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# Ask ARINGO - if your GMAT is (or might be) below 720

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Joined: 28 Mar 2010
Posts: 51
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13 Feb 2011, 00:14
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Dear GMAT Club members, it is our pleasure to have ARINGO as part of the GMAT Club Forums!

ARINGO helps candidates with GMAT scores below 720 get into Top-10 MBA programs.

SPECIAL SAVINGS!

Save up to 20% when you sign up with ARINGO.com for a comprehensive package!
Save up to 20% on ARINGO.com’s hourly service.

To get your discount per hour:
• Get ARINGO's free initial assessment.
• Indicate that you have been referred by GMAT Club so that you get the discount.

ARINGO's roots were planted when the founder, Gil Levi, was accepted at Harvard, Wharton and INSEAD with a GMAT score of 650.
Gil received a full, merit-based scholarship at Wharton upon admission and later became a member of the Wharton Admission Committee. He formed ARINGO's methodology on the basis of the essay-writing tools that he originally developed as an applicant.

The results followed: ARINGO’s clients were accepted at Harvard (MBA) with GMAT scores of 580, 660 and 670; at Wharton with GMAT scores of 640, 660 and 670; at Duke with GMAT scores of 600 and 640; at INSEAD with GMAT scores of 630, 640 and 650; at MIT with GMAT scores of 660 and 680; at LBS with GMAT scores of 630, 650 and 660; at Kellogg with GMAT scores of 640 and 680, and many more…

Since its inception, ARINGO has invested heavily in research (over 3,000 man hours and counting…). Following this heavy investment in research, ARINGO clients have access to ARINGO’s Admission Driver System for application content planning, its Tracker System for tracking document versions, and the Planner System for task scheduling.

ARINGO employs a round table strategy, with each consultant collecting expert opinions at the critical decision points throughout the application process. We also conduct internal reviews of candidates' materials by additional consultants (and at no additional cost) in order to provide a fresh perspective and make sure each of our client's materials are at their best. The collaboration within ARINGO's team, which includes former admission committee members as well as experienced consultants with marketing writing skills, contributes to the success of our clients' applications.

Dear all,

I was accepted at Harvard, Wharton and INSEAD with a GMAT score of 650. I received a full, merit-based scholarship at Wharton upon admission and later became a member of the Wharton Admission Committee.

Following these experiences I founded ARINGO, an admission consulting firm with particular specialty in countering low GMAT scores. ARINGO employs the series of essay tools I originally developed as an applicant.

The results followed: our clients were accepted to Harvard (MBA) with GMAT’s of 580, 660 and 670; to Wharton with GMAT’s of 640, 660 and 670; to Duke with GMAT’s of 600 and 640; to INSEAD with GMAT’s of 630, 640 and 650; to MIT with GMAT’s of 660 and 680; to LBS with GMAT’s of 630, 650 and 660; to Kellogg with GMAT’s of 640 and 680, and many more…

Regards,
Gil Levi
ARINGO.com
_________________

Last edited by GilLevi on 18 Mar 2014, 00:11, edited 4 times in total.
Joined: 28 Mar 2010
Posts: 51
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27 Feb 2011, 01:52
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What an improvement! Well done!
Yes, this does make a significant difference. Our experience shows that you will be a competitive-to-strong (closer to competitive) candidate at USC and Indiana, competitive-to-strong (closer to strong) at Babson, competitive at Texas (McCombs), competitive-to-stretch at Michigan and competitive-to-stretch (closer to stretch) and Kellogg. Consider adding Duke and UCLA (competitive-to-stretch, closer to competitive in both) to your list.

Good luck!

Gil Levi
Aringo.com

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Joined: 28 Mar 2010
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12 Jun 2011, 00:01
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Hello Gil,

Age: 26
Gender: Male
Nationality: USA (American Born Chinese)

Education:
BS in Cell Biology UC San Diego
Minor - Music
Minor - Economics

GPA: 3.28 (Worked part time as student in college at Major Pharmaceutical company from Sophomore year, to pay for school, etc.)
GMAT: 690 Q48, V37 6.0 AWA

Work Experience:
Major Biotech/Med Device Corporation (2007 - Present):
I was in a leadership rotational program focused on Operations for ~2 years (3 rotations of 9 mo/ea)
Now at a Jr. Manager level, focused on distribution Quality for the division. (2009 - present)
I am going to assume that you don't currently manage people.

Extracurriculars:
Nothing earth shattering, but very consistent with my interests, thus perhaps easier to demonstrate passion when discussing:
- Tutor "underprivileged" community high schoolers.
- Minor leadership role in Environmental/beach cleanup organization

Schools (Haven't fully narrowed down yet but the pool is):
- Stanford
- Harvard
- Haas
- UCLA
- USC
- Sloan
- Kellogg
- Booth

After my MBA:
I want to go into Business Development in the Biotech/Pharma/Healthcare industry. May look into 2 year consulting experience before jumping into that role. The biotech/pharma focus is impressive and likely to be quite helpful admission-wise. Possibly skip the second sentence, and narrow the industry down even further.

I'm looking to apply for Fall 2012. What do you think are my chances at the schools I've listed?

Do you think I should retake 690 or focus on getting another R1 app off? or something else?

On the basis of the information above, and under the assumption of strong essays and recommendations, our experience shows that you will be a competitive-to-strong candidate at USC (closer to competitive), competitive at UCLA, competitive-to-stretch at Haas, and stretch at Stanford, Harvard, Sloan, Kellogg and Booth. Stretch but not impossible - see also http://www.aringo.com/Results_GMAT.htm

If you believe you can improve your GMAT score (any improvement will get you from the 6's to the 7's - often a significant psychological difference) then yes, I'd go for it, even at the price of delaying submission of one application from the first to the second round (but preferably not at the price of reducing the quality of the applications that you submit in R1).

Good luck!

Gil Levi
Aringo.com

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Last edited by GilLevi on 04 Mar 2012, 00:06, edited 1 time in total.
Status: Senior Consultant, Aringo
Joined: 19 Jul 2011
Posts: 117
Concentration: Strategy, Marketing
Schools: Northwestern (Kellogg) - Class of 0
GMAT 1: 700 Q V
GPA: 3.92
WE: Management Consulting (Consulting)
Followers: 3

Kudos [?]: 11 [1] , given: 0

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30 Aug 2011, 10:41
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Expert's post
Quote:
Hello,

Could you please evaluate my profile?

Nationality: Indian
Age: 29
GMAT: 690 (Quantitative: 45, Verbal: 38). Will be taking GMAT again to get at least 20-30 more points.

