Ask Fortuna Admissions

Hi Engr2012,

first of all, my sincere apologies for this horribly late response. For some reason I did not receive a notification about your message and only came to see it now!
I do hope that our comments will still be useful to you, so without further ado here is what the Fortuna team thinks about your profile:


Admissions committees always look at your academic profile and GMAT score together, so on this front we would say that you seem to have a solid academic profile that would tick the boxes, however as you have mentioned yourself, overall you would definitely benefit from a higher GMAT score - especially since you'll be competing in a very tough applicant pool, see further down below...


What we like about your professional profile is that you have had fast career progression and early management responsibility. Your international experience is also a plus. However, it sounds as though your work has largely been technical in nature so far. Unfortunately, engineering profiles are over-represented in applicant pools for all top business schools (especially Indian male engineers), so the bar will be extremely high.


Your extracurricular activities make for a solid, if not outstanding profile in this important area, so you would be well advised to capitalise on these activities when putting together your essays and application pack.


Your stated post-MBA career plan would be a fairly significant career switch. In your application essays (and interviews), you would need to make a strong case for why you would be a good candidate for this career path and what relevant experience and background you'd bring to the table. We are not sure what sort of job or company you are looking at, but we feel levering your engineering background in a tech company might be a more compelling case than a switch to retail.


You would be in a highly competitive pool for the schools in your target list. Stanford, Wharton, Booth and Kellogg would be tough indeed. You may be better off focusing your efforts on schools like UCLA, Cornell, Stern, Ross, Tepper and Yale. For a more detailed discussion on suitable target schools, also in regards to your career goals, we'd be pleased to schedule a free 30-minute call, completely without any obligation. Just enter your details on our website on the "Free consultation" and we'll get back to you in a jiffy!

Once again, our apologies for the late reply.
All the best and please let me know if there is anything else we can help you with,
Christine

Hi ramalo,

thanks for reaching out to us!
I'm posting our comments section by section below:


You have a good GMAT score but, given the highly competitive applicant pool you'd be in, it would be a bit below average for an Indian student at a top b-school. If you did not graduate from a top UK school, it may indeed be worth retaking the GMAT if you think you can get a better score, however given your target application timeline you may be crunched for time. As mentioned, it will come down to which school you went to in the UK as many Indian applicants come from top institutions, so the admissions committees will definitely take into account the quality of the institution you attended when making the overall assessment of your academic profile (school+degree+GMAT).


Your professional profile sounds really interesting! The strength of your professional experience will probably be the key differentiator in your profile, so our advise would be to capitalise on the experiences and leadership skills you have gained so far when putting together your essays and application pack. On another note, 7+ years of work experience is quite long overall for a US program, so you may be better off targeting a program like INSEAD where the average age and length of professional experience is a bit higher.



We agree that you may have some useful background for strategy consulting; however, just be aware that a lot of candidates say that they want to work for McKinsey / BCG / Bain post MBA. It's an easy thing to say, but not so easy to do. In your application, you'll need to do a really good job of demonstrating that your career goals are well thought through, and that you are a strong candiate for strategy consulting.


You have a strong extracurricular profile, which shows a strong level of engagement with a nice diversity of interests. Fundraising achievements are always good to highlight as well.


We think this is a good list. Columbia would be a stretch; INSEAD and LBS would be probably be the best fit.
Overall, you have a nice profile and we would strongly encourage you to sign up for a free 30-minute consultation to further discuss your target school list. Just go to our website and enter your details under the "Free consultation" tab.

Once again, may thanks for your enquiry and we hope the above comments are useful.

