MS Finance Profile Evaluations [Master Thread]: Post all Profiles Here

Hi Everyone,

I am a final year student (in BSc Finance) at one of the most prestigious business school in my country. I'm looking at applying for MIT MS Finance program. I do not have any work experience since I had planned on taking internships this summer but could not due to the ongoing pandemic. However, I can get live projects, will these help me make up for the lack of work experience?

Following is my profile:

1. GPA: 3 (I started off with a low 2.3, I gradually worked on increasing them and in my last semester I scored a perfect 4)
2. GMAT: 740
3. TOEFL: 111
4. Worked as an active member of the Social Responsibility Forum (I helped in conducting numerous fundraisers for Charitable Causes)
5. Published 3 Papers (1 in progress)
6. Completed a project for the 2nd Largest Business Daily

Thank You

Education:

(2018)
YMCA - P.G. Diploma in Financial Management:
Score -76.9 %

(2017)
B. Com. Hons. Amity, Noida / IACBE, USA:
Score- CGPA 7.39 / 10

(2014)
Class XII C.B.S.E.
Score- 77.8 %

(2012)
Class X C.B.S.E.
Score- 8.8 / 10

Work experience:
Assisting my father in his business of whole sale medicines. Also, active stock market trader with a portfolio generating 16% annual returns.

Extra curricular:
-Active volunteer of a ngo which work for underprivileged children.
-Campus ambassador for organization which works for environmental issues.
- did various internships during college days.
- worked on various research papers.
-holds french language certification.
-holds English language certification
-holds behavioral science certification.

GMAT - will give it in july

Help me out with the colleges. I am totally confused.

Posted from my mobile device

Hey monk123,

You have a fairly good profile as such. You 10th/12th marks dont matter for Masters abroad, your UG GPA does and a 7.39 is pretty decent. Extra-curriculars and certifications look fine, however they are lacking details. Work ex looks good (you will need to pitch it as more of an entrepreneurial experience in your application) .You have mentioned "various " activities and research papers, I would need details on the same to estimate which schools fit your profile.

Any specific country you are targeting?
Since you have a certification in French, I am assuming that you are open to EU countries.
With a strong application, your profile looks good for schools like ESCP, EDHEC, Ivey, IE, Imperial
But again, as I said, I would need more details to make a more accurate estimate on the best schools for you.
I would suggest you to take up a quick profile evaluation so that you can get some in-depth insights about your profile strengths and weaknesses. Post the evaluation, you will be given a preliminary list of target schools that are a good fit for your profile.

Here is the link: https://www.mim-essay.com/profile-evalu ... evaluation

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Hey all! I hope y'all have been doing well and staying safe. I'd love to hear your thoughts on my profile!

Nationality: U.S.
Undergrad
Senior finance and economics major at Liberty University (in honors program)
GPA: 4.0/4.0 (10-point scale)
Experience
President of student investment fund ($60,000 AUM)
Former president of school chapter of FMA
Work experience: accounting intern, financial consultant (small financial consulting firm), and investments intern (firm manages ~$8 Billion in AUM)


GMAT: 640 (Q 41, V 36)

Ideal schools
I’d love to go to Vanderbilt, Washington Olin, or Boston College, but I realize that may not be possible with my GMAT. I have also been looking at Tulane, University of Illinois, University of Massachusetts, Purdue, Villanova, etc…
I’d love guidance on what schools fit my profile

I realize that my GMAT score, especially my quant section, is extremely low. Given the competitiveness of these programs, I’d love to get feedback as to if it is worth retaking the GMAT.

Thank you!

Hi guys,

Would request you kindly pour some thoughts on the below profile:

Age:27
Indian male
Schools - Imperial, lbs, Cass in the UK
Courses - msc investment and wealth management

Background:
GPA: 6.9/7.0
3rd rank in my college
Bachelor's in financial markets
CFA level 2 candidate
Certificate of investment planning from fpsb India

Work experience: 5 years (by July)
Been part of multiple projects

Know basic python, can code VBA and know advance Excel

Extracurricular:
Participated in swacch bharat abhiyan drive
Hosted scrabble in college festival

My question is that is it a good profile for the masters course?
Or
And m i too late for it?

Posted from my mobile device

Hi,

I am a white male from the US.
I went to a very average school in my state, really nothing special at all about it. I am majoring in Finance and have a GPA of 3.7/4.0

At my university, I was involved heavily in:
- Director of Operations, SHARP - Student Held Asset Return Portfolio - Grew membership 300% and transforming org into a premiere business org on campus
- Former president of FMA - Financial Management Association - Networking organization with local professionals
- Founding father of Beta Theta Pi (social fraternity)
- Member of Klar Leadership Academy - only 100 people are selected out of 18,000 to be in the group per year - runs through leadership activities
- Member of FBSA - Family Business Student Association - Networking with local company executives

I am planning on taking my GMAT around august and expect a 700+ on it based on my practice tests.

