Good GMAT Score, but I'm so lost!

Question

Hi everyone...

I just wrote the GMAT a week ago. Too bad I didn't find this forum earlier cuz it would've probably helped me get an even better score. Anyway, I did somewhat better than what I expected and now I am not sure where I should apply and where I should expect to get in...

My info:
GMAT - 720
GPA - about 73% cumulative
Undergrad @ University of Waterloo major in Computer Science
Experience: i have been working in ATI for almost 3 years. 2 years in QA doing test planning and automation. 1 year (now) in developer relations.

My goals:
I have gotten a little tired of technical work and I am dreaming that I can get into the financial industry with an mba. Something like I-Banking or market research. And as a backup, I could atleast go back to a tech company and be a product manager or something.

There lies part of the difficulty I am having. How do I write a good essay for this? If I were to be 100% honest, my essay would be "I am sick of being a tech monkey. I want to make more money. Please let me into business school"

B-school choices:
Originally, I would've been happy to just stay in Toronto, and my choices would be UofToronto (Rotman), York U (Schulich) and Western U (Ivey). But alot of people I talk to are telling me that I should really give some US schools a shot since it will make a world of difference. I have sent my GMAT scores to Kellogg and Fuqua since you are allowed 5 schools on test day. (I picked those 2 purely because of their rankings)

Should I stay with a school in Canada? Does it matter if I might want to work in HK/China after mba?

I appologize for my horrible english. It's monday morning and I had a rough weekend. I'd appreciate any comments, good or bad. What are my chances, and where should I go? What angle should I take on my essays...

Thanks!! :lol:

rhyme · Answer

Fix the darn bugs in my drivers

AS to your question, I think you should try for US schools. You do need to polish your why. Heavily. It's not about more money (yes, yes, I know it is for a lot of people but no one writes this). Your story should be something that brought you to finance. Why did you pick finance? Why are you interested in it? This doesnt have to be earth shattering - "My brother is in finance and saves homeless people through private equity" ... it can be simple "The man I respect the most, the man with the best ideas at ATI, the man who seems to bring it all together is a senior financial analyst named Tom. Tom seems to understand it all - the technology, marketing, pricing and the advertising. One day I asked Tom and he told me had had an MBA. That's how he does it. I wanna be like Tom." Whatever. Just make it personal. A story about yourself and what has brought you to finance or to the MBA. It doesnt have to be "I want to on the buy side of bonds" specific, it can be generic - you need an MBA precisely to bring together the disparate functions of an organization like your buddy tom. I'll write more later. Exhausted.

fluffydot · Answer

Oh man... I waited all day for someone to reply to my topic and this is what I get?? lol

ah well... if u give me some good advice I can think about fixing your driver

edit:
haha ok I just saw your real post. you are right, I will definitely put a lot of thought into my essays.

And for the last few hours I have been looking all over the forums, I am a little less lost. I realize that if I want to pursue finance, I should choose more finance oriented schools such as Chicago and NYU. But then I have to ask: do I have a good chance of getting in? what would be a good safety school for my profile?

International recognition is something I care about also. Since there is a chance I will want to work in Hong Kong/China after this. (Whereas if I stay in NA, I will go where the best job takes me)

So to recap, I am looking for a school for Finance, internationally known name, and within my reach. I think Duke is out because it's smaller and less finance oriented.

pelihu · Answer

I'll try to answer, but I don't really have the necessary information. You say your GPA was about 73%, what does that mean exactly? People here are primarily familiar with the 4.0 scale, so you need to provide data so people can understand it. I'll go with a direct conversion and assume that 73% is about equal to a 2.3 GPA.

What kind of school is University of Waterloo? I've never heard of it, but that's no surprise since I can probably only name one univeristy in Canada. Most people say something like "I went to a top university" or "I went to a small, not too competitive university" etc. So, if it is really difficult to gain entrance, really well known and highly competitive, then that would help. If it is easy to get into and not very rigorous, then that hurts. That's about all I can say about that.

I also can't comment on those local business schools you named because I just don't know a thing about them. I think Businessweek lists Toronto as among the top 10 international business schools, but unfortunately, I think global recognition of business schools ends at about 6-7 (to me anyways).

If you are looking for a school for Finance with an international reputation, those would be Wharton, Columbia, Chicago, UCLA, NYU, Northwestern, Harvard, Stanford, Berkeley, MIT.

If your GPA conversion is correct, you'd be a long shot at all of them. UCLA and NYU are probably the easiest of the group to get in to.

That's all I can say based on the information you provided.

fluffydot · Answer

I'm sorry, let me explain a little more. The Waterloo is the top school in canada for Computer Engineer and Computer Sciences. It is very competitive to get in and top IT companies like Microsoft, Cisco, Nortel, Texas Instruments, and Google like to recriut from our school. We have a very well developed 5-year co-op program where graduates will have accumulated 2 years of working experience. (there are no summer breaks or long holidays at all, students alternate btw work and study every 4 months.)

I would say that my GPA is atleast in the middle of my program or even higher than the average. But I do admit that this is probably the weakest point of my profile.

Can someone rank that list of finance schools in order of difficulty to get into? I am applying to Toronto (Rotman) and Western (Ivey) for sure. I would like to try for 2 or 3 in the US also. but I don't want any long shots, they should be atleast reachable.

Thanks!

pelihu · Answer

I'll give it a shot, though many schools value different things. These schools are all ranked as good finance schools in the US News "specialties" groupings:

(In order of difficulty in my opinion)

1. Harvard
2. Stanford
3. Columbia
4. Wharton
5. MIT
6. Chicago
7. Northwestern
8. Berkeley
9. NYU
10. UCLA

Note that every single "ultra-elite" appears among the best finance schools according to US News. This field of finance is so fundamental to business that it makes sense the best schools necessarily have top finance programs.

Based on your GPA, GMAT & work experience, I'd say all but the last 2 would be stretches, and even they would have to be considered difficult. another year or two of work experience in a leadership role would obviously help a lot. I have heard that UCLA is ok with applicants with less experience if they can demonstrate quality and leadership.

fluffydot · Answer

I think I will go for Chicago and NYU for my US choices then...

But the Chicago deadline of Oct 18 is getting really close, I'm not sure if I can make it..

Can anyone suggest a 3rd "safety" school? It doesn't have to be a guaranteed win, just a good enough chance... as reputable as possible.

Thanks

Good GMAT Score, but I'm so lost!

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