelter homes in my city.
Ø Helped the organization expand to two new cities in South India. Recruited, trained, and managed over 30 young leaders and over 300 young volunteers, who in-turn impacted more than 500 underprivileged children in 10 shelter homes across the region.
Ø Although this was a few years ago, it wasn't just another community service activity. I actually worked 10-15 hours a week for 3 years straight.

Other details:
Ø Was a founding member of my university's student magazine.
Ø Was also a member of a couple of clubs in college (entrepreneurship, speaking).

Hobbies:
I'm a fitness enthusiast. Have done freelance modeling, and was also a Mr. India 2016 quarter-finalist.
Also an avid reader and debater.

LORs:
Can get strong letters of recommendation from my supervisors.

Cons:
Ø No recent community service experience.
Ø No international exposure.
Ø Although I've built a successful business, I haven't worked for big brand corporate companies.
Ø Indian male. Although I'm not in the IT sector.
Ø Low GPA?

Post MBA Goals:

Long term goal is to build a global business (ed-tech SaaS company). I plan to use the business acumen and the vast network from my MBA to achieve this. To get there, I believe I need experience in the SaaS domain. My immediate post MBA goal, therefore, is to join a growing SaaS company in the US. Over the past couple of years, I've had a growing interest in the SaaS revolution in the US, and I very much want to be a part of it.

Can you please evaluate my profile? Since I have a relatively unique background (and experience), I'm having a hard time understanding how competitive my profile would be at a top school. I'm also looking for schools where my profile would be very competitive, so I can secure a handsome scholarship (half-ride, or GA). I'm planning to apply in Early or Round 1 this year.

Please suggest what schools I would be a good contender at. Whether they would be among the Top 10 (Haas, MIT, Ross), Top 30 (Duke, UCLA, Cornell), or Top 50 (Indiana, UT-Austin, Carlson), etc. Thank you very much.

Hi SachinKaundinya,

thank you very much for asking us to evaluate your profile.

I really like your experience as entrepreneur. It will def give you great stories for your applications. Furthermore, you have excelled in your venture, and this is highly valued by the AdComs.

However, although not the most typical Indian male applicant, you will still have to compete in the Indian-Male applicant pool. As you know, it is extremely competitive and high GPA and GMAT scores are expected from applicants in that pool. Your current 720 is not a bad score, but not very competitive for Top 10-20 schools. Your Quant score is also below the recommended 80%.

Perhaps, you would need to work a bit more on your career goals and need for an MBA. Also, make sure the companies and positions you're targeting post-MBA require an MBA.

Over the year, you have had an active life outside the classroom and outside of work, and this is also something AdComs like very much. Though your current extra-professional activities are perhaps a bit weak.

Overall, I would say that with a really strong application (i.e. Resume, Essays, LoRs...) you might have a shot at Top 30 schools.

I hope this helps.

Feel free to connect over email for a more detailed discussion about your profile (alex@arleeconsulting.com). We have experience helping Indian applicants with lower GMAT scores than yours to get into their dreams schools.

I would love to see your resume by the way.

Thank you very much.

Good luck!
Alex

Hi Alex,

First of all I read through your replies and appreciated your candidness.

My Profile:

Asian Canadian
Undergraduate at top Canadian University (UBC/UofT/McGill), Chemistry
3.0 GPA
163/170 (Verbal and Quant) on the GRE, 93/97 percentile, eq. to 770 GMAT
CFA Level 2
Work Experience with Data Analysis at a mid/small-cap engineering company

I have applied to (University of Toronto) Rotman and have been accepted for the Sep 2018 intake. I am wondering if I should delay my MBA 1 year for the Sep 2019 intake and apply to some US Schools. I would be looking at rank 5-15, I don't think my profile is quite strong enough for wharton harvard stanford, but perhaps Sloan/Columbia/Booth/INSEAD? I am looking at consulting or banking post-MBA.

PROs of Rotman

Strong Toronto Network
10k scholarship - 90k CAD tuition
Don't need H1B, less dependent on the American economy
1 year sooner!

PROs of US Top 15

Prestige
Better cohort
More recognizable internationally

One big risk I see is a faltering US economy. If I graduate into a recession, it would be very difficult to stay in the US. As far as I understand, getting that good first job is critical. Any advice would be much appreciated!

Hi peterx,

thank you very much for reaching out, and for reading through my replies.

Congratulations on your admissions to Rotman! It is definitely a very good school, but I understand your dilemma.

I think it all comes down to your career goals. If you see yourself immediately post-MBA (or sometime in the future) outside of Canada, it would be indeed worth postponing your admission to Rotman and applying to a Top US School.

Just from the details you shared, I would say you have a good shot at those schools.

