Dear Scott,

Kindly I would like to ask you whether you can provide me with an idea about my chances of getting into a top business schools in the US/Asia.

Age: 26
Background: Colombian
Undergrad: Business Administrations from a top BS in Colombia. In a rough way I would say that my GPA is around 3.3, not sure about the conversion, though.
Postgraduate course: "Pre-MBA" in the University of Sheffield in the UK. not GPA required.
Master in International Business: Grenoble graduate school of business, top 5 master in management according to the FT. GPA:13.5/20
Languages: Spanish, English, German, French and some Slovak.
Multicultural Experiences (more than a year living) in: Colombia, UK, France, Germany, US.

Experiences:
-Currently I work for a trading company (international commerce) in Germany (+ 1 year)
-Work for a global 500 in Germany (Henkel) (8 months internship)
-Work for an insurance company in Colombia as Jr. Sales director (Summer work)
-Consultant for social businesses ( 10 months internship)
-Manager assistant for logistics and new product launches in Colombia (part time, over 6 months)
-VP of events and social relations for an association and class rep at Grenoble (over a year)
-Investing in Financial markets since 2007.
-Volunteer work for the UNICEF-Bremen and the BBC--Sheffield (at least 6 months each activity)

Some people have told me that my low GPA and my south American background may be some weaknesses in my profile.
I haven’t taken an official GMAT but in some simulations my range was between 680-710.
I would like to apply first round in 2012.

I will appreciate your comments.

Thank you so much for your time.

John

Hi,

I thought VP Scott was the only one given feedback, my mistake.

I would appreciate insights from the available consultant in charge for this section.
Please reply to my post.

Rgds,

John

Hi John,

I don't think that your South American background is a weakness at all. Coming from a certain region or being of a certain nationality can hurt you if it's an overrepresented one, but I don't think that most schools (at least not in the U.S.) feel that was about Latin American applicants. I don't think that being from that region will necessarily help you, but it shouldn't hurt you, either.

You do have great multicultural experience, and I think that your language skills will also be a big help. Right off the bat, that makes me wonder if you have considered INSEAD, since they love applicants with multicultural backgrounds, and in fact they require entering students to speak more than one language.

Your Master in Int'l Business makes me wonder a little bit... Some admissions officers may see that and wonder why you pursued that, and ask why you now want an MBA. So, you will need to work through that. Your undergrad GPA is a bit low in an "easy" major (compared to engineering or science), so you will need to address that, too.

The rest will come down to the GMAT, the quality of your work experience, and your recommendations. If those are strong, then I do think you have a shot at top-ten schools.

Good luck!
Scott

Hi Scott,

Thank so much for your reply.

In fact, I have considered INSEAD as a potential school but its MBA program requires half program in France and the other half in Singapore and at this point I want to move around different countries. I would choose this program, if I can do all the MBA program in Singapore. would it be possible?

On the other hand, I chose to go for the MSc instead of an MBA because I didn’t have "enough" work experience for a TOP BS. However, I was thinking that I may consider an MBA with focus on energy or something different to my business background, there are not many programs like it, though.

Regarding my GPA, the 3.3 is the overall score but during my last 5 semester i have a GPA around 3.6 (this is a roughly estimation).

I want to apply during the first round in 2012 to start the program the following year, so I can get more work experience, should I get in contact with a VERITAS consultant now?, or it is pretty soon to start preparing the applications?,

Thanks again,

John

Hi John,

I'm almost certain that INSEAD will require you to do time on both campuses. Most students actually like this quite a bit. Of course, depending on your personal circumstances, this may or may not be ideal, but you should definitely think about it.

Regarding the MSc, I think you can manage explaining this to admissions officers, but it will take a little work. It's not a "deal breaker" by any means, but you will need to at least subtly make your case for why you want an MBA now. Said another way, I fully understand why you got the MSc when you did, but now you nee to show what an MBA will give you that you didn't already get from the MSc program.

Your GPA trend is good news... As we always say, admissions officers are more forgiving of slow starts than of slow finishes!

If you plan on applying next fall (i.e., about 16 months from now), then there is not necessarily any need to hire a consultant today. You can wait toward the end of this calendar year. However, if you want to have a preliminary idea of what you can do between now and then to help your chances next year, give us a call (310-456-8716 in the U.S.) and we can set you up with a free 30-minute consultation to help you get started!

Scott