Educational Background:
1. SSLC: 91.2%
2. Diploma in Chemical Technology: 3 years - 75.7% (First Class with distinction), Institute: Kongu Polytechnic, India
3. Bachelor of Technology in Chemical Engineering - 3 years - 74.8% (First Class), Institute: Periyar University, India
4. Master of Science in Materials Science and Engineering - 2 years - 1.7 (B+, Good), Institute: University of Kiel, Germany

Professional Background: Experience: 4-5 years
a) Full time jobs
1. Since 2008, I have been working as a research chemist for a chemical company in Netherlands.
I execute complex, multi-disciplinary research activities that contribute to the development of (new) product principles, that through further development lead to new products or the solving of (new) application and process problems with existing products. I execute, improve and develop laboratory tests with predictive value towards field performance (performance in steel/tin plate rolling mills). A proper execution of research activities, managed as projects, is my primary responsibility.
To be more specific, I develop environmental friendly, but low cost, rolling oils, lubricants, wet temper fluids and corrosion preventives for steel/tin plate rolling mills. I deal with the problems faced by the customers-Arcelor Mittal, Corus/Tata Steel, China Steel Corporation-not only in Europe but also in China.

2) In 2007, I worked as a Junior Researcher/Intern for Mitsubishi Chemical Science and Technology Research Center in Japan.
I was involved in developing batteries for hybrid electric vehicles.

b) Part time jobs
2004-2006: 2 years - I worked as research assistant for University of Kiel and Max Planck Research Institute in Germany.

Extra-Curricular Activities:

1. Treasurer of Amnesty International Group in Amsterdam - since 2010 - Present : I organize yearly money collection and take care of annual budget.
2. Member of Greenpeace, Netherlands - My background in chemistry and chemical engineering helps me to support the environmental causes of Greenpeace .
3. Member of Dutch Refugee Council, Netherlands - I helped/help the refugees from Srilanka to settle down in Netherlands.
4. National Cadet Corps, India - 3 years - Passed the B certificate exam
5. National Social Service Scheme, India - 3 years - Participated in social harmony and youth development program
6. Scouts, India - 2 years
7. I won a few prizes in sports and games and in quiz competition

Languages known: Tamil, English, Hindi, Dutch, German

International Exposure: 26 months in Germany, 7 months in Japan and 48 months in Netherlands

Reason for doing an MBA: Career switch to Consulting (Strategy/Energy). The next option is Industry (Oil & Energy/Chemicals). Investment banking and Entrepreneurship are not my options.
Area of interest: General Management, International Business
Target Schools: INSEAD (Jan 2013), IMD (Jan 2013) and LBS (Aug 2012)

Within a year I can get the permanent resident status in Netherlands, the status might allow me to find jobs without work permit at least in a few European countries.

I request you to evaluate my profile and let me know the schools I have good chances at. Thanks in advance for your help.

DutchGerman

DutchGerman,

Thank you for submitting your profile. On the basis of the information above, and under the assumption of strong essays and recommendations and a GMAT score of 710 (after the retake), our experience shows that you will be between competitive and stretch (closer to stretch) at INSEAD, between competitive and stretch at IMD, and between competitive and stretch (closer to competitive) at LBS.

In terms of your profile strengths, you have solid academic grades and technical work experience and your GMAT quant split is high. As such, the committees will not question your analytical capabilities, in our experience. Your post-MBA career goals are reasonable, given that you have technical experience that you could apply to the energy and/or oil industries. Finally, you clearly index high on international orientation based on your language skills and work experience in Western Europe, which will appeal to European MBA programs.

As far as things to consider when you apply:

- To me, the biggest impression I get is that you need to consider how you frame your work experience. I have a technical background, and I understand what your work looks like. Yet, to me, you sound as if you are introducing yourself to another engineer. However, for MBA applications, you have to treat it as if you're introducing yourself to a businessperson without a technical background (because the reality is that's the case); your shift needs to go from a technical to business focus. Additionally, related to this, make sure to use smaller sentences when you present your work experience - it's easier to digest for the reader.

- Since I mentioned your analytical capabilities are already going to be considered strong, resist spending all your time talking about technical accomplishments at work. You can talk a bit about 1-2 big technical innovations/results. But for the most part, talk about how you communicated updates to your management, how you persuaded people that projects were worthwhile, etc. This will help to convince the committees that you are a balanced candidate.

- Additionally, you should definitely consider emphasizing the environmental impact and aspects of your work experience. MBA programs put extra value, in our experience, on people with clean tech work backgrounds, as managing our natural resources and the environment going forward is going to be a key issue globally.

- Where you work as a research chemist matters as well. If it is not a multinational major player (or even if it is), make sure to discuss the competitiveness of the job you received.

- Your extracurricular experiences are not necessarily lacking, but if you can get an official title with Greenepeace it would be better.

Best of luck,

_________________

Last edited by AringoConsultant on 06 Apr 2012, 19:36, edited 1 time in total.
Status: Senior Consultant, Aringo
Joined: 19 Jul 2011
Posts: 117
Concentration: Strategy, Marketing
Schools: Northwestern (Kellogg) - Class of 0
GMAT 1: 700 Q V
GPA: 3.92
WE: Management Consulting (Consulting)
Followers: 3

Kudos [?]: 11 [1] , given: 0

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21 Nov 2011, 11:38
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Expert's post
Quote:
Hey Brian,

Will the fact that I am a US resident (but not citizen) contribute to my admission chances to the leading programs?
Would this help in securing a job in the American market? Would this help on the scholarship front?

Michael54,

The answer depends on the situation. Does your visa grant you the possibility to be employed in the US for longer than a student visa would allow for? If the answer is no, then I estimate that the fact you are a US resident will have a minor effect on your admission chances or your ability to find work in the US. If the answer is yes, then I believe this will contribute (to a small extent, in my estimation) to your admission chances and employment prospects. In respect to scholarships, I believe your residency status will only help in cases of scholarships that require this status in order to be offered (I encountered almost no such scholarships).

Best of luck,

_________________

Last edited by AringoConsultant on 06 Apr 2012, 20:05, edited 1 time in total.
Status: Senior Consultant, Aringo
Joined: 19 Jul 2011
Posts: 117
Concentration: Strategy, Marketing
Schools: Northwestern (Kellogg) - Class of 0
GMAT 1: 700 Q V
GPA: 3.92
WE: Management Consulting (Consulting)
Followers: 3

Kudos [?]: 11 [1] , given: 0

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15 Apr 2012, 12:30
1
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Expert's post
Quote:
Hi,

I would like to have your inputs on some Best International B schools that would best fit my profile. Please note that I am targeting for only 1 year MBA programs or accelerated programs since I cannot afford to stay out of job for 2 years.

Name: Santosh Panda 29Y / Male
Citizenship: INDIA
Qualification: B.E in EEE - 74% (75% is the score for distinction in university)

Work Exp.: 7+ years in Telecom software development industry. I worked for Motorola Inc. and now the same division is acquired by Nokia Siemens Networks. Both are conglomerates in telecom domain with solid business foundations.
I am working as project lead supervising a small team and had been to US for technical discussion and project integration activities in the past. However most of my work is still R&D and developing software for telecom solutions.

As a team, ours was the only team which gave year on year profit of 500% in entire business of Motorola. Success was all due to the best practices put in place by our day to day learning from existing processes. And yes as an active member of the team I had my contributions in this achievement. Owning up critical issues, stretching into extended hours to mentor juniors and to ensure no slippage from any component were my contributions. Our team has the record of not missing a single deadline for deliverable. Can all these be projected as professional leadership qualities?