I understand your concern about the US economy at the time of graduation, but I would not worry much about that at this point. Into a recession or not, coming out of a Top US School and with a great profile, you could still land of a very good job.

If you are open to work outside of Canada/US, you could also hedge that risk by applying to a Top European School. I saw you mentioned INSEAD in your list, and I think it's an excellent choice. Just keep in mind that an international profile is very important for INSEAD. I know you're Asian Canadian, but it would be great if you could also show international motivation through international experiences, working in international teams, global careers goals... Another European school you could consider is LBS, especially given your goal in banking.

I would love to see your resume to better assess your chances at Top US Schools + INSEAD (or LBS). It would be great if you could share it with me at alex@arleeconsulting.com. We could also continue this conversation in more detail.

Otherwise, I hope the above has been helpful, and I wish you the best of luck whatever path you decide to take.

Thank you very much.

Best regards
Alex

Hello,

Please find a brief of my profile below. I thank you in anticipation for your help!

Age – 30 years Male, Nationality – Indian, planning to apply for Canadian citizenship if I end up in a good MBA program so that I can avoid H1B circus post graduation (applying only for US universities)

Education: B.Tech & M.Tech in Mechanical Engineering/Energy Technology from one of the top 5 IITs in India (GPA – 3.6/4 as per WES assessment), MSc in Mechanical Engineering from one of the top 5 Canadian University (GPA – 3.8/4)

GMAT – 690 (Q51, V31, IR6), planning to apply only for safe schools during R1 2018, need to retake GMAT to cross 730 to be able to apply for target schools during R2.

WE: Total 5 years by next year (4 years in Canada and 1 year in India - 2.5 years in a top energy management consultancy firm which runs energy efficiency programs in North America, 1.5 years in other energy audit firms, and 1 year in a big oil)

Internships: 2 research interns during undergrad – 3 months in an European university and 3 months in SIEMENS in its energy research group)

Publications – Couple of publications in reputed journals (Electrochimica Acta, Journal of The Electrochemical Society)

Scholarships – 1 during undergrad, 3 during grad school (2 of them are pretty reputed)

Extra curricular – Organized few tech events, member of choreography and light music team (as an acoustic guitarist) during undergrad, volunteered for a program during grad school that was meant to spread cultural awareness of my home country through presentations in schools, currently volunteering as a mentor and registration presenter for an engineering regulatory body of a Canadian province

Post MBA Goal – Energy Consultancy/Trading/IB

I will be applying for MBA programs and universities that are reputed for energy. On that note, I will appreciate if somebody can please suggest few safe as well as target schools I could pursue based on my profile. I am targeting to matriculate by Fall 2019.

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Profile Evaluation for MBA 2022 Intake-
GMAT: 760
Duolingo: 145
Undergrad: 9.7 CGPA in Bachelor of Commerce(WES-> US Equivalent Undergrad).
University: Lovely Professional University, Punjab
12th Grade: 92%
Work Experience: 2.5 yrs as Finance Associate in Largest Infrastructure Company of India- Promoted Twice in the period currently leading a team and managing finance of Two National Projects in India under the direct control of PM Office.
3 MOnths as a Process analyst intern in Telecom Company.
EC's - Hosted many events in Undergrad, District level Hockey Player won prizes in Undergrad, Been a part of Charitable organization for the past 5 years.
Certifications: CFA Level 1, CPMP and Online MOOC's over Analytics and Data Science.
Post-MBA goals - Want to transit in Product Management in FMCG.
Hope for the Comments.
Also, Please let me know if pursuing MBA in India or in Abroad is correct for my profile.
which schools can I apply for?

Profile Evaluation for MBa 2022

Profile Evaluation for MBa 2022

Undergrad in Chemical Engineering (GPA - 3.9/5.0)

Career started as a STEM teacher (1 year) and then moved to Packaging Development in an FMCG (~4years) and promoted to Ag. team lead. Moving to Business Operations Consulting at a Big 4 by July (so by resumption in 2022, it is 1 year experience).

Post MBA career plan is Strategy Consulting

Involved in volunteer activities from university and even outside.

GRE score 310 ( going to rewrite by end of July)

Programs I want to apply for - Cornell, Stanford, Kellogg

How will admissions view my profile? And how can I maximize this profile to get admitted?

Indian, Female, 28
Target GMAT - 700+
Education - Bachelor in Engineering-8.7 , Diploma in Engineering-8, 10th-75%

Work experience - 6.5 Years
1. worked as Software Engineer at US based InsurTech fortune 500 company and at Healthcare and FMCG automation and technology company.
2. Co-Founder of handicraft social e-commerce startup, founded and registered in 2019.
I am from village where most women knows needle and thread art but not able to earn money because of lack of platform, technology and investment. We are helping these women earn money.
3. Partner at Import export and trading company
I am helping farmers sell their produces at price higher than MSP(minimum support price) by removing middleman layers.
4. CURRENT ROLE-Freelancer as Lead Software Engineer at LogiTech Startup

Why MBA?
I have gone had many corporate experiences and managed my startup over the years, but I learned everything in a try and error manner. Now I want to take a step back and use the MBA program to gain skills(management, strategy, marketing) in an academic setting.

