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

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MS Finance Profile Evaluations [Master Thread]: Post all Profiles Here [#permalink] MS Finance Profile Evaluations [Master Thread]: Post all Profiles Here   11 Jul 2018, 01:42
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!
Hi Guys, This is a Master thread for all profile evaluation requests for MS Finance applications. We do not want random profile evaluation threads everywhere on the forum. This will help people get some consolidated advice from consultants and help others learn as well.

Post your profile here if you want!

Suggested Template
  • Background and nationality
  • Undergrad Information
  • GMAT/GRE
  • Work experience and leadership
  • Community and others
  • Post Master goals
  • Anything else?
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Re: MS Finance Profile Evaluations [Master Thread]: Post all Profiles Here [#permalink] MS Finance Profile Evaluations [Master Thread]: Post all Profiles Here   02 Nov 2020, 01:27
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soss20 wrote:
Nationality : Indian
Undergrad :Osmania university 2016- 72 %
Bacherlor of commerce
No Gmat
Work experience 3.5 years
CFA level 1 registered
Targeted universities : Warwick, imperial, Manchester, Cass
since I have no Gmat score, would I be able to get into any of the above universities.
I don't have lot of quantitative skill - except statistics which I did in my undergrad
Cfa level 1 - quantitative aptitude
would that be enough quantitative experience?
what is the minimum Gmat score required for imperial.


Hey soss20,

Starting off with your academic background, a score of 72% is quite decent and would allow you to apply to some of the good business schools across the globe. Moreover, graduating from a degree in commerce further bolsters your profile by showcasing your clarity of goal and passion towards pursuing a career in the field of finance.

Further, on the note of extracurriculars, you must be cognizant of the fact that schools seek applicants having a holistic profile . Hence, accounting for the same, you can take up some volunteering activities or join a business/ finance club. Extracurriculars are a great way to showcase your skills like leadership, networking, communication skills, etc. Thus, you must get your hands on some extracurricular engagements/initiatives to strengthen your profile. So I’d suggest you build on this aspect of your profile.

It is great to see you have taken CFA level 1 which highlights your passion and interest in finance while vouching for your academic capabilities in the domain. Moreover, to showcase your academic prowess you can further take up online certifications and MOOCs in finance with capstone projects and achieve good grades there.

You have 3.5 years of work experience as well, but you haven’t mentioned any details here. For applying to a Master’s in Finance, your work experience should align well with your interests and should be relevant to the field of finance. But in case you don’t have such roles and positions in your work experience, then I’d suggest you utilize your application to draw the focus towards the financial aspects of the roles you have undertaken. Moreover, You would be required to focus on the kind of roles you have undertaken, the projects you undertook, and the positive impact you were able to create during your stint.

You haven’t mentioned the company names but it’s important to apprehend the fact that brand names play a significant role when it comes to your work ex. So, you can opt for an internship, preferably in a big company to attach a brand name to your resume. But as long as the quality of work is there, you can always draft a strong application.

Given your schools choices, Manchester is the only school that requires a GMAT score. Anywhere above 660 in the cumulative and 48+ in the quant section would allow you to target this school along with several other top business schools.

Imperial school doesn’t really require a GMAT score, however, since you don’t have a strong quantitative background, it recommended that you secure a GMAT score of 660 at a minimum as that could pose a proof of your capability to succeed in the field. Moreover, Imperial college can be clubbed under the dream category considering your profile, which means that you have a 50% chance of getting into the program. Cass, Warwick and Manchester fall under the upper competitive category so you have around 60-70% chances of getting into the program.

Moreover, as you are inclined towards applying to schools without GMAT requirements and towards studying in Europe, you may also target schools such as UCD, TCD, NUI, DCU, Grenoble, Skema, IESEG etc.

As there are no further details in your applications, giving any other suggestions wouldn’t really be fruitful. Thus, if you wish to seek a much more detailed profile evaluation and get school recommendations according to your profile, you can drop us an email at info@mim-essay.com

Hope this helped!
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Re: MS Finance Profile Evaluations [Master Thread]: Post all Profiles Here [#permalink] MS Finance Profile Evaluations [Master Thread]: Post all Profiles Here   02 Nov 2020, 01:30
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jasmine851 wrote:
TCMFD wrote:

!
Hi Guys, This is a Master thread for all profile evaluation requests for MS Finance applications. We do not want random profile evaluation threads everywhere on the forum. This will help people get some consolidated advice from consultants and help others learn as well.

Post your profile here if you want!

Suggested Template
  • Background and nationality
  • Undergrad Information
  • GMAT/GRE
  • Work experience and leadership
  • Community and others
  • Post Master goals
  • Anything else?


I'm going to apply to Msc Finance but I have no idea where to start and where to apply.

Please bear with me, I'm listing everything I've done with the mim-essay evaluation.

Basic profile:
Female, 20, Indian, Muslim

Academics:
Final year BBA student at a top 25 business school in India (Private)
CGPA: 9.43/10 | 4.00
GMAT 730

International Exposure:

Visited foreign countries but for leisure/travel, actually, accompanied my dad on his business meetings but I was having fun.

I know English, Hindi, French, Spanish (medium fluency, not certified, learnt through Duolingo)

Work Experience:

I have done 2 internships, one in Marketing after which I changed my career choice to Finance.

The first internship was in a marketing position at a startup as an early team, which was an endeavor in the startup ecosystem and I learnt about venture capital and equities, which resulted in a deep interest in finance.

The second internship was 2 months long, a finance internship at JP Morgan Chase and Co.

I received an intern of the month cert for the first internship.

Further education
I've done the Banking Virtual internships on InsideSherpa. It was JP Morgan and Future Impact and Citi but that's pretty useless I guess.

I have worked on many projects in financial modeling, stock trading, portfolio creation, etc, through Coursera Specializations, and I've completed the following Specializations on Coursera.

Financial Management - Uo Illinois
Investment Management - Uo Geneva
Investment and portfolio management - Rice Uni
Managerial Economics and Business Analysis - Uo Illinois
Investment Management with Python and ML - EDHEC
FinTech - Uo Michigan
Blockchain Revolution in Financial Services - INSEAD
Analysing - Numeric and Digital Literacies - Macquarie

Courses
Private Equity and Venture Capital - Bocconi
Advanced Valuation and Strategy - Rotterdam
Behavioural Finance - Duke
Financial Markets - Yale
Global Financial Crisis - Yale
Unfortunately there are many more and I feel pathetic lol.

Certified with SAS Programmer, SAS Statistical Business Analyst, working in SAS Advanced Programmer. I know Python, learning SQL, Good with Excel, learning Tableau.

Extracurricular Activities:

This is the worst part. I have never taken part in Sports because my religious parents never allowed me to. Like, zero sports. ZERO. NIL. The only physical thing I've done is Karate where I am a Black Belt.

I'm a part of the Cultural Committee of my Uni and the Finance Club which doesn't do a lot of ****.

For the volunteering part, I was a Fundraising Coordinator at an NGO for animal welfare for 2 months, after which I'm currently the Campaign Manager (one year as of now) and I manage the campaigns and create impact for sure. I was also the best Fundraiser the NGO ever had.

I presented a finance topic research paper in an IEEE conference.

I think that's it?

So I want to do an Msc. Finance, what should be my target schools and what are my chances in good universities. Also, I need a scholarship so will I have any chances in that? Mostly because, religious conservative parents.

I really don't know where to start. I'll furnish additional details if that's required. Thank you. Please consider giving me a few minutes.

Posted from my mobile device


Hey jasmine851,

You seem ambitious about pursuing a career in finance, which can be seen from your internships, extracurriculars and courses you have taken up during your undergrad. If you properly portray your passion for finance in your application, schools will be interested in this.

