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Highly preliminary review request - Assessing if I should go for a MBA

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RubsonSaine
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Highly preliminary review request - Assessing if I should go for a MBA [#permalink] New post   Updated on: 02 Aug 2023, 17:25
***

Originally posted by RubsonSaine on 01 Jul 2023, 07:16.
Last edited by RubsonSaine on 02 Aug 2023, 17:25, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Highly preliminary review request - Assessing if I should go for a MBA [#permalink] New post   03 Jul 2023, 14:44
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Hi RubsonSaine, thanks for reaching out to us at mbaMission with your profile.

Let me address your specific questions:

1) My main concern is my relatively short work experience - 2 years full-time. Does having a master's degree and 3 "long" internships help somewhat counterbalance that for AdComs? Yes, that is shorter than typical, but still within range. The master's degree doesn't count as work experience (though it might show maturity) and only post-undergraduate internships would count (if they were full-time, e.g., 9-5 positions). How long has it been since you completed your master's? If you completed that and then did 2 years of work, I think that's a better position then having that work experience broken up by a master's and also would worry that it's harder to explain the need for an MBA if you're fresh off a master's.
2) I've heard schools are test-agnostics but I see a lot more people taking GMAT - would picking GRE affect my profile in any way? Pick whichever one suits you best. Schools have no preference. Majority of applicants still take GMAT but the percentage taking GRE has increased in recent years.
3) What are the strengths and weaknesses of my profile and what school can I aim for? Strengths are international exposure, first-generation college experience, top performance in prior degrees, work at a top bank. I'm not sure about the extracurriculars -- if you've been involved in the mentoring for awhile, that sounds strong enough. Another potential weakness is demonstrating leadership since it doesn't seem that you have a lot on the job as an analyst or through extracurriculars. Maybe you have it and just didn't mention it. And the work experience level which I already discussed could be a weakness.
4) Would waiting for 1 more year significantly increase my chances at getting into a M7 school? I would have a strong preference not to, but I'm open to advice. It's hard to say without knowing your test score. But I think if you can get close to 163quant / 163verbal on GRE, then you should be able to aim for M7 schools. And generally yes, as someone with less experience, waiting a year will help your odds. But given the current situation with your job, I'd suggest giving it a try this year (assuming you get a high enough test score) and then you could always re-apply if you had to. It seems wise to capitalize on the recommendation from your current employer, rather than waiting to apply when you might have a gap in your employment history.

I hope that helps! Please reach out to us if you'd like to schedule a consultation to discuss your profile in more detail.

Kate

RubsonSaine wrote:
Hi mbaMission team,

I am still considering whether it makes sense for me to get a MBA and what my chances would be. Please see below some elements on my profile.

I also have some specific questions below:
1) My main concern is my relatively short work experience - 2 years full-time. Does having a master's degree and 3 "long" internships help somewhat counterbalance that for AdComs?
2) I've heard schools are test-agnostics but I see a lot more people taking GMAT - would picking GRE affect my profile in any way?
3) What are the strengths and weaknesses of my profile and what school can I aim for?
4) Would waiting for 1 more year significantly increase my chances at getting into a M7 school? I would have a strong preference not to, but I'm open to advice.

Thanks!

***

- Demographics: 26 / Female / Western Europe citizenship / SEA ethnicity (1st generation higher education)
- Education: Undergraduate degree and master's degree in finance from a reputable school in France / Graduated top 10% / 1 year exchange program in China in undergrad
- Work experience: 2 years full-time as of today at a top 3 US bank as an investment banking analyst / 3 six-month internships as a student (Big 4 audit, investment banking).
- GMAT/GRE: I have not taken any yet - I think I have a higher chance of getting a good score at GRE
- Extra curriculars: mentoring within a charity (mentored a 19 year-old refugee from subsaharan Africa through his exams and job search)

- Post-MBA goals: looking to start my next career move in the US in a strategic finance at a corporate, or in impact investing; I'm still unclear on the exact goal, my main goal is to move to the US for personal reasons, which I feel would be difficult without a US degree and network. I'm aware I need to craft a clearer project for my actual application.
To give more context as to why I'm considering applying now is that I've realised that banking and traditional exit opportunities out of IB such as PE do not attract me much. I've also recently been told I would not be promoted to Associate along with my class in the context of banking layoffs. I was told this was not performance-based and I am not technically being laid off, but I'm concerned this will raise eyebrows. Given my manager's feedback, I am confident I can get a good LoR, though noting MBA applications are not frequent in my country and my supervisors are unlikely to have experience with MBA recommendations.

- Target schools: would love to go to a M7 school, but otherwise would like to aim for the likes of Haas, Dartmouth, Tuck, Anderson
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Re: Highly preliminary review request - Assessing if I should go for a MBA [#permalink] New post   04 Jul 2023, 00:47
Thank you for your detailed answer Kate! It seems there is a lot to consider here, but would you say overall it makes more sense for me to get a MBA rather than an additional Masters? Again, my main goal in getting a MBA is to find work in the US and create myself a network, but I'm unsure to what extent a MBA is better than a Masters in my case. Thank you for offering, I'll try and schedule a call with your teams!

