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nmahmood1
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MSF Candidacy 2016. Need advice. 22 Feb 2016, 16:35
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Hello,

I recently graduated with an undergraduate degree in Business Administration with a 3.95 cumulative GPA. I had to transfer to different schools a few times, but that did not take its toll on my GPA in any way. Also, the school I went to is not a highly ranked school, but respected nonetheless in the Midwest region (particularly Saint Louis, MO).

I've had three internships. I worked as a wealth management intern at a boutique investment management firm. I, then, in collaboration with a professor of mine did a project for a growing real-estate services firm in the area. We worked with pivot tables in Excel to change the reporting mechanism the firm was used to. I most recently completed an internship with a mortgage company in the area - I was assisting the finance department and performed a variety of functions.

I am confident that I want to pursue a career in investment management (equity research, to be precise). I plan on taking the CFA Level 1 exam in Dec '16. Since my degree is in business administration, it is extremely hard for me to land a job which directly relates to the work I want to do (analysis, research, etc). Hence, I decided to apply for MSF programs to have some specialization.

Now, cutting to the chase, with my profile, what GMAT score should I target to get into schools such as Vanderbilt, Ohio State, Boston College? I plan to turn in my application in the last round at all these schools (I know it is late, but I had so much to tackle before even beginning to think about graduate school).

Also, I would really appreciate any recommendations on solid MSF programs (both academically and placement wise). I am considering Duke's MMS as well. Do you guys think that will be worth the while? I am primarily interested in it because of the strong brand that having Fuqua on one's resume offers...

P.S. I take the GMAT on March 15.

Thanks so much in advance,
NM
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MSF Candidacy 2016. Need advice. 22 Feb 2016, 18:49
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nmahmood1
Hello,

I recently graduated with an undergraduate degree in Business Administration with a 3.95 cumulative GPA. I had to transfer to different schools a few times, but that did not take its toll on my GPA in any way. Also, the school I went to is not a highly ranked school, but respected nonetheless in the Midwest region (particularly Saint Louis, MO).

I've had three internships. I worked as a wealth management intern at a boutique investment management firm. I, then, in collaboration with a professor of mine did a project for a growing real-estate services firm in the area. We worked with pivot tables in Excel to change the reporting mechanism the firm was used to. I most recently completed an internship with a mortgage company in the area - I was assisting the finance department and performed a variety of functions.

I am confident that I want to pursue a career in investment management (equity research, to be precise). I plan on taking the CFA Level 1 exam in Dec '16. Since my degree is in business administration, it is extremely hard for me to land a job which directly relates to the work I want to do (analysis, research, etc). Hence, I decided to apply for MSF programs to have some specialization.

Now, cutting to the chase, with my profile, what GMAT score should I target to get into schools such as Vanderbilt, Ohio State, Boston College? I plan to turn in my application in the last round at all these schools (I know it is late, but I had so much to tackle before even beginning to think about graduate school).

Also, I would really appreciate any recommendations on solid MSF programs (both academically and placement wise). I am considering Duke's MMS as well. Do you guys think that will be worth the while? I am primarily interested in it because of the strong brand that having Fuqua on one's resume offers...

P.S. I take the GMAT on March 15.

Thanks so much in advance,
NM
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NM,

Thank you for your post. With a 3.95, you shouldn't have problems getting the GMAT score you need for the programs you listed. 680+ should do it if you have a really strong application (of course 700 makes it that much stronger). For Fuqua, you will want to score in the low 700s (target of 720+). If you are scoring in that range, I recommend looking at Johns Hopkins as well.

Send me a note if you want help putting your application together. Since you are applying late, you want everything to be that much stronger. I know some of these programs accepted a number of applicants already, so you are competing for a small number of spots. [email protected]

Best,
Scott