Cambridge / Judge - 09-19-2021 | Clear Admit ApplyWire

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September 19, 2021 1:53pm ET

Applying: Cambridge / Judge, Cornell / Johnson, Dartmouth / Tuck, Duke / Fuqua, Oxford / Saïd, UCLA Anderson, USC / Marshall

Intake Year: 2022

Pre-MBA Career: Sales Operations Manager / Supply Chain and Operations

Post-MBA Target Industry: Technology, Pharmaceutical, Consumer Goods Companies: Amazon , Apple , Google , Johnson & Johnson , Roche , Anheuser Busch InBev , Nestle , Proctor & Gamble , Unilever

GPA: 2.93

Years of Work Experience: 5

Location: Brazil

Post MBA Location: US West Coast or England

Notes:

Hi Alex and Ghagam. I love the the podcast and I have been listening it for the past year, thanks for all the guidance. I will introduce myself and goals and move to the help I need.

WHY A MBA? I graduated from Industrial Engineering and have been working in Supply Chain and Operations roles for the past ~5 years. Currently, I am still on Operations but with a bit of the commercial side as a Sales Operations Manager in the Healthcare industry. My goal in the long term is to move to a general management position and I believe the MBA will be a great asset to cover some knowledge gaps I have , especially in finance and strategy, and to enhance my leadership skills. My short term goal after the MBA is to get a Senior Management position that is more focused on Business Strategy where I can combine my operations background with the knowledge I gained in the MBA in other areas and develop the skills to move into general management.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE: Present - Sales Operations Imaging and Process Improvement Manager (in this role I own the end-to-end tsales funnel tracking, operational metrics, and processes for USD$150M/year business unit and lead a organization of 2 managers and 16 people). Past - Sales Operations Manager (Jan 21 – Aug 21)/ Operations and Billing Leader (Jul 19 - Dec 20)/ Operations Management Leadership Program ( with rotations as Operations Leder, Production Team Leader and S&OP and Inventory Specialist - Jul 17 - Jun 19).

NUMBERS: GMAT ( I will take it on October and aiming 700 as I am consistenly scoring this month between 680 and 700) / GPA 2.93 ( I know this is a extremely downside of my application; however, I have graduated in the third best University of Latin America and where there is not grade inflation and the average GPA of the class in lower than mine. Besides, most of my colleagues had to have an extra 1 or 2 years after high school to get in and my GPA improved during college, last year being 3.23).

OTHER: Female Brazilian . I have backpacked to more than 50 countries. Speak portuguese, english, french and spanish.

HELP NEEDED: I need your help regarding where my profile stands in the MBAs tier. As my GPA is low I have not included in my list any M7 and even so I am worried on the impact on the GPA and not outstanding GMAT on my profile. Besides that, I would like to understand how to position my GPA in the extra essay and if I should include the information shared here. And Last question, I dont have a target industry, only function, will that hurt my application? Should I choose some before aplying?

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Show Comments (5) Last: October 7, 2021

alexbr4 Verified User. Likes Earned: 1677 It might be worth looking at taking MBA Math or HBS CORe to help mitigate the GPA issue. If you do get 700+ on the GMAT, that will be very good. Re target industry, it’s not critical, but might show additional focus. Especially if the industry aligns with your prior experiences. Haas and LBS may be worth exploring. Are you looking at 1 or 2 year programs? (0)

grichmond Verified User. Likes Earned: 1245 I think that your overall story is VERY compelling. Your work experience and reasons for wanting the MBA make a ton of sense, and that definitely counts for something. At the same time, the GPA is a bit of a red flag and will require some discussion in the optional essay. You can indicate that your undergraduate program was challenging, provide your class rank (if you have one), and underline the upward trend in the GPA. You would also ideally point to enrollment (and possibly completion of) MBA Math or HBS CORe Online...and a very solid GMAT result (700+). If you can do all of that, I think the schools on your list - and even some higher-ranked programs should be well within reach. Best of luck and thanks for being a regular listener on the podcast!
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alexbr4 Verified User. Likes Earned: 1677 More details on this candidacy in this episode of Wire Taps: https://www.clearadmit.com/2021/09/episode-187-wire-taps/ (0)

student1994 Likes Earned: 13 Hi Alex and Graham, sorry for the delay. Thanks a lot for your inputs :) I have finally received my GMAT and I scored 700 with a Q49 on Quant. Should I invest my time trying to improve my GMAT or doing the MBA math? I have thought a lot about the industry focus and I want to use the MBA for explore and take the final decision but for the application I am thinking in staying with healthcare, I had an impactfull journey in this industry, leading a task force in a top player in the market to import and distribute medical devices for Brazil related to the COVID-19 hit and I believe this can make more sense into my history, does that make sense? Last thing, Alex asked me if I was looking in 1 or 2 years programs, as I am not looking for a big pivot and due the investment the 1 year seems a good option, but as only france and england have good post MBA visa I have oppened my options to the US and got in love with many programs. Thanks a lot for the help (0)

alexbr4 Verified User. Likes Earned: 1677 Well done with the 700. I think I’d recommend doing MBA Math, to round things out, unless you think you can boost the score 30+ points, which would be very difficult. In the US, maybe consider Haas and Kellogg, too? (0)