Work Experience
- Venture Capital Intern (5 Months)
- Equities Analyst managing 2.3M of my University's endowment fund (1 yr)
- Foreign Exchange Analyst (2 yrs)
- Northwestern Mutual Intern (Financial Rep) (4 Months)

I am split between working in investment banking/ private equity post masters and going on for PhD and working in academia. I am leaning towards IB/PE though

QUESTION: I am considering picking up a minor in Math but it would set me back a year from graduation.. would a minor in Math make a big difference in my competitiveness for the top end of universities even if it puts me back a year?

My top school choices are:
Vanderbilt
UT Austin Mccombs
University of Washington in St Louis
Notre Dame
Ohio State

HI alexlat11,

Thank you for your post and for sharing your profile. In what way do you think your profile will be improved with a minor in Math? From what I see in your profile, I don't think a minor will be a meaningful differentiating factor. I recommend that instead, you focus on your GMAT score and deepening any and all experiences you can until the application cycle.

I am happy to speak further about your goals and see how I can better guide you. When you are ready, please reach out.

Good luck!

The admission is out guys, I got innnnn.

Posted from my mobile device

Hi there,

Well, your GPA is excellent proving how consistent and dedicated you are towards your academics.

Also, your work experience as an accounting intern, financial consultant and an investment intern is fairly good. Although, a brand name associated would have helped but even if you have experiences in small firms, it is not a dealbreaker provided that you can highlight your responsibilities, learnings and achievements there.

Apart from this, you have also held leadership positions- an aspect that is considered a major bonus by the Adcom. So, remember to highlight them wisely.

Although, 640 is not a bad GMAT score but schools such as Vanderbilt, Washington would need a slightly better GMAT.
So, considering the schools you are targeting and the competitiveness of the program, I would suggest you retake the GMAT aiming for a 680+ score that would significantly increase your chances of admission.
Well, you would have a 5+ years of work experience at the time of application - A lot of business schools would advise you to target their MBA program instead. That is not a bad alternative actually, you can specialize in Finance.
But in case you only want to target the MFin programs, you will need to justify your reasons for doing the same in your essay - Why, when you can very well go for an MBA, you still chose to go for a Specialized Masters Program.

So its not that you will be deemed ineligible, but you will need to make a very strong bet in your essay.

You can drop me a https://gmatclub.com/chat on +91-8810658356 for further queries, would be easier to communicate over there

Hi Ragh12,
Well you have a good profile and a good GMAT Score, but to be very honest, MIT is a super-elite school notorious for having paper thin acceptance rates.
Most of the applicants have an extensive work experience and CFA under their best - You can always make up for the lack of experience but MIT has an acceptance rate of less than 10%, so it might be tough at this point.
However, there are a lot of other elite schools that you can look at - Vanderbilt, Duke, Fisher, LBS MFA that you have a fair shot with a strong application.
I would suggest you to take up a quick profile evaluation to be matched to the best MFin programs as per your profile. Here's the link - https://www.mim-essay.com/profile-evalu ... evaluation

Hi Guys -

Nationality: China
Undergrad: Top 20 University in the U.S.; finance/stats major; CGPA 3.63(did 2 part-time internships for 1 year) Major GPA: Stats: 3.8 Finance: 3.7
GRE: Q 170 V 165
Graduated this May and I'm working at a machine-learning hedge fund in NYC; IB summer and a major (~50B) hedge fund internship
Student Leader in the honor society at my School and manager of the student fund.
Target career: ER/Buyside research
My target schools: MIT; Columbia (MAE;MAFE); Cornell; Yale AM; CMU; UCB; etc.
Additional detail: Took all graduate-level stats classes available to undergrads at my school
Taking the CFA this winter (was gonna take it this May but...corona)
Thank you!

Hi govshero,

Profile is pretty good - UG Rank, GPA and Internships are strong.
International experience is an added bonus
A lot of finance related activities on the extra-curricular side as well.
Your Quants is pretty strong, this is another factor that MFin schools look it.
However, the challenge here is that schools like MIT, Yale, CMU, Cornell have paper thin acceptance rates and you would be competing with applicants with a wider finance experience, stronger brands and maybe even an holistic profile.
You have a good profile as such, but you are going to need very strong quantifiable achievements on the work ex side to create an impact.
Other competitive schools that you can look at are Ohio Fisher, Duke, Mc Combs .
You can check out this profile evaluation to get a better insight into your profile strengths and weaknesses - https://www.mim-essay.com/profile-evalu ... evaluation

Your profile score will be used to match you to the best dream, competitive and safe MFin programs suitable for you

Hi Everyone,

I am a final year student (in BSc Finance) at one of the most prestigious business school in my country. I'm looking at applying for MS Finance programs.

Following is my profile:

1. GPA: 3 (I started off with a low 2.3, I gradually worked on increasing them and in my last semester I scored a perfect 4)
2. GMAT: 740, GRE: V168 Q162
3. TOEFL: 111
4. 2 Internships, One at a Business Daily and the other at a large Wealth Manager.
5. Published 3 Papers (1 in progress)
6. Completed a project for the 2nd Largest Business Daily

What are my chances?

