Hi All-

Long time lurker, first time poster...

I have a somewhat unusual profile - would you mind evaluating my chances for the ultra-elites and elites?

Profile:
Age: 24 (25 at time of app)

Cum GPA: 3.1 in Economics and Political Science (from big ten school, not NW or Mich)

GMAT: 710

Work Experience:
-4 summers intern on Sales and Trading desk for publicly traded investment bank (working since 17 years old).
-1 year full time experience on Sales and Trading desk (Sales Associate) for same publicly traded investment bank in NYC.
-2 years experience running Equity Research Product Management for a startup subsidiary of said bank. Location: Mumbai, India. I left my cushy job in NYC to go to India (took a 50% pay cut) to try to learn more about the Indian economy, and gain emerging markets experience. Also, it was a fantastic life experience for me (I could write for pages and pages about my experiences here!).

Misc: Series 7,63,86, 87 and Lvl 2 CFA. Also, will likely have LROs from CEO of said bank, and CEO of India subsid.

Extracurriculars in India: NGO work, member of several entrepreneurial organizations in India.

Why do I want to get my MBA? It may seem like a pipe dream - but, I want to start an emerging markets early stage VC to help further develop the economies of emerging markets such as India - getting my MBA would help me develop the skillset necessary to achieve such a goal.

My target schools (I obviously need to cut down this list a bit):
Harvard/Wharton/Stanford
Sloan
Chicago
Kellogg
NYU
Columbia

My second choices:
Tuck
Ross
Darden
Cornell
Haas
Fuqua
Anderson

I know its a lengthy list - but wondering what might be my chances for the targets and for my second choices?

Thanks in advance for your help...

-Expat

ExpatGuy,

It sounds like you will have an interesting and potentially powerful story to tell, so assuming you do a good job at that, you may be able to aim relatively high. Hurting your chances at HBS, Stanford, Kellogg, and Wharton to some extent is your undergrad GPA and the very competitive applicant pool you hail from--plus the fact that even gods get dinged at those schools. Still, if you execute properly you may have a shot at Wharton, and I wouldn't discourage you from taking a shot at Stanford, given your "reverse" expat story. But understand that the odds at Stanford (and Wharton to a lesser extent) will be steep. HBS and Kellogg look tough to me.

One or more of Sloan, Chicago, NYU, and Columbia could quite possibly come through for you. I say go for it. Of the second-choices, Tuck and Haas might be difficult for you to break into but you look good for Ross,
Darden, Cornell, Fuqua, and Anderson. For all these schools, stress strong leadership and community stories--don't let them decide that you're "weak" in these areas.

Good luck!

ExpatGuy,

It sounds like you will have an interesting and potentially powerful story to tell, so assuming you do a good job at that, you may be able to aim relatively high. Hurting your chances at HBS, Stanford, Kellogg, and Wharton to some extent is your undergrad GPA and the very competitive applicant pool you hail from--plus the fact that even gods get dinged at those schools. Still, if you execute properly you may have a shot at Wharton, and I wouldn't discourage you from taking a shot at Stanford, given your "reverse" expat story. But understand that the odds at Stanford (and Wharton to a lesser extent) will be steep. HBS and Kellogg look tough to me.

One or more of Sloan, Chicago, NYU, and Columbia could quite possibly come through for you. I say go for it. Of the second-choices, Tuck and Haas might be difficult for you to break into but you look good for Ross,
Darden, Cornell, Fuqua, and Anderson. For all these schools, stress strong leadership and community stories--don't let them decide that you're "weak" in these areas.

Good luck!
_________________

Linda Abraham
Accepted.com
labraham@accepted.com
310-815-9553

JUST PUBLISHED! MBA Admission for Smarties: The No-Nonsense Guide to Acceptance at Top Business Schools

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ExpatGuy,

Apologies, I made an erroneous assumption, so ignore my remark about your "reverse expat" story. You will not be grouped among Indian applicants (not that schools actually evaluate applicants only against some subset of the total applicant pool--they don't). Your "passage to India" will still make an interesting story for your essays--all expats in my opinion enjoyed an advantage in the admissions hunt. I will however stand by my comments regarding your odds at specific schools. You look strong to me.
_________________

Linda Abraham
Accepted.com
labraham@accepted.com
310-815-9553

JUST PUBLISHED! MBA Admission for Smarties: The No-Nonsense Guide to Acceptance at Top Business Schools

Follow Accepted on Twitter
Friend Accepted on Facebook
Subscribe to Accepted's Blog