Profile Evaluation

Question

Undergrad: Econ Major Williams/Amherst/Swarthmore

Grades: 3.7 overall (3.9 Major), graduated with Latin and Department honors.

GMAT: 720 (49 Q, 39 V)

Work experience: 2 years strategy consulting Bain/BCG/McKinsey, 5 years of investment analysis at a hedge fund, $500M in AUM with a junior analyst that I am directly managing.

Activities: Pursuing a CFA, student leader during college (founded a program to bring in business speakers from around the country), as well as school newspaper, college government, and other student groups (managed a $10K budget for one of them)

Target Schools: HBS/Stanford/Wharton/Columbia/Sloan

Post MBA goal: PM Role at a hedge fund/mutual fund

The key thing I'm concerned with is the GMAT score. How much does it factor into the decision? Is it a bar you simply need to hop over or is there reason to just take it over again to get into the top programs?

PennTeller · Answer

Also, thanks for the help!

jenniferbloom · Answer

Your GMAT score is not bad, but if you think you can boost it, that cannot hurt your applications. When I look at your profile, my biggest concern is that you don't need the MBA. Be sure to focus your essays on proving that you do.

PennTeller · Answer

Thanks for the note, definitely appreciated.

I wanted to give a bit more color. I admit to being somewhat older than average and wanted to give a bit of color on my profile.

I'm not a traditional career changer and I do believe I could get into a PM role without an MBA. My long term goals, however, are much more tied into becoming a financial entrepreneur rather than just stopping at stock picker or a portfolio manager. The way I see it, becoming a portfolio manager isn't an end to itself and is a goal I could likely reach in 5-10 years with or without the degree. The real thing I'd invest the time and energy in an MBA for is the thing that comes after that, creating a firm that isn't merely a stand alone investment partnership but instead an enduring financial institution.

Now the questions that I've been rattling around in my head, are the following...

1) Is that compelling to an adcom?

2) Is this profile is better suited for an MBA or an EMBA? I feel as though I'm a bit of a tweener in that way because I'm on the upper end of the experience scale for a FT MBA but certainly on the lower end for the EMBA.

Thanks again for the note, good to hear your perspective.

jenniferbloom · Answer

Yes, you are a "tweener" and that means you still stand a chance at a typical full-time MBA program but I recommend diversifying your applications to some EMBAs and some full-time one year programs aimed at more experienced students (MIT Sloan Fellows, LBS and Stanford Sloan Masters programs, etc.). For the regular full-time programs you'll need to emphasize your learning needs greatly to convince them that you are there for the education and not just the network.

PennTeller · Answer

Thanks for the input. Definitely will keep it in mind.

jenniferbloom · Answer

My pleasure!

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