MBAAug2014 wrote:
Hi GilLevi,
Can you please help me in identifying the schools that I should target based on my profile and career goals? I plan to start my MBA in Fall 2014 and will be applying in the second round for most schools.
Profile
Gender - Male
Age - 26
Nationality - Indian
Educational Qualification
Bachelor's of Commerce (Banking & Insurance), University of Mumbai
Year of Graduation: 2008
Results: 78.50% on 100 (Have not converted to GPA because India does not have a standardized result format)
CFA Charter holder
CFA Institute, USA
Was awarded the charter in September 2013
Work Experience
Total Work Experience: 5 years 11 months
Full time: 4 years 6 months
Part time: 1 year 5 months
Overview
• Over 4 years of full-time experience in equities & interest rates trading and investment banking
• Focused on trading assets & derivatives with an inclination towards technical analysis
• Efficient in trade execution, tracking economic data and risk management
My first two and half years (part-time + full-time) were with a boutique investment banking firm focused on Private Equity and debt syndication and placement of funds. My job involved preparation of information memorandums & financial models for clients and presentation of these opportunities to investors. After that I moved to mid-sized broking firm to pursue security trading. I worked as a Trader in their capital markets division focusing on intra-day jobbing and arbitrage. My last job was with a multinational bank as an Assistant Trader on their Interest Rate Derivatives trading desk for two and half years.
Extra-curricular Activities
• Long distance runner. Ran Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon (21 kms) 2007-2013
• Elected class representative for a year during my undergraduate degree
• Participated in a number of debates and entrepreneurship related inter-college events
• Motorbike enthusiast. Been a part of motorbiking expeditions to the mountainous terrains of North India
• Trekking, travelling, reading, yoga & music
GMAT
Total Score: 700 (89%ile)
Quant: 49 (81%ile)
Verbal: 36 (80%ile)
Post MBA goals
Short term: Consulting (Financial Services division of a top tier firm)
Long term: Entrepreneurial
I have already applied to INSEAD (France / Singapore) and ISB (India). Please suggest other schools in Asia and United States that I could apply to. Are schools like INSEAD, LBS, Harvard and Stanford within my reach?
Do let me know if you need any further information to evaluate my profile.
Thank you for your support.
Hi,
Thanks for writing in to us. A few things I notice about your profile. So far I don't see any strong leadership or teamwork there. It might be hidden and you would definitely want to do what you can to bring it out - through resume, essays and recommendations. Stanford and HBS are two of the hardest schools to get into - also neither one is particularly strong in Finance. You might be better off, if you are looking to apply to top schools, to focus on ones that specialize in finance - like Wharton, Chicago, Columbia, LBS and NYU Stern.
Your GMAT is decent, but if you think you can improve it, I'd try - it will give you a boost for sure.
Your long term goal of entrepreneurship needs to be believable. What do you think you will do? How serious and in-depth were these activities you did at university? Usually a strong application that includes entrepreneurship includes some sort of attempt or attempts in the past to create a startup or run a business - even if it failed, the person now has that history from which they have learned, and from which they have a true home for the knowledge the school is offering.
If you are going for consulting, you will also want to try and tweak your resume to show the consulting/advising/etc. experience you have had in the past - in whatever form - so that we see you have an inclination for this kind of work.
Hope that helps!!
Joy
Senior Application Consultant
Aringo.com
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