To answer some of your questions below:

1) My main concern is my relatively short work experience - 2 years full-time. Does having a master's degree and 3 "long" internships help somewhat counterbalance that for AdComs? Yes, that is shorter than typical, but still within range. The master's degree doesn't count as work experience (though it might show maturity) and only post-undergraduate internships would count (if they were full-time, e.g., 9-5 positions). How long has it been since you completed your master's? If you completed that and then did 2 years of work, I think that's a better position then having that work experience broken up by a master's and also would worry that it's harder to explain the need for an MBA if you're fresh off a master's. To be specific, I'm French and French students don't usually have access to most advanced white collar careers with just an undergraduate degree. I did my internships prior to obtaining my Master's but post-undergraduate - 2 were part of a gap year that is optional but widespread in France for Master's students, and one final internship that is required to graduate. They were all 9-5 over 6 months each, no part-time.

3) What are the strengths and weaknesses of my profile and what school can I aim for? Strengths are international exposure, first-generation college experience, top performance in prior degrees, work at a top bank. I'm not sure about the extracurriculars -- if you've been involved in the mentoring for awhile, that sounds strong enough. Another potential weakness is demonstrating leadership since it doesn't seem that you have a lot on the job as an analyst or through extracurriculars. Maybe you have it and just didn't mention it. And the work experience level which I already discussed could be a weakness. I've been involved in mentoring for two years. I have a couple of stories which I can spin to show leadership, but you're right that I do not have an activity that requires me to "lead" people in effect. In the workplace, I oversee interns but I'm guessing it's not a very strong example?

4) Would waiting for 1 more year significantly increase my chances at getting into a M7 school? I would have a strong preference not to, but I'm open to advice. It's hard to say without knowing your test score. But I think if you can get close to 163quant / 163verbal on GRE, then you should be able to aim for M7 schools. And generally yes, as someone with less experience, waiting a year will help your odds. But given the current situation with your job, I'd suggest giving it a try this year (assuming you get a high enough test score) and then you could always re-apply if you had to. It seems wise to capitalize on the recommendation from your current employer, rather than waiting to apply when you might have a gap in your employment history. Thanks for the feedback. As I'm not laid off per so, but just not promoted, I wouldn't have a gap in my employment history, but I'm concerned about how AdComs would view my lack of promotion. Or should I avoid mentioning it at all?
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mbaMissionKate
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Re: Highly preliminary review request - Assessing if I should go for a MBA [#permalink] New post   05 Jul 2023, 20:10
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Hi again!

Based on what you shared, yes I think an MBA may be better for you. I think it would widen your network/options in the US the most, compared to MS programs here that tend to be more specialized.

Thanks for the additional context on your work. Still less typical for MBA applicants but the internships will "count" as full-time work in your case.

Regarding showing leadership, overseeing interns can be used for that. It can also mean leading projects, a new process, a new idea, etc.

I would not mention the lack of promotion, should not be necessary to bring that to their attention. Just try to show a progression of skills, some increased impact, etc., and a strong recommendation letter will be very important.

Hope that helps and we look forward to discussing further with you!
Kate

RubsonSaine wrote:
Thank you for your detailed answer Kate! It seems there is a lot to consider here, but would you say overall it makes more sense for me to get a MBA rather than an additional Masters? Again, my main goal in getting a MBA is to find work in the US and create myself a network, but I'm unsure to what extent a MBA is better than a Masters in my case. Thank you for offering, I'll try and schedule a call with your teams!

To answer some of your questions below:

1) My main concern is my relatively short work experience - 2 years full-time. Does having a master's degree and 3 "long" internships help somewhat counterbalance that for AdComs? Yes, that is shorter than typical, but still within range. The master's degree doesn't count as work experience (though it might show maturity) and only post-undergraduate internships would count (if they were full-time, e.g., 9-5 positions). How long has it been since you completed your master's? If you completed that and then did 2 years of work, I think that's a better position then having that work experience broken up by a master's and also would worry that it's harder to explain the need for an MBA if you're fresh off a master's. To be specific, I'm French and French students don't usually have access to most advanced white collar careers with just an undergraduate degree. I did my internships prior to obtaining my Master's but post-undergraduate - 2 were part of a gap year that is optional but widespread in France for Master's students, and one final internship that is required to graduate. They were all 9-5 over 6 months each, no part-time.

3) What are the strengths and weaknesses of my profile and what school can I aim for? Strengths are international exposure, first-generation college experience, top performance in prior degrees, work at a top bank. I'm not sure about the extracurriculars -- if you've been involved in the mentoring for awhile, that sounds strong enough. Another potential weakness is demonstrating leadership since it doesn't seem that you have a lot on the job as an analyst or through extracurriculars. Maybe you have it and just didn't mention it. And the work experience level which I already discussed could be a weakness. I've been involved in mentoring for two years. I have a couple of stories which I can spin to show leadership, but you're right that I do not have an activity that requires me to "lead" people in effect. In the workplace, I oversee interns but I'm guessing it's not a very strong example?

4) Would waiting for 1 more year significantly increase my chances at getting into a M7 school? I would have a strong preference not to, but I'm open to advice. It's hard to say without knowing your test score. But I think if you can get close to 163quant / 163verbal on GRE, then you should be able to aim for M7 schools. And generally yes, as someone with less experience, waiting a year will help your odds. But given the current situation with your job, I'd suggest giving it a try this year (assuming you get a high enough test score) and then you could always re-apply if you had to. It seems wise to capitalize on the recommendation from your current employer, rather than waiting to apply when you might have a gap in your employment history. Thanks for the feedback. As I'm not laid off per so, but just not promoted, I wouldn't have a gap in my employment history, but I'm concerned about how AdComs would view my lack of promotion. Or should I avoid mentioning it at all?
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mbaMissionKate
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