In a conversation with Shefali Gupta, who got shortlisted at both Esade and Purdue University, she shares her admission process, interview experience, and much more. Read on to find out what she has to say.
Name: Shefali Gupta
Academic Background: Dual degree at BITS Pilani with Master of Science and Physics And Bachelors of Engineering in Chemical.
GRE Score: 323 with 170 in QUANT and 153 in Verbal.
Are you currently working somewhere?
As of now, I am not working anywhere, but I have worked as a business analyst for three years. I started working right after I graduated in 2017. From 2017 to 2019, I was working in Dell as a Supply Chain Business Analyst. Then I spent five months each in two different startups. The first one was with a Future Groups firm called Tathastu. It was a Startup under Future Group. I worked there from August 2019 to January 2020. After which, I work with Phonepe from February 2020 to August 2020. And I worked at these places as a business analyst.
In Dell, I was catering to Supply Chain, and in Future Groups, I was in the central analytics team. And in Phonepe, I was supporting the customer support function.
What are the eligibility criteria for MSc in Business Analytics at Esade University?
It would be best if you had a basic bachelor’s qualification. The university prefers people with a QUANT background. That is like a common rule of thumb for analytics programs everywhere.
How is the average class profile at Esade?
For Esade, the average class profile is slightly on the lesser experience side. The average age of the students is 24-25. People with two years of work experience form the majority chunk. Although I was at the higher end with three years of work-ex, the majority constituted less than two years of work experience.
What about the average class profile at Purdue University?
As opposed to Esade, Purdue prioritizes candidates with more work experience. Hence, people with 2+ years of work ex get a preference. What I gained from my experience with Purdue was that it focuses mainly on the candidate’s GRE-QUANT score. Upon conversation with the admissions team at Purdue, they emphasized my QUANT score, and that’s something that makes my application suitable.
Scholarships at Purdue?
Purdue offers scholarships up to $7000, whereas the average scholarship is about $2000to $3000. I received a scholarship of $4500.
What is the criterion to get a scholarship at Purdue?
Purdue offers a merit-based scholarship. I believe I got it based on my application which included everything from my GRE, work experience, etc. Also, I don’t have any facts to support my belief, but I think that the earlier you apply, the higher your chances of getting the scholarship.
Scholarships at Esade?
Esade also offers good scholarships ranging up to 50% of the fee(30,000Euros), whereas the average scholarship is recorded at 20% to 30% of the fee.
Could you walk me through the Selection Procedure at Esade?
The admission application for Esade was slightly on the lengthier side. Starting from talking about my personal details, i.e., my biodata, I had to answer four major questions.
- How do you fit in into diversity? What are your values around diversity? How well do you gel in with diversity?
- What are your long-term and short-term goals? And how will Esade help you in achieving those goals?
- What do you like about Esade? How does Esade fit in with your overall life goal?
- Why do you feel you deserve a scholarship?
You needed two Letters of Recommendation, one academic and the other had to be professional.
I received my shortlist the same day I submitted my application, just a few hours later, through a call.
I got a reasonable amount of time to appear for my interview. I chose a date two months later, in order to prepare for the same.
How was your interview experience with Esade?
The interview experience with Esade was quite nice. The interview was taken by Donna, the associate academic director for this program. Since she does not belong to a technical background, he asked me questions on the behavioral side.
- Why do you want to pursue a master’s at this stage? How is a postgraduate course going to help me?
- Based on the mention of healthcare on my application, she asked my questions based on why there was an inclination towards the healthcare industry?
- A lot of questions on personal values.
- Since I had never been in any international environment, she asked me how I will gel up and adjust to Spain and Barcelona environment? What do I like about Spain? And what are my plans here?
To this, I replied that I come from a huge alumni network. BITS Pilani has alumni spread across the world, hence adjusting to a new country wouldn’t be much of an issue. I noticed that the interviewer was impressed with my response.
Upon completion, I received feedback that my answers were quite insightful. And my overall application portrayed a very focused approach towards my career. Based on my application, they concluded that my goals were clear, and I was coming across as a very focused and goal-oriented individual rather than someone who is not sure what to do and how?
