Hi, thanks for taking the time to look through my profile.
- Korean male (28-29y)
- Seoul National University (top school in Korea) with 4.0/4.3 GPA majoring in Business Administration
- GMAT 760 (taken 4 years ago) / TOEFL 120
All this is great- yes- the school you are in "SKY" club and your GMAT and TOEFL great and gpa excellent too. All this would get any school's attention...- Worked at/cofounded a couple of startups in my undergrad (nothing big or successful at all, but a good experience)
Great extra leadership and business experience to share.- 2-year military service in US Army based in Korea (in leadership role as squad leader)
very typical- try to think about the cross-cultural and leadership skills you gained from this- 2 years as investment banking analyst at bulge bracket (one of Citigroup/BAML/Credit Suisse) in Hong Kong
- 2 years as associate at Asian regional private equity firm in Korea
Work experience strong- great to see the progression and the move to PE.I'm quite confident in my story/essays/experiences. My concern is that I'm older than my four years of work experience because of my two years in mandatory military service (dunno if that would count as work experience)
Of course it is work- and for most people in the pool from Korea- they will also have that military experience so you will not be counted off for that- but absolutely count this as work experience! but I was fortunate enough to serve it as part of the US Army stationed here in Korea (through a special program), with lots of good experiences as a leader to recount. Hoping that counts as a "diverse" experience or whatnot. Also, I'm guessing my non-US undergrad (though it is the best school in Korea) with no experience in the US would go against me? Not too sure about that, would love to hear your thoughts.
No- I used to manage the pool of students from Korea for UNC and everything I see here is solid. Schools know that Seoul National University is one of the top 3 schools in Korea and they know that many candidates have military experience too. Your TOEFL of 120 is excellent- and what schools worry about is your ability to speak and write in English as many in Korea who have not worked in US have some trouble there. But a 120 TOEFL would be awesome here- so I see no concerns on that front. HBS on their website discourages people with lower than 109 on TOEFL from applying- so you are well over on this front. I would continue to practice spoken English now so that hopefully when you interview you really show that you have a full command of English speaking. This is something that MBA programs will scrutinize and you want to shine here and you have time to keep polishing this now so set up a regular time to speak English with someone if you are not speaking English now at work. Overall, I know it's not enough info and depends on other factors as well, but just curious if this type of profile would have a shot at HBS/Wharton/Stanford.
I truly believe that you do! The question is now how well can you write your applications so that you truly tell the story of why you want an MBA- after all you are already in PE so you need to explain what else you want to learn- and how can H/S/W help you. You need to do a deep dive in understanding these programs and why they make sense for you- and if you do that well- I see no reason you could not be competitive in this level. However because the odds are so low for all- I would recommend adding a few more schools like possible Kellogg, Booth, Ross, possibly Fuqua or UVA just so you give yourself the best range. I also could see you being competitive for scholarships potentially at UNC Kenan-Flagler so keep that in mind if you are not sponsored. Many from Korea are sponsored- so if you have that also- that is even more of a plus in your overall package but even without that I see you as a solid candidate. We would love to work with you at Stratus as we can really help someone like you with the essay part and the WHY MBA and WHY this school part- which is what you need to make it to the finish line! To learn more about how we could help- go to this link for a free consult: https://stratusadmissionscounseling.com ... b-visitor/Any feedback would be highly appreciated.
Thank you!
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