Forum: Application & Admission (6 Comments)

Chances of a Good School

  • Posted by - thomas.graf - on 20 December 2019 - 5:12pm

    Hello,

    I recommend you to carefully read the survey The MIM - Entry requirements for the Master in Management. Here you find the criteria of 53 international business schools - this will help you assess, which schools may fit your profile.

    Best regards,
    Thomas

    Thomas Graf
    Author of the two MIM eBooks

  • Posted by - miheer - on 1 January 2014 - 9:16am

    Dear Thomas,

    Good Afternoon.

    I am following your posts for sometime now and it has been of immense help to me. Thank You so much.

    Now its time for me to seek your guidance.

    I gave the GMAT twice and the score went from average to dissapointing. In my first attempt, my GMAT score was 650 and in the second attempt, it crashed to 590. My TOEFL score is 114/120.

    I am 23 years old right now. I wish to do MiM from a top European School. The schools I am looking at are :

    1. HEC paris
    2. ESCP
    3. ESSEC
    4. EM Lyon.
    5. EDHEC.

    I am aware that my GMAT score may not be suffcient to get me a place in these schools, but I would really not be fair on myself if I give up on these schools at this stage. I would like to know, if there is any way in which I can boost my application to have a fighting chance in one of these schools. (I may be overly ambitious here, but if you never try you will never know). Here is a brief about myself.

    Name: Miheer P Agnihotri.
    Age : 23
    Qualifiactions: BSc in Hospitality (Best Hotel School in the Country)
    Marks: 68% (First Class)
    Work Ex: 12 months as Management trainee in revenue Management and 5 Months as Assistant Revenue Manager in ine of the nations top Conglomeretes. Also, 3 months a Visiting faculty in a hotel school.

    My long term goals are of doing a PhD, and I have already started working towards a better GMAT score for a subsequent PhD application. Also, I am keen of getting into a top masters program this year itself as I realy cannot wait for another year as I need to do a PhD and that will take another 4-5 years post my masters.

    Kindly advice me as to what are my chances of getting a seat into a top MiM program at the above mentioned schools.

    Thank You so very much.

    MPA.

    • Posted by - rbeaty - on 13 January 2014 - 6:49pm

      Dear Miheer P Agnihotr,

      My name is Rebecca Beaty and I work as International Marketing Officer at EMLYON Business School.

      I saw your post and thought I could come and share a few things with you as I see that one of the schools you are interested in is EMLYON Business School.

      EMLYON does place importance on the GMAT test and the average score of GMAT we receive from applicants is about 600. But more than the test itself, it’s the application as a whole that we value… meaning that test scores, essays, recommendation letters, transcripts etc.. will be taken into account. It's the combination of all these application elements that will determined your eligibility. The interview and answers to essay questions are also particularly important as it allows us to know more about you and see how the programme can fit your career ambitions and understand how your profile matches with the programme's objectives.

      Please do not hesitate to let me know shall you want more information on EMLYON programmes or if you have any other questions.

      Best regards,
      Rebecca Beaty

      • Posted by - Harshit Khanna - on 20 December 2019 - 10:14am

        I have scored 570 in my gmat and want to be a part of your prestigious university for masters in management. Do I have any chance to be selected

      • Posted by - arnabs - on 10 December 2014 - 6:10pm

        Dear Rebecca,
        I took the GMAT a few days back and scored a 580. I am interested in the MiM program at EMLYON and am planning to apply next year fall. I have got close to 3 years of relevant IT experience with additional specializations(courses) in varied fields viz, globalization, stock market etc. I have more of a consulting/client facing role in my company and my career plans include pursuing an MBA and PhD after my MiM. I completely understand that a GMAT score is not all that it takes to judge a candidate's potential, but still being a novice, I would like to ask if i stand a chance of making it to your school.
        I would be obliged if you could help me out with this.

        regards,
        Arnab Sharma

    • Posted by - Thomas Graf - on 3 January 2014 - 2:47pm

      Hi there,

      thank you for your message. First of all, let me share with you my thoughts on the GMAT score. 650 is not disappointing (although I understand your ambition). 650 would not be a kick-out reason at any of the schools mentioned in your list. It is true that at HEC you will not impress anyone as the average score is 710. But your score will still be accepted.

      590, however, is a problem. I never had the case that someone worsened from the first to the second shot (my own experience was the other way round: I had 590 and was disappointed, and then made 660 and was happy). But this may be because no one speaks about it.

      Now, 650 + 590 can be a problem at some schools. They will see that you have the potential to achieve an acceptable score but they will wonder what happened in the second test. You have two options now:

      1. Still apply at these schools and hope that the first test is sufficient for them.
      2. Re-do the GMAT.

      I am not sitting in the admissions councils of the aforementioned schools of course, but from my experience and intuition you probably will find HEC and ESCP the most selective schools. Since these schools emphasize your academic excellence even more than the GMAT and since you don't seem to be among the top 5 or 10% in your class (this is, at least, how I interpret the 68% Marks) your chances may be low anyway.

      As for the other schools, however, I see good chances that you get invited for an interview at at least one of them.

      hence, option one is fine for you if getting a place an one of these schools is fine for you, no matter which one. If you do aim at HEC and ESCP, however, or if you want to increase your chances at all 5 schools, I would re-do the GMAT.

      Beyond that, and give that you aim at a PhD and, hence, an academic career (and NOT a business career), I would consider schools that offer also a PhD program of your interest and MENTION that in your applcation.

      Best wishes
      Thomas

      By Thomas Graf