Have won recognition awards in 2 projects for effective deliverance.

Extracurricular Activity:
Member of YFS (voluntary organization focused towards encouraging more number of young professionals towards volunteering) since last 2 years. Working on generating awareness and raising funds for different activities undertaken.
Member of CSR group of my company since day 1 of my career. Working towards utilizing e-waste (old computers, printer etc) from office in small schools which lack such infrastructure.
Panelist in cafeteria committee of the organization to decide on vendor appointment. (Don't know whether this actually counts as extra-curricular or not)

Expectations from the MBA: I want to enter into the product and technology management domain where I will have support of my past experience and the vast learning about organization iniquities from the MBA program. I am interested more in peer learning from several industries so that I can apply the best of all in my recipe of success in the new role. Also I want to focus on internationalization of small businesses in this domain.

Long term goal is to capitalize more on the experiences I obtain from my MBA program and few years of job after that and go on to start a venture in my home state to aid more number of youth and work towards betterment of the society I am coming from.

GMAT 1 - 600(Q47,V27)/ 6.0 AWA
GMAT 2 - 710(Q49,V38)/ AWA (yet to obtain)

Please suggest some B schools which are best suited for my learning and career goals. I am targeting top 20 US B schools (If I manage to get some funding), IIM-Bangalore, IIM-Calcutta, and IIM-Lucknow. Please suggest any other alternatives as well. I heard some good comments about Emory, Babson, and GISMA Germany from acquaintances. Where according to you these school rank with respect to specializations.

-Santosh

Santosh,

Thank you for submitting your profile. On the basis of the information as presented and under the assumption of strong essays and recommendations and a GMAT score of 710, our experience indicates you would be a strong candidate at Emory and Babson, strong at Cornell's 1 year program, competitive at London Business School, between stretch and competitive at INSEAD, and between stretch and competitive (closer to stretch) at Kellogg's 1 year program. Because Aringo specializes in advising candidates on applying towards the top 30 programs globally, I would have a bit less ability to describe your chances at IIM programs.

Regarding your question on what can be counted as leadership, in general I would say that as long as you contributed (significantly) to an end result, then any and all actions and responsibilities you took are fair game to describe.

In judging whether or not an activity can count as an extracurricular one, if there is a role that is:
- Significant enough of a time committment to discuss (e.g. not something that was solved in a day, or in a few hours)
- Something you would be proud to speak about in an interview
...then you can include it as an extracurricular activity. In general work-related extracurriculars definitely count - this can include (but is not limited to) things like leading recruiting efforts, diversity efforts, community service or related projects, etc.

There are not a lot of rankings I'm aware of that specifically look at tech and product management. Your best bet in selecting MBA programs in this space would be to look at:
- Rankings for general management and marketing specializations, because tech management is kind of in the intersection between these two. In this respect, programs like Kellogg, Fuqua, Tuck and Ross (amongst others) are strong.
- Employment reports of top schools to understand who is sending graduates to top tech firms. I usually ask my clients to name several specific firms of interest, and then look at the numbers in school reports for those firms - if you look at the websites of the top schools they usually all get this granular and list the number of graduates into top firms.

Babson (which you mentioned a colleague/friend recommended) is a good program, but is best known for its entrepreneurship.

Best of luck,

_________________
Status: Senior Consultant, Aringo
Joined: 19 Jul 2011
Posts: 117
Concentration: Strategy, Marketing
Schools: Northwestern (Kellogg) - Class of 0
GMAT 1: 700 Q V
GPA: 3.92
WE: Management Consulting (Consulting)
Followers: 3

Kudos [?]: 11 [1] , given: 0

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10 May 2012, 12:44
1
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Expert's post
Quote:
Hi Brian. I'd love to hear your advice. Here is my profile:

Age: 25
Gender: Male
Nationality: India

Education:
B.E. (BS Equivalent)-Mechanical Engineering 4 years
GPA: 4.0 (First Class with Distnction, Highest grade)
Undergraduate University: Non IIT, but consistent top 15 in India
GMAT: 670 Q49, V32 AWA 6.0

