To whom it may concern,
I hope I find you well.
I intend to apply for top-tier US business schools in 2 to 3 years' time and I would like your take on my profile as well as any and all recommendations/remarks you may have. Thank you very much in advance.
Personal informationMale/Moroccan/28 y.o.
Will be 30/31 by matriculation.
Working on dual nationality.
First member of my family to go to a top-tier college both in Morocco and abroad.
First member of my family to go abroad for education.
Education2014-2017: HEC Paris' Grande Ecole (flagship) program. Majored in finance.
ECTS GPA: 3.55 (major year). ECTS Overall GPA: 3.45 (upward trend)
Awarded "A" grade for master thesis and published on the Vernimmen (France's leading reference in finance) website.
2015 (3 months): Stanford University. Summer exchange.
U.S GPA: 3.75. Courses taken in finance and education.
2009 - 2012: Ecole Mohammadia d'Ingénieurs (top Moroccan engineering and military school). M.Eng in Industrial Engineering.
Moroccan GPA: 15.54/20 (WES equivalent: 4.0/4.0).
Reserve officer in the Moroccan Royal Armed Forces. Engineering Corps: 2nd lieutenant rank.
Test results- TOEFL iBT: 119/120
- GMAT: 770 (will expire this year. I intend to retake it).
Professional experienceMultiple internships and two permanent contracts (I didn't go into too much detail for fear of making this post longer than necessary)
- Prior to HEC Paris:
6-month internship at Kea & Partners in Morocco despite not coming from a target school.
1-year permanent contract in a plastics manufacturing firm in Morocco.
- During HEC Paris gap year:
4-month internship in a boutique M&A/consulting firm alternating between Morocco and Dubai.
6-month internship at Amazon France (strategic and financial roles)
- Currently employed as a consultant at Capgemini Consulting (as of October 2017).
Leadership experience- 4 years at ENACTUS (social entrepreneurship) both in Morocco and France
- 1 month as a volunteer at TEDxHEC Paris
- Founding member of the HEC Paris Business Game
Post-MBA goalsFollowing graduation - midterm horizon: Join McKinsey and gain further experience in strategy consulting with a focus on digital/tech, education and finance.
Longterm horizon: Start my own education firm in Morocco.
Targeted schoolsIn order of priority:
- Stanford GSB (I am aiming for the MBA/MA in Education program)
- HBS (can admission be jeopardised because of my age at matriculation? The word on the grapevine is that HBS adcoms frown on older applicants)
- INSEAD
- Cornell
- Booth