INSEAD/ISB Prospects

[pratiklohia]

Hi

My Profile

31 Yrs Indian Work Exp: 9 years, 2 years in IT, 1.5 years expanding family biz, the rest started my own international trade biz in fresh produce(since 2008, finance from family) which has been doing a 100% YoY growth since inception, with current turnover around 4-5 million USD, 6 permanent and arnd 50 contracted employees depending upon seasonal requiremnts. Still to give GMAT, but Manhattan practice test avg around 650(have a earlier 2005 score of 740 which is unfortunately valid no more)

A few failed attempts at IT startups also become a part of my profile

Edu: B.Engg(Computer Science) with an average of 58%

M looking only for a 1 year MBA considering I have to get back to my biz ASAP and expand from there.... So ISB and INSEAD are the only options as I do not wish to travel to US.

Kindly evaluate and advice

[mili]

Hi,

Very impressive! Congrats on your success. I think your profile will truly set you apart from other candidates, but I encourage you to focus hard on the GMAT and see if you can't score 700+. I think lack of extracurriculars/community activities will be overlooked in your case, given how demanding your company must be.

Congrats and good luck!
Mili




Mili Mittal
Senior Consultant
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[pratiklohia]

Thank you so much for your reply Mili. And sorry for the late response. Had been really busy with applications and full season on the work front. Got a700 on the gmat Q, 46, 71pctl, V40, 90 pctl. I have applied to Insead in R2 and have my fingers crossed. As a backup I am planning to apply to ISB. Would you recommend some other schools based on my profile,
quote="mili"]Hi,

Very impressive! Congrats on your success. I think your profile will truly set you apart from other candidates, but I encourage you to focus hard on the GMAT and see if you can't score 700+. I think lack of extracurriculars/community activities will be overlooked in your case, given how demanding your company must be.

Congrats and good luck!
Mili




Mili Mittal

Senior Consultant
http://www.mbamission.com
 
Read the mbaMission Insider's Guides (16 individual school titles)
 
Download [url=http:// http://info.mbamission.com/MBA-Personal-Statement-Guide/]mbaMission’s Free Personal Statement Guide[/url]
 
Visit the mbaMission Blog
 
Follow mbaMission on Twitter[/quote]

[mbamissionjenK]

Hi there,

Jumping in for Mili... congrats on the 700, that plus your interesting profile and experiences should make you a strong applicant!

You asked about other programs, and are interested in non-US schools. Have you looked into IMD in Switzerland, Judge (Cambridge), Said (Oxford)? All are one-year programs with a good global brand and international perspective.

Then there's also IE in Spain, and various schools in Asia; all depending on your preferred geography and class profile.

I am also curious about whether you've looked into an Executive MBAs at all, with 9 years of experience... you'll have more experience than average regular full-time MBA applicants and a few programs may ask about that (in terms of, 'why now'; 'do you really NEED the MBA at this point', or 'have you looked at EMBAs'?). Just something to review some if you haven't yet; most are less than 2 years and geared towards those with 8-15 years of experience, who continue working at their companies during the program. The minimum # of years of experience varies (for example at IMD it's 10 so you'd apply to their regular program, which generally has students with a bit higher-than -average years of work experience anyway; INSEAD mentions a range of 7-15 or so).

Anyway have a look at some of these other programs, which I highly recommend (as a grad of a European 1-year MBA program myself ;) ), and think about what region you are interested in, and assess your reasons for the MBA and therefore where would be the best fit for you. Let us know how else we can help!

Jen Kedrowski
mbaMission
www.mbamission.com

[pratiklohia]

Hi there,

Jumping in for Mili... congrats on the 700, that plus your interesting profile and experiences should make you a strong applicant!

You asked about other programs, and are interested in non-US schools. Have you looked into IMD in Switzerland, Judge (Cambridge), Said (Oxford)? All are one-year programs with a good global brand and international perspective.

Then there's also IE in Spain, and various schools in Asia; all depending on your preferred geography and class profile.

I am also curious about whether you've looked into an Executive MBAs at all, with 9 years of experience... you'll have more experience than average regular full-time MBA applicants and a few programs may ask about that (in terms of, 'why now'; 'do you really NEED the MBA at this point', or 'have you looked at EMBAs'?). Just something to review some if you haven't yet; most are less than 2 years and geared towards those with 8-15 years of experience, who continue working at their companies during the program. The minimum # of years of experience varies (for example at IMD it's 10 so you'd apply to their regular program, which generally has students with a bit higher-than -average years of work experience anyway; INSEAD mentions a range of 7-15 or so).

Anyway have a look at some of these other programs, which I highly recommend (as a grad of a European 1-year MBA program myself ;) ), and think about what region you are interested in, and assess your reasons for the MBA and therefore where would be the best fit for you. Let us know how else we can help!

Jen Kedrowski
mbaMission
http://www.mbamission.com

Hi Jen. Thanks for your advice.
I did look into the executive programs.
A number of reasons why I am not keen on those.
1. It would entail a lot of international travel, would end up taking away a lot of productive time, and would not be as immersive as a full time MBA. The important aspect of the learning being the peer group.
2. I think with INSEAD I do fall closer to their average age though slightly on the greater side, and there are people older than me.

Actually my main focus will be entrepreneurship. So my first choice remains INSEAD as they have some really good and practical courses on Entrepreneurship, and I believe the international diversity at INSEAD is best among the colleges you have mentioned.

I am starting to apply to IMD and Oxford too. Will look into Judge. ISB has a very late deadline, so I think I will apply to ISB if I get dinged at INSEAD.

[mbamissionjenK]

That all makes sense. INSEAD sounds like a great first choice program for you. Definitely very international and globally-focused. IMD, Oxford (Said) and Cambridge (Judge) will have a pretty similar international mix of students but they all have smaller class sizes than INSEAD so that can make a difference (with both pros and cons). Keep us posted if you had additional questions along the way!

Jennifer Kedrowski
MBA Admissions Consultant
http://www.mbamission.com
jen@mbamission.com

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