Work Experience:
Associate at an Emerging India Based Private Equity Fund in the process of fundraising.
Closed around US$100 million worth equity deals with the parent company of the fund. Consultant in Big 4 in Financial and Strategic Risk Management prior to that. Have few major big ticket projects Extracurriculars: Major FSAE (Formula SAE) experience, built 5 race cars in college over 4 years and took them around the world to race. Still involved with the project in a mentoring role.Headed both Technical and Management positions in the team Active in Social Leadership activities in college as well as after that. Have adopted a village in rural India and hoping to create a major platform for development Schools: 1. Northwestern University (Kellogg) 2. University of Pennsylvania (Wharton) 3. University of Chicago (Booth) 4. Columbia 5. London Business School After my MBA I want to continue in PE and open an emerging market PE fund in the next 10 years . I'm looking to apply for Fall 2013. What do you think are my chances at the schools I've listed? Do I absolutely need to give the GMAT again? Thanks again! StickerSH CK ! StickerShock, Thank you for your profile submission. On the basis of the information as presented and under the assumption of strong essays and recommendations and a GMAT score of 670, our experience indicates you would be between a stretch and competitive candidate (closer to stretch) at Wharton and Kellogg, between stretch and competitive at Booth and Columbia, and strong at London Business School. First, let me start by saying it is a pleasure to see a fellow FSAE alum thinking about applying to business school. I was the suspension leader for the University of Michigan's FSAE team in my undergraduate days, and like you I advised my former team after I graduated. Involvement in this activity can be a significant differentiator for applicants, because I can virtually guarantee you that you would be one of the only (if not the only) student in a top MBA program with this background. However, the admissions committees do not generally understand FSAE, so it is imperative that you provide them with the right context. A couple of these items include: - Since you attended an Indian university and because FSAE in India has recently started to take off there, you were presumably part of the initial group (or perhaps 1-2 years into the initial group) that started the team at your university - Talk about how you grew into 'something' during your tenure. If in the first year your team didn't finish the car, but in your last two years you finished a working car and/or finished endurance, this is a huge story and accomplishment to speak to - Because you currently advise the team, talk about how proud you are of the legacy you left and the relationships you built with your teammates (this speaks to how you would be a strong MBA alum and contribute to the network) - Mention the number of hours per week that you were involved. People are amazed that students spend 40+ hours per week on these teams - Mention the number of teams you were competing against and that this is a global competition. Mention your team's finish and/or ranking, in particular how it improved or evolved (if positive) during your tenure with the team - Discuss the number of students that you were in charge of - if you were the technical leader or the team manager this would easily be 10-15 students or more - Describe the application to the real world - how you learned about teamwork, how you married the combination of theory and practice, etc. Obviously, your essays need to have significant focus on your professional work history. My point in the above statements is to make sure you consider spendig perhaps 1 essay (or part of it) talking about some of these issues so that you truly are able to stand out with your FSAE experience. As far as the GMAT is concerned, you do not necessarily need to re-take the GMAT, but an improvement in your score up past the 700 mark would definitely provide you with improved chances at top programs. Best of luck, _________________ MBA Admissions Consultant Status: Senior Consultant, Aringo Joined: 19 Jul 2011 Posts: 117 Concentration: Strategy, Marketing Schools: Northwestern (Kellogg) - Class of 0 GMAT 1: 700 Q V GPA: 3.92 WE: Management Consulting (Consulting) Followers: 3 Kudos [?]: 11 [1] , given: 0 Re: Ask ARINGO - if your GMAT is (or might be) below 720 [#permalink] ### Show Tags 25 Jun 2012, 14:30 1 This post received KUDOS Expert's post Quote: Age – 26 years Indian Male B.Com, Mumbai University – 82% Chartered Accountant, Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (All exams in the first attempt) 36 Months Internship as a part of the CA course in India (24 Months post B.Com degree) with Deloitte (Audit). Lead an engagement in the final 12 months. 39 Months (till the time I join Business School) – Deloitte, Strategy and Operations in India. Promoted to Senior Consultant. I received the highest annual rating at work. Will be able to get recommendations from a Partner and Senior Manager with whom I have worked directly on various engagements. GMAT: 680 (Q49, V32) AWA – 5.5 – Retaking the GMAT and aiming for 720+ Schools that I plan to apply to – • Wharton • Columbia • Darden • Stern • Ross • Fuqua • Anderson • Johnson (Cornell) Extracurriculars • Member of the “Fun at Work” Team in office • Volunteering (One day volunteering but as I was a lead, this involved months of work) • Lead a team of 70 coworkers to volunteer at an orphanage. I was responsible for planning the overall program that involved painting walls, storytelling,etc • Lead a team of 40 coworkers to collect close to 3000 books from others in the firm and then organize different activities (book reading sessions, importance of books for children, encourage students to organize book drives, etc. I was responsible for the overall program right from planning to execution. This was the first time something like this was done in the firm I have been able to considerably overcome (90-95%) my stuttering after years of speech therapy and struggle. This is the most important achievement for me. I would mention this in my application. I do have a story around this. Do you think I have a profile that is competent for the schools that I have mentioned above? Please provide feedback and suggestions. Thanks. gmatprep2011, Thank you for your profile submission. On the basis of the information as presented and under the assumption of strong essays and recommendations and a GMAT score of 680, our experience indicates you would be a stretch candidate at Wharton and Columbia, between stretch and competitive (closer to competitive) at Ross and Stern, and competitive at Darden, Fuqua, Anderson, and Johnson. Right now your profile looks strong, with a good GPA and work experience and solid performance at Deloitte Consulting. It is a tremendous accomplishment to be placed into the top performance category at a firm like Deloitte, so this item should be front and center in your application essays. To some extent, the outlier in your profile is your GMAT score, so it makes sense that you mentioned you are aiming to improve your performance there. It usually is a solid move to talk about overcoming adversity in one's life within an MBA application. The stuttering situation for you is somewhat unique in this regard. I think it makes sense for you to mention it if you believe it was a major accomplishment - and it sounds as though this is definitely the case. The only part I might recommend you consider, though, is to make sure that you explain that this has not kept you from performing at a high level at Deloitte in client engagements and relationships. Specifically, you may consider talking about the extent of your client presentation experience etc. The concern here from an ad com's side would be, is this person someone that Deloitte put "in the background" of client teams to instead do the analysis but not the delivery. Part of this is that the ad com wants to ensure that post-MBA, you would be someone who your organization feels comfortable presenting to upper management. Best of luck, _________________ MBA Admissions Consultant Status: Senior Consultant, Aringo Joined: 19 Jul 2011 Posts: 117 Concentration: Strategy, Marketing Schools: Northwestern (Kellogg) - Class of 0 GMAT 1: 700 Q V GPA: 3.92 WE: Management Consulting (Consulting) Followers: 3 Kudos [?]: 11 [1] , given: 0 Re: Ask ARINGO - if your GMAT is (or might be) below 720 [#permalink] ### Show Tags 16 Sep 2012, 17:45 1 This post received KUDOS Expert's post Quote: Hi Brian, Please evaluate my profile,planning to apply for fall 2013 M/25/Indian Academics: Class 10 -84 Class 12 - 82 Undergrad : 58% Gmat 710 Professional: - 2 years experience(as of now) in Indian IT Industry.Will have total exp. of 3 years next fall -Working in an Indian IT mid-size company(Revenues : 1BN$), Clients over the past 2 years have been telecom majors of UK & US
- A Fast Promotion
-International Experience (6 months in UK) ,leading a team
-Working mainly on the functional side than technical side of technology implementation projects.Functional consultant role.
-2 professional certifications(No one in the company hold this which is knowledge critical to projects)

Extracurricular activities :
-Recipient of many awards in schools
-Member of school cricket team
-Organized tech fests at undergrad level
-Working with an NGO supporting underprivileged kids
-Actively participate in firm's CSR initiative
-Trekking and travelling enthusiast
-Other interests include keen interest in current affairs.

Languages known : English,Spanish and 3 other languages

Why MBA : Career progression,move into general management/strategy

Target Schools : Kellogg,Tuck,Ross,Duke,Darden,UCLA,Stern,Mc Combs.

Any suggestions from your side on which schools fit my profile and also work experience ?...

Brian,
-Class representative in School
-Computer Engineer from Pune University(Top Ranked university in India)

Thanks
Mil

MilindJ,

Thank you for your profile submission. On the basis of the information as presented and under the assumption of strong essays and recommendations and a GMAT score of 710, our experience indicates you would be a stretch candidate at Kellogg, Tuck, Ross, Fuqua, Darden, Anderson, and Stern, and between stretch and competitive at McCombs.

1) I would strongly encourage you to consider delaying your application by at least one year. With just two years of work experience at the moment, you are on the younger side of the applicant pool. In our experience, the candidates who are successful in applications with just two years of full-time work experience are typically from the management consulting or investment banking industries. The male, Indian, engineer, working in IT demographic is extremely large and most of those applicants have many more years of experience than you have.

2) Your undergraduate grades are potentially going to be a (major) concern. Although you attended a good school, a 58% is much lower than most students I have come across from Indian universities. You will need to make sure to provide proper context for these grades, including your graduation percentile / rank and/or other detail around what an average GPA looks like for this school.

3) Your career goals and reason for MBA are somewhat emblematic of a younger applicant - I would encourage you to make sure that you give specific short and long term goals including a geography, industry, function, and target companies or types of companies. It looks like you have chosen a subset of schools that are known to be stronger in general management, so that is aligned with your objectives.

Best of luck,

_________________
Joined: 07 Mar 2012
Posts: 379
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23 Apr 2013, 05:30
1
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Expert's post
kunzi wrote:
Hello there !!

Nationality: Indian
GMAT: 700 (Q 49 V36)
GPA: 75% from a top 50 engineering school
Major: Mechanical Engineering

Work Experience: 7 years at Matriculation with a top Oil exploration and refining company (I worked only in downstream - refining)

4 Years: Mechanical Engineer - Maintenance. Lead a team of 6 technicians. Worked towards ensuring the reliability and availability of mech. equipment. Developed maintenance plans - Preventive and Predictive. Active involvement in Tendering and Contract Management.

