Mr. Data Guy

Hi, it’s Nisha from mbaMission. You have strengths to your profile – a strong GMAT score, a history of extracurricular involvement (is the NGO volunteerism post-college?), and professional experience in an in-demand field in two different countries. You can explain the GPA in the optional essay in a way that shows ownership while providing information on any extenuating circumstances (for example, why you decided to graduate early).

To be able to fully evaluate your MBA candidacy, though, I would need to more closely understand your motivations for pursuing an MBA. What draws you to consulting or asset management (two very different career paths) based on your experiences and observations so far, and what type of impact do you wish to make in this field? What appeals to you about this particular set of schools based on the culture and resources you seek in an MBA program? These are the questions you’ll want to reflect upon as you embark on this journey. If you wish to discuss in more detail, please feel free to sign up for a free consultation with me. Thank you, and best of luck!

Hi Mr. Data Guy, Melisa here from Status Admissions. So let’s start off with the big wins: impressive stats, strong work experience across 2 countries and strong community involvement in undergrad. There are a couple areas that I think you could work on to improve your candidacy or maybe explain more thoroughly as it is tough to assess without the information. First, I am not too concerned about your undergrad GPA – you graduated in 3 years in engineering at a top school and you have a 4.0 in your masters. I would like to understand what community involvement you’ve had since undergrad? Maybe the Environmental NGO – and what impact have you had on that org? While volunteering is nice, schools are going to want to see leadership. Professionally, since your job title appears to have been the same across your roles, you will want to talk through how your responsibility has increased. MIT in particular will want to know the impact you’ve made personally and professionally. They are less concerned with stated goals, and rather look at past accomplishments as the best indicator of future success. Other schools, however, will want to understand your career path – and what is personally motivating it. What has informed your goals? And consulting and asset mgmt are quite different, so you will either need a very compelling story to show how they are linked for you – or choose a path. It is difficult for admissions to assess their ability to help you if your goals are not clear. With a compelling story, I think you could have an above average chance at MIT. I am putting you at average here for now. I would love to talk with your further about your profile – so feel free to sign up for a free consultation! Best of luck!