ASK MBA IVY LEAGUE - Harvard Grad

Hi Jillian,

Could you please provide me with some of your insight? I'm aiming for the top schools and I'm not sure what I should be over next 9-months or so to improve my application. Thanks in advance!

Here's a brief summary of my profile:

White male
Immigrant from Europe
First generation college student
Will be 26 years old when matriculating
Big 10 undergrad
Graduated with degrees in finance and accounting
With honors/distinction and 3.7 GPA
Started career in sell-side research at well-regarded Midwestern investment bank
While at the bank, I learned all the prerequisite financial statement and modeling skills
On my 2-year anniversary, got promoted from junior associate to associate
After 32 months on the sell-side, moved to a the busy side as an equity analyst
10+ billion asset manager
I'm the only analyst that works on our long-only products as well as out newly seeded L/S fund
I source and research all my ideas. I speak directly to CFOs and CEOs.
Completed each level of CFA on my first try. Will get the charter in 4-months.
Will have about 2.5 years of buy side experience assuming a Fall 2015 start date

My target schools are Harvard + Stanford for all the standard reasons and as an opportunity to move outside of the Midwest for at least 2-years. I would also consider Booth, Northwestern, and Wharton, but staying in Chicago or moving to Philly is less appealing.

After grad school, my goal is to find a role as a senior analyst at a top shop, such as ValueAct or Ruane.

I'm still pretty early in the process so I have no idea I how attractive is my profile (been told good enough to try) or what score to aim for on the GMAT.

Any feedback? Advice? Criticism?

Thank you,

KB