Best regards
Christine

Thanks Christine for taking out time and evaluating the profile in such depth. I do have a couple of follow on questions that I really hope you would be able to answer.
1. I went to a good university in UK but definitely not Oxford or Cambridge. I know I come from a competitive pool of male Indian applicants but do you think its worth spending time on retaking the GMAT or should I devote myself entire to the essays? I'm thinking of applying to INSEAD, LBS, Duke, Ross and some lower ranked schools with my current score for the Round 1 deadline and then retaking the GMAT sometime in late October/early November and applying to other GMAT focused schools such as Columbia, Tuck, etc.
2. I agree that having 7+ years of experience is probably on the higher end for US schools and that applying to INSEAD or LBS would be better (INSEAD btw is my dream school). However is it even worth applying to US schools with so many years of experience?
3. I agree that Columbia would be a strech but how would you rate my chances at INSEAD and LBS (will they be strech schools or reach schools)

Thanks once again.

Hey Christine, Fortuna team

Thank you for the detailed reply. It was quite useful. Additionally, wanted to add that I got a 750 on the GMAT last month. So the things have changed a bit.

Also, I am targeting the following schools:

Columbia (ED)
Wharton (R1)
Kellogg (R1)
Ross (R1)

Booth (R2)
Stern (R2)

As for the goals are concerned, I am now targeting to go into consulting (operations) with focus on Aerospace and Defense industry.

Let me know if this helps.

Hey Fortuna Admissions

Can you please help me in evaluating my profile :

Indian female

Grades :
Xth - 91%
XIIth - 88% ( Have been on scholarship since class 8th in school)
Undergrad ( NIT kurukshetra ) - 7.93/10 (2008-2012)
GMAT - 720 (Q50, V38, IR5)

Work experience -
* Have been working in Samsung from the past 3 years
Have had 2 promotions in 3 years
First as a software developer, then moved into Pre-sales consulting owing to my interest in Marketing.
In that I worked with Samsung Sales division in APAC regions, assisted clients and partners in Dubai, SA, Thailand, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Singlehandedly set up a whole Enterprise business conclave in India marketing Regional HQ, Worked with directors of engineering of Hyatt, Oberoi, and Taj hotels.
Demonstrated Samsung solutions in events, conclaves, summits to CXO's of different verticals.

* Member of cultural commitee in Samsung, Won the best innovative project of the Quarter for a project, Winner of many cultural competitions held in Office.

Extra Curriculars -
* Won accolades for Dance from age 6, Working as a dance instructor in a Dance studio.
* 2 District level prizes in Arts, College level athlete( won 10 medals ) in NIT sports meet' 09, '10, '11
* Head of 3 committees in tech and cultural national level fests in NIT.
* Started a society for teaching Underprivileged children of College's workers. This has been published in a local newspaper of Kurukshetra.
* Working as a UN online volunteer for a research project on Women Situation in Thailand.
* Represented North Zone ( 4 states ) In a national level General knowledge Quiz held in Hyd.
* 1 district level prize in Analytical ability (scholarship given).

Working on my startup idea as well ( It would be completed by the end of the year )

Post Mba goal - I want to enter into Brand management or marketing.

My target schools are - Kellogg 1 year program, ISB, Insead, HEC paris, NUS, NTU, Oxford.
I even want a partial scholarship for these programs.

Can you please tell me about the shortcomings in my profile and how can I be the good fit for these above schools?

Do I need to hire consultant for the essays or should I try writing them on your own?

Hi Priya,

many thanks for your message and sharing your profile with us.
Below are the comments from the Fortuna team:


You have solid academic results and a great GMAT score. However, your undergrad institution may not be as well known outside of India, and does not seem to be among the top ranked engineering schools for India overall. For top b-schools like INSEAD and Kellogg, this may be a slight disadvantage given the highly competitive Indian applicant pool where you would find many candidates who studied at highly ranked undergrad schools AND have a great GMAT score.


This reads like a good start to your career, great to have achieved two promotions within those three years! For a top b-school, you might need some more substantial professional achievements though to be able to really shine and demonstrate your leadership potential.


This is a good range of extra-curricular activities, keep it up!


We would suggest focusing on your professional evolution for another year and getting some impressive accomplishments under your belt. You certainly still have time in terms of average age and work experience for most top schools, and may stand a better chance of admission once you have built up some more professional impact. For a school like INSEAD, you would also need some international experience and be able to demonstrate that you are committed to pursue a global career.

