Today we have with us Deep Patel who is no stranger to challenges. He’s overcome them all and gotten multiple admits from top schools this cycle. In this Q&A with MBA Crystal Ball, Deep shares how he overcame these personal and professional obstacles, managed six GMAT attempts, refined his MBA application strategy after 9 rejections … Read more
What does it take to get into the world’s best MBA programs? The easy answer is, build a superstar profile, ace the GMAT/GRE, nail your essays and interviews. Easier said than done, especially when you don’t already have a shiny profile. Over 15 years, MBA Crystal Ball has been helping applicants get into the toughest … Read more
Each year sees many well-deserving MBA aspirants pouring months to put together strong MBA applications. But in spite of their relentless efforts, around 80% don’t make it to the program of their choice. The slam dunk they visualized in their mind ends very differently in reality. Not because they weren’t good enough – but owing … Read more
The music industry is highly lucrative and insanely competitive. It takes more than musical talent to be successful. Many who are unfamiliar with the industry, underestimate the complexity of launching and successfully running a band. It comes with all the challenges of managing a regular business. Berklee trained Achyuth Jaigopal started ‘When Chai Met Toast’ … Read more
She took a voluntary career break for her little one. Now she is ready to spread her wings and fly again. Like most working women who take time off during pregnancy, Shini Narayanan wondered what it would take to not just get back to what she loved doing, but also help her accelerate the pace … Read more
Why do chartered accountants get an MBA? Isn’t the CA qualification good enough? What if you combine a CA with CFA – would that be better? Ananya Wadhwa had both qualifications on her resume (CA + CFA Level 3), but they didn’t seem enough for the career goal she had in mind i.e. getting into … Read more
In the quest for a Top 15 (T15) MBA admit, sometimes the motivation can come from unexpected quarters. Rishika Chatterjee realised this the hard way. But she channelised her unpleasant MBA admission experiences into positive energy and got admits from Duke Fuqua and UVA Darden with scholarships. She completed her Bachelors of Science from St … Read more
We’ll start off with the obvious. A high GMAT score offers many advantages. Here are a few. Benefits of a high GMAT score 1. Differentiation: This is more pronounced when you’re from a highly represented applicant pool – like engineer, or male, or Indian – or all 3 if you’re lucky! 2. Demonstrating intellectual capability: … Read more
Chartered Accountant and Big 4 auditor, Karthik Venkat, was not in a good space when he came to us. His first GMAT score was 560! And after 4 attempts, the highest he could score was 720. In his view, it was a low GMAT score for his target schools. But he wasn’t going back to … Read more
MBA is competitive. Not just the journey within, but especially the ride into a prestigious business school. As they say, it is competitive because it is highly selective and it is highly selective because it has to stay competitive. Think of it as the snake eating its tail, excuse the gory imagery. It is natural … Read more
Many are aware of the Cornell Johnson 2-year MBA program. However, the Cornell Tech MBA hasn’t got the exposure that it should. So here’s a quick Cornell Tech MBA review followed by an applicant’s admission experience, to help you evaluate if you should include it in your target school list. Cornell Tech MBA Review The … Read more
Is Warwick Business School hard to get into? Let’s look at some statistics to understand the question better. Warwick enjoys a pretty respectable position in the latest Financial Times MBA ranking. FT ranks the Warwick MBA in the top 4 in the UK (just after LBS, Cambridge and Oxford), top 10 in Europe and top … Read more