Academically, you have a great GPA, which coupled with your research paper in finance showcases your academic prowess.  However, while your grades do play an important role, you should highlight your extracurricular activities and other endeavours because AdComs are looking for applicants with holistically developed profiles

As for your GMAT, your overall score of 730 is pretty competitive and stands as a testament to your analytic ability. However, since you have not provided a breakup of the score I would like to remind you that for finance programs your Quant score is one of the referencing points and a Quant score of 49 or above would increase your chances at the top business schools.
Coming back to your extracurriculars, I would like to inform you that apart from sports any endeavours you have taken up at any clubs, associations, fest or events you managed or participated in during the course of the program, certifications or internships undertaken during the course of your study would also count towards your extracurricular initiatives. Thus your participation in the cultural committee showcases your ability to take initiative while the finance club showcases your interest in the field finance and the passion to develop it further. Thus, you should dig deeper into this aspect and bring out varied skills in your profile or seek to build in this area if the need be.

Coming to your volunteering role, it showcases your strong interest in developing your profile holistically, while your fundraising experience showcases your ability to take up initiatives, impact others and to empathize with other people. Adding quantifications of the fundraising initiatives would add weight to your experience since B-schools are looking for applicants that are future leaders and such experiences and qualities strengthen your application.

As far as your internship experience is concerned, you have a big brand on your CV as well as experience in the field of finance which definitely acts in your favour, since MS in Finance is a specialized masters and AdComs, are looking for applicants with relevant experience in the field of finance. Do note that you ought to explain and highlight the major projects of your work and how these experiences helped to develop and further groom your skills and knowledge. As for your virtual internship, highlighting how it was a learning experience and how it helped groom and further enhance your knowledge, your key takeaways from the role would add strength to your profile. To further strengthen your application and differentiate you from your peers highlight why you chose these firms, how you have gone beyond the role, any initiatives you took and any kind of impact created to establish a connection with your goals and portray the knowledge gained from these experiences.

Talking about your certifications, while they do not directly provide an added advantage to your profile since most applicants have such certifications, they do showcase your proactiveness and ability to take initiative. Moreover, since most of these certifications are in the field of finance they showcase your passion for the field and how you have taken steps to develop it further, which is what most B-schools are looking for in applicants.

Coming to your international experiences, your travelling to different countries, be it for leisure or business purposes, is a great addition to your application. However, ensure you focus on highlighting what kind of learnings it gave you, what were your takeaways from these trips and how it helped you to grow and develop a broader perspective. 

To further improve your profile you could take up certifications like CFA or FRM, which are core financial certifications and would show your passion for the field of finance.

Coming to shortlisting the right schools for your profile, dream schools have a very stringent acceptance rate of 12-15%.  Hence, whenever you are applying to schools abroad, it is always better to target a mix of dream, competitive, and safe schools. To help you understand better, I’ve suggested a few schools that you could be targeting along with your chances of getting admitted according to the different categories.

Dream (40-50%) : HEC, LBS, LSE, Duke, Vanderbilt

Competitive (60-70%) : ESSEC, ESCP, USC: Marshall, TexasMcCombs, FSFM, IE

Safe (80-90%) : EDHEC, Grenoble, Skema 

Now, speaking of scholarships, you have two types of scholarships - merit-based and need-based scholarships and you can be targeting either of the two. The primary difference between these two types of financial aid is that merit-based scholarships, unlike need-based financial aid, are awarded to students based on academic or other merits rather than demonstrated financial need. That said your scholarship application consisting of an essay, would need to justify why you are worthy of the scholarship and why you need the scholarship. Making the essay convincing and highlighting your needs would increase your chances of getting a scholarship

Thus, to summarize, while you have a competitive profile, you need to be aware that you will face competition from applicants having similar or maybe even better profiles, thus, to increase your chances of getting admitted to these schools and bagging a scholarship, you would need to ensure that you have a very strong application (consisting of - Essays, LORs and Resume) to back your profile. You need to showcase your journey, what makes you different from your peers and how you are a great value addition to the school.  And as a matter of fact a strong application can be a game changer and could increase your chances of acceptance by up to 50%.

On this note,  if you are looking to target the top B-schools and want to create a strong application and win a scholarship, you can follow the link below to Book a Free Consulting call to connect with one of our founders to gain in-depth knowledge of the application process and create a winning strategy.

https://www.mim-essay.com/book-an-appointment-form/
Hope this helped!
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Re: MS Finance Profile Evaluations [Master Thread]: Post all Profiles Here [#permalink] MS Finance Profile Evaluations [Master Thread]: Post all Profiles Here   02 Nov 2020, 01:32
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saksh12 wrote:
Bachelors in Management Studies (Finance specialization)
Shaheeed Sukhdev College of Business Studies, University of Delhi (First Division, ~75%)
10th: 10 cgpa
12th: 92.4%
Work ex: 2 years 11 months (Investment Banking KPO), Received the Chairman's Award at workplace. Rich understanding of Healthcare M&A.
5 internships across the areas of valuation and advisory
GMAT score: 650
Extracurricular activties: Led a national level event in college and served as a member of a student-run consulting cell
Close to 2 years of pro-bono startups and MSEs advisory experience during college
Awards: Multiple academic awards
Female, 22 years

Aiming for ISB's PGP. Any suggestions will be deeply appreciated. Thank you !


Hey saksh12,

You have a pretty decent profile.

Starting with your academic background, your grade of 75% showcases your academic prowess which coupled with your undergraduate brand Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies, University of Delhi, is an added advantage as top B-schools tend to prefer students from the top 10 universities of each country.

Another significant aspect that schools focus on is extracurricular activities as they are looking for a comprehensive profile. Hence, it is essential to shed some light on the endeavours taken up at any clubs, associations, sports, fest, or events you managed or participated in during your undergraduate. Volunteering initiatives, certifications, or internships undertaken during the course of your study would also count towards your extracurricular initiatives. Herein, you have mentioned that you have led a national level event in college and served as a member of a student-run consulting cell. What stands out here is, leading a national level event in college which showcases a position of responsibility that is very much valued by the schools as it shows that you have the ability to take up initiatives and have an ability to become a future leader. So all in all, you need to lay emphasis on what events you have led, what were your roles and responsibilities, what were your major takeaways. You do have diverse activities in your profile which works well for you. However, elaborating them well in your profile will showcase the very traits that define a great leader and would most certainly help in conveying why you are a good candidate for the school.

Moreover, I would recommend that you take up NGO participation or any volunteering activity that will showcase you are socially responsible and can empathise with people well. This will complement your profile further and would show you as an all-rounder candidate.

Coming to your professional front, you have done 5 internships that are quite extensive in the areas of valuation and advisory. Now in order to differentiate yourself, you ought to highlight why you chose these internships, what projects are done so far, how you have gone beyond the role, any initiatives you took, and any kind of impact created to establish a connection with your goals, and portray the knowledge gained from these experiences.
Moving on, you hold 2 years and 11 months of work experience in Investment Banking KPO which is pretty impressive, however one thing to keep in mind is that B-schools are wooed by candidates possessing experiences from Big 4 firms. So in order to stand in par with your competitors my advice here would be to highlight your projects which are impactful and value additional in a bigger and efficient manner, in order to differentiate your profile. Thus, you should focus on the quality of your work, the positive impacts you created, and how you went above and beyond and bloomed in the role. This will help portray a well-enriched work experience and weigh down the lack of big brand names, if applicable.
Further, you have also mentioned that you have been a part of pro-bono startups for 2 years, which showcases your versatility and proactive nature. Moreover, takeaways from entrepreneurial experiences are often perceived as a great value addition to the schools.