The interviewer was concerned that I would be an outlier in terms of work experience since most of the candidates had less than two years of work ex as opposed to my three years. She wanted to inquire if I would be okay with that since I would be more on the helping side than someone on the help receiving side.
How were the interviews for both the universities conducted?
The interviews were conducted online. Either on Zoom or Skype.
Why did you apply for the Master of Science in Business Analytics and Information Management at Purdue University?
I wasn’t quite sure whether I should apply or not. So I scheduled a 10-minute appointment with the Manager of this program, with the help of this option on their official website. Based on my QUANT score and three years of work experience as a business analyst, he encouraged me to apply for the course. Given these two factors, he assured me that it makes me a good candidate in the pool, so I should definitely apply. This gave me the boost I needed, and I ended up applying for the course.
What was the selection procedure at Purdue?
- Purdue requires its candidates to fill an SOP.
- This is followed by a KIRA round. You have to submit your interview within a 48-hour window.
- Personal Interview
What is the KIRA round?
KIRA round is a recorded interview round. Meaning there is no person at the other end. KIRA is a tool in which we get three questions, and we have to answer them in one minute each. Basically, we are required to submit a one-minute recorded answer for each question. It is a standard interview process adopted by most US-based business schools. You receive a link, which you have to trigger, and you receive the set of questions that you have to answer within the next 48 hours of submitting your application.
What kind of questions are asked during the KIRA round?
The questions asked are primarily behavioral type. You can easily find what kind of questions are asked if you search for them online. The questions asked can be relevant to your application, but the chance of that happening is pretty rare.
- Tell us about yourself.
- How do you spend your Sunday afternoon?
- What are your hobbies?
- What are your values?
Upon a conversation with my counselor, I was advised that my answers should align with my application. Anything contradictory could be a deal-breaker.
For example, in my application, I have mentioned that I want to be a data scientist, but I reveal that I want to be a business consultant in the interview. This is something which shouldn’t happen. Although KIRA is an automated tool, in case they cross-check it, it may be a problem.
Was the admission process at Purdue an easy one?
The admission procedure at Purdue University was like a cakewalk for me. Theirs was the most effortless Statement of Purpose(SOP) I had filled. It just focused on my interests, goals, background, and all the essential details that an SOP generally has. Since I had the liberty to guide the course of my SOP, mine was basically focused on my background, qualifications, how has my work experience helped me groom myself as a business analyst, what are my goals, and how does Purdue helps me? I didn’t mention any of the extracurricular activities or any other interests I have. It was focused on business analytics, relevant academic experience, work experience as well as my future goals in analytics.
Although some SOPs require you to mention your interests and extracurricular activities, I didn’t feel like Purdue needed that information, so I skipped it. Along with that, we had two submit two Letters of Recommendation.
I was shortlisted based on my SOP and was given 3-4 dates to choose from, two weeks away from the shortlist date, for the interview. But it was rescheduled, giving me another 10-15 days to prepare for the same.
How did your Personal Interview at Purdue University go?
After submitting my SOP and the KIRA interview, I was shortlisted for an interview with the associate academic director of the course. She was not from a technical background and asked me behavioral questions. She asked me questions like:
- If I had to build a firm, what would be the core values of the firm?
- Anything that I hadn’t shared in my application but wanted to share?
- How will the program help me? What do I bring to the program?
- If I got shortlisted in any other colleges?
She pressed on the last question, so I had to tell her about my Esade straightaway admit. She ended up tricking me into telling her if I was considering joining the other college or not by asking me if I knew Spanish. We were talking about something completely different, and she shot that question at me, catching me off-guard; luckily, I wasn’t preparing for Spanish, and I ended up saying “No” since she didn’t give me enough time to think or to frame an answer. Hence, it had to be an honest answer. I told her that I am waiting for Purdue’s admit and then only I will prepare for Esade, which was the case. This was a good takeaway from the interview. I never realized that something like this could happen.
I got similar feedback as I did before, that my answers were insightful, the application was very clear in terms of what I want to do and how? I was told that I was slightly on the mature side as an individual.
What not to do in an interview?
