Profile evaluation for NYU Stern, LBS, GMAT Focus 635, Finance: Private Equity background, from Nigeria

gmatclub

Comments 1 comment

2 months ago

Hey, you are already in a strong spot with the NYUAD admit and scholarship. That said, if your goal is to continue in finance and push for higher earnings, ponder upon how your experience lines up with what these schools and recruiters are looking for.

I have seen a somewhat similar profile in the past, strong overall PE experience, but heavily tilted towards backend work like research and execution support without enough front-end deal exposure. That candidate struggled with some of the top programs like LBS initially. It was only after he moved into a more client facing and transaction heavy investing role and built clearer deal experience that things started to change meaningfully. He converted NYUAD then but chose to stay on in that role for a bit longer to fully capitalise on the trajectory they had built.

In your case, you have already made the move into the buyside, which helps. But you should still ask yourself, how much of your work reflects true investing judgment, deal ownership, and decision making versus support. Are you leading parts of deals, driving investment theses, interacting with management teams, or are you still closer to execution support. That distinction matters a lot more than people think, both for schools and for recruiting outcomes later. On NYUAD, great access to MENA, strong positioning, and a growing network. But it is still more regionally concentrated. LBS, on the other hand, gives you broader access across geographies if you are thinking beyond just one market.

Best wishes
Aanchal Sahni (INSEAD MBA alumna, former INSEAD MBA admissions interviewer)
Founder, MBAGuideConsulting
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aanchal-sahni-83b00819/ |WEBSITE: https://mbaguideconsulting.com/| Message(WA): +91 9971200927| email- [email protected]