Moving forward, speaking of your GMAT, 650 is on the lower end considering the school - ISB which falls under the dream category. Thus, a score of 690+ is what will work in your favour and a retake is what I recommend. Also, a higher score will widen your scope to get admissions in the top-notch schools. That said, practice is key to achieving perfection. I would suggest taking as many mocks as possible and attempting all sections collectively to get a fair idea of where you need to buckle up.

Lastly, while you have a good profile, you need to be aware that you will be facing competition from equally good or even better profiles, which is why, you need to complement your profile with a strong application that includes essays, letter of recommendation, statement of purpose, and resume that highlights all your strong suits, gives reasoning for the weaknesses and displays how you’d be a good addition to the cohort. As a matter of fact, your application can boost your chances of acceptance by 3x!

Going by your school preference, as mentioned, ISB falls under the dream category and since the school has a stringent acceptance rate, you'd have a 50-60% chance of winning an admit from here. Therefore, you should always hedge your bets wisely and consider a mixed bunch of dream, competitive, and safe schools.

On this note, if you want to get more insights into the B-schools that are compatible with your profile and requirements, as well as to get a more personalized profile evaluation where you can receive expert suggestions on how to upgrade your current profile, you can take our FREE Profile Evaluation service, the link of which is added below.

https://www.mim-essay.com/profile-evaluation/

Hope this helped!
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Re: MS Finance Profile Evaluations [Master Thread]: Post all Profiles Here [#permalink] MS Finance Profile Evaluations [Master Thread]: Post all Profiles Here   02 Nov 2020, 01:33
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MSFE wrote:
Hi there,

I'm a student at Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur. It's reputed in India. I'm majoring in economics, minor in maths and computing. I'll be graduating with an integrated Msc in economics.
I'm looking to the top msc finance and related programs in UK and US (LSE, Oxford, Imperial, MIT, Columbia, Princeton)

College : 9.11/10 CG. Integrated MSc in economics with a minor in mathematics
Internships : big reputed European bank, Indian commercial bank, LSE summer school
Extra: Managing editor of the campus media body, participated in parliamentary debates
GRE : q 167, v 160, writing 4
Interested in sell side (IB) after masters

Open to your thoughts, thanks


Hey MSFE,

To start with the strong suits of your profile, your GPA of 9.11/10 is definitely an excellent score as it showcases your academic prowess and opens doors to most of the top business schools worldwide.

Being from IIT Kharagpur, it is an added bonus in your profile as popular B-schools often shortlist students from top 10 universities from each country. Moreover, it is great to see that you have an international experience since you have attended summer school at LSE. The international exposure is a highly sought after trait that business schools look for as it showcases your broadened perspective and ability to adapt and work well in foreign environments. Additionally, your academic background in Economics (Majors in Economics and Minors in Maths and Computing), aligns well with your future goals and showcases a strong foundation with respect to building a career in finance.

Another significant aspect that schools focus on is extracurricular activities as they are looking for a comprehensive profile. Hence, it is essential to shed some light on the endeavours taken up at any clubs, associations, sports, fest, or events you managed or participated in during your undergraduate. Volunteering initiatives, certifications, or internships undertaken during the course of your study would also count towards your extracurricular initiatives. Herein, you have mentioned that you have been the managing editor of your campus media body and also participated in parliamentary debates, both of which are positions of responsibilities and could vouch for the varied skills you’ve developed overtime. So, you can dig deep into the responsibilities that you have undertaken and highlight the major takeaways from each of the endeavours taken up. You can additionally get enrolled at an NGO which will help you showcase that you have been a socially responsible and a proactive person. All in all, these are the very traits that define a great leader and would most certainly help in conveying why you are a good candidate for the school.

Coming to your professional front, you have done internships with big reputed European and Indian banks which is excellent, as this brings you at par with the competition you will face. However, to differentiate yourself, you ought to explain and highlight the major projects of your work and how these experiences helped to develop and further groom your skills and knowledge. Highlight why you chose these internships, what projects are done so far, how you have gone beyond the role, any initiatives you took, and any kind of impact created to establish a connection with your goals, and portray the knowledge gained from these experiences.

Coming to your overall GRE score of 327, coupled with a quant score of 167, you most certainly are at a good position to be targeting most top schools as your profile so far is in sync with the requirements of a specialized masters in finance program.

Speaking of the schools you want to target, all of them, except imperial (competitive), can be clubbed under the dream category except. Since all these schools have stringent acceptance rates, you'd have a 40-50% chance of getting into dream schools and 70% chance of getting into competitive schools. Therefore, you should always hedge your bets wisely and consider a mixed bunch of dream and competitive schools.

That said, here are a few schools that you can consider: UC San Diego, USC Marshall, Boston Questrom, Warwick, ESSEC, ESCP

Lastly, while you have a stellar profile, you need to be aware that you will be facing competition from equally good or even better profiles, which is why, you need to complement your profile with a strong application that includes essays, letter of recommendation, statement of purpose, and resume that highlights all your strong suits, gives reasoning for the weaknesses, and displays how you’d be a good addition to the cohort. As a matter of fact, your application can boost your chances of acceptance by 3x!

On this note, if you’re looking to chalk out a winning strategy and embark on your application journey, I would suggest you take up our FREE consultation call where we can help you to figure out the best course of action for you to realize your goals.

Link for the FREE Consultation call-

https://www.mim-essay.com/book-an-appointment-form/­­­­­­­­­­­­­
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Re: MS Finance Profile Evaluations [Master Thread]: Post all Profiles Here [#permalink] MS Finance Profile Evaluations [Master Thread]: Post all Profiles Here   02 Nov 2020, 02:28
Hi guys, I hope you can give me an evaluation of my profile. I'll start the application to B-schools in september 2021, so I'm a year in advance.
-22 years old Italian; penultimate year of a BSc in business and management (top 25 in Italy)
-GPA 28.2/30 on the road for the 2:1 or maybe 1:1 equivalent
- i’ll have a semester abroad in the final undergrad year (in UK/USA/Cyprus, i have to decide)
-HEC Paris investment banking summer school
-IELTS 7.5
-GRE Q159, V158 AWA 4 (it’s low I know, but i have still 1 year to increase it)
-5 Months part time as financial trainee in a multinational company, but tbh i don’t think it will be counted as relevant for a MSc in finance; i hope to get a summer internship or an off-cycle in a finance related field
-I have been a volunteer animator at a summer camp for 5 years during high school
-I started to be a Volunteer blood donor last week
- amateur kitesurfer and MMA fighter
-post master goals: IB in a bulge bracket and then PE or hedge fund; second choice: corporate banking in a bulge bracket

My target school are the top 10 (LBS, HEC Paris, ESSEC and so on), but i also would like to know what would be my chances in top 50 like Emlyon, Skema and HEC Lausanne.
Thanks
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Re: MS Finance Profile Evaluations [Master Thread]: Post all Profiles Here [#permalink] MS Finance Profile Evaluations [Master Thread]: Post all Profiles Here   02 Nov 2020, 05:48
Thanks for the assessment MiM, appreciate it!
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MS Finance Profile Evaluations [Master Thread]: Post all Profiles Here [#permalink] MS Finance Profile Evaluations [Master Thread]: Post all Profiles Here   03 Nov 2020, 22:05
Hi guys,
First of all, I would like to say that just going through this forum has helped me a lot.
So, my basic profile is:
Male, 22, Indian
BCom from Pune University (SPPU)(ranked 9th in India by the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF)) - expected 65%+ (results not out yet due to Covid-19).
ICSE 10th grade- 93%
CIE AS and A Levels- 87%
GMAT- expected 690+
Work Experience-
* I have been teaching at a coaching center for the past 3 years. Taught Economics, Accounting, Business Studies, Mathematics, and Statistics to high schoolers.
* Worked as an intern at a local startup for 6 months. No specific role there. Worked on things from marketing to finance.
Additional-
I am an Actuarial Science student associated with the Insititution and Faculty of Actuaries, the UK. Cleared six papers that covered statistical modeling, financial mathematics, insurance reserve modeling, time series analysis, and economics. Also, topped the financial mathematics paper in India (if that counts for anything). (Actuarial science is where I have dedicated most of my time in the past 3 years affecting other parts of my profile).

