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Profile Evaluation request!

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ananddas1984
Manager
Manager
Joined: 18 Sep 2013
Posts: 64
Own Kudos [?]: 8 [0]
Given Kudos: 9
Location: United States
Concentration: Finance, Entrepreneurship
Schools: LBS MIF '17 (D) Goizueta 1YR '17 (D) Cornell AMBA'17 (WL) NUS '18 (D) CUHK '17 (WD) Simon '18 (WD) Kenan-Flagler '18 (M) HEC Dec '17 (A) ESADE '18 (A) HKUST '18 (A$) Oxford'17 (A)
GMAT 1: 740 Q50 V40
WE:Analyst (Venture Capital)
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Profile Evaluation request! [#permalink] Profile Evaluation request!   18 Sep 2013, 22:20
Hi,

Kindly request you to evaluate my profile suitability for MBA (Finance) from top-B Schools. In brief, I am a CFA charter holder and MBA (Finance) major from an Indian University, with majority of work experience in the US Private Equity space.

Target Programs - Columbia, Stern, Duke, INSEAD and LBS (M-Fin.)

GMAT Score: 700 (9/18/13)
Quant: 49
Verbal: 36

Nationality - Indian
Education:
Chartered Financial Analyst - CFA, USA (2008-10)
MBA (Major - Finance) - NMIMS, Mumbai (Indian CGPA grade: 3.31/4.00)
Under-graduation: Bachelors of Engineering (Electronics) (Indian percentage: 74.4%, with distinction)

Work Experience:
Total: 6.5 years (primarily based out of India)
Most Recent (4 years 3 months): Working for a Indian arm of a mid-market New York based Private Equity firm as a Senior Analyst. Significant hands on experience at every stage of investment life cycle – from deal sourcing, execution to exit across diversified industry verticals. Roles and responsibilities spanning from Company Valuations, financial modeling , deal screening and Industry research as well as Portfolio Company Analyst. Extensive global exposure with multiple assignments completed related to deal diligence and Portfolio Company specific projects across United States and Canada.
Recognized as Analyst of the Year multiple times in my tenure.

Prior: (1 year 1 month): As part of a KPO firm, Investment Banking Analyst for a fortune-500 client focused on US Telecom, Media and technology markets.
Pre-MBA work-ex (10 months): As a software developer with one of the largest US based IT firm.

Reason for MBA (2nd) now: I wish to build upon my private equity work experience and education background (predominantly finance) to further my career in private equity space itself. While my primary role so far in private equity space has been concentrated towards deal analysis and portfolio company management, I wish to make a lateral shift towards fund raising, deal sourcing and deal execution in the short-term, and this is where a major in Finance from top universities will help me out. In addition, pursuing MBA from a top-notch university will primarily aid me most in pursuing more global opportunities in Private Equity space.


Thank you,
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Posts: 9233
Own Kudos [?]: 2067 [0]
Given Kudos: 69
Location: Chicago, IL
Schools:Brown University, Harvard Business School
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Re: Profile Evaluation request! [#permalink] Profile Evaluation request!   20 Sep 2013, 01:21
Expert Reply
Hey there goood sir,

So let's have a look at your profile.

PROS: A fantastic industry, with what seems to be pretty good (and long) work experience. Not sure who your employer is, but if they are a good one, you get bonus points :), CFA

CONS: Non-IIT graduate, good but not great grades, a 700 GMAT (this is only a con for Top 10 programs, it's otherwise pretty great), Indian Male (but not Tech!)

QUESTION MARKS: Volunteer work? Extra curricular activities? entrepreneurship?

I think that given all the above, Top 10 are gonna be a bit tough. LBS is the toughest on your list, then Columbia, INSEAD, Duke, Stern. You can for sure apply to some of these schools, but they are all either stretches, or maybe a tough competitive (say Stern). So it depends a bit on the strategy you want to take. If your goal is "I HAVE TO get into Bschool this year" then you should probably change/add some schools on your list. On the other hand, you could also decide to go for a "Top or Bust" strategy, and then you apply ONLY to tough schools, see what happens, and if it doesn't work out apply again next year with adjusted list.

