cybermusings wrote:
Profile
Age - 25 yrs
Gender - Female
Nationality - Indian
Work experience - 3 yrs by Fall-08
Target Schools - Columbia, Wharton and NYU Stern
GMAT score - 710, AWA 5.0
GPA - 59.6% from an Indian University (amongst the top 5% of the graduating class)
PG Diploma in International Business and Finance; CGPA (Cumulative Graded Point average) of 7.8/10 (top 1% of the graduating class)
Topper throughout school (90% and 92% in Class X and Class XII respectively)
Interests - Blogging, Photography, Gourmet Cooking and Cinema
Community Service - Organized many community development efforts in school such as education of slum dwellers, blood donation camps, etc. Member of Emirates Environmental Group and MSF in Dubai
Work Experience -
8 Months as a Research Trainee in a leading business research firm in India. Offered promotion but declined, on account of relocation after marriage
1.5 yrs in a leading Middle East hospitality/real estate consultancy, as an Analyst. Leading the in-house research efforts within the team. Worked with clients/peers of 25 different nationalities.
I want to pursue an MBA in Finance. Which are the other schools that I could apply to? I am looking for schools with repute in the field of finance
Cybermusings,
Your profile looks good. You are on the young side but already have leadership stories to talk about, and your gender is an asset for you. You may not quite be at the Columbia or Wharton level yet, but might be in a year if you can continue to build on your leadership in and outside of work. NYU looks more achievable, and other finance-strong schools where you will have a decent chance include Duke, Michigan, Yale, and Rochester. Again, if you could add one more strong year of increased leadership experiences you could be more confident about aiming higher (your GMAT is fine). Maybe this is out of your hands on the professional side, but in your extracurriculars you may have more freedom in finding some opportunities to show leadership and impact.
Hope this helps,