I'm interested in the finance programs from NUS and NTU in Singapore. Due to personal reasons, this is where I want to go. (Also, love the place).
I also like courses at Melbourne University.

Apart from these options, I'm also looking at European countries. I have been confused about where my profile fits in Europe and also whether it's good enough for the two Singaporean universities.
If there are any improvements to be suggested, I would be happy to know them.
Thank you in advance for any evaluation.
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Re: MS Finance Profile Evaluations [Master Thread]: Post all Profiles Here [#permalink] MS Finance Profile Evaluations [Master Thread]: Post all Profiles Here   05 Nov 2020, 00:54
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Arth1697 wrote:
Hello everyone,

I finished my undergrad in Accounting & Finance from Narsee Monjee College of Commerce and Economics in the year 2018 and am now looking at Mfin programs. I'm currently pursuing Chartered Accountancy(CA Final) as well as CFA. I have a few programs that interest me, but not sure about my chances with any of them, so any comments, ideas and recommendations will help.

Profile:
Undergrad: 6.68/7 GPA
CFA Level 1 above 90 percentile
GMAT: Not yet Taken
Projects: FMCG Products Survey & Equity Research Project
Work Experience: 3 yrs as an Article Assistant at a Mid Size firm in field of Internal & Statutory Audit and 2 months Internship at Money Roller as Derivative Research Analyst.
Extra-Curricular: Participated in National Level Chess Blitz Competition, State Level Chess Player, District Level Cricket Player, Stood 2nd in Portfolio Management Competition, Set up own stall at different events in School
Social Impact: Participated in various Nature Protection& Education Camps organized by Youth Hostel Association of India, Anala Outdoors and Penguin Nature Foundation which included activities for Self Awareness and spreading awareness among people about conserving Natural heritage and concept of Sustainable Development.

Plan is to switch to IB or Asset management after graduation.


Programs:
London Business School - Msc Finance
London School of Economics - Msc Finance, Msc Risk & Finance
HEC Paris - Msc International Finance
ESSEC - Msc Finance
Oxford - Msc Financial Economics
St Gallen - Msc Finance
Imperial College - Msc Finance
Melbourne Business School - Msc Finance
Copenhagen Business School - Msc Advance Economics and Finance
Stockholm School of Economics - Msc Finance

What do you guys think? Any chance of getting into any of these programs?

Thank you guys so much! I appreciate the help!



Hey Arth1697,

You seem ambitious about pursuing a career in finance, which can be seen from your internships, certifications and courses you have taken up during your undergrad. If you properly portray your passion for finance in your application, schools will be interested in this.

Academically, your undergraduate degree being in the field of finance works in your favour, since MFin is a specialised masters program and most schools prefer applicants with a relevant academic background or work experience in finance, additionally the brand of your undergraduate college is also very impressive. However, your GPA is slightly on the lower end, but posing the right alibi for the same (health issues or your endeavours directed for holistic development) would allow you to overcome this drawback in your profile. While your grades do play an important part, your extracurricular activities matter as well, because AdComs are looking for applicants with holistically developed profiles.


Coming to your extracurriculars, you have a lot of achievements in varied roles, your participation in cricket and chess showcase your leadership skills and innate team spirit. Moreover, your winning in a Portfolio Management Competition showcases your proactiveness and ability to take on challenges and excel in them. Highlighting the accolades you won in sports here and how this has influenced your life would help authenticate your capability of creating impacts. Though to be clear, Adcoms are more interested in impact created rather than participation, hence adding quantifiable achievements in these activities would help enhance your application.


You also have a lot of social volunteering experiences which are again great value additions. These showcase your ability to take up initiatives, impact others, and empathize with other people. B-schools are looking for applicants that are future leaders and such experiences and qualities most certainly vouch for your abilities and strengthen your application.

Talking about your certifications, Both the CA and CFA directly add weight to your profile as they are in the field of finance they showcase your passion for the field and how you have taken steps to develop it further, which is what most B-schools are looking for in applicants.

As far as your work experience goes you have relevant experience in the field of finance which definitely acts in your favour, since Masters in Finance is a specialized masters and AdComs are looking for applicants with relevant experience in the field of finance. You ought to explain and highlight the major projects of your work and how these experiences helped to develop and further groom your skills and knowledge. Highlight why you chose these firms, how you have gone beyond the role, any initiatives you took and any kind of impact created to establish a connection with your goals and portray the knowledge gained from these experiences. Properly highlighting this would allow you to stand par with candidates having more extensive work experience hailing from big 4 brands. That said, connecting your work experience and your decision to pursue a masters is very important.

As far as the GMAT goes, a score of 720 and above with 50 or more in the Quant section, would allow you to target the finance programs in top schools. You should definitely aim to score as high as you can since a strong GMAT score would bolster the AdComs confidence in your academic abilities and improve your acceptance chances.

Of the schools you are targeting, LSE, LBS, HEC, Oxford and St. Gallen come under the dream category while Imperial and ESSEC fall under the competitive category. Dream schools have a very stringent acceptance rate of 12-15%. Hence, it is always better to target a mix of dream, competitive and safe schools. Looking at your profile you have a 50% chance of getting admitted to the schools in the dream category and a 70% chance of getting admitted in the schools in the competitive category.

Apart from your targeted list ESCP, FSFM, IE, ESADE, UCD and TCD are some other schools in the Competitive category that you can target.

Lastly, while you have a competitive profile, to increase your chances of getting admitted at these schools you would need to ensure that you have a very strong application (consisting of - Essays, LORs and Resume) to back your profile. You need to showcase your journey, what makes you different from your peers and how you are a great value addition to the school. A strong application increases your chances of acceptance by up to 30%!

On this note,  if you are looking to target the top B-schools and want to create a strong application that highlights your strengths and overshadows your weaknesses, you can follow the link below to Book a Free Consulting call to connect with one of our founders to gain in-depth knowledge of the application process and chalk out a winning strategy.

https://www.mim-essay.com/book-an-appointment-form/

Hope this helped!
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MS Finance Profile Evaluations [Master Thread]: Post all Profiles Here [#permalink] MS Finance Profile Evaluations [Master Thread]: Post all Profiles Here   Updated on: 07 Nov 2020, 02:47
MiMEssay wrote:
Arth1697 wrote:
Hello everyone,

I finished my undergrad in Accounting & Finance from Narsee Monjee College of Commerce and Economics in the year 2018 and am now looking at Mfin programs. I'm currently pursuing Chartered Accountancy(CA Final) as well as CFA. I have a few programs that interest me, but not sure about my chances with any of them, so any comments, ideas and recommendations will help.

Profile:
Undergrad: 6.68/7 GPA
CFA Level 1 above 90 percentile
GMAT: Not yet Taken
Projects: FMCG Products Survey & Equity Research Project
Work Experience: 3 yrs as an Article Assistant at a Mid Size firm in field of Internal & Statutory Audit and 2 months Internship at Money Roller as Derivative Research Analyst.
Extra-Curricular: Participated in National Level Chess Blitz Competition, State Level Chess Player, District Level Cricket Player, Stood 2nd in Portfolio Management Competition, Set up own stall at different events in School
Social Impact: Participated in various Nature Protection& Education Camps organized by Youth Hostel Association of India, Anala Outdoors and Penguin Nature Foundation which included activities for Self Awareness and spreading awareness among people about conserving Natural heritage and concept of Sustainable Development.

