Hiya,

Thank you for taking the time out to review my profile. Let me give you a brief on my resume so that you can have a better understanding of the same:

a) Work Experience: Currently working for an Indian investment bank as a PE/M&A analyst. I am planning to apply for 2013 batch and hoping to work till early 2013. I would have gained ~3 years of work experience (front end investment banking) which I think should prepare me to apply to a business school. I have worked on various deals, some of them have been the biggest in their sectors in India and also been part of the bank's business development exercise. Was solely responsible for originating a see side mandate for an Indian sugar company ($20 mn)

b) International Exposure: Apart from my one year stint in the UK during my masters (A top British Uni), I don’t really have any international exposure. Having said that, I do work with a lot of mid-market and boutique investments banks in US and UK which might count as “international exposure”.

c) GMAT: I have a GMAT score of 710

d) Social Involvement: I have worked with C.O.R.P for one year teaching English in a municipal school in Mumbai and a six month internship with a microfinance firm as a principal manager for new initiatives and business develoment covering rural areas and villages in the state of Rajasthan, India. Helped setup special help groups and also led firms communications with international peers and VC funds

e) Investment banking background: Mid-market investment banks in India give a better profile and exposure to its analysts as compared to their peers in the US and Europe. I have worked on live deals and also been a part of the business development exercise of the bank which is rare in global banks or US banks where analysts have a limited role.

f) Education: BA (Economics) Top of the class and university topper at Mumbai University, one of the oldest and prestigious arts and science college in India. Masters in Finance and Economics from a top British b-school.

g) Schools short listed: - Wharton Business School

- Yale SOM

- MIT Sloan

- Chicago Booth

- Kellogg

- Tepper School

- Columbia

- Duke

- Darden Virginia

I am still confused about schools in the UK (LBS, Judge and Oxford) and how much work experience they require since the average age in those schools is way higher than their American peers.

Please do let me know if my choice of schools is apt for my resume. Your thoughts will be deeply appreciated. Thank you again for all your help and support.

Hoping to hear soon from you.

Hello Sir,
thanks for taking the time to write us such a long and detailed profile. It helps us out a lot. So first of all, let's start with the fact that things look good. You have the grades, the GMAT, the work experience etc. As for European Programs you should be good as well. Yes, candidates tend to older than American schools, but remember that the average age is counted from time of entrance into program, so if you add sixteen months of work experience you will get until you ENTER you are a perfect fit.

The biggest challenge for you will be UNIQUENESS... i.e. how will you make your package stand out from all other Indian finance applications? (which are second after Tech folks). And hopefully you will do so in two ways 1. Show them that in your industry you really have been one of the best 2. Find a unique way to present your story and goals (here there is on ONE thing that works... we would have to sit and hammer it out)

Your school choice is a good one, although I feel that perhaps NYU and Johnson could both be added to the list given their strengths in Finance, LBS as well.

Hope this helps!
_________________

Jon Frank
Founder, Admissionado
http://www.admissionado.com
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Hi,

Thank you so much for the encouraging words. Thank you for the wonderful advice and guidance. I really appreciate it

One last favor, from the vast list of schools i have and the three you suggested, how will you classify them as "safety", "reach" and "stretch" given my profile and goals. It will really help me in deciding on my final list and the schools i should concentrate on.

Thanking you in anticipation. Cheers

Really appreciate all your help and guidance. Cheers