Another Profile advice case

Question

Hi Guys, Thanks a lot in advance for your help. I know it’s a little early for me to be thinking about an MBA seeing that I just graduated undergrad. But I would like to get some advice on what you guys think of my profile and what I should be doing in the next 2-3 years to have a good shot at the top 5 business schools. Do you guys think 3 years is very little experience?

My Top choice: Columbia 
Schools I like a lot: Duke, Kellogg, Michigan, UVA, Cornell
Depending on improvement of my profile id also like to apply to: Harvard, Chicago, Wharton
Profile: Pakistani male, moved to the US 7 years ago. 
Age 21

Recommendation: I can get recomendations from a Columbia Professor and Wharton MBA grad who has been teaching for 3 years and has worked very closely with me in one of my leadership roles

Academics 
GMAT: Taking it sometime early next year, expecting between a 690-720. 
GPA: 3.35 overall, 3.7 in Finance

Career Goals: Private Equity

Activities and Achievements in college 
First 2 years at nw Oklahoma State
- President, Student governing association-youngest president in 101year school history at age 18
- Co-founder of national chapter and co-president, Physics Club
- Treasurer, Academic team
- Cofounder and delegation vice chair, Oklahoma Intercollegiate Legislature

Last 2 years at Rutgers (Worked 40+ hours a week to pay for school)
- Senior Representative, Business Governing association
- Secretary, Little investment bankers of Rutgers 
- Alumni Leadership Recognition Award, Awarded to the top 30 leaders at Rutgers University 
- Diverse Business Leadership Award, Awarded to the top 15 Business Leaders of Business

Other EC: 6 years at AFPSRD - helped raise money to cure children and adults in pakistan that suffer from polio and raised money to hire professionals to teach polio victims find jobs like sewing etc.

Summer jobs 
- Controlling analyst, GPC Biotech
- Unpaid extern, Bear Stearns investment banking
- Wealth management analyst, Merrill Lynch - recieved higest performer award out of 94 interns (MBA and Undergrad interns)

Current Position: 
- Global Wealth management analyst, Merrill Lynch -valuate and generate retirement plans (401k, direct benefit etc.) for clients like Honda, Lufthansa airlines etc. 
- Co-founder and CEO, Lazerev, Siddiqui & Co. – Provide clients corporate finance and strategic advice, focusing on companies operating or desiring middle eastern exposure

Thanks a lot guys, 
Saad Siddiqui

jallenmorris · Answer

Ummm.....OSU was founded on Christmas day 1890...it's 117 years old now, and if you are graduating now (2008), this was either 3 or 4 years ago, it was 113 or 114 years old....not nearly 125. Wouldn't the SGA President know that? I have a ton of friends that went to Oklahoma State.

Furthermore, OIL has been around forever. I visited OIL (my school was too small to have its own group) with a friend of mine spring of 2001. My friend's girlfriend attended OSU at the time and was a delegate for her OIL chapter. How did you co-found something 4 years ago that has been in existence longer than 4 years?

saad87pk · Answer

I should have been more specific i went to northwestern oklahoma state university which was founded in 1883 ... I apologize for the confusion and thats where i started the chapter of oil

jallenmorris · Answer

Dude, my mom attended Northwestern in Alva back in the early 70s. It was founded in 1897, not 1883. Pretty much the only people that lived in here in 1883 were Native Americans moved here by force. UCO in Edmond is the oldest. It was founded Christmas Eve of 1890, the day before OSU, although some don't consider UCO to have been a "college" at the time because it was mainly started as a teacher's school for the territory since teachers weren't moving here.

saad87pk

I should have been more specific i went to northwestern oklahoma state university which was founded in 1883 ... I apologize for the confusion and thats where i started the chapter of oil

saad87pk · Answer

Dude I dont know what to say, thats what my handbook says and thats what dean of student affairs Randy Smith acknowledged me as at an alumni dinner in 2005 right before he left. The new Dean, Dean Pecha also knows all about it you can call them and find out

jallenmorris · Answer

Just be careful what you put on your application or resume as the adcoms will surely check stuff out and if they see 125 year old university started in 1897....so it's 2022 now ? https://colleges.usnews.rankingsandrevie ... _brief.php

saad87pk · Answer

Thanks a lot for the heads up jallenmorris, appreciate your help and advice. Ill change it right away

saad87pk · Answer

Paul could you also please put your 2 cents in? Thanks

Accepted.com · Answer

saad87pk,

Three years of work experience will be fine in terms of qualifying you for admission to most B-schools. And as you know more and more schools are admitting people like yourself right out of undergraduate. The ones they admit are usually distinctively strong applicants. You may be one of those. You do seem to be doing all the right things in terms of high numbers, good summer jobs, strong leadership roles in EC. So just keep doing what you're doing. If your goal is private equity, where the number of available jobs is overwhelmed by the number of interested candidates, it would help you to start building the network, contacts, and professional experiences that would show schools you are one of the people most likely to land one of those coveted PE jobs.

Good luck,

saad87pk · Answer

Thanks a lot paul

Accepted.com · Answer

You're welcome.

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