Plan is to switch to IB or Asset management after graduation.


Programs:
London Business School - Msc Finance
London School of Economics - Msc Finance, Msc Risk & Finance
HEC Paris - Msc International Finance
ESSEC - Msc Finance
Oxford - Msc Financial Economics
St Gallen - Msc Finance
Imperial College - Msc Finance
Melbourne Business School - Msc Finance
Copenhagen Business School - Msc Advance Economics and Finance
Stockholm School of Economics - Msc Finance

What do you guys think? Any chance of getting into any of these programs?

Thank you guys so much! I appreciate the help!



Hey Arth1697,

You seem ambitious about pursuing a career in finance, which can be seen from your internships, certifications and courses you have taken up during your undergrad. If you properly portray your passion for finance in your application, schools will be interested in this.

Academically, your undergraduate degree being in the field of finance works in your favour, since MFin is a specialised masters program and most schools prefer applicants with a relevant academic background or work experience in finance, additionally the brand of your undergraduate college is also very impressive. However, your GPA is slightly on the lower end, but posing the right alibi for the same (health issues or your endeavours directed for holistic development) would allow you to overcome this drawback in your profile. While your grades do play an important part, your extracurricular activities matter as well, because AdComs are looking for applicants with holistically developed profiles.


Coming to your extracurriculars, you have a lot of achievements in varied roles, your participation in cricket and chess showcase your leadership skills and innate team spirit. Moreover, your winning in a Portfolio Management Competition showcases your proactiveness and ability to take on challenges and excel in them. Highlighting the accolades you won in sports here and how this has influenced your life would help authenticate your capability of creating impacts. Though to be clear, Adcoms are more interested in impact created rather than participation, hence adding quantifiable achievements in these activities would help enhance your application.


You also have a lot of social volunteering experiences which are again great value additions. These showcase your ability to take up initiatives, impact others, and empathize with other people. B-schools are looking for applicants that are future leaders and such experiences and qualities most certainly vouch for your abilities and strengthen your application.

Talking about your certifications, Both the CA and CFA directly add weight to your profile as they are in the field of finance they showcase your passion for the field and how you have taken steps to develop it further, which is what most B-schools are looking for in applicants.

As far as your work experience goes you have relevant experience in the field of finance which definitely acts in your favour, since Masters in Finance is a specialized masters and AdComs are looking for applicants with relevant experience in the field of finance. You ought to explain and highlight the major projects of your work and how these experiences helped to develop and further groom your skills and knowledge. Highlight why you chose these firms, how you have gone beyond the role, any initiatives you took and any kind of impact created to establish a connection with your goals and portray the knowledge gained from these experiences. Properly highlighting this would allow you to stand par with candidates having more extensive work experience hailing from big 4 brands. That said, connecting your work experience and your decision to pursue a masters is very important.

As far as the GMAT goes, a score of 720 and above with 50 or more in the Quant section, would allow you to target the finance programs in top schools. You should definitely aim to score as high as you can since a strong GMAT score would bolster the AdComs confidence in your academic abilities and improve your acceptance chances.

Of the schools you are targeting, LSE, LBS, HEC, Oxford and St. Gallen come under the dream category while Imperial and ESSEC fall under the competitive category. Dream schools have a very stringent acceptance rate of 12-15%. Hence, it is always better to target a mix of dream, competitive and safe schools. Looking at your profile you have a 50% chance of getting admitted to the schools in the dream category and a 70% chance of getting admitted in the schools in the competitive category.

Apart from your targeted list ESCP, FSFM, IE, ESADE, UCD and TCD are some other schools in the Competitive category that you can target.

Lastly, while you have a competitive profile, to increase your chances of getting admitted at these schools you would need to ensure that you have a very strong application (consisting of - Essays, LORs and Resume) to back your profile. You need to showcase your journey, what makes you different from your peers and how you are a great value addition to the school. A strong application increases your chances of acceptance by up to 30%!

On this note,  if you are looking to target the top B-schools and want to create a strong application that highlights your strengths and overshadows your weaknesses, you can follow the link below to Book a Free Consulting call to connect with one of our founders to gain in-depth knowledge of the application process and chalk out a winning strategy.

Hope this helped!



Thank you so much for the reply, Recommendations Noted.
Just had one query whether 6.68 out of 7 GPA would be considered as Low? As I have got 78% on overall basis (all time highest scored in this course is 85-86%)

Originally posted by Arth1697 on 05 Nov 2020, 03:00.
Last edited by Arth1697 on 07 Nov 2020, 02:47, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: MS Finance Profile Evaluations [Master Thread]: Post all Profiles Here [#permalink] MS Finance Profile Evaluations [Master Thread]: Post all Profiles Here   06 Nov 2020, 03:38
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aditya2703 wrote:
Hi guys,
First of all, I would like to say that just going through this forum has helped me a lot.
So, my basic profile is:
Male, 22, Indian
BCom from Pune University (SPPU)(ranked 9th in India by the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF)) - expected 65%+ (results not out yet due to Covid-19).
ICSE 10th grade- 93%
CIE AS and A Levels- 87%
GMAT- expected 690+
Work Experience-
* I have been teaching at a coaching center for the past 3 years. Taught Economics, Accounting, Business Studies, Mathematics, and Statistics to high schoolers.
* Worked as an intern at a local startup for 6 months. No specific role there. Worked on things from marketing to finance.
Additional-
I am an Actuarial Science student associated with the Insititution and Faculty of Actuaries, the UK. Cleared six papers that covered statistical modeling, financial mathematics, insurance reserve modeling, time series analysis, and economics. Also, topped the financial mathematics paper in India (if that counts for anything). (Actuarial science is where I have dedicated most of my time in the past 3 years affecting other parts of my profile).

I'm interested in the finance programs from NUS and NTU in Singapore. Due to personal reasons, this is where I want to go. (Also, love the place).
I also like courses at Melbourne University.

Apart from these options, I'm also looking at European countries. I have been confused about where my profile fits in Europe and also whether it's good enough for the two Singaporean universities.
If there are any improvements to be suggested, I would be happy to know them.
Thank you in advance for any evaluation.


Hey aditya2703,

Beginning your evaluation with your academic background, given the fact that you’re inclined towards pursuing a career in finance, your degree in commerce serves as a strong foundation for the same. However, your percentage is a bit on the lower end. To remedy this, you would need to pose the right alibi and divert attention towards stronger aspects of your profile.

In addition to this, another significant aspect that schools focus on is extracurricular activities as they are looking for a comprehensive profile. Hence, it is essential to shed some light on the endeavours taken up at any clubs, associations, sports, fest, or events you managed or participated in during your undergraduate. Volunteering initiatives, certifications, or internships undertaken during the course of your study would also count towards your extracurricular initiatives. Since you have not mentioned any extra-curricular activities, make sure you emphasize on what events you have led, what were your roles and responsibilities, what were your major takeaways. This will help you showcase a holistically developed profile and would vouch for you being an apt candidate for the school.

