Profile Eval for Vanderbilt MSF 2020

Good experience will go a long way. So the 3.1 may not be a deal killer.

LSAT doesn’t really say much about you quant skills. Which courses did you take in sr. year?

For example if you took Calculus, Statistics, Linear Algebra, Probability theory and Differential Equations etc. and earned As in them in senior year, then Id be less worried about a low gpa. Especially if had turned in a 330+ on the GRE or 740+ on the GMAT and had done some research on Black Scholes / Options pricing etc.

Do you see what I mean?

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Hello everyone,

I'm currently a senior at a mediocre university in the United States. I am graduating with summa cum laude. I have a double major in Accounting and Finance, and a minor in Mathematics. I want to apply for masters in finance at Vanderbilt. I know it's competitive. I just wanted to get some evaluation of my chances for acceptance at Vanderbilt ms finance. Here is my profile:

An international student at a US university
Major GPAs: 4
Cumulative GPA: 3.93
GMAT 710 (Q50/V37)
Honors college: graduating with Summa Cum Laude
two research papers (writing in progress)
President/founder: Financial Management Association (FMA)
Founder of a community library in my hometown (providing access to more than 10,000 individuals)
Election Commission: Student Government Association
Student Ambassador: college of business and economic development
President: high school student council
No work experience: senior at current college. no internship because I'm an international. You all know how difficult it is to get internships and jobs in trump administration.

I am working hard to get into some competitive master programs. Please help me evaluate my profile and suggest me how I can better improve my chances. Thank you,

Hey there,

Well, to be completely honest, the information is a bit limited to make a realistic estimate of your chances at Vanderbilt.

GPA is decent, college rank can be an issue but it is not a deal-breaker though if you highlight other parts of the application properly.

So for work, you have around a year of work ex in total?
I also need clarity on what you mean by " 9 months boutique investment banking analyst internships" - Did you do multiple internships in investment banking for 9 months or was it just 1 internship?
Multiple short duration internships can be a bit of an issue if the reasons for making the switch are not justified properly.
However, you seem to have closed a few deals, so that's a strong point that you can work on highlighting.

If you get a very strong GMAT score, then realistically, I would say that Vanderbilt may be possible with a strong application, but it is more in the range of a competitive school. Babson can be more of a safe school.
Are you targeting just the US for your Masters?

You can check out WP Carry, Mendoza and if you are open to Canada as well, then Schulich can be a good option.

Lastly, as I mentioned more profile details would be helpful in narrowing down your chances, so I would suggest you take up a free profile evaluation here: https://mim-essay.com/profile-evaluation?gcf

I will get back with a more in-depth analysis once I get more details

What caused the 3.05 overall?

3.1 GPA is below average, but not abysmal. Your higher major will help. Work experience is a plus, but I wouldn't oversell it too much. Either way, one year total internship experience will help, especially at Vanderbilt where ability to be placed really helps. If you got a GMAT in the 700 or better range, I would give you high chances. It would offset your lower GPA. If you got a mid-range GMAT (650-680), I would say your odds would be worth applying to the program, but no sure bet. A lot would depend on the overall strength of the application pool.

You should get into most of the good MSF programs with these stats. MIT and Princeton - I would apply, but you never know with them. Although I would say you would have a stronger chance at MIT than Princeton.

GPA - near perfect. High GMAT. Great EC's. You might want to also look at MFE programs. They tend to be more international and less focused on the Q/V breakdown on the GMAT. More prestigious institutions to pick from as well.

Hey sy160,

The Vanderbilt’s Master of Science in Finance (MSF) is a ten-month, on-campus degree offering a fast track to a wide array of career possibilities. Also, it is having a decent ranking for the MSF program in the United States.

To start with I’d say you have a fairly decent profile.
You have done a great job with your GPA and your GMAT score.
Here is my take on your profile for Vanderbilt:

You being graduating with summa cum laude will definitely add to the competitive strengths of your Profile. Also, the average GMAT score for Vanderbilt 692 hence your GMAT score would also turn out to be an advantage for you. But you need to understand that you will have a strong and intense competition with fellow applicants for the Master in Finance at Vanderbilt, with a major chunk of them having stellar profiles( High GPA, High GMAT, decent job experiences and extra-curricular) as well.

You have a wide range of achievements from founding a community library in your home town to heading Financial Management Association (FMA) to showcase in your profile. In fact, Colleges highly value Community development initiatives and leadership qualities in an applicant’s profile. Hence, you can use them as a strong differentiator in your profile to get an edge ahead of the other applicants.

As of now, you are not having any work experience which can be a major roadblock if you’re trying to target Vanderbilt. Although Full-time post-baccalaureate work experience is not required in Vanderbilt, yet it is strongly recommended to have internships in finance or a related field.
As you will be competing with applicants with a far wider experience in finance, your high GMAT and GPA cannot completely offset your zero work experience and you’ll surely have to dig deeper into your profile to come up with a combination of other profile strengths and experiences which will help you compensate for your work exp.
In case you feel it is difficult for you to find an internship because of you being an international student you can look for a strong project through which you can showcase your financial acumen. Also, I’d suggest you look into CFA a Schools value this certification which can differentiate your profile from the others.

In the end, I’d say that Vanderbilt comes in the competitive range for you, and it is advisable to target at least 4-5 Schools based on the Dream Competitive and Safe category.
In fact, you can take our Free Profile Evaluation through the link below to get your comprehensive lists of Schools suitable for your profile based on the above three categories. https://mim-essay.com/profile-evaluation?gcf