We hope our comments are helpful and wish you all the best,
Christine

Hi Christine Manipur,

Can you please evaluate my profile. Main point are :

Indian male

GMAT Score 710 Q49V38 IR 7, AWA awaited.

X th : 81% out of 100%
XIIth : 76% out of 100%

Undergraduated ( NIT Hamirpur) : 7.66 out of 10 on CGPA scale.

Work Experience : 6 years approx.

Worked in Product company Fibcom India Ltd. (10 month as Engineer).
Worked with VNL India Pvt Ltd ( Product company) for 26 month as a NPI engineer with basic responsibility of product design and Life cycle management.
Now working with a Start-up for last 24 months approx , which include international Work Experience of working with Sagem ( Saffron Group company ) for almost 15 month
My basic concern is my work experience as i have worked with Indian Industry ( except for international assignment) and all small or mid level company.
Can you please suggest some school I can target.
I am interested in General Management or Product Management.

Best Regards,
Pankaj Vashist

hi ChristineFortuna, Fortuna Admissions,
please evaluate my profile :

Indian Male

Grades :
Xth - 89.5%
XIIth - 89.9%
Undergrad ( DVR college ) - 7.4/10
GMAT 3 - 750 (Q50, V41, IR3)
GMAT 2- 680, GMAT 1- 610, both IR 6

Work experience - Total 6 yrs at the time of admission ( 26 months in I.T. (infosys), 46 months Entrepreneurship)
Business co-owner at a chain of retail marts. directly responsible for over 150 employees
deeply involved in the managerial decisions of a fast growing Real estate company. Involvement includes but not limited to viability calculations, direct marketing to customers, etc

Extra curricula:
-won several debates and school
-consistently awarded for academics throughout school life
-One of the two co-ordinators of a national level technical symposium at college; during this stint i was involved with securing the funds, marketing the event and developing a more convenient and practical web portal along with setting guidelines and placing regulations. The event was covered widely by TV news.

Social responsibility
was member of a social team SNEHAM, through which i taught in remote villages, raised funds as part of secret santa to underprivileged, at Infosys.
many a times worked as a fund raiser for charity, collecting funds from the business community i am closely acquainted with ( both retail and real estate). These funds were donated to IT colleges, merit candidates who have no funds to further their education or any person who is deserving.
pro-bono management consulting to small and medium scale enterprises. i worked with several establishments ranging from hair saloons to restaurants to construction. The thought of directly of indirectly making a difference to several employees under these companies is what propels me to continue doing so.


Failed Startup:
Immediately after quitting my job, i came up with an idea when i found a clear security flaw through which a test prep company’s material could be hacked. Invited 2 other colleagues/ friends of mine to assist me technically. The idea was security/encryption on flash drive. Worked on it for 6 months from having an idea to creating a market to finally coming up with a beta product. Developed the beta product. The business plan was solid. Direct marketing was also elaborate. I was able to get two test prep companies on board with the idea to secure their data that they deliver via USB.I also networked with a scientist in Indian defense organization (DRDO) and garnered immense. We were able to address the security flaw too. It encrypted the data very quickly,But it took a lot of time to decrypt. To get real time decryption and to compete with companies who actually provide this software we needed to use secure pendrives, not normal pendrives. And those pendrives are very cheap to manufacture but very costly to buy. We cannot manufacture them and so we could not reduce our prices. our material landing cost itself was significantly more than the cost of both software and secure drives sold by our competitors . we eventually shred the idea.

Future Goal:
i want to establish a tech startup serving the health care industry. I always think big no matter how i start, big or small. I wish to create an app that will eventually predict health issues before to it can happen, help governments to assess which sections in health care to improve, connect patients to other patients with similar medical history, provide more insights to doctor,remind patients of when to take what medicines( very helpful in rural areas), digitize medical records and generate reports in laymen words and help junior doctor gain an insight into the vast range of cases that are digitally aggregated. In other words, i wish to revolutionize health care industry. I have already planned a revenue stream through this app too.