Moving to your professional front, you have interned for 6 months at a local startup wherein you’ve been involved in various roles, gaining an all rounded exposure, which is pretty impressive. You can leverage the learnings from this role to stand at par with the competition you’d be facing. Along with that, you have been teaching at a coaching center for the past 3 years which showcases how you’ve proactively extended your expertise towards benefiting others. This could be perceived as a great value addition to the school. Make sure you explain and highlight the major projects of your work and how these experiences helped develop and further groom your skills and knowledge. Highlight why you chose these internships, what are the projects done so far, how you have gone beyond the role, any initiatives you took, and any kind of impact created to establish a connection with your goals, and portray the knowledge gained from these experiences. Explaining all this well can be a differentiator for you, and help you stand out in a crowd.
Now, talking about the biggest stand-out in your profile, you’re an Actuarial Science student. This is very unique and clearly shows your strong analytical skills which poses as a proof for your capabilities in excelling in the field of finance.
Talking about GMAT, going for 700+ will work in your favour as it will overshadow your low GPA. It will also widen your scope of getting into premiere business schools.
Further given your school choices, NUS and NTU comes under the upper competitive category. Since these schools have stringent acceptance rates, you'd have a 50-60% chance of getting into these. Therefore, you should always hedge your bets wisely and consider a mixed bunch of dream, competitive, and safe schools.
Since you are open for schools in European countries, in that case here are the few schools that you can be looking at:
DREAM: LBS, HEC
COMPETITIVE: ESSEC, ESCP, WHU, IE, FSFM
SAFE: Skema, Grenoble, EDHEC
Lastly, while you have a good profile, you need to be aware that you will be facing competition from equally good or even better profiles, which is why, you need to complement your profile with a strong application that includes essays, letter of recommendation, statement of purpose, and resume that highlights all your strong suits, gives reasoning for the weaknesses, and displays how you’d be a good addition to the cohort. As a matter of fact, your application can boost your chances of acceptance by 3x!
Having said that you can Book A FREE consulting session with one of our expert consultants who will run you through the whole process and also help you with personalized suggestions on how to create a winning strategy to get into the schools of your choice.

Below you will find the link for our BOOK A CALL service!

https://www.mim-essay.com/book-an-appointment-form/

Hope this helped !
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Re: MS Finance Profile Evaluations [Master Thread]: Post all Profiles Here [#permalink] MS Finance Profile Evaluations [Master Thread]: Post all Profiles Here   07 Nov 2020, 23:30
Hi,

I am an Undergraduate in Financial Accounting & Auditing with Cumulative GPA of 7/7 from Mumbai University. Also, an Indian Chartered Accountant.

I am applying to Masters in Finance programs in the UK.
Choices: LBS, Imperial College, Manchester Alliance Business School, Warwick Business School, LSE
GMAT - Giving in first week of December
IELTS - 8.5 Overall
Work experience - 3 years audit internship at a mid-size firm and 3+ years as Audit senior/Assistant Manager at EY
Post Master goals - To work in Investment Banking - M&A/Trading & Brokerage areas

I am worried about 2 things:
- How important will be my GMAT score to strengthen my current profile?
- As I am changing streams slightly from Audit to Finance, does that make me unsuitable for a MiFin in schools like LBS?

Thanks in advance for your help!
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MS Finance Profile Evaluations [Master Thread]: Post all Profiles Here [#permalink] MS Finance Profile Evaluations [Master Thread]: Post all Profiles Here   09 Nov 2020, 02:20
Hi everyone,

I graduated from top engineering school of India (IIT) this July and interested in pursuing MFin programs is US/UK. I have a Bachelor's and Master's in Mathematics. I am currently working in as AI software developer and planning to go for Masters next fall. My previous internships involve one with Global Markets team at a top bank and a Quantitative research internship at a Quantitative hedge fund. I also worked part-time at the same hedge fund for about a year.

Please review my profile and help with some recommendations.
Profile:
GPA : Masters-7.87/10, Bachelors-7.75/10 (Mathematics major)
Nationality - Indian
GRE - 325 (V-158, Q-167)
Community - Mathematics Society, Computational Biology club of college. Won quantitative modelling competitions at national level.
Work ex - 4 months(full-time, AI software developer), internships at Bank and a hedge fund with 1 year of part-time research consultant role at hedge fund
Post master's goals - Investment Banking/PE roles

Programs -
MIT
Princeton
London School of Economics
London Business School
Imperial College London
HEC Paris

Please let me know what do you think chances are to get into these courses. I also have no idea what my gpa would be on scale of 4, although aware that it isn't very attractive.

I found most of the courses are financial engineering courses and very quanty. Can someone please suggest some good programs oriented towards Corporate finance to get into IB.
Thank you so much, appreciate your help!
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MS Finance Profile Evaluations [Master Thread]: Post all Profiles Here [#permalink] MS Finance Profile Evaluations [Master Thread]: Post all Profiles Here   Updated on: 17 Nov 2020, 06:25
,

Originally posted by ste123456 on 09 Nov 2020, 06:23.
Last edited by ste123456 on 17 Nov 2020, 06:25, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: MS Finance Profile Evaluations [Master Thread]: Post all Profiles Here [#permalink] MS Finance Profile Evaluations [Master Thread]: Post all Profiles Here   10 Nov 2020, 06:26
bhuvKh wrote:
Hi everyone,

I graduated from top engineering school of India (IIT) this July and interested in pursuing MFin programs is US/UK. I have a Bachelor's and Master's in Mathematics. I am currently working in as AI software developer and planning to go for Masters next fall. My previous internships involve one with Global Markets team at a top bank and a Quantitative research internship at a Quantitative hedge fund. I also worked part-time at the same hedge fund for about a year.

Please review my profile and help with some recommendations.
Profile:
GPA : Masters-7.87/10, Bachelors-7.75/10 (Mathematics major)
Nationality - Indian
GRE - 325 (V-158, Q-167)
Community - Mathematics Society, Computational Biology club of college. Won quantitative modelling competitions at national level.
Work ex - 4 months(full-time, AI software developer), internships at Bank and a hedge fund with 1 year of part-time research consultant role at hedge fund
Post master's goals - Investment Banking/PE roles

Programs -
MIT
Princeton
London School of Economics
London Business School
Imperial College London
HEC Paris

Please let me know what do you think chances are to get into these courses. I also have no idea what my gpa would be on scale of 4, although aware that it isn't very attractive.

I found most of the courses are financial engineering courses and very quanty. Can someone please suggest some good programs oriented towards Corporate finance to get into IB.
Thank you so much, appreciate your help!


Hi bhuvKh,

Thank you for sharing your profile.

I am an Indian School of Business alum, CO14, and have been assisting applicants get into global business schools for the last 5 years. Below is my evaluation of your profile:

GRE: Good; Even though B-schools prefer GMAT your GRE score stands on higher side which will definitely make your profile attractive.


Academics: Average; Graduating from IIT is a plus but your scores are not that high.

Professional Work Experience:

• Length: Below Average; the average work experience of classes are usually between 3-5 years.


• Quality: Good, a mix of different roles makes your profile attractive

Extracurricular: Add some activities that you have been involved in the past, and if possible add some achievements as well to spice up your profile

Overall: I see a lot of pointers in your profile that can make your candidature outshine. The fact that you want to move into Investment Banking role needs to be justified in your essays and during the interview. Overall, I definitely see you as a strong candidate for the B-schools you are targeting.

We have compiled a list of STEM Mba courses offered all over the world, feel free to check them out: https://medium.com/crack-admission/new- ... d302f39dde

Please feel free to get in touch with me at arijit.biswas@crackadmission.com and/or +arijit_biswas89 (Skype) in case you want a detailed discussion.
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Re: MS Finance Profile Evaluations [Master Thread]: Post all Profiles Here [#permalink] MS Finance Profile Evaluations [Master Thread]: Post all Profiles Here   10 Nov 2020, 06:58
NikitaSinha wrote:
Hi,

I am an Undergraduate in Financial Accounting & Auditing with Cumulative GPA of 7/7 from Mumbai University. Also, an Indian Chartered Accountant.