What do you think?
avatar
ananddas1984
Manager
Manager
Joined: 18 Sep 2013
Posts: 64
Own Kudos [?]: 8 [0]
Given Kudos: 9
Location: United States
Concentration: Finance, Entrepreneurship
Schools: LBS MIF '17 (D) Goizueta 1YR '17 (D) Cornell AMBA'17 (WL) NUS '18 (D) CUHK '17 (WD) Simon '18 (WD) Kenan-Flagler '18 (M) HEC Dec '17 (A) ESADE '18 (A) HKUST '18 (A$) Oxford'17 (A)
GMAT 1: 740 Q50 V40
WE:Analyst (Venture Capital)
Send PM
Re: Profile Evaluation request! [#permalink] Profile Evaluation request!   20 Sep 2013, 02:13
JonAdmissionado wrote:
Hey there goood sir,

So let's have a look at your profile.

PROS: A fantastic industry, with what seems to be pretty good (and long) work experience. Not sure who your employer is, but if they are a good one, you get bonus points :), CFA

CONS: Non-IIT graduate, good but not great grades, a 700 GMAT (this is only a con for Top 10 programs, it's otherwise pretty great), Indian Male (but not Tech!)

QUESTION MARKS: Volunteer work? Extra curricular activities? entrepreneurship?

I think that given all the above, Top 10 are gonna be a bit tough. LBS is the toughest on your list, then Columbia, INSEAD, Duke, Stern. You can for sure apply to some of these schools, but they are all either stretches, or maybe a tough competitive (say Stern). So it depends a bit on the strategy you want to take. If your goal is "I HAVE TO get into Bschool this year" then you should probably change/add some schools on your list. On the other hand, you could also decide to go for a "Top or Bust" strategy, and then you apply ONLY to tough schools, see what happens, and if it doesn't work out apply again next year with adjusted list.

What do you think?


Thanks for the frank assessment, that's very helpful. There are a few additional data points which I wanted to bring out based on your assessment and see whether that throws in more light into my profile

Program: I agree top-10 is a bit of stretch, at LBS I am targeting M.Fin. program - is that a feasible target?

Current Employer: Indian arm of a NY based middle market PE firm, with over $1 billion in committed capital

Grades: Not sure how Indian grade systems and percentages are converted to US GPA scale, but given the fact that I finished among top-15 students in the undergrad college and again top-20 students in my MBA program doesn't get reflected in absolute scores. IS that something I need to provide in as additional details.

EC: Was leading a few committees on multiple clubs during my undergrad and post-grad programs. No real voluntary exp. in during work, given the extremely challenging hours demanded by current profile

Leadership: I have led multiple projects for driving strategic initiatives in PE funds's portfolio companies. A few projects include developing a new group corporate identity for a group of standalone business (corporate website, new marketing campaign, etc.); credit refinancing for portfolio companies, etc.

As you also mentioned, I am in the "HAVE TO" group and I agree I need to broaden my list. Can you help me with some good college names which will be most appropriate to be added to my school list, in light of my profile and future interests?

Thanks,
User avatar
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Joined: 30 Nov 2009
Posts: 9233
Own Kudos [?]: 2067 [0]
Given Kudos: 69
Location: Chicago, IL
Schools:Brown University, Harvard Business School
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Re: Profile Evaluation request! [#permalink] Profile Evaluation request!   24 Sep 2013, 02:43
Expert Reply
ananddas1984 wrote:
Program: I agree top-10 is a bit of stretch, at LBS I am targeting M.Fin. program - is that a feasible target?


I'd still call it a stretch. And this is not because you have a poor profile. But basically it's one of the most prestigious Finance programs in Europe (and thus one of the most competitive)

ananddas1984 wrote:
Grades: Not sure how Indian grade systems and percentages are converted to US GPA scale, but given the fact that I finished among top-15 students in the undergrad college and again top-20 students in my MBA program doesn't get reflected in absolute scores. IS that something I need to provide in as additional details.