Short Term Goal: To become a product manager in an AgriTech startup.
Long Term Goal: Social Entrepreneurship in AgriTech industry
Born in farmer’s family and being a tech person myself, I knew that in India and many other , farmers don’t have technology, data and advanced tools to make better decisions and ease the agriculture processes. My goal is to transform the agriculture industry through technology and improve farmer’s lives

Target Schools: M7, Haas, Yale, Duke Fuqua, Tuck, Ross, Said, Judge, NYU Stern, Insead, HEC Paris, ISB, Babson

Questions-
1. which college and program should i go for which will help me achieve my long-term goal(Entrepreneurship in AgriTech) ?
Any other colleges you want to suggest?
2. how can i highlight my strengths – Leadership, Community involvement and what do you find weakness in my profile? Suggestions you want to give to improve my profile/CV?
3. do you find my personal story strong and compelling enough?
4. I want to join AgriTech startup soon after my MBA and pursue my entrepreneurship career later down the line in AgriTech itself.
I am not sure if school will find ’join AgriTech soon after MBA suitable (because generally tech company comes into campus but not specifically tech company that works in agriculture sector) or Shall I still present this as my short term goal in my SOP? If so, how do I make sure it doesn’t look odd in the face of the AdComs.

 • Nationality: Indian
 • Gender: Male
 • Age: 31 (For fall 2022)
 • Brief intro: Generalist background. Changed industries and functions multiple times.
 • Work experience: 7.5 years (till fall 2022).
Chronology-
1) 1 year: Software Engineer (fortune 100) (service role, engaging with onsite team and clients, analytical nature of work) ;
2) 3 years: MBA admission consultant/Group discussion faculty/trainer for preparing students for interview stage of Indian MBA programs selection process.
3) 5 months: Sales (brief stint at Indian edtech unicorn, top of chart for 2 weeks).
4) 2 years till date: Currently working for Government of India, serving as an Intelligence Officer in Intelligence Bureau - Collection of human intelligence from remote, underdeveloped and threatened areas with bootstrapped resources and manpower; completed special assignments as an incharge for intel collection of an area with 2,50,000 population where dealt with radicalization and Tablighi Jamaat crisis (was in global news) and its repercussions in my area, advised the local administration on partial/complete/lockdown/unlockdown, served as an incharge of an insurgency affected area where No. 2 commander of the local insurgent group surrendered after a collaborated operation with police and army.
 • EC and achievements: Top essay contributor for a national magazine twice; Attended summer camps from school days doing different activities like Lawn Tennis, Martial Arts, playing drums; 100 % attendance in multiple years of school life; won many debates & GD in college. Performed strong leadership roles - Student Placement Head in college; Organized, hosted and managed college fest and multiple events. Public speaking. Completed Basic Mountaineering Course; Informal Community engagement/volunteering with individuals in variety of ways (saved animals on multiple occasions, feeding animals and birds; distributing clothes and food to the needy; currently involved with the local religious community and assist them in collection of funds for undertaking developmental activities).
 • Scores: X: 86%, XII- 81.6% Undergrad: 6.5/10 CGPA in Computer Science engineering (tier 3 college), Top 1% in National Standard Examination in Chemistry in Senior Secondary School, Cleared 3 stage entrance exam of Intelligence Bureau (All India rank 197 among starting 7,50,000 candidates).
GMAT: Not appeared.
 • Post MBA
Strategy Consulting (preferably MBB).
 • Target: Harvard, Stanford, Wharton, INSEAD, LBS.

