az2hot wrote:
I would appreciate your feedback after reviewing my profile.
1. Demographics:
White Male age 28, first one in family to graduate college
2. Education:
BS from top 25 state school in Finance, GPA 3.35. Worked nearly fulltime while going to school. Member of Foreign Language Honor Society and was a tutor for the school of engineering (I was an engineering major for 3 yrs.) Self financed 100% of education
3. GMAT: Have taken practice tests that have been in the low 700's 700-720
4. Work Experience:
I worked for three years in Private Wealth Management at Citigroup and am now working for an IB and work exclusively with the firms private equity clients.
5. Extracurricular:
I served a two year mission for my church in South America where I lead a group of 200 other volunteers. My experiences there were split between religous duties, community reconstruction projects, and community outreach projects. I was asked by the president of the university to help develop a leadership development course.
6. Why MBA:
I feel that it is essential for my long term career goals to have the education, and network that an MBA provides. And it would be almost impossible to get where I want to go without it.
7. Post MBA Goals:
I would like to work in the Bay Area for Carlyle, KKR, TPG or Goldman PE.
8. Target Schools:
I love the Wharton/Lauder program and am also targeting Harvard, Stanford, Tuck, UChig., Yale, Columbia and Northwestern.
9. Weaknesses:
1) Even though I haven't taken it yet I really feel that with my profile I need 730 plus on the GMAT
2) Decent GPA from a decent school
10. Questions
1) If I want to work in the Bay Area how important is it to go to school out west to be closer to my targeted companies?
2) What are my chances at H/S/W, Tuck, U of C, Columbia and Northwestern?
3) Are there other schools that I should consider that would allow me to get to where I want to be post MBA?
4) How could I strengthen my profile?
I appreciate your consideration
az2hot,
Sorry the delayed response; I've been on the road, and Internet access has been spotty. To your questions:
1. Well, an MBA from Haas or Stanford would be ideal for a Bay area job, but an MBA from any elite MBA would probably work just as well. It's when you start to get into the not-quite-ultra-elite category, like Michigan or Yale or Duke, that IMO a Haas/Stanford MBA would be preferable to non-Bay Area top-ranked MBA.
2. You seem to have a strong profile if not a terribly unusual one (with the exception of the church experience), and that lack of distinctiveness may hurt your odds at HBS and Stanford. I would not discourage you from applying there, however. Your odds are somewhat better at Wharton, Tuck, Kellogg, CBS, and Chicago, with Wharton and Chicago perhaps your best bets.
3. Consider Stern, MIT, and Haas.
4. Get a current high-impact leadership position in a community organization, and as much new responsibility and impact stories as you can at work.
Good luck.