2 Years: Senior Engineer - Maintenance and Projects. Leveraged the maintenance expertise to streamline and manage Revamp Project activities. Lead a team of over 40 technicians to complete shutdown activities well ahead of schedule. Job included planning, inter - department coordination and execution.

1 Year: Senior Engineer - Vigilance. Leveraged the technical and commercial expertise to bring systemic improvements across the organization. Focussed on areas that required system development or improvement and recommended changes to improve efficiency, transparency and effectiveness.

• Elected Representative for Management Staff Association (Officer's association to liaison with the Management)
• Work profile full of leadership examples

Extra Curricular:
• Active Member of Toastmaster's Club
• Community Service through the CSR activities of my company - Organized blood donation camps, AIDS awareness campaigns etc.
• An active event organizer throughout my life - right from school till today. Was a member of Organizing Committee for Annual Tech. & Cultural fest at college. Active participation in organizing company events including handling venue, logistics, decor, liaison with speakers etc.

Future Plans:
Energy Consulting with a focus on sustainability.

Target Firms:
GE (internal consulting)
Bain
McKinsey

Backup Plan: Operations management in Energy industry. Target Firm: Shell, Exxon Mobil, Chevron, BP.

Please evaluate my chances for the following schools

1. Tuck
2. Duke Fuqua
3. Darden
4. UCLA
5) Johnson
6) Emory
7) Mc Combs
8) Kelley
10) Rotman

Please let me know if there are any apparent weaknesses.
What schools should I focus on. A list of schools reputed for placements in the energy sector (Consulting and Operations).

I have another query regarding GPA system. I graduated from India with 75% aggregate. What would be my GPA as per US system. In case, percentage can not be converted to GPA, any alternative to determine where i stand amongst the GPA averages for various B-schools.

Thank You.

Best Regards,
KUNAL

Hi, Kunal
You seem competitive according to what you have written above. It's very good that your career goals are supported by your previous professional experience. I'm glad you have a lot of leadership - that's very important. All of the extracurrics and community service is also excellent. I can't give you a chances evaluation for each of the schools you've listed - there are other factors involved and determining chances is a lengthy process, but there is a link below you can click on and do your own self evaluation. Just answer all of the questions and you will come up with a number that should give you a sense of where you stand.

Regarding your GPA question, this is a tough one. Are you saying that you are not given at all a single GPA? If that is the case, and it is the norm, then you would need to explain this in the optional essay or additional information question provided by each university. I will check around to see if I can provide you with any additional help on this one.

Best wishes,

Joy

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23 Apr 2013, 07:07
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Expert's post
Aringo wrote:
kunzi wrote:
Hello there !!

Nationality: Indian
GMAT: 700 (Q 49 V36)
GPA: 75% from a top 50 engineering school
Major: Mechanical Engineering

Work Experience: 7 years at Matriculation with a top Oil exploration and refining company (I worked only in downstream - refining)

4 Years: Mechanical Engineer - Maintenance. Lead a team of 6 technicians. Worked towards ensuring the reliability and availability of mech. equipment. Developed maintenance plans - Preventive and Predictive. Active involvement in Tendering and Contract Management.

2 Years: Senior Engineer - Maintenance and Projects. Leveraged the maintenance expertise to streamline and manage Revamp Project activities. Lead a team of over 40 technicians to complete shutdown activities well ahead of schedule. Job included planning, inter - department coordination and execution.

1 Year: Senior Engineer - Vigilance. Leveraged the technical and commercial expertise to bring systemic improvements across the organization. Focussed on areas that required system development or improvement and recommended changes to improve efficiency, transparency and effectiveness.

• Elected Representative for Management Staff Association (Officer's association to liaison with the Management)
• Work profile full of leadership examples

Extra Curricular:
• Active Member of Toastmaster's Club
• Community Service through the CSR activities of my company - Organized blood donation camps, AIDS awareness campaigns etc.
• An active event organizer throughout my life - right from school till today. Was a member of Organizing Committee for Annual Tech. & Cultural fest at college. Active participation in organizing company events including handling venue, logistics, decor, liaison with speakers etc.

Future Plans:
Energy Consulting with a focus on sustainability.

Target Firms:
GE (internal consulting)
Bain
McKinsey

Backup Plan: Operations management in Energy industry. Target Firm: Shell, Exxon Mobil, Chevron, BP.

Please evaluate my chances for the following schools

1. Tuck
2. Duke Fuqua
3. Darden
4. UCLA
5) Johnson
6) Emory
7) Mc Combs
8) Kelley
10) Rotman

Please let me know if there are any apparent weaknesses.
What schools should I focus on. A list of schools reputed for placements in the energy sector (Consulting and Operations).

I have another query regarding GPA system. I graduated from India with 75% aggregate. What would be my GPA as per US system. In case, percentage can not be converted to GPA, any alternative to determine where i stand amongst the GPA averages for various B-schools.

Thank You.

Best Regards,
KUNAL

Hi, Kunal
You seem competitive according to what you have written above. It's very good that your career goals are supported by your previous professional experience. I'm glad you have a lot of leadership - that's very important. All of the extracurrics and community service is also excellent. I can't give you a chances evaluation for each of the schools you've listed - there are other factors involved and determining chances is a lengthy process, but there is a link below you can click on and do your own self evaluation. Just answer all of the questions and you will come up with a number that should give you a sense of where you stand.

Regarding your GPA question, this is a tough one. Are you saying that you are not given at all a single GPA? If that is the case, and it is the norm, then you would need to explain this in the optional essay or additional information question provided by each university. I will check around to see if I can provide you with any additional help on this one.

Best wishes,

Joy

Free, detailed MBA chances calculator
Admission tips and scholarship info per school
Plan your application content (free online tool)
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Hi - I did a little research about your GPA question, and I understand that some candidates in your position were able to get a GPA from their universities, or were able to convert their rankings to a GPA. However not all were in this position, and for the ones who were not (as it seems you are), the universities they applied to understood the situation, and were able to deal with the transcripts and grades they received. They also understand the relative ranking of the different universities. You might be best off just explaining the situation as I recommended above.

Regards,

Joy

Free, detailed MBA chances calculator
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Plan your application content (free online tool)
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_________________

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24 Apr 2013, 04:32
1
KUDOS
Expert's post
Aringo wrote:
Aringo wrote:
kunzi wrote:
Hello there !!

Nationality: Indian
GMAT: 700 (Q 49 V36)
GPA: 75% from a top 50 engineering school
Major: Mechanical Engineering

Work Experience: 7 years at Matriculation with a top Oil exploration and refining company (I worked only in downstream - refining)

4 Years: Mechanical Engineer - Maintenance. Lead a team of 6 technicians. Worked towards ensuring the reliability and availability of mech. equipment. Developed maintenance plans - Preventive and Predictive. Active involvement in Tendering and Contract Management.