During MBA i would like to be connected to like minded people who are especially enthusiastic toward entrepreneurship. I wish to have access to Venture Capitalists who would be interested in the idea. I wish to apply for a business school who would only prepare me for this kind of venture. Also, i wish to intern as a management consultant during summer, a job that will eventually make me better and more structured at management consulting. I want to do so because pro-bono consulting to SME will always be a part of me.

B-school requirements:
Strong responsive alumni.
passionate professors who are reachable and research latest trends or influence new trends.
Entrepreneurship minded batch mates.

I believe that for true and accurate assessment of my skills i need to be as transparent and detailed as possible. Hence, the long post.

thanks for reading thus far.

I would like to know my chances of joining the below b school i deem fit for me.

Harvard
Stanford
Columbia (CBS)
Darden, Cornell ( for the small class size, which i hope helps in knowing my to be work partners more)

Also, kindly suggest the schools that you deem fit for me.

note:
i apologize. i failed to mention it because i got very much carried away by the new idea and its scope. I have worked with more than one related-business at a time. This helped me in ways unimaginable. Of course, i would still remain a partner in my previous businesses and use the b school knowledge to improve it. The business was not doing great presently. I had to change the strategy, shifting the stores to a different location, improving power factors to reduce the power consumption and reducing the employee turnover(a very challenging task). we compete with almost every store in the locality some in terms of quality and some in terms of quantity. This was our founding principle to give the best product at least cost. But it is not very viable. But, eventually untraditional measures formulated by me and solid support by my other partner helped us get through. Now, we are making profits, have gained reputation and have gained customer loyalty. I was able to provide extended customer support and vast range of products effectively without overloaded inventory(reduced the turn over time). But i failed to establish the store as a premium brand( this has its perks and also in our mission statement).
i failed to mention that i would like to start a management consultancy in the near future for established and profit making enterprises along with pro-bono consulting for upcoming SME's.You are right when you said that there is a lot to be done here. I failed to mentioned it.
I also believe that an idea no matter how bright or how viable a business idea maybe, it will eventually die when there is no proper association or a supporting community. I feel association with schools that have international presence and highly reputed name will help me tremendously. So, the need to apply to top b-schools.
Also, i agree that there is a lot of work to be done to restructure my profile so that it is appealing and true to the Adcom.

Hi pankajvashist,

We'd need some more information in order to give you a good response:

What are your career goals?
Where do you want to study?
What are your extra curriculars?
How much international experience do you have?

If you could let us know the answers to these questions it would be easier to make a recommendation.

Many thanks!
Christine

Hi nvad5955,

thanks for reaching out to us. Please see our comments below:


You have an excellent GMAT score, congrats! However, it must be noted that your undergrad school is not well-known, therefore, we will need to be honest in our opinion that based on the way admissions decisions have been made so far, the likes of HBS and Stanford will be very difficult to get into.


Again, since you seem to be targeting the very top schools: they are looking for some really significant professional accomplishments. From your brief description above it is not clear to us whether you have these; you might need to flesh out this part of your profile much more in order to present a convincing case.


Good portfolio of extracurriculars, and of course it's always nice to see social engagement. You would have an even stronger case if your engagement was still ongoing (it sounds as though all of this happened in the past).


Your startup story sounds like a good learning experience. We recommend that you use this experience to reflect more on what truly drives and motivates you, and how the insights from this experience will guide your future career decisions. This might make good content for your application essays and your overall "story".



Sounds good, but do you have any experience in the healthcare industry to further substantiate your plan and convince the adcom team (and potential future business partners) that you will be successful? If not, how are you planning to mitigate the risks?


Based on the information you provided above, here would be our honest assessment:
Harvard - very tough
Stanford - very tough
Columbia (CBS) - could be a stretch school
Darden, Cornell - good targets

We would also suggest Tuck as a third school you could target, because they are renowned for having a tight-knit community which is what you are after. Other possible schools could be Ross, McCombs and Babson. Your profile did not indicate any international experience, but if you value an international environment and can demonstrate that you would fit in well, INSEAD and LBS could potentially be options as well.