Thank You

Hi Ragh12,
Well you have a good profile, with a strong application your profile is realizable for the Top 15 MS Finance Programs.
But here the key question is - Which country are you targeting?
Like for Eg in UK, you profile is more realizable for LBS' MFA program (this is their pre-experience program), rather than the LBS MSc Finance program that attracts applicants with a wider full time work experience in finance.
In the US, Vanderbilt, Duke are a couple of schools that can be bucketed under competitive catagory (where you have 45%-70% selection chances)
Safe would be IESE, Skema where you have an 80%+ chances of selection.

I would suggest you to take up this profile evaluation so that I have a better overview of your profile and can get back with a better analysis of your selection chances: https://www.mim-essay.com/profile-evalu ... evaluation

Congratulations on your high GPA in your demanding majors (Finance, Accounting and minor in Math). This will show well on your application. There are some other important factors like country of origin and undergraduate institution that are also important. For instance, China, India, Pakistan and Bangladesh are harder due to higher number of applicants from those jurisdictions. The Masters of Finance at MIT is very internationally oriented, though, and historically has had a very high percentage of international students.

Your GMAT, especially given your international demo, is low. It’s also surprising given your academic focus. Are you sure that 710 is your personal best score? Could you try borrowing some books from the library to increase the verbal score? (I’m guessing that’s where you are having problems given your quant background). Another thing you can try is to sit for the GRE instead. Most top Masters in Finance programs are agnostic between the two exams and you may in fact favor the GRE over the GMAT.

Not having any professional experience on your resume will hurt you but luckily this is something you can probably do something about before you graduate. It would surprise me if you can’t find any jobs on campus even - e.g., research assistant for professor (you could work for hourly credit instead of $) or even an unpaid academic internship. You could work unpaid for a local brokerage house if they can’t deal with the hassle of immigration stuff. You could also go back to your home country in the summers and have an internship there in order to get some experience on your resume. Anything to put *some* work experience on your resume for when you apply. MIT and other top schools know that recruiting is harder for international students. They want to make sure that the ones that they are admitting are up to the challenge of working harder to land a job within a smaller pool of eligible employers (e.g., the big ones like the big banks, consulting firms, foreign multinationals that have the know how and the legal/financial resources to play the game). So you want to demonstrate that you already have that hustle and fire in your belly before you apply.

You need to also maximize the time you have left in undergrad by being a leader on campus so as to credibly imply that you’ll continue similar leadership within your masters. Definitely take out any references to high school (student council and if the library was from then take it out). You don’t want to look like you are resting on highschool laurels (even though those accomplishments are indeed impressive).

If you are coming from a very competitive demo and end up applying with a lower-than-average GMAT score, strategic positioning in your essays (e.g., what you want to do post graduation and how that syncs with prior academic and professional accomplishments to position your post-masters success as both ambitions and also imminently achievable). If a free consultation with an admissions consultant might be helpful to you re school choice and strategic positioning, feel free to sign up here: https://admissionado.com/free-consultation/

Hi @Ragh12", well the UG Rank, GMAT , GPA work in your favour, Internships look fair as well. The challenges are lack of extra-curriulars and competition from applicants with a wider work experience in finance. So here you can mitigate the challenges by highlighting any quantifiable achievements during your work experience.
With a strong application, your profile looks realizable for the To 15 MFin programs provided that you are a bit strategic about applying to the right programs ( For Eg: You have stronger chances for LBS MFA which is a pre-experience program as compared to LBS MS Finance where you can face stiffer competition from professionals with a wider work experience)
In case you need help in understanding your selection chances at your target schools, feel free to drop me a https://gmatclub.com/chat on +91-8810658356, will be happy to help you out.

Hello all,

Could you guys please help me evaluate my profile?

Age:24
Originally from Brazil
Academics:
Got a double major in Actg and Finance at a top 100 US University. GPA 3.3 - Have a good reason for the low GPA (I was learning English when i came to the US/significantly improved in the last two years of college).
CPA in the United States
CFA Level 1 Candidate (taking it in December)
Professional experience:
1 year of Audit big 4 experience in the US (as well as two summer internships with the same big 4).
1 years of Private Equity experience working as the M&A analyst of one of the fund's investment - massive retail company in Brazil (think Target/Walmart/Carrefour).
1 summer of Wealth Management internship in Brazil
Teacher's assistant for Advanced Accounting courses during two years in college.
President of Investment Fund at my university, managed over 2M of endowment and won a CFA Society competition.
GMAT: Still have to take it - Aiming for something between 700-730
Other info:
Captain of the tennis team of my university.
Created recently (3 months ago) an initiative to teach English to students in low-income areas in Brazil.


What do you think are my odds in the top 10 MSF's? (Like LBS, MIT, Oxford, Berkeley and Essec)? Do you think I would have better chances if I apply to a MiM or something like that instead of a MSF? I am planning to get my GMAT done soon and to apply in the next few months for Round 1 of the majority of schools - would that maximize my odds of being accepted/receiving scholarships? Also, how important would be the GMAT in my case - would a 750+ make a big difference?

Thank you for your help!