Hi there, and thanks for writing! Looks like you have a progressive career path and meaningful extracurricular involvement. GMAT is solid, but if you could increase it by 10-20+ points, it would help offset your lower GPA. Regarding your career goal - I'm not quite sure how it is in Asia, but in the U.S. VC is VERY difficult to break into without prior banking/PE + startup experience. Would you consider working in banking in the short-term? I recommend doing some more reflection on your career goals to make sure that they are ambitious, yet realistic in that they are a natural outgrowth of your experience to date.
Once you address the above, to maximize your chances of success, you'll of course want to execute a strong application. Stern-specific tips: 1. In Essay 1, make a strong case for why Stern and explain clearly what motivates your career goals, not just what they are 2. In essay 2, show a multidimensional view of yourself.
Hope that helps! If you'd like to discuss your profile in more detail, you can sign up for a free consultation with me here:
https://www.mbamission.com/consult/mba-admissions/arnveller wrote:
Hi Everyone -- Planning to apply in the 2020 intake. Would love to hear your thoughts on my profile below:
Filipino, Male, 29 years of age, 7 years of work experience
Educational Background
BS Management Engineering, an honors program in Ateneo de Manila University
Merit Scholarship from the Bank of the Philippine Islands for four years
GMAT: 710 Q48 V40
Undergraduate GPA: 2.96 (Top 30% of Batch)
Work Experience:
[3 years in Technology/E-Commerce] Currently founding head of strategy and business intelligence at a tech-enabled logistics company in the Philippines, tasked with setting up the business intelligence and data science infrastructure of the company, and spearheading various strategic initiatives. Led the team that developed the business case and model for the spin-off of the logistics arm of a leading South East Asian E-Commerce company, obtaining >10M USD funding accordingly. Defined the company's launch plan, leading the cross-functional project team that established the key priorities, initiatives, and standard operating procedures for each of the departments leading to the company’s go-live in 2018
[3 years in Management Consulting] Worked at a boutique US-based management consulting firm, specializing in strategic sourcing and marketing analytics. Also headed recruitment initiatives of the firm in the Philippines.
[3 years in Education -- concurrent] Was a part-time lecturer for IT management at my undergraduate university
[1 year in Consumer Goods] Worked for a multi-national beverage conglomerate as a commercial finance analyst, handling the financial modelling of various innovations projects.
Short-term Post MBA goal
- Chief Interest: Taking a launcher/strategy role in the corporate venture capital arm of an established tech firm in Southeast Asia, and helping build startups from the ground accordingly. Hoping to leverage MBA in order to deepen my knowledge of strategy and analytics while expanding my professional skillset to better address challenges in e-commerce/tech.
Long-term Post MBA goal
- Return to the Philippines, and create my own technology start-up focused on e-commerce enabling products and services.
Extra-Curriculars:
1. Founded a university orchestra in 2008, and grew the community to over 300 members in 10 years. I am part of the orchestra in an advisory role (chiefly dealing with fundraising and alumni engagement).
2. Passionate about data science: I teach after-work python and data science courses to interested people in my current company
3. MOOC Certifications from Coursera on Machine Learning and AI
4. I give talks on the start-up industry, and on financial model development
5. Was part of the university track and field team.
_________________
Nisha Trivedi
mbaMission Senior Admissions Consultant
35 positive reviews on GMATClub, 2020 Top 20 of admissions consultants across the industry per P&Q: https://poetsandquants.com/2020/08/26/best-mba-admission-consultants-of-2020/
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