2 Years: Senior Engineer - Maintenance and Projects. Leveraged the maintenance expertise to streamline and manage Revamp Project activities. Lead a team of over 40 technicians to complete shutdown activities well ahead of schedule. Job included planning, inter - department coordination and execution.

1 Year: Senior Engineer - Vigilance. Leveraged the technical and commercial expertise to bring systemic improvements across the organization. Focussed on areas that required system development or improvement and recommended changes to improve efficiency, transparency and effectiveness.

• Elected Representative for Management Staff Association (Officer's association to liaison with the Management)
• Work profile full of leadership examples

Extra Curricular:
• Active Member of Toastmaster's Club
• Community Service through the CSR activities of my company - Organized blood donation camps, AIDS awareness campaigns etc.
• An active event organizer throughout my life - right from school till today. Was a member of Organizing Committee for Annual Tech. & Cultural fest at college. Active participation in organizing company events including handling venue, logistics, decor, liaison with speakers etc.

Future Plans:
Energy Consulting with a focus on sustainability.

Target Firms:
GE (internal consulting)
Bain
McKinsey

Backup Plan: Operations management in Energy industry. Target Firm: Shell, Exxon Mobil, Chevron, BP.

Please evaluate my chances for the following schools

1. Tuck
2. Duke Fuqua
3. Darden
4. UCLA
5) Johnson
6) Emory
7) Mc Combs
8) Kelley
10) Rotman

Please let me know if there are any apparent weaknesses.
What schools should I focus on. A list of schools reputed for placements in the energy sector (Consulting and Operations).

I have another query regarding GPA system. I graduated from India with 75% aggregate. What would be my GPA as per US system. In case, percentage can not be converted to GPA, any alternative to determine where i stand amongst the GPA averages for various B-schools.

Thank You.

Best Regards,
KUNAL

Hi, Kunal
You seem competitive according to what you have written above. It's very good that your career goals are supported by your previous professional experience. I'm glad you have a lot of leadership - that's very important. All of the extracurrics and community service is also excellent. I can't give you a chances evaluation for each of the schools you've listed - there are other factors involved and determining chances is a lengthy process, but there is a link below you can click on and do your own self evaluation. Just answer all of the questions and you will come up with a number that should give you a sense of where you stand.

Regarding your GPA question, this is a tough one. Are you saying that you are not given at all a single GPA? If that is the case, and it is the norm, then you would need to explain this in the optional essay or additional information question provided by each university. I will check around to see if I can provide you with any additional help on this one.

Best wishes,

Joy

Free, detailed MBA chances calculator
Admission tips and scholarship info per school
Plan your application content (free online tool)
Get an initial assessment

Hi - I did a little research about your GPA question, and I understand that some candidates in your position were able to get a GPA from their universities, or were able to convert their rankings to a GPA. However not all were in this position, and for the ones who were not (as it seems you are), the universities they applied to understood the situation, and were able to deal with the transcripts and grades they received. They also understand the relative ranking of the different universities. You might be best off just explaining the situation as I recommended above.

Regards,

Joy

Kunal - one more thing. I don't know of any rankings of MBA programs for the energy sector, but if you are interested in operations, here's a ranking of those programs:

Production/Operations: USNews 2013

1. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Sloan)
2-3. Carnegie Mellon University (Tepper)
2-3. University of Pennsylvania (Wharton)
4. Stanford University
5. University of Michigan‒Ann Arbor (Ross)
6. Northwestern University (Kellogg)
7. Purdue University‒West Lafayette (Krannert)
8. Columbia University
9. Harvard University
10. Indiana University‒Bloomington (Kelley)
11. University of Texas‒Austin (McCombs)

Hope that helps some

Free, detailed MBA chances calculator
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_________________

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24 Apr 2013, 04:43
1
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Expert's post
TheNona wrote:
Hi. I am currently applying for Desautels (McGill) 's full time course this year . In fact , I am a 30 year old pharmacist with 6.5 work experience 5 of them in a multinational pharmaceutical company first as a sales representative then as a sales trainer after being promoted.I had distinguished extracurricular activities during high school and undergrad but later my job consumed 80% of my time , the rest 20% was dedicated to PG studies and to my family . PG studies include a diploma in Industrial Pharmacy and another in "Training the Trainer" , and a certificate in written translation .In addition to all these ,I got an HR certification from SHRM as well as some workshops and non-academic courses including finance for non-financial managers . Knowing that my GMAT scores are 540 , then a 550 , and my GPA varies between 2.82 -2.94 after assessing it on different GPA calculators,while Desautels responded to my inquiry that they look for 600 GMAT and a GPA 3 , encouraging me to apply but meanwhile implying that they can forgive a slightly lower GPA for a satisfactory GMAT , what do you advise me to do ? which strengths can you see in my profile can compensate for the GMAT gap? knowing that I am applying these days to catch the deadline but will still retake the GMAT for the 3rd time next month aiming at updating them with a better score.By the way , on their website it is said that the range of GMAT scores for their students is 560-780.

Another last issue that my clarify more about my profile :The trend of my GPA is a downward one due to a personal crisis I faced during my last three semesters . Moreover , among the subjects I studied during 5 years of undergraduate studies was a low-weight course (much less credit hours than others) of mere mathematics with a "Pass" in the second year , and another of business administration and basics of finance in the third year with an "Excellent".Both had the same weight .Also, in my first postgraduate degree I studied another "low-weight" course that was a mix of maths and other topics with a "Pass" as well because of the other topics but this detailing can never be explained in he transcripts since the mark stated is the overall of the test.Taken into consideration that I took a three-day workshop "finance for non-financial managers) a few months ago before my GMAT,and that my Quant score increased from 36 in my first attempt to 39 in my second , how do you advise me to connect these together in order to prove I have the sufficient quantitative skills to handle an MBA curriculum ? (I actually do . a big part of my studies were statistics and calculations and also my work involved a lot of data charts and numbers)

Good luck!!

Joy

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_________________

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05 May 2013, 05:18
1
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Expert's post
TheNona wrote:
Aringo wrote:
TheNona wrote:
Hi. I am currently applying for Desautels (McGill) 's full time course this year . In fact , I am a 30 year old pharmacist with 6.5 work experience 5 of them in a multinational pharmaceutical company first as a sales representative then as a sales trainer after being promoted.I had distinguished extracurricular activities during high school and undergrad but later my job consumed 80% of my time , the rest 20% was dedicated to PG studies and to my family . PG studies include a diploma in Industrial Pharmacy and another in "Training the Trainer" , and a certificate in written translation .In addition to all these ,I got an HR certification from SHRM as well as some workshops and non-academic courses including finance for non-financial managers . Knowing that my GMAT scores are 540 , then a 550 , and my GPA varies between 2.82 -2.94 after assessing it on different GPA calculators,while Desautels responded to my inquiry that they look for 600 GMAT and a GPA 3 , encouraging me to apply but meanwhile implying that they can forgive a slightly lower GPA for a satisfactory GMAT , what do you advise me to do ? which strengths can you see in my profile can compensate for the GMAT gap? knowing that I am applying these days to catch the deadline but will still retake the GMAT for the 3rd time next month aiming at updating them with a better score.By the way , on their website it is said that the range of GMAT scores for their students is 560-780.

