Ask AdmissionsConsultants

[AdmissionsConsultants]

Hi Vanny830 and thanks for your inquiry.


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.

If you have already submitted your applications, then there’s not much you can do at this point. I would not show them a de facto optional essay at the interview. I foresee much more negative outcomes from this than positive.

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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[AdmissionsConsultants]

Hi Dhiraj84mehta Mehta and thanks for your inquiry.

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?


Excellent question. While you would just take the test once in an ideal world, taking it twice and showing a 100 point improvement will look much better than just having taken it once with a 610.

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?


Depending on your career progression and extracurriculars, you could be competitive at some or all of these schools.

Are these univs good for strategic management if no which appropriate univ. will suite my application w.r.t. stategic management.


Think of the top 5 to 10 MBA programs as 5 star restaurants and think of the remainder of the top 30 as 4 star restaurants. Now, are you going to order something bad off the menu at a 4 or 5 star restaurant? Not likely. My point? Oh yeah. All these schools are going to be good at strategic management.

I have a bias but the school selection tool in the CD ROM of our book contains 70-something criteria that you can weight to calculate the best fit schools for your particular needs, values, and future career goals.

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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[AdmissionsConsultants]

Hi SksGill and thanks for your inquiry.

Hi David,

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


Thank you!

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.


Contact these schools directly and individually. Sometimes they make exceptions for applicants like yourself.

There are good reasons to want to stay in Canada or consider just Canadian schools, but from a pure ROI perspective, our salary survey showed Harvard, Stanford, and Wharton MBAs, in that order, commanded the highest salaries amongst the Canadian recruiters we surveyed.


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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[AdmissionsConsultants]

Hi Psionic400 and thanks for your inquiry.

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?


You have nothing to worry about. I’ll tell you the same thing I told Dhiraj a few posts above. While you would just take the test once in an ideal world, taking it twice and showing such a strong improvement will look much better than just having taken it once with your original score – particularly with the quant percentile just below 80.



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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[AdmissionsConsultants]

Hi Captn and thanks for your inquiry.

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)

You are going to be a stretch at HBS but, then again, most applicants are. At other top 10 schools that accept the GRE, you are going to have to mitigate the below-average GPA and show some type of community involvement.


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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[vanny830]

Hi David,

do you think I should retake my GMAT? i know sometimes the school put you on the waitlist? do you think i have a shot at UCLA? thank you!

Originally Posted by AdmissionsConsultants

Hi Vanny830 and thanks for your inquiry.


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.

If you have already submitted your applications, then there’s not much you can do at this point. I would not show them a de facto optional essay at the interview. I foresee much more negative outcomes from this than positive.

Best of luck with your applications!



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[rempre]

Hi,

I recently gave my GMAT and scored 710.
Work exp - 6 yrs
Do you think I have a shot at Booth, Ross, Kellogg or Duke? How many schools should I apply and which schools would be my safe bet.

Would really appreciate your response.

Thanks.
Priya

[AdmissionsConsultants]

Hi Vanny and thanks for your follow-up inquiry.

Hi David,

do you think I should retake my GMAT? i know sometimes the school put you on the waitlist? do you think i have a shot at UCLA? thank you!

If you are confident you can boost your score by at least 30 points and it won’t detract from your other efforts, then go ahead and retake it.

Regarding your chances at UCLA, we would need to review the application you submitted to competently opine on your chances.

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

Join us on Facebook to receive a 5% discount on all services!

[AdmissionsConsultants]

Hi Priya and thanks for your inquiry.

Hi,

I recently gave my GMAT and scored 710.
Work exp - 6 yrs
Do you think I have a shot at Booth, Ross, Kellogg or Duke? How many schools should I apply and which schools would be my safe bet.


These schools will also care about your career progression, GPA, extracurriculars, reasons for wanting an MBA, etc. Hence, I don’t have enough here to competently opine on your chances. You can email me your resume and the additional bits of information and I’ll be glad to speak to you, however.

The number of schools you should go after depends on a number of factors including:

• How many schools you feel are a good fit
• How much time you have to dedicate to your applications. (You don’t want to spread yourself too thin.)
• Your realistic chances at the schools you are targeting. (You may not want to waste the effort if you have a very small chance of admittance.)

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

Join us on Facebook to receive a 5% discount on all services!

[Neeraj.Jha]

Hello David,

Cheers for the good work!

I took my gmat today and scored a dismal 660. On my first attempt I had scored 590.

here is my profile.

Age
will be 29 by the time i join

native
Indian

professional background
almost 8 years of experience in IT and ITES. (3 years international experience - currently working)

currently working as a Manager and as a consultant to a big insurance company for their IT division. Though I am into IT but my roles are not technical. I am more into formulating IT business processes, process and organizational change management, organizational and service risk management, project management, business continuity planning, process improvement, compliance with global standards, compliance and security auditing, etc. I have had exposure at different supervisory levels in my previous organizations as well.

My Bachelors is not from a top university but I do have a Masters.
my scores aren't stellar but are amongst the top 10 in my class. But dont know how to prove it.
Bachelor of Science - 63%
Masters of Science - 69.5%

professional certifications
I do have quite a few professional certifications like Six Sigma Black Belt, Information Security auditor, etc. Also I do have lots of certificates from my employers. In my current company I have set up a completely new function, starting from hiring to training and managing people. Have been involved in big projects.

recommendations
I can arrange two strong recommendations one from my MD and another from my Client.

I speak 4 languages, including 1 foreign.

Do you think I hold a chance of getting though schools such as Cranfield, Oxford, Manchester, Rice University, etc.

Any help is appreciated. Thanks in advance.

I am also planning to take a third attempt and hope to cross the 700 mark this time, do you think a third attempt will reduce my chances?

Thanks
Neeraj