Candidate:

Ms. East Africa Specialist

About Me:

I am a Korean woman who spent 7 years working in Kenya. Worked at a Fortune TOP20 consumer electronics company for 4 years as a product manager managing 7 East African countries, then worked at the biggest E-commerce platform in Africa as a commercial manager. I also started an online shopping mall for women’s clothing from scratch.

Details:

Undergrad School: Sunkyunkwan University in Seoul, Korea. (Top 5 school in Korea)

Undergrad Major: Mass Communication and Journalism

GPA: 3.34

GMAT: 690

Age: 31, Ethnicity: Asian or Indian

Extracurriculars: Founded a Women Leadership Program in Kenya to grow next generation of female leaders in Africa. Worked with 25 mentors of 10 nationalities and over 100 mentees., Started online shopping mall for women's clothing in Kenya from scratch., Volunteered at New Life Home, a children's home in Kenya for abandoned and HIV infected babies.

Work History:

Title: Head of Category in Commercial Team

Industry: E-Commerce

Company: Start-Up

Length of Employment: 2 yrs, 2 mos

Title: Product Manager

Industry: Manufacturing

Company: Fortune 500

Length of Employment: 4 yrs, 1 mos

Big Life Wins:

Grew monthly business of the category 10x I was in charge of in the first 6months of my most recent job. Running a Women Leadership Program in Kenya and produced over 100 mentees so far. Started my own clothing business in Kenya even though it didn’t turn out well.

Post MBA Goal:

I plan to develop the Leadership program I am running in Kenya now into a proper business model and build an online school across Africa in order to democratize education and grow future leaders in Africa.

Schools:

Target School: Stanford GSB

Status: Open

Considering: Harvard, INSEAD, Chicago Booth, Kellogg, MIT Sloan

mbaMission | Odds Assessment: 5%

Hi Ms. East Africa Specialist, Julie-Anne Heafey here with mbaMission. Stanford is pretty much a stretch for anyone, but I do like your unique story and possibility to stand out in the process. I agree your scores/stats look rather low, especially your GMAT. If you can retake, please consider doing so. I do wonder about your rather ambiguous sounding goals, and how education fits in with your past experience…seems like you don’t have the clearest plan for a business model and so entrepreneurship in a new industry category seems like a stretch to me. I think I’d be more persuaded if it dovetailed more with something you’d done before. To me, it’s worth spending the time to clarify this so …
Hi Ms. East Africa Specialist, Julie-Anne Heafey here with mbaMission. Stanford is pretty much a stretch for anyone, but I do like your unique story and possibility to stand out in the process. I agree your scores/stats look rather low, especially your GMAT. If you can retake, please consider doing so. I do wonder about your rather ambiguous sounding goals, and how education fits in with your past experience…seems like you don’t have the clearest plan for a business model and so entrepreneurship in a new industry category seems like a stretch to me. I think I’d be more persuaded if it dovetailed more with something you’d done before. To me, it’s worth spending the time to clarify this so your messaging is clear in your app that you are ready to take advantage of an MBA. Good luck!
2 months ago Read the full review
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Stratus Admissions Counseling | Odds Assessment: 5%

Hello Ms. East Africa Specialist. It’s Lisa Cummings of Stratus Admissions. I find your background fascinating and I bet schools will too. A few things about your stats to start. Are you applying in R2 or R3 of this cycle or for next year? A 7 years of experience, you will be at about the top of the range for a traditional MBA program while your GPA and GMAT are low for your target schools. Did you take any/many quant classes such as calc or stats?
If not, you might want to consider taking a course. Is there a chance you can increase that GMAT score – even a few more points might make a big difference for your chances. …
Hello Ms. East Africa Specialist. It’s Lisa Cummings of Stratus Admissions. I find your background fascinating and I bet schools will too. A few things about your stats to start. Are you applying in R2 or R3 of this cycle or for next year? A 7 years of experience, you will be at about the top of the range for a traditional MBA program while your GPA and GMAT are low for your target schools. Did you take any/many quant classes such as calc or stats?
If not, you might want to consider taking a course. Is there a chance you can increase that GMAT score – even a few more points might make a big difference for your chances. But now let’s focus on what will set you apart. What brought you to Kenya? I’d want to know more about how you achieved that amazing growth in your e-commerce job. Also more detail on your volunteer and entrepreneurial work will really highlight your leadership experience, another thing school look for in their candidates. Don’t worry that your startup didn’t turn out as you had hoped, I am sure you gained a lot of valuable skills that you will be able to discuss in your applications and or interviews. Your extensive volunteer work will resonate, especially your Leadership program. I suggest you consider adding some additional schools to your list as the acceptance rate at your targets, other than INSEAD, is around 10%-15%. I wish you the best of luck.
2 months ago Read the full review
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