 • Nationality: Indian
 • Gender: Male
 • Age: 31 (For fall 2022)
 • Brief intro: Generalist background. Changed industries and functions multiple times.
 • Work experience: 7.5 years (till fall 2022).
Chronology-
1) 1 year: Software Engineer (fortune 100) (service role, engaging with onsite team and clients, analytical nature of work). Good review.
2) 3 years: MBA admission consultant/Group discussion faculty/trainer for preparing students for interview stage of Indian MBA programs selection process. Good review.
3) 5 months: Sales (brief stint at Indian edtech unicorn, top of chart for 2 weeks).
4) 2 years till date: Currently working for Government of India, serving as an Intelligence Officer in Intelligence Bureau - Collection of human intelligence from remote, underdeveloped, threatened areas with bootstrapped resources and manpower; completed special assignments as an incharge for intel collection of an area with 2,50,000 population where dealt with radicalization and Tablighi Jamaat crisis (was in global news) and its repercussions in my area, advised the local administration on partial/complete/lockdown/unlockdown, served as an incharge of an insurgency affected area where No. 2 commander of the local insurgent group surrendered after a collaborated operation with police and army.
 • EC and achievements: Top essay contributor for a national magazine twice; Appeared in state media twice as a student panelist on socio- economic discussion. Freelance contributor to newspaper for brief time. Brilliant student medal in 8th standard,100 % attendance in multiple years of school life; won debates & GD in college. Strong leadership roles - Student Placement Head in college; Organized, hosted and managed college fest and multiple events. Public speaking, Basic Mountaineering Course; Informal Community engagement in variety of ways (saved animals on multiple occasions, feeding animals and birds; distributing clothes and food to the needy; currently assisting local religious community in collection of funds for developmental activities).
 • Scores: 10th: 86%, 12th- 81.6%, Undergrad: 6.5/10 CGPA in Computer Science engineering (tier 3 college), Top 1% in National Standard Examination in Chemistry in 12th Standard, All India rank 197 among 7,50,000 candidates in 3 stage entrance exam of Intelligence Bureau .
GMAT: Not appeared.
Post MBA: Strategy Consulting (preferably MBB).
Target: Harvard, Stanford, Wharton, INSEAD, LBS.
Q. Chances? Post MBA goal chances?

Demographics (nationality, gender): Indian, Male

• Education (undergraduate institution, GPA, major - high school/entrance exams not needed):
Undergrads:

University of Calcutta
GPA - 75.25% (2nd in class, Highest 76%)
Statistics Major , Math and Econ Minor

Postgrads:
University of Calcutta
GPA - 75.65% (6th in class, Highest 81%)
Statistics Major

• Other coursework:

○ Machine Learning Specialization - University of Washington - Coursera
○ Deep Learning Specialization - Deeplearning.AI - Coursera
○ Python for Data Science - IBM - Coursera
○ Databases and SQL for Data Science - IBM - Coursera

• GMAT or GRE (include section breakdown): Not yet taken. Target - 740

• Work experience: Total 5 years
Industries: Currently working in a Global bank (Fortune 100) in their corporate credit risk analytics team , prior to this 3 years in one of the top 3 market research firms focused on marketing analytics
Promotions: 3 (1 in current, 1 while switching and 1 in previous organization)

Special accomplishments:
Top performer in both organizations. Promotions in both companies in a relatively short time period.
Was account lead for 3 US based clients in previous organization. Delivered multiple client projects with optimizing their marketing spend ROI.
Developed corporate credit risk models for current organization which resulted in significant reduction in capital (freeing up for investment) for the bank.
Won a global hackathon in current organization International exposure: 4 months in Chicago for a critical client project.

• Extracurricular activities (highlight notable undergraduate and post-undergraduate ones):
Part of CSR (Corporate social responsiblity) core committee in current organization. Organized employee engagement events focused in CSR and also volunteered for mentorship for underprivileged kids.
Also as part of L&D team organized various trainings for employees across India.

• Post-MBA goals: Advanced analytic consulting role in the digital consulting arm of the Big 3 consultancies

• Target schools: Booth, Stern, Darden, Duke, Tepper.

Questions:
My Undergrad and postgrad not being from tier one colleges like IIT,NIT and lack of extra curriculars during Undergrad and postgrad - how does that impact my chances in top 15 US B schools?
How does my profile look for top 15 US B schools? And my short term mba goal being a bit niche compared to traditional management /strategy consulting – does that hurt my application?

Hi, Shreyasee here (Indian female, 29 years old).

• I am currently preparing for my GMAT. I’ve taken three mock tests so far and am consistently scoring between 730 – 740. My target is 760+.
• I have been working in Analytics for the last 5 years. I currently work in Customer Analytics at a large global bank, in the Wealth and Personal Banking department.
• Prior to that, I was a consultant in Marketing Analytics at one of the top 10 market research companies. Worked in New York for 5 months.
• Career progression includes 2 promotions in 5 years.
• I have a Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree in Economics (Undergrad CGPA: 8.23 / 10; Postgrad CGPA 9.77 /10).
• Extracurriculars include volunteer work throughout Undergrad, participation in employee engagement committees at work and core member of the Diversity & Inclusion employee resource group in my current organization.
• Awards: Gold Medal in Economics (Postgrad), various performance awards at work, winner of global competition in current organization to drive revenue growth & customer acquisition.
• Post MBA goal is to move into Management Consulting.

My question is really in terms of understanding whether I am a good candidate for a top school (seeking guidance in terms of which schools to realistically target). Would really like to apply to Wharton and Darden for sure. Any suggestions on which aspects of my profile to highlight and / or further work on?

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