I am applying to Masters in Finance programs in the UK.
Choices: LBS, Imperial College, Manchester Alliance Business School, Warwick Business School, LSE
GMAT - Giving in first week of December
IELTS - 8.5 Overall
Work experience - 3 years audit internship at a mid-size firm and 3+ years as Audit senior/Assistant Manager at EY
Post Master goals - To work in Investment Banking - M&A/Trading & Brokerage areas

I am worried about 2 things:
- How important will be my GMAT score to strengthen my current profile?
- As I am changing streams slightly from Audit to Finance, does that make me unsuitable for a MiFin in schools like LBS?

Thanks in advance for your help!


Hi NikitaSinha,

Thank you for sharing your profile.

I am an Indian School of Business alum, CO14, and have been assisting applicants get into global business schools for the last 5 years. Below is my evaluation of your profile:


Academics: Average; being Charted Accounted makes up for the weaker academics section. Make sure to present your scores in proper manner.

Professional Work Experience:
• Length: Average, You have good length of work experience but it lies in the average of B-school classes

• Quality: Good, you will have to makeup for less international exposure though

Extracurricular: Add some activities that you have been involved in the past, and if possible add some achievements as well to spice up your profile


Overall: A score in excess of 700 GMAT score and a well-drafted application will give you a good shot even at LBS. However, for a more precise response, I will need to know more about you specially related to the kind of work you have done and the career progression you have achieved.

Please feel free to get in touch with me at arijit.biswas@crackadmission.com and/or +arijit_biswas89 (Skype) in case you want a detailed discussion
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Re: MS Finance Profile Evaluations [Master Thread]: Post all Profiles Here [#permalink] MS Finance Profile Evaluations [Master Thread]: Post all Profiles Here   11 Nov 2020, 20:11
Hi all,

I am unsure wether to apply for a Msc in Finance or Business Analytics, my undergrad was in Finance, not sure if a Master in Finance will be an "overkill" considering I am pursuing the CFA (passed level 1 Dec 19, level 2 expected Aug 21).
I know the MiF curriculum is broader than the CFA but perhaps a Master in Business Analytics + CFA could be better in the long run?
Goal would be either consulting, buy-side or even a programming related career (CFA may not be as useful in this last one but I really enjoy programming and the CFA curriculum, so wouldn't mind continuing with the CFA and definitely wouldn't hurt).
These goals may sound quite different but honestly, I would feel more than okay with whichever.

Age: 23
Choice Schools: ESADE, IE, Warwick, UCL (open to other suggestions)
Nationality: Mexican (Highly interested in staying at EU, would these schools make it easier?)
GPA: 87 out of 100 at Tecnológico de Monterrey (top-tier school in my country)
GMAT: Haven't taken it, scores around 680 in mocks
Work Experience: None relevant at applying time, will get around 8-9 months before program starts
ECs: Semester abroad at Austria (non-target)
CFA Research Challenge
Several programming MOOCs
One programming project

Thanks!
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MS Finance Profile Evaluations [Master Thread]: Post all Profiles Here [#permalink] MS Finance Profile Evaluations [Master Thread]: Post all Profiles Here   12 Nov 2020, 07:45
Hello,

Myself Sourabh (22), I am considering GMAT for MS Finance colleges.
attempt: 2023

profile:

past academics-
10th: 85%
12th: 53% {science}
Bcom: 57% {2019 grad}
UPSC attempt 2020: prelim failed

extra curriculars-
won multiple football competitions (26)
participated in 9 marathons

work ex-
1 year at McDonalds in my 1st year of UG
Football Coaching at Schools and Academies

Other: (not for CV but to give the reader an idea about myself)
*good communication skills. lauded by managers and coaches.
*perform extremely well in high pressure situations (awarded by Ops Manager for handling high volume store delivery system, always scored when team was down/semi-finals and finals)

next 2 year plan:
(1) Work as SAP FICO consultant for relevant accounting job experience
(2) Get to CFA level 2
(3) Pass Financial Modelling Institute AFM exam
(4) French language at good level

Basically I was an aspiring footballer but had to back out of it due to serious injuries and other personal constraints.
I always had an interest in Economics. But Financial Modelling has become my prime focus and only interest now. I am learning Excel, Python, SQL, Cloud, VBA for a more tech savvy financial modelling professional. I aspire to be the best at it. Given my sports background, I do not ever quit and hence inspite of all the academic and other deficiencies in my CV, I aim to work in the highly competitive finance field.

looking for:
1) query as to if a high GMAT score would help me cover some ground.
2) any help as to which colleges I would be eligible for, would be wonderful.
3) any suggestions to improve my CV.
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MS Finance Profile Evaluations [Master Thread]: Post all Profiles Here [#permalink] MS Finance Profile Evaluations [Master Thread]: Post all Profiles Here   13 Nov 2020, 02:32
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Background and nationality

Hi all,

Basic profile:

Swedish, male, 23 years old

Undergrad information:

- Top 5 business administration bachelor in Sweden, good brand name although not "super".
- Expected GPA of 4.1-4.3/5.0
- Also did one year of law school at best law school in Sweden

International exposure:

- Been involved in international organization which organizes youth camps throughout the world promoting peace and cultural understanding - attended three 20 day camps in three different countries. Later, I was part of a national committee helping to organize the NGOs attendance on all camps that year, and last year I staffed and organized a camp for 17-18 years old from all around the world
- Been travelling a lot
- Three investment banking spring weeks in London
- Speaks Swedish and English

Work Experience:

- Worked in field sales, strong results, won several competitions. Was promoted to a team leader of three.
- Started my own sales consulting company and free-lanced for several employers
- Worked part time for 9 months in Private Banking at Carnegie Investment Bank, won a few awards as salesman of the week
- Investment Banking Internship at Danske Bank doing Nordic ECM and M&A for 2 months, where I received a return offer
- Investment Banking Summer Analyst at Morgan Stanley for two months, although virtual as it was this summer

Extracurricular:

- Experience as Vice Chair and Chair of Finance Society at School - before, no admission into Investment Banking in London from my school, afterwards, we have had several people in London at large firms. Increased amount of activity and active members by quite a lot
- Position in finance society during a few law courses I studied back in 2015-2016 - organized a banking tour to London and was vice head of membership
- Head and several board positions in youth politics during high school
- Head of student council in high school

Test scores:

GMAT - N/A, but planning to take in december
Swedish SAT - Scored in the 96.4 percentile

Post master goals:

First, I want to do investment banking, and then possibly transition into the buy side and possibly private equity for a more analytical role.

Target schools:

Only 1 year master programmes, with a focus on London, masters in finance/financial analysis/private equity, but other schools might be of interest



Thanks a lot for this possibility for review.

I am also very curious on how highly they value grades in relation to GMAT score and other experiences - I think my GPA is decent but I think the other experiences are my stronger parts.

Another question is if I can send in my applications pre my GMAT and then complement the application when I have received the score?
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Re: MS Finance Profile Evaluations [Master Thread]: Post all Profiles Here [#permalink] MS Finance Profile Evaluations [Master Thread]: Post all Profiles Here   16 Nov 2020, 05:45
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bhuvKh wrote:
Hi everyone,

I graduated from top engineering school of India (IIT) this July and interested in pursuing MFin programs is US/UK. I have a Bachelor's and Master's in Mathematics. I am currently working in as AI software developer and planning to go for Masters next fall. My previous internships involve one with Global Markets team at a top bank and a Quantitative research internship at a Quantitative hedge fund. I also worked part-time at the same hedge fund for about a year.

Please review my profile and help with some recommendations.
Profile:
GPA : Masters-7.87/10, Bachelors-7.75/10 (Mathematics major)
Nationality - Indian
GRE - 325 (V-158, Q-167)
Community - Mathematics Society, Computational Biology club of college. Won quantitative modelling competitions at national level.
Work ex - 4 months(full-time, AI software developer), internships at Bank and a hedge fund with 1 year of part-time research consultant role at hedge fund
Post master's goals - Investment Banking/PE roles

Programs -
MIT
Princeton
London School of Economics
London Business School
Imperial College London
HEC Paris

Please let me know what do you think chances are to get into these courses. I also have no idea what my gpa would be on scale of 4, although aware that it isn't very attractive.

