Hello,
I'm planning to apply to MIT, Tuck, Stern, Columbia and Yale with the below stats and activities:
Vietnamese national, 26 years old
GMAT: 750 (V:46, Q46, AWA: 4.5)Undergrad degree in political science from Amherst College. My GPA was not good
slightly lower than
3.0. ------------------------------------------------------
Work Experience: 2 years by the time I submit my application including:
1 year in structured finance investment banking at a boutique, relatively unknown investment bank
1 year as an associate in the IBD at one of Vietnam's leading investment banks.
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Activities:
Several student union activities while at Amherst
Been actively involved in helping to establish an internship program that brings Vietnamese students to work for leading Vietnamese corporations
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My GPA is weak for those schools. I lost my focus due to various personal reasons. Planning to address and hopefully make up for that with good reasons in the optional essay. Do you think it will be a big issue for my application - potentially leading to a immediate ding? I hope the GMAT score helps somewhat...
My work experience is limited, particularly because I've been working only in investment banking, opportunities to show leadership potential are rare and examples might not be very impressive.
But I have a very interesting story that I hope to benefit from. I come from Vietnam, went to the public, unknown University of Montana for 3 semesters then transfer to and graduate from elitist private Amherst College, worked in New York as well as in Vietnam - one of the hottest in Asia's emerging markets. Finance is a totally new concept here in Vietnam and I'm one of the few younger people who get to work in the field - and at one of the leading firms... Am hoping to show that I have a plan to position myself to become one of the leaders in the future.
I would really appreciate your opinion about my chances at those schools.
Thank you.