We wish you all the best and do let us know if there is anything else we could help you with.

Hi Fortuna,

Kindly evaluate the below profile and suggest schools for Supply chain MBA , with financial aid


Educational Background: B.Tech in Automobile Engg From SRM university ( One top 10 private institutes in India)

Academic details :
CGPA : 7.57/10 (2.9/4)
Internships : NO.
Extra circular : 1.Captain of 25 member University Racing team. ( Managed the team for two years where We have designed,fabricated and marketed the vehicle
attracting investment from sponsors )
2. Won National championship of 2012 SAE BAJA ( Off-road racing championship)
3. Participated in several SAE events.

Professional :

3+ year work experience in supply chain of US based Automotive MNC (No.1 component manufacturing group in India)
Handled several roles in three years( Very fast growth), Trained and guided several suppliers in lean practices for effective operations, Won National award from Quality council of India for work done on these organization. Designed and restructured supply chain of my company.

Left job two months back to start my own training and consulting firm on lean practices and Operational breakthroughs, doing all required research for it.

Social service : Worked with SNS foundation on training Underprivileged people in technical skills to create employment capability in them.

GMAT : 690 ( Q48, V36)
IELTS : 7.5
Apply for : Fall 2016.
Requirement : MBA in supply chain.

Queries :
1. In Which schools does I have best chance of acceptance.
2. Is my low CGPA going to be a problem?
3. What are chance of financial aid.

Hi subhashk90,

Apologies for the delay in getting back to you. We've had a transition in staff and Christine has recently left us so am just trying to catch up and fill in where she left off.

It's really hard to just state which schools you have the best chance of acceptance to as there are so many programs. Firstly, in which country are you focusing on? You must have narrowed down some school choices by now based on your research... which ones are you targeting? You need to do the research for yourself to figure out which geographical location makes the most sense for you and what program is a good academic and cultural fit for you. Once you've narrowed down your search it's best to speak to current students and/or alumni or staff at the school to get a sense of what feels right for you.

You've got some great professional background demonstrating leadership skills with strong extra curriculars - all key for MBA programs.

In terms of GMAT, being an Indian (male I'm assuming?) makes it very competitive to get into a competitive MBA therefore yes, I would say you need to bump up your GMAT score to 700+. However it really does depend on what you school you are targeting. If it's schools like Stanford or Columbia then yes I would aim higher but if it's a 2nd tier school, it might be ok.

In terms of financial aid, every school is different so once again, once you've narrowed your search, simply review the financial options and scholarships available to that school.

Hope this helps.

Best of luck
Melissa

Hello All,

I am looking to apply for part-time MBA programs.

profile: Indian male currently working in USA.

1) Undergrad: Engineering (First Class with distinction, 75.22/100)
2) Masters : USA, Electrical & Computer (GPA= 4.0/4.0)
3) Total 7 years of professional experience - 4 Years as Lead.
4) topper in maths in high school, topper in Masters - got full tuition waiver for my master program.
5) NGO work - 6 years (thou, I stared at the young age fo 14 years and was part of high school & undergrad activities as part of Bharat scouts & NCC, companies NGO participation)
6) achievements at work, NGO and sports activities

I am looking for the following schools in order of priority - specialization in Technology Consulting.
1) Foster evening MBA UWashington Seattle -
2) EMBA Broad MSU - ( can apply for GMAT waiver based on my Masters GPA)
3) Gonzueita evening MBA -
4) Schellar, Georgia Tech evening mba

Can someone please let me know which colleges I can get an admit. if not, my weak areas in the profile

Thank you in Advance.

Hi
Gmat score : 640 (Q-50 ,V-26)
5.8 years of Work Exp
GPA-75/100

I am thinking of applying
Kelley
Brigham
Iowa
Tippie

Please suggest

Hi ssinghvi,

Thanks for your note.

