woowee12 wrote:
Just a general background - my gmat score is 730, college gpa was a 3.65 from a top public school, and i have plenty of volunteer/leadership experience both at my company and at non-profits.
I did not do I-banking or consulting but I was a financial analyst at Wells Fargo for 2 years then became an Associate at the CMTP training program (4.5 month competitive training program at Wells Fargo's headquarters in SF - "a rigorous, intense and practical training program based in San Francisco that will enhance your credit, finance, and accounting skills through case studies, seminars, and an executive lecture series. The four-and-a half month program prepares you to evaluate risk and make informed credit decisions."
After that program, I've been a relationship manager for 2 years in a client facing role.
Does all that seem to make me a competitive applicant from a work experience standpoint? I know the application is looked at holistically but I wanted to know if this stacked up to the many i-bankers and consultants that apply to these top schools!
Contrary to popular belief, i-banking and consulting are not the only careers valued by adcoms at top 10 schools. While I wouldn't say that every single profession is favorable (no matter how much leadership and career progression there's been), there's a much broader spectrum of industries and functions that schools see as relevant to management education. At a top 10 school you will find consultants, i-bankers, PE folks, marketers, general managers, professional athletes, non-profit professionals, teachers, and more.
How your work experience is viewed will really depend on your company (and Wells Fargo is very respectable), the selectivity of your role/function, and your achievements/performance through your career. From what you've said you've had some really good wins and been recognized as a top performer. Your GMAT and GPA are right on target if not slightly above average for some schools.
With all that said, you do need to understand that what it takes to get into school number 9 or 10 is often different than what it takes to get into school number 1 or 2. At the very tippity top while diversity of functions and industries is still very desirable the pedigree of the company tends to come into play more. All i-banks, consulting firms, CPG companies, tech companies, etc. are not weighed equally. I honestly don't know a ton about the financial services industry or any of the jobs that you've held so I can't tell you where Wells Fargo falls. I would evaluate your chances based upon your company's standing amongst others that do the same thing. This isn't to say that top 3-5 school only hire from M/B/B, GS, MS, P&G, etc. It's just that right or wrong certain companies get you further at certain schools because they are deemed to be the best of their peer set. The assumption is that if you're good enough to not only get hired by the best company but also excel there then you're a sure bet.
Hope this helps.
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