Another last issue that my clarify more about my profile :The trend of my GPA is a downward one due to a personal crisis I faced during my last three semesters . Moreover , among the subjects I studied during 5 years of undergraduate studies was a low-weight course (much less credit hours than others) of mere mathematics with a "Pass" in the second year , and another of business administration and basics of finance in the third year with an "Excellent".Both had the same weight .Also, in my first postgraduate degree I studied another "low-weight" course that was a mix of maths and other topics with a "Pass" as well because of the other topics but this detailing can never be explained in he transcripts since the mark stated is the overall of the test.Taken into consideration that I took a three-day workshop "finance for non-financial managers) a few months ago before my GMAT,and that my Quant score increased from 36 in my first attempt to 39 in my second , how do you advise me to connect these together in order to prove I have the sufficient quantitative skills to handle an MBA curriculum ? (I actually do . a big part of my studies were statistics and calculations and also my work involved a lot of data charts and numbers)

Good luck!!

Joy

Free, detailed MBA chances calculator
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Thank you for the valuable advice I am applying these days to catch the deadline for this fall semester.I am applying with my current GMAT official score (550 , 39 Q 27 V) already sent to them a couple of days ago.Since they demand a minimum of 600 , I will retake next month but the only available appointment is on the 16th whereas their deadline to receive official scores is the 31st .Consequently , I applied with my current score intending to update them with a scanned copy of my unofficial score on test day .In the personal history pdf form I have to fill as a part of the application ,they have a space to indicate my test date in case I applied before taking the test . Do you advise me to indicate that I will retake the test , or this can result in an informal "on hold" status ? Knowing that my online application has the GMAT score ticked "submitted" .

Good luck!!

Joy

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16 Jun 2013, 00:57
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Expert's post
TheNona wrote:
Hi everybody .. first of all thanks for your valued advice that helped me get admitted to my dream school . The problem now is the scholarship they gave me is not sufficient in my current situation to the extent that I might be forced not to attend the business school this year .Is it possible to negotiate financial aid after admission ? and how do you advise me to tackle this issue with them ? Thanks in advance

Congratulations on your acceptance! That's just fantastic. About negotiating for aid, you can always try - the worst thing is they say no. You can come out directly and tell them that without more aid, you won't be able to attend; if any other school accepted you and offered you more money, or it will be less expensive to attend, you can add this in; by not attending after they accepted you, you will be affecting their yield in a negative way. It's in their interest to have you matriculate.

Good luck!

Joy
Senior Application Consultant
Aringo.com

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26 Jun 2013, 00:09
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Expert's post
debayan222 wrote:
debayan222 wrote:
Hi Joy,
Can you provide info on European MBA?

Look forward to hear from you.

Hi Joy,
I thought it'd be helpful for you if I come up with some specific questions on European MBA...

So, my questions are :
1.Most of them are 1 year program as you know...so,should one consider these for career change (re: Industry change not job function change)?

2.Could you please let me know like INSEAD & IE whether LBS,Said & Judge also have rolling admissions and two intakes (for example, one in September 2014 and other in January 2015 for INSEAD)...?

3. LBS,INSEAD are top ones but in global b-school rankings (FT) b-schools like IE,Said & Judge are placed ahead of many top 20 US schools like Ross,Darden,Anderson (for IE only),McCombs...How do you see that for an International applicant & career changer?

4..For these European schools, is it always better to apply in R1 (if some of them don't have rolling admissions and/or two intakes) rather than in R2 like US schools...?

Would really appreciate some deep insights from you on these.

Looking forward to hear from you.

Hi, Debayan
Yes – it's much better to come with specific questions, so thank you!
1. I think the main issue of 1 vs 2 years is that the 2 year program offers an internship – so you would need to check out what each specific 1 year program offers in the way of helping you to get a toehold in your new industry.
2. Hi, INSEAD does not have rolling admissions – just the two intakes, and the various rounds for each intake. IE does have rolling admissions. LBS has one intake, 4 rounds. Said has one intake, four rounds, in which the first 3 rounds each have a deadline, and the 4th round is rolling – basically it's for the final spots of the program, so they read the apps as they come in. Judge has one intake, with 5 rounds of admission.
If you are looking for other schools with January intakes:

• HEC, Paris
• IMD
• IE business school (November and April intakes)
• Ivey (Ontario, Canada; April intake)
• Queen's (Ontario, Canada; May intake)
• Simon (University of Rochester; also September intake)
• Schulich (York University; also September intake)
• Thunderbird (Spring [late January] and Fall [late August] intakes)
• Rotterdam School of Management (Erasmus University)

4. Regarding which round to apply in, personally I've had clients with success in both rounds; I usually suggest people apply first round whenever possible, as long as it does not come at the cost of a lower GMAT score or a lower quality application. If you are concerned about timings, and are trying to juggle work, GMAT, applications, family, etc. – then I would not stress yourself out too much about trying to apply to all schools in round 1. Plan if you can to apply to a few of them in round 1, with sensational applications, and then do the rest in round 2.

Hope that helps some,

Joy
Senior Application Consultant
Aringo.com

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01 Sep 2013, 08:30
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Assman wrote:
What’s up Aringo!

I was wondering if you could kindly evaluate my profile…and I will love you guys forever

Summary: 27 year old Aussie male currently working as an IT Consultant for a multinational.
Undergrad degree: Computer Engineering from Uni of Sydney
GPA: No clue! My weighted average mark is approx. 70 (/100) and I graduated with 2nd Class Honours
GMAT: 650 (Q 47, V 32) AWA and IR marks are still being processed.

Work experience (5.5 years)
1. Graduate rotation position in the federal government sector (1 year)
2. Product engineer and solution architect for Australia’s largest telco (2 years)
3. Business consultant (internal) for a large global bank (6 months)
4. IT consultant (held different roles within the company all with the same generic title. i.e. data manager, team lead, tech lead consultant) (2 years)

Outside of work:
Competitive video gamer – won several tournaments with total prize money of \$1500
Body builder – my current goal is to be able to compete in amateur competitions in approx. 18 month’s time
Past – I’ve played cricket and first grade level and soccer at regional level
(I lost a lot of focus for some years after uni where all I was doing was going out and partying. I am not in the same state of mind now!!!)

I want to complete an MBA because I want to get into a tech strategy/consulting role. I feel that I lack the financial/marketing/HR/etc skills needed for that role. Also, I want this MBA to be my ticket for overseas experience. And maybe I can find a wife

Schools:
Carnegie Mellon – Tepper
HEC Paris
Can you recommend others? I’m not fussed on the location of where I study.

So…where do I sit here? Thanks in advance!