This program is offered by Purdue’s Business School. I was also curious about a statistics program that was offered by Purdue University’s statistics department but is open to all the students across Purdue University. I happened to ask my interviewee about that, and I am afraid to say that it did not go in my favor. She spoke on that topic for about 15 minutes. So technically, the interviewee spoke more in the interview than I did. Regardless of that, I got the admission.
Are there any tips you would give candidates while preparing for the interview?
Never speak about a department different from the one you are interviewing for. Don’t believe everything you hear because I had always heard that only technical people could apply at Purdue University. Hence, I didn’t apply in the first round. It was after I received an admit from Esade, I gained a little confidence and thought of applying for Purdue.
The actual interview lasts for about 15-20 minutes, but the conversation can go on for a little longer. The tone of the interview is very polite. This is a key takeaway for Indian candidates since we are not used to academic people being polite to us.
There is no pressure; they don’t grill us unless you say something which invites the same. The general intent is to know the candidate.
What are the placement opportunities like at Purdue University and Esade?
Placement opportunities are something that I am still exploring. Purdue is a great university, where placement is not an issue. They have reported 95% of the placements with this program. The US releases its own rankings for analytics programs, and Purdue University stood at the 7th position last year, and this year it was at 9th. So, it’s in the top 10 analytics programs in the US.
On the other hand, Esade is the best Business School in Spain and a reputed one in Europe. And so is its Analytics program.
The actual difference lies in Spain and the US. Data Science and Analytics are more in demand in the US as compared to Europe. So it makes more sense to go with the analytics program in the US. But again, the US has its drawback. As in, it’s costly in comparison with Spain, which is slightly on the less expensive side.
Are you satisfied with the curriculum at Esade and Purdue University? Do they include any Dissertation, projects, or internships?
Esade boasts a lot on its consulting project. They allow you to simultaneously work on a consulting project while you are in the program. You work on the project for 6-months simultaneously in the second half of the curriculum. You can do a 1 or 2 months internship as well, but that is not a highlight of the program due to the internship’s short duration.
Purdue University doesn’t have an internship. Purdue has an in-house analytics center where people from the industry come in and pitch in their projects. Students can work on these projects and even earn a stipend. This is completely optional. You have to apply for the project, and you will be selected based on your application. Although it is not a formal internship, you can get a chance to work on industrial projects through this. Their curriculum involves a capstone project, an industrial project, but there is no formal internship.
What is the student intake at Purdue University?
Generally, it is 70, but this year they are taking in 150 from last year’s deferrals. Due to COVID, they deferred all last year’s admits.
Have you decided which course you are going to pursue?
I am going to go with Purdue University’s analytics course. Although I am waiting to hear from two more universities, as far as I can foresee, it is going to be Purdue for me.
What made your zero in on Purdue University as against Esade?
The cost of location was slightly a concern for me. I wanted the cost of education to be somewhat on the lower side since I plan to pursue a Ph.D. or something in research later on and since I will not be taking up a corporate job. Purdue’s fee is slightly on the lower side as compared to other business schools in the US. Comparing Purdue with Esade, the latter is definitely lower since it’s based in Europe, and the cost of education there is slightly lesser. Regardless of that, I chose Purdue because although I’ll be paying 10lakhs extra, if I end up taking a corporate job in the US, I’ll be making much more than what I would earn if I work in Europe. I can recover my fee by working for six months in the US as opposed to working for more than a year in Europe. The second reason would be that I am inclined towards the data scientist role after completing the course. Purdue’s program is slightly more technical as compared to other universities in the US. There are other technical programs in the US, but they have a rigorous selection criterion who wanted people from a highly technical background, which I didn’t have. Also, the US has a lot of opportunities in the data science and analytics field.
Anything else you would like candidates to consider while applying for an analytics course?
Be focused on your GRE score as it plays a significant role. Even if your academic score is average or you have a below-average CGPA, a high GRE score can make a huge difference, as it will compensate for your lower academic score. For Purdue, GRE Quant is given more focus as compared to overall GRE. I was afraid that I would be grilled on the technical part in the interview, which I wasn’t very confident about, but luckily the interviews are not taken by technical people but administrative people. Prepare well; the interviews are very predictable compared to IIM’s interviews, which can catch you off-guard.
If this interview experience interested you, you should check out our other interview experiences.
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