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[AdmissionsConsultants]

Originally Posted by Anonymoose

Hello,

First of all, thanks for the straight-up, honest answers. It's refreshing to see candor, as it helps people more accurately prepare for their future. I would like to ask two questions:

1. I was working at a large real estate money management firm for one year (Jone Lang LaSalle) in Thailand. I then switched jobs and am currently working at a medium-sized real estate firm that is highly vertically integrated (i.e. we engage in construction, development, sales, AND after sales service/maintenance). We run a private neighborhood (gated community) that surrounds the biggest international school in Thailand, the International School of Bangkok; our tenants' children can ride their bikes to school instead of having to take a bus, something our foreign tenants love. We also lease a large number of our units (approx. 300) to US embassy staff. At this company, the CEO and all higher-up positions are in my family, and it is pretty much guaranteed I will end up at a high position later in my life (unless I decide to pursue other things).
My question is, would it be better to emphasize this family aspect of the business or not - going from what I've seen you write, the pro side would be that it shows that I will end up doing "something important" and "being big," since I will be guaranteed to end up in a high position in this firm. The con side would be that it could certainly make me look "privileged," to use a term I've seen you use. So in the end, would you recommend I play up or down my family ties to this company?

2. I am a dual citizen (US and Thailand). Would it be better to apply as a Thai national or as a US national - or does it not matter, since my dual citizenship would automatically make me be considered a US citizen?

Background: Tufts University (3.7 GPA) BA in economics, 730 GMAT. Regarding the GMAT, by the way, I was originally going to take it again (since I received significantly higher marks during my practice tests), but after reading your advice in this thread I decided against it. Thanks!

Thanks again for your time, and also for helping everyone here.

Hi and thanks for your inquiry.

Your family business can certainly work in your favor if you are able to clarify highlight and validate your contributions to its growth. To do so, you will want to obtain recommendations from non-family members so that an independent picture of your potential is demonstrated. This could be a big partner that works with your firm, anyone that knows your work ethic and drive.

In terms of how you clarify your citizenship, you would report yourself as a joint citizen.

Best of luck with your applications!

Sincerely,
David Petersam
President

[romanenkoa]

David, hi again.

I asked you a question before. To remind you of my profile:

Originally Posted by romanenkoa

Hi David,

I would really appreciate it if you could please evaluate my profile and chances at one of top 10 schools including Stanford, Wharton and Booth

Here is my profile:

I’m 28 male from Uzbekistan. I have MA degree in economics from CEU with GPA 3.42/4 and bachelor degree in finance from Tashkent State Technical University with GPA 83/100. I’ve been forking for 3 years as an auditor at one of the Big-4. This year I was promoted to senior auditor (auditor-in-charge) but I started performing this role after 1 year of work. Usually it takes 2-3 years. During my work I participated on 25+ audits of various companies both in Uzbekistan and abroad and was a team leader on 10+ of them. I'm planning to switch my career from audit to consulting.

Previously I worked for 1.5 years as a lecturer at local business school (most of the students were high-school graduates though some with college degree. School provided just a certificate, not internationally recognized)

For extracurricular activities I participated on several charity events held by my company, though not on leading positions. Also in university and at school I participated and won several chess competitions.

A week ago I took GMAT and scored 740 (Q50, V40), AWA 5.0.

Thank you for your help and I’m eagerly waiting for your response.

[captn]

Hi there,

Could you look at my profile and evaluate chances at Harvard, Wharton, Columbia and MIT?

Education:

BostonU MA in Econ and BA in Math (2001-2003, GPA 3.00)
Northeastern U (2000-2001, GPA 3.58)

UC Berkeley (2008-2009, Coursework in math & stats, GPA 3.3)

GRE
Math: 800 Verbal: 720

Professional Exams
Actuarial Exams (of 9) :1,2,3,4,5,6

Research Experience
1.) Developed an arbitrage model under a UC Berkeley professor for the last 6 months.

2.) Worked at a top 5 econ consulting firm for 2 years as a research analyst, associate and now as a contractor.


Work Experience
1.) Top 5 econ consulting for 2 years
2.) Actuarial Analyst for 3 years

Languages
German,English

Skills
Excellent Public Speaker
Tae Kwon Do Instructor

Minority Status: Puerto Rican (for what its worth)

-------------------------------------------------

I understand that I may come off as analytic heavy and make it seems like i possibly lack interpersonal skills ( Actuarial Stereotype). Due to this concern one of my letters will speak of my ability to captivate an audience, I may write about succesfully teaching tae kwon do to all age groups from children to adults which requires some charisma, and also of the fact that both as an actuary but even more so as a contractor to a firm that deals with very high profilie litigation dispute cases it is incredibly important to be able to communicate your assesments of an issue effectively.

[psionic400]

Hi,

I have a question about my GMAT scores. I took the GMAT three times. First time was 700(90%)/Q47(79%)/V39(87%)/AWA 5.0 but I thought that I could do better with better preparation (used only OG11 and nothing else) and more sleep (<6 hours before test day due to nervousness). The second time I was well prepared but got the flu three days before the test. I was still feeling horrible during the test and could not focus so I quit about 25 minutues into the Quant section, went home, and had a "SCORES CANCELLED" placed on my record. The third time I finally hit a home run and scored a 770(99%)/Q50(93%)/V45(98%)/AWA 5.0. Will I still be viewed negatively by adcoms even though I improved my score by 70 points and hit the 99% composite percentile? Do I need to explain what happened and my motivation for taking it again after getting a 700 on my first try?