First thing to think about... what do you want out of an MBA? I don't know much about you from your note but do your short and long term goals align with these schools? There might be one that is a much better match for you, personally and professionally. Can you visit the campuses, talk to students/alumni, attend some information sessions? It's really about if it feels like a good fit for you and if the school can help you achieve your short and long term goals. Check out what kinds of companies recruit from these schools. Are these the companies you are after? What location of each school appeals to you?
Your gmat score should be fine for these schools as well as your years of work experience (though I don't know your field of expertise!). But all business schools are looking not just at your academics but your leadership potential and what makes you a well rounded person. Do you have examples from work of accomplishments and/or leadership abilities? What do you do outside of work and how would you contribute to the school? The schools will want to know all of this kind of stuff.

So reach out to the schools to see which one really resonates with you and of course, review the admissions criteria on each website.
Hope this helps and good luck!

Melissa

Hi,

Full disclosure... I did post this on some other part of the Forum.. but this might be a better spot for it, so trying my luck

Would love to get some perspective on my profile. Notably, considering the profile, how polished would you recommend the essays to be - main concern point to be honest for me is to make clear why I want to do an MBA in a way that doesn't sound to horrible. Mainly: 1. I just think the experience is great 2. I do want to transition outside my industry (FMCG) problem is, I don't have a clear answer towards where.... somewhere where I would be engaged with the purpose 3. I am thinking about transitioning out of supply chain, operations, mostly to be closer to the strategic aspect of the business but it's not yet a 100% decision (there are things I like in SC). 4. I am very intrigued by consulting and would probably go for this as a first option out of the MBA as that probably is the best way to clarify point 2 & 3.

Planning to apply only to INSEAD -

Here's my profile:
Data: 29, male, French
GMAT: 720 - 67% in Quant, 96% in verbal
TOEFL: 115
Previous Education: Masters in business from a top 10 French Business School (top 30% of the class, nothing impressive, must say grades weren't a big focus point for me at the time)
Work experience: 5-6 years in a global FMCG based in Cincinnati, in supply chains and operations, planning role in the first 4 years in both France and Geneva, and Warehouse leader in the past 1.5 year in Germany. Managing a team of 66 people. Promotion ahead of peer group, and included in high potential program.
Recommendation letter: Both should be very good, and coming from my former director and current plant manager.
International experience: Changed country every 3-4 years when growing up, notably spent 2 years in UK, and 4 years in the US. Worked in France, Switzerland, and Germany so far. Speak French/English fluently, German to a good working level, and Spanish at a decent level (Lived 3 months in Madrid and 3 months in Mexico DF).

cheers,

Hi kiura,

Thanks for reaching out.

Your profile sounds terrific for INSEAD. You've got the right amount of years of experience under your belt, have demonstrated leadership skills by managing such a large team + career progression (promotions), I'm sure you can demonstrate other leadership examples through projects at work, you've got a lot of int'l experience and your GMAT is very good. 720 is an amazing score - the quant is a bit low at 67th percentile as they generally are looking for closer to 70-75th + but to be honest, you come across as very well rounded in terms of what INSEAD will be looking for so I'm not going to suggest that you need to re-write. All of your other strengths can compensate for this, plus if INSEAD really does like your profile and is not happy enough with the quant, they can always ask you if you are willing to rewrite. But I'm not concerned about this. The only thing I don't see is your extra curriculars... you need to show if you are involved in things outside of work eg volunteer work, hobbies passions, but I'm guessing you have these!
In terms of long term goals, yes this does need to come across as strong in your application. Sounds like you are a bit unsure so I would do a bit more research and give yourself some time to think about a logical yet desirable next step. In the interviews they will definitely challenge you on this so you need to have a strong story/plan in place. Don't worry though... INSEAD (or any school) won't hold you to this plan post MBA and you can always change your course. But the more confident and specific your post MBA plans come across in your essays, the better.

If you want, feel free to contact us at Fortuna as we can have a 30-minute free consultation (fill out the form on our contact us page). If we work together, we can help come up with a strategy and plan for your essays and overall application, particularly regarding your short/long terms career goals.

Hope this was helpful and all the best with INSEAD.