Definitely get this in if you can. The schools don't always know what grades from foreign countries reflect (Although usually they do), but it doesn't hurt to point things out.

ananddas1984 wrote:

EC: Was leading a few committees on multiple clubs during my undergrad and post-grad programs. No real voluntary exp. in during work, given the extremely challenging hours demanded by current profile


Well, doesn't seem toooooooo bad. Do what you can with what you have :) It's like cooking with a few ingredients. If you're a master chef, you can still make a mighty tasty dish.

ananddas1984 wrote:

Leadership: I have led multiple projects for driving strategic initiatives in PE funds's portfolio companies. A few projects include developing a new group corporate identity for a group of standalone business (corporate website, new marketing campaign, etc.); credit refinancing for portfolio companies, etc.


I'll be honest with you.. this is a bit so-so. Basically everybody has project leadership of this sort. Buuuuut it's also not bad. And refer to my comment in the above question

ananddas1984 wrote:

As you also mentioned, I am in the "HAVE TO" group and I agree I need to broaden my list. Can you help me with some good college names which will be most appropriate to be added to my school list, in light of my profile and future interests?


In that case: Johnson, Tepper, NYU, Virginia would be good places to start. They all have solid finance placements, and are a bit out of the Top 10, so should be a bit more realistic.

ananddas1984 wrote:
Thanks,


You're welcome!!!
avatar
ananddas1984
Manager
Manager
Joined: 18 Sep 2013
Posts: 64
Own Kudos [?]: 8 [0]
Given Kudos: 9
Location: United States
Concentration: Finance, Entrepreneurship
Schools: LBS MIF '17 (D) Goizueta 1YR '17 (D) Cornell AMBA'17 (WL) NUS '18 (D) CUHK '17 (WD) Simon '18 (WD) Kenan-Flagler '18 (M) HEC Dec '17 (A) ESADE '18 (A) HKUST '18 (A$) Oxford'17 (A)
GMAT 1: 740 Q50 V40
WE:Analyst (Venture Capital)
Send PM
Re: Profile Evaluation request! [#permalink] Profile Evaluation request!   25 Sep 2013, 23:42
JonAdmissionado wrote:
ananddas1984 wrote:
Program: I agree top-10 is a bit of stretch, at LBS I am targeting M.Fin. program - is that a feasible target?


I'd still call it a stretch. And this is not because you have a poor profile. But basically it's one of the most prestigious Finance programs in Europe (and thus one of the most competitive)

ananddas1984 wrote:
Grades: Not sure how Indian grade systems and percentages are converted to US GPA scale, but given the fact that I finished among top-15 students in the undergrad college and again top-20 students in my MBA program doesn't get reflected in absolute scores. IS that something I need to provide in as additional details.


Definitely get this in if you can. The schools don't always know what grades from foreign countries reflect (Although usually they do), but it doesn't hurt to point things out.

ananddas1984 wrote:

EC: Was leading a few committees on multiple clubs during my undergrad and post-grad programs. No real voluntary exp. in during work, given the extremely challenging hours demanded by current profile


Well, doesn't seem toooooooo bad. Do what you can with what you have :) It's like cooking with a few ingredients. If you're a master chef, you can still make a mighty tasty dish.

ananddas1984 wrote:

Leadership: I have led multiple projects for driving strategic initiatives in PE funds's portfolio companies. A few projects include developing a new group corporate identity for a group of standalone business (corporate website, new marketing campaign, etc.); credit refinancing for portfolio companies, etc.


I'll be honest with you.. this is a bit so-so. Basically everybody has project leadership of this sort. Buuuuut it's also not bad. And refer to my comment in the above question

ananddas1984 wrote:

As you also mentioned, I am in the "HAVE TO" group and I agree I need to broaden my list. Can you help me with some good college names which will be most appropriate to be added to my school list, in light of my profile and future interests?


In that case: Johnson, Tepper, NYU, Virginia would be good places to start. They all have solid finance placements, and are a bit out of the Top 10, so should be a bit more realistic.

ananddas1984 wrote:
Thanks,


You're welcome!!!


Jon,

Thanks again for the excellent assessment and giving a great realty check. Also, I agree with the additions to the list that you have recommended. I will surely give a shot to some of the colleges that you have recommended. Again, big thanks,
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Joined: 30 Nov 2009
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Location: Chicago, IL
Schools:Brown University, Harvard Business School
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Re: Profile Evaluation request! [#permalink] Profile Evaluation request!   26 Sep 2013, 00:10
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You got it dude!

Good luck to you!
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