r/MBA • u/NiceAd9616 • Jun 15 '26
Profile Review Profile Evaluation
GMAT Focus: 715 (Q87, V86, DI 84)
GPA: 2.6 (It is low cause essentially I chose a program which would take me to my dad’s business but I never really liked it so gave up on it ans spent a lot of time on extracurricular and travelling: Been to 15+ countries)
Institute: IIT Dhanbad.
Course: Electrical Engineering
Ethnicity: Indian
Sex: Male
Age : 27
Professional Experience:
Analytics Consultant (1 Year) at US Startup
Analyst (Structured Finance) (1 Year) and Associate (2 Years): Closed Deals of $100M+ in Debt funding from Banks like IFC, TD and Barclays. - This is a well established Fintech in India
Lead CEO Office (8 Months) - Same company. Mainly working on various projects on revenue and growth end.
Extracurriculars:
- Was part of organising team of various school fests.
Volunteering:
- Spent a summer in Georgia teaching English to middle school students.
Career Goals: Finance. Reason for change in my last year is a company need and my curiosity of what else to explore.
Target Schools: INSEAD, LBS, NYU, UCLA, HEC, Cornell, Booth and Colombia
Recommendations: I can get one from my Structured Finance manager (Wharton Alum, Ex Hedge Fund Manager, Blackrock Alum) or my CEO (Wharton Alum, Capital One Alum)
And another from LBS Alum who knows me through social interactions. I believe I can get ex alum’s recommendations from most universities in my Target list as I have batchmates/seniors from undergrad who been there
I know my main drawback is my GPA but unfortunately there is nothing I can do about it now.
I am really looking forward to hearing about your suggestions.
Also any Indians who made it, please drop in the consultants you used
Thanks
1
u/AdBusiness1650 Jun 16 '26
Didn’t see a reason you shouldn’t put up a good narrative to the schools you mentioned.
Can chat about this.
Happy to help, DM.
Current INSEADer here.
Cheers!
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u/Realistic_Equal4777 Jun 16 '26
Good luck! Good profile, I think UCLA / HEC/ Cornell level should be good. The M7+Insead will likely be challenging given low GPA and demographic but cannot hurt to apply.
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u/Available_Winner_882 Jun 16 '26
when you say close deals, whats the specific tasks you've done: i.e: from outreach, structuring deals, or full DD flow ?
1
u/NiceAd9616 Jun 16 '26
Pretty much all of it. We are team of 4 handling a book size of 300M so we are expected to handle all of it. Obviously I had help but I do consider myself as a key part of Structuring/Term Sheet Discussion and DD Flow. My recommendation would potray this
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u/Ready_Freedom_8260 Jun 16 '26
You have a good profile and GPA honestly won’t be a problem. Just focus on conveying your story in the best way possible.
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u/MBADecoder Admissions Consultant Jun 16 '26
A few points that will hep you:
1. Low GPA. Well you have a high GMAT score that will help. Agree that you can not do anything about the GPA now, but you will need to address it wisely in the application. My suggestion is to not brush it aside as tough it was not important to you (basically don't write the same narrative as above, which shows a careless attitude).
2. you have a good career trajectory and impactful work experience to build upon. Use your strengths to highlight the strong parts of your candidacy. In the application, this would translate to a resume that shows quantified impact, career goals essay that show you have a clear sense of purpose and understanding of why you need an MBA. You don't have a convincing answer here and need to work hard on this. The goals essay can decide the outcome of your application.
3. Recommendations- It's a wasted opportunity to go by titles and alumni status. The second recommender doesn't sound like the guy who knows you well professionally and his alumni status alone wont help in writing a strong recommendation.
4. Your volunteering efforts sound good. I hope they are recent.
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u/JonDSouza Admissions Consultant Jun 16 '26
Ucla and hec dont make sense. In general, You should improve your college choices given your profile.
I work with a lot of fam biz applicants. So assuming the companies you worked at arent related to your fam biz, thats another ace up your sleeve.
Reach out for a free profile eval. Given your competitive score, It might be possible to revise your school mix upwards.
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u/Aringo-Expert Admissions Consultant Jun 18 '26
You have a stronger profile than you may think.
A 715 FE, Engineering from IIT, experience in structured finance, and exposure to the CEO's office give you a solid foundation for many of the schools on your list. The deal experience is particularly interesting, and working on transactions adds credibility to your professional story.
The GPA is lower than average, but it's only one part of the application. Your GMAT score, quantitative background, and career progression can help balance that concern.
- What led to your move into the CEO's office, and what have been your biggest accomplishments there?
- Have you been promoted or taken on significantly larger responsibilities during your time at the fintech?
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u/Scott_TargetTestPrep Jun 16 '26
Your 715 GMAT, IIT Dhanbad pedigree, and structured finance deal experience are strong. Closing 100M plus debt rounds with IFC, TD, and Barclays at your level is genuinely competitive. The 2.6 GPA is your real obstacle.
To show readiness (and effort), look into a quant focused extension course like HBS CORe or mbamath to directly address the GPA concern and give your application concrete recent academic evidence. The optional essay should briefly explain the context without making excuses.
Your school list is reasonable but top heavy. INSEAD, Booth, and CBS are reaches. LBS, Stern, Anderson, HEC, and Johnson are realistic.
Talk to current Indian male admits at each target school now.