I found most of the courses are financial engineering courses and very quanty. Can someone please suggest some good programs oriented towards Corporate finance to get into IB.
Thank you so much, appreciate your help!


Hey bhuvKh,

You have an interesting profile.

Academically, your GPA during both your bachelors and your master’s, coupled with the brand of your undergraduate (IIT), showcases your academic prowess and how you have always been a great student. In addition to this, your GRE score is competitive and your quant score certainly testifies for your analytical skills. However, while your grades and brand do play an important role, you should highlight your extracurricular activities and other endeavours because AdComs are looking for applicants with holistically developed profiles.

Talking about the extracurriculars, I would like to inform you that any endeavours you have taken up at any clubs, associations, sports, fest or events you managed or participated in during the course of the program, certifications or internships undertaken during the course of your study would also count towards your extracurricular initiatives. Thus your participation in the mathematical society and the computational biology club showcases an interest in the field finance and the passion to develop it further. Furthermore, your winnings in the quantitative modelling competition at the national level showcase your ability to excel in the field. Thus, you should dig deeper into this aspect and bring out varied skills in your profile. Moreover, any volunteering or CSR initiatives would further boost your profile, since they showcase your ability to empathise with others and create impacts. You should definitely seek to build in this area if you don’t have any yet.

As far as your internship experience goes, since Masters in Finance is a specialized master’s program, most schools prefer applicants with some experience in the field of finance, thus your internships at the bank and the hedge fund would be a great value addition to your application. However, you would be competing against applicants with relevant experience in the field of finance from the big 4 firms, which is why, you would need to differentiate yourself by justifying the reason for choosing these particular companies, elaborating on the growth opportunities you leveraged and eventually shedding light on the skills and knowledge you’ve honed in the process.

Furthermore, you could also look towards securing an internship in finance from one of the big 4 brands to make your profile more competitive. Apart from this, certifications in the field of finance like CFA or FRM most certainly showcase your undying interest in the field of finance.

Of the schools, you are targeting MIT, Princeton, LSE, LBS and HEC all come under the dream category, while Imperial comes under the competitive category. Looking at your profile you have a 40-50% chance of getting admitted to the schools in the dream category and a 70% chance of getting admitted in the schools in the competitive category.

While you are aiming for the stars, I would suggest you to widen your options in the competitive category in order to hedge your bets wisely.

Hence, apart from your targeted list, some other schools in the competitive category that you can target are:

-ESSEC
-ESCP
-IE
-ESADE
-FSFM
-Warwick
-UC: San Diego
-Boston Questrom
-USC: Marshall
-McCombs

To summarize, while you have a competitive profile, you need to be aware that you will face competition from applicants having similar or maybe even better profiles, thus, to increase your chances of getting admitted to these schools you would need to ensure that you have a very strong application (consisting of - Essays, LORs and Resume) to back your profile. You need to showcase your journey, what makes you different from your peers and how you are a great value addition to the school.

On this note, if you are looking to target the top B-schools and want to prepare a strong application that would increase your chances by at least 3 times, you can check our comprehensive all in one solution that has helped thousands of applicants get into their dream schools such as MIT, HEC, LBS and many more!

Link to our All-In-One Solution

https://www.mim-essay.com/book-an-appointment-form/

Here, you can even Book a Free Consulting call to connect with one of our consultants.

Hope this helped!
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Re: MS Finance Profile Evaluations [Master Thread]: Post all Profiles Here [#permalink] MS Finance Profile Evaluations [Master Thread]: Post all Profiles Here   17 Nov 2020, 06:10
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danielrovilla wrote:
Hi all,

I am unsure wether to apply for a Msc in Finance or Business Analytics, my undergrad was in Finance, not sure if a Master in Finance will be an "overkill" considering I am pursuing the CFA (passed level 1 Dec 19, level 2 expected Aug 21).
I know the MiF curriculum is broader than the CFA but perhaps a Master in Business Analytics + CFA could be better in the long run?
Goal would be either consulting, buy-side or even a programming related career (CFA may not be as useful in this last one but I really enjoy programming and the CFA curriculum, so wouldn't mind continuing with the CFA and definitely wouldn't hurt).
These goals may sound quite different but honestly, I would feel more than okay with whichever.

Age: 23
Choice Schools: ESADE, IE, Warwick, UCL (open to other suggestions)
Nationality: Mexican (Highly interested in staying at EU, would these schools make it easier?)
GPA: 87 out of 100 at Tecnológico de Monterrey (top-tier school in my country)
GMAT: Haven't taken it, scores around 680 in mocks
Work Experience: None relevant at applying time, will get around 8-9 months before program starts
ECs: Semester abroad at Austria (non-target)
CFA Research Challenge
Several programming MOOCs
One programming project

Thanks!


Hi danielrovilla,

Speaking about your profile, the first thing that I would like to address is your dilemma of whether to pursue an MSBA or MIF. When considering your goals and interests, I would suggest you go for an MSBA since you want to get into consulting and you are also inclined towards programming.

Moreover, you already have a sound background in finance supplemented by your CFA studies, which is why, in my opinion, you can definitely opt for MSBA as it is a different field that can complement your current skills and amalgamate your love for programming with your problem- solving skills.
Coming to your academics, you have a good undergraduate GPA which showcases your academic prowess. Additionally, you have also mentioned your mock GMAT score of 680 which is quite decent however, you should aim for at least a 690+ to target most of the top-notch B-schools.

Talking about your work experience, currently, you don't have any work experience, which is a slight drawback considering that you will be competing against applicants who have worked in the big four companies like KPMG, EY, DELOITTE and PWC. Thus, you can set yourself at par with them by taking up an internship or full-time job in a field to the field you wish to build your career in. This will also showcase how you are chalking out a path towards your goal while portraying your dedication and consistency.

Furthermore, you have got quite a diverse set of extracurricular activities under your belt. You have mentioned about your exchange program in Austria which showcases your international exposure and your broadened perspective. Also, you have a very strong hold in finance which again can be measured by your research work under CFA. Lastly, you have mentioned about your experience in the programming domain which is most certainly apt for the MSBA program you want to apply for. All these activities do work in your favour. Additionally, you can further amplify your extracurricular profile, by taking up volunteering work at NGOs to highlight how you are socially responsible.

Now coming to the school that you want to target, all these come under the competitive category (where your chance of acceptance is 60-70%). Having said that, you can expand your options into the dream (where your chance of acceptance is 50%) and safe category (where your chance of acceptance is 70-80%) schools in order to hedge your bets wisely.

Under the dream category, you can consider; HEC Paris, LBS and NUS.
Under the safe category, you can consider; EDHEC.

To sum up, while you have a pretty impressive profile, you will be competing against applicants who have similarly competitive or even better profiles. That said, your application, which holds 30% of weightage on your chances of acceptance, would help you stand out from the crowd.

Thus, if you’re looking for expert counselling sessions and services in the form of multiple editing, proofreading, and up-gradation of your application which consist of your Essay, SOP, LOR and resume, you can check out our all in one service that has proven to help over 2500+ applicants get into their target schools!

Here, you can also book a free consulting call with one of our consultants to chalk out a winning strategy for your dream schools.

Below you will find the link for our All-in-One service.

https://www.mim-essay.com/mim-all-in-one

Hope this helped!
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Re: MS Finance Profile Evaluations [Master Thread]: Post all Profiles Here [#permalink]
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