Thanks,
psionic400

[shabbirahsan]

Dear Sir,

I was reading the posts! It is like a charity you are doing.
My prayers are with you.

Nobel Prize in Peace to you.

Shabbir Ahsan

[sksgill]

Hi David,

Your great work is proven by the number of posts in this thread. Thanks!!

My Profile:

GMAT 720 94% taken on 17th 0ct 09
Q 49 87%
V 40 89%

Bachelor's in Business Admin from India in 2000 (3 yr degree) 57% with 61% in last year. Can be rated as a mediocre performance but in present context is low. 6 month Certificate in Mangement (Executive program) from IIM Bangalore with A average in 2007. This year took 3 undergrad courses related to HR in a Canadian university and got an A in all.
Was a Captain in Indian Army when i left after 6 yrs of service in 2007. Worked as an Associate manager (Recruitment) in an Indian IT company for 15 months. Was given an outstanding achievement award in 2008 for professional and cultural excellence. Immigrated to Canada in 08 and have been working as a Recruitment Specialist with a major Not-for-profit in a government program. Have lots of extracurriculars with representation in Army sports teams including equestrian and athletics. Lots of Community work with fundraising for charities. Organised a dance team which won several national competitions. Am good at public speaking.

Am targeting Canadian universities - Richard Ivey, Rotman, Schulich and Queen's- and am not sure of US universities. Canadian universities prefer 4 yr degrees. Can I try in these schools inspite of having a 3 yr degree with some upgrades. How would you rate my profile and my chances. Any special advice that you may have.

Thanks again.

[dhiraj84mehta]

Hi David,

I am from computer engineering background with 3 yrs of exp in IT. I gave my gmat twice and scored 610(Feb 2009) and 710(Oct 2009). My first time score was less because i could not give enough time to studies due to job related engagements. Will the adcom consider two gmat scores as a -ve or they will consider this as a marked improvement?

I am targeting MBA in strategic business management with a mix of finance, and want to persue my career in management consulting. I am planning to apply in Darden, Kelley, urbana-champaign, stern, CMU and Kenan-Flager. What do you think are my chances in these universities as far as my gmat score and work ex. goes?
Are these univs good for strategic management if no which appropriate univ. will suite my application w.r.t. stategic management.

Regards,
Dhiraj Mehta

[vanny830]

Hi David, could you please help me evaluate my profile? thank you so much!


UNDERGRADUATE:
B.S. in accounting in State university
GPA: 3.66, Magnum Cum Laude
GMAT:660 (Math 48, Verbal 32)
President of Beta Alpha Psi (accounting honor society)

WORK EXPERIENCE
3.5 years of experience as a senior tax consultant (with manager experiencess) in one of the Big 4 firms

FUTURE PLANS:
Pursue an MBA degree and become a small business owner

SCHOOLS APPLYING:
UCLA and USC Part-time MBA

WORRIES :
I switched to an administrative job within the same company (I have now been in the new admin position for 10 months) because I realized that tax consulting is not what I wanted to do. Part the reason why I switched is because I want to take a break and see what I want to do with my life. In addition, I want to use the free time to prepare for my GMAT, MBA application progress, and my certification exam. I would not have accomplished this if I were still in the old position. I am not sure how to tell the admission committee about this on my interview with me and not sure how to spin this to a positive perspective. On my application essays I told the admission committee that I left tax consulting so that I could start a new career in entrepreneurship and that is what I’d like to go to MBA to learn.

QUESTIONS :
1. What is my chances of getting accepted to each one of this school, especially UCLA
2. What should I focus on for my interview given my situation
3. I wrote an optional essay for UCLA but did not submit it. Is it possible to show it to them and maybe ask them to my profile on the interview day? The essay discusses the other side of me besides the academic and professional arenas.

Thank you for your time and suggestions.

[raul111]

hii.
i scored 710 in the gmat
hav a commerce and finance background
Work ex - Have worked for 15 months as a Derivatives Trader, and am helping my dad to run his equity sub broking business sinca a year now.
can u evaluate my chances at the top 20 to 50 mba programs for usa please.

[AdmissionsConsultants]

Hi Raul111 and thanks for your inquiry.

I apologize it’s taken me a while to get back to these threads. It’s been crazy busy (particularly with our b-school salary survey and the new book that came out last month) and we answer phone calls first, emails second and discussion board threads third.

hii.
i scored 710 in the gmat
hav a commerce and finance background
Work ex - Have worked for 15 months as a Derivatives Trader, and am helping my dad to run his equity sub broking business sinca a year now.
can u evaluate my chances at the top 20 to 50 mba programs for usa please.

It appears you should be competitive at the top 50 programs. Your chances at the top 20 will depend on your extracurriculars and undergrad GPA too.


Best of luck with your applications!

Sincerely,

David Petersam
President
Admissions Consultants Inc.
DPetersame@admissionsconsultants.com

www.admissionsconsultants.com/college/blog.aspx

AdmissionsConsultants
703.242.5885

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