EMLY16 wrote:
Please provide direct feedback on my chances for LBS, INSEAD, and top 10 US schools.
My profile: Australian/Taiwan/British female. dual nationality Australian/Taiwan. 2-3 years in Shanghai, Singapore, Hong Kong
Undergrad: Top 10% of class Engineering degree from top 4 uni in the UK
GMAT: 700, roughly equal quant and verbal.
Work experience in chronological order:
1. 5 years in a top 3 US IB, of which 1.5 years as IBD analyst, 2.5 years in fixed income/credit research portfolio management, 1 year in Equity research. Promoted from analyst to associate
2. 1.5 years worked in a investment start up and managed family business in Shanghai
3. 1.5 years equity research experience as Associate Analyst (AVP) in a second tier North American bank, became sector lead analyst after senior director left the firm
4. Relocated country for personal reasons and currently associate director (credit rating analyst) at a credit agency. Contract ending in April.
5. CFA. Also undertaking CPA exams end this year.
Extra-curricular:
Currently Sunday school teacher for primary school children, 3 hours per week, ~8 months
Various social work such as weekly visit to the asylum seeker detention centre for one year
6 years yoga, planning to start teachers course
Grade 7 piano, attempted AMusA
Other facts: wrote GAMSAT (MCAT equivalent) in 2013 and was admitted to a medical school in Sydney in 2013. I didn’t attend the program though.
Why MBA: to apply financial skills and general management skills from MBA into a leading financial role at a hospital provider in Southeast Asia. Looking for a hands on and multi-dimensional role that involves leading a team, working with customers and staff, influencing an organization in tangible ways.
Given that you have 8 years of finance experience (on the older/more experienced side), the European schools like INSEAD and LBS are where you'll likely find a better fit. The US schools prefer them younger, and the sweet spot for finance professionals tends to be around 3-5 years at time of matriculation (i.e. your sweet spot for applying to a top 8 or top 16 schools in the US would've been while you were still an analyst at that US firm just prior to being promoted to post-MBA associate).
With that said, your GMAT is on the lower side for these top schools, where the averages are creeping up beyond 720. Furthermore, know that you're up against a lot of finance folks who will have strong GMATs as well. Flipside is that INSEAD is a bit more forgiving of GMATs than the US schools, so your 700 won't be as big a hurdle as it would be with the top 8 US schools in particular.