Assman :D

Hi, thanks for stopping by!
1. Regarding your GPA - can you get in touch with the university and ask? 70/100 sounds fairly low to me, but you say you graduated with second class honors, so maybe I'm misunderstanding... In any event, to apply to an MBA you will need your transcripts and GPA, so you may as well start looking for it.
2. GMAT is okay, not great. Would you consider studying and retaking it, to see if you can improve your score?
3. Your professional experience is quite varied. You would want to start formulating your story, of why you have gone through so many different professions, so it makes sense and doesn't look like you get bored easily/can't make up your mind/ etc.
4. I would probably play down the video gaming stuff, the bodybuilding and sports is interesting, especially the sports.

You sound like you've well thought out your goals and why you need an MBA in order to achieve them - that's great.

Regarding school choice:
IE -I imagine you chose because of their strength in IT. Avg GMAT there is around 680, so you're just a bit low there, a strong application will balance that.
Tepper - here the average GMAT is close to 700, so more of a stretch there. Very small school; also have the IT emphasis.
HEC I haven't much to say about.
Regarding other schools, you might consider: Tuck, Emory, Duke, Kenan-Flagler, Georgetown, DePaul, Rice and UCLA.

Good luck! On the MBA AND finding a nice wife

Joy
Senior Application Consultant
Aringo.com

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06 Oct 2013, 12:19
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Expert's post
bagdbmba wrote:
Aringo wrote:
bagdbmba wrote:
Hi Joy,
Could you please let me know the followings -
1. Are Ross Essay 1 and McCombs Essay 1 EXACTLY similar,EXCEPT the word-count difference?
2.To what extent these two essays are similar to CBS Essay 3?

Hi, Bagdbmba
Regarding question 1, there are two obvious differences: the word count and also the fact that McCombs allows for the answer to be given in other formats (video, etc.). The other issue that comes into consideration is to look at all of the other essay questions in each school, and to see what you might want to tell about yourself that is missing. In other words, this question is also an opportunity to give details that don't appear elsewhere, so the answer might change accordingly.

Regarding Question 2, I see Essay 3 as an opportunity to discuss one or two special aspects of you and your life that don't come out anywhere else. So, rather than a general summation about who you are and your life, professional and personal, which the other 2 questions are, Columbia's question seems more an opportunity to talk about one or two interesting/fascinating aspects of your life.

Hope that helps!

Joy
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Hi Joy,

Re Qs 1 - If I go on elaborating the 3-4 traits or a max of 5-6 (considering the varying word-count limit for Ross and McCombs), will that be fine? And I think these two essays demand more of personal characteristics than professional ones.Right?

For McCombs - Which one is more preferred(if any at all!) by the Adcom - Video format or simply an essay-draft? Can you please shed some light on this?

Re Qs 2 - Gotcha!

Hi, regarding question 1 - it's not just traits; it's traits plus hobbies, family, interesting anecdotes and factoids; and importantly, showing them who you are by the sense of humor you convey through your word and story choice, etc. More personal than professional, definitely. They can be personal qualities that would be useful in business, but you don't make that connection yourself.

Regarding McCombs - I don't have that information, I'm sorry. I think the safe answer is whatever you will best shine by doing. If you are going to write a kick-ass essay that blows them out of the water, then do that. If you are able to take the video format and be extraordinary, then do that.

Good luck!

Joy
Senior Application Consultant
Aringo.com

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08 Oct 2013, 12:31
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gmatfighter12 wrote:
Hi Joy,

I am actually in the middle of the road and not sure if I can pursue and MBA or should do an MS instead. Is it alright for you to look at my profile and see if what schools I might get into?

My stats:

GPA: 3.26 (Accounting major) at a regional Midwest school

Gmat 1: Feb 2012 --->540 (Q: 40, V 22, W: 4.5)
Gmat 2: Ja 2013----->640 (Q: 45, V 34, IR:6, W 5)
Gmat 3: Oct 2013---->610 (Q: 47, V: 28)

Yrs of exp: 4 years (1 year in the US and 3 in Vietnam) by 2014, found my own charity, help to develop and expand other charity, have my own start up, work in a financial service start up as well, no brand name company, and international exposure

Interested in MBA Marketing

Interested Geographic: NC, CA, TX

School: UNC (reach since it has always been my target school) Loyola CA (strong regional network), Peperdine CA (strong regional network). U of Houston (strong regional network).

Other facts: international student. I applied R3 2013 and was offered scholarship to a 80th rank school (ranking according to usnews)

I am thinking of go ahead and apply round 1 for those above schools. After that, I can retake the Gmat (if necessary) around late December. Are there any schools I should consider? This year is a last year and I can't wait any longer. Please advise!

Thank you so much!!!

Hi, while your GMAT is on the low side, it's not a worst case scenario. UNC's median GMAT is 690, so there you are a bit low, but for other schools you are simply on the low side of the middle range. Indiana - 590-730 mid range. McCombs 620-730 . Emory - 610-750.
You might want to look for a school that values entrepreneurship. Babson is known as a top entrepreneurship school. Not the weather you were looking for, but very forgiving of a low GMAT if you have the other stuff.

As for whether to go for an MBA or an MA, that would really depend on your post study career goals, and the experience you are looking for.

Good luck!

Joy
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09 Oct 2013, 01:01
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bagdbmba wrote:
Aringo wrote:
bagdbmba wrote:
Thank you so much Joy for further clarification.+1
Got you this time completely and if any further concern arises, I'd definitely revert to you...

On some other font- could you please let me know the followings:
1.Like LBS, is there any US school in top 20(US news ranking) that provides initial profile feedback on the basis of Resume review and academics prior to submitting the application?

2.What is the US GPA equivalent of an aggregate of 83/100 (top 10% of the class/department) in Engineering undergrad from an Indian university (tier 2, non-IIT) ? Any thoughts?

I'd much appreciate your feedback on these.

1. I don't know of any top US school that offers initial profile feedback. I think there are some schools in Europe that offer it.
2. According to this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grading_%2 ... n%29#India it seems your grade is equivalent to 4.0, but keep in mind that many if not most schools will ask you to report your grades in the application according to the original scale in your country, rather than converting to 0-4 scale. If we simply transpose an 83 out of a hundred, we get 3.3 out of 4, which is drastically different than 4.0.

Regards,
Joy
Senior Application Consultant
Aringo.com

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1. Got you. Yeah some European schools do like LBS probably..! Unfortunate that US schools don't offer this opportunity
2.Yeah that I did also by simple unitary method and getting 3.3/4 from 83/100 was a shock as 3.3 in US doesn't really come up as a good GPA, whereas I was in top 10% of the class/department...In Indian universities in most cases it's simply 83% or a 8.3 on a scale of 10. Moreover, wiki source shows that it's 4.0 - so I'm bit confused!

And that's why I wanted to know that qualitatively what does it (re 83/100 from a non-IIT) stand for to US schools?

Also you might choose to further explain the grading in the optional essay or additional information, so that they understand the grade is much better than it sounds.

Joy
Senior Application Consultant
Aringo.com

Free, detailed MBA chances calculator
Admission tips and scholarship info per school
Plan your application content (free online tool)
Get an initial assessment

_________________

Specializing in candidates with GMATs under 720

All statistics verified by Ernst & Young

Re: Ask ARINGO - if your GMAT is (or might be) below 720   [#permalink] 09 Oct 2013, 01:01

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