Hi everyone! Congrats for admit! I hope it's okay if I can post my profile here... I'm planning to apply for fall next year or the year after, hoping mainly to build my profile - would appreciate it if anyone can give me any advice:
Background and nationality: 26 years old, Chinese male, one of the Southeast Asian countries
Undergrad Information: University College London, Engineering (second class upper)
GMAT: Second take 710 (V36 Q50), IR 5 (just took today, might cancel and retake); Cancelled first take 690 (V37 Q48), IR 5
Work experience and leadership: 1 year in my country's sovereign fund (PE and equity research analyst roles), before working in a non-MBB (non-big4 either) as a junior strategy consultant. Also, I was my ex-Prime Minister's intern for 2 months in university days not sure how much will this info help.
Community and others: None at the moment. Used to represent my uni for archery in a competition or two. Was a national Scrabble player up to 18 years old. Also was a volunteer tutor + helped a rural community build a house (literally) when I was 18. Was an assistant Karate coach for young children for a while during weekends.
Entrepreneurship experience: Not really like a business per se, but I started the first student-run consulting group in my country, started Jujitsu club during college, was class representative in university)
Post MBA goals: Either entrepreneurship or work in VC, with a focus on fintech perhaps. Still not entirely sure about motivation for a MBA at the moment - for now it's mainly the prestige.
Anything else? First-gen, secured full scholarship for my entire undergrad, interned at multiple consulting firms and a renowned local PE firm. I also travelled to 20 countries in university not sure if that helps.
Schools I am planning to apply to: HWS, MIT, Columbia
Personal thoughts on my strengths and weaknesses in profile:
Pros:
- First-gen student, strong extracurriculars when I was 18 (lol) so I guess I can spin the story of me coming from a poor background (e.g. became a national scrabble player at 16 at a Chinese school) and very self-made
- Full scholarship record
- Generally interesting I feel? (worked for my Prime Minister, did martial arts, played Scrabble, archery etc)
Cons:
- Career is not exceptional (sovereign fund for a year, then strategy at Tier 2 not Tier 1)
- Very average academics (2:1, below average GMAT of 710)
- Feels like my extracurriculars weren't too impressive after 18 years old
Was hoping to obtain advice on: 1. should I cancel my GMAT scores in the next 72 hours (noting that my IR was 5), 2. anything that stands out, and what can I possibly do in the meantime to boost my profile) 3. Grades - not sure if that would be a little bit of a disadvantage as a Southeast Asian male consultant.
Thanks in advance!