Profile Evaluation

Question

Hi,

My name is Palak Batra and I'm pursuing Economics (Hons) from SRCC (a premier institution in India), I would be applying to top London colleges for MSc Finance. Please let me know my chances.

CGPA: 9.79/10
GMAT: 730-750 (in practice exams), planning to take it in a week
Work Experience: Unfortunately, I don't have internships in finance, but I do have 4-5 internships in various domains

I would like to apply to LSE, HEC, KCL, UCL etc. What are my chances?

Admissionado · Answer

Hi palakbatra , It sounds like you have a decent chance at those programs. LSE and HEC might be a bit more of a long shot than the others but if you score around where you are anticipating, you should be a good candidate. You do not need an internship in finance to qualify for an MsC in Finance. In fact, you could make the argument that needing a degree in finance would help you break into the space. Plus, internships are not everything. What extracurricular and leadership activities are you involved in at school? You need to bring those up in your application. Good luck on the GMAT next week. Assuming you do decently, feel free to reach out to us for a consultation so we can talk through strategy and applications together on the phone/Zoom. https://admissionado.com/free-consultation/ Best, Admissionado

sarthakaggarwal · Answer

Your CGPA is great and being an Indian I do know the value of SRCC
Your scores in practise test are good too, even though you don't have any internships particularly in finance sector but having 4-5 internships will still reflect good in EC. 
I will advice you to do few certificate courses in finance from CFI most of them are free and you can do them at your own pace (you can even do a course in a day) all you have to do is watch their concept videos and answer their quizzes (which are easy). These certificates will not only look good in your EC but also enhance your knowledge

Am not an Expert but i think that you have good chance at these programmes.

palakbatra · Answer

Here are my internships,
INTERNSHIPS AND WORK EXPERIENCE
Intern, ‘The Gaming Project’
(3rd April - 3rd June, 2020)
India’s first cloud gaming service, it allows the user to play any game from a wide range and works much like other streaming services
● Worked on different modules of company projects ranging from writing online blogs, and market evaluation, to content creation for
marketing on social media channels, as well as tasks like copywriting, developed an understanding of how start-ups work

Corporate Outreach Intern,‘The Upstarter’
(1st June - 25th August, 2020)
A student-led initiative working towards bridging the gap between students and corporates through live projects
● Reached out to potential clients, turned these leads into actual live projects. Once finalized, worked as a lead on these projects
● Successfully converted clients like ‘Zimyo’ (SaaS-based HR Company), and ‘Pure India Trust’ (NGO) and received a month long
projects from these companies, and generated Rs. 25,000+ in revenue for the organization

Industry Research and Analysis Intern, ‘ZIMYO’
(20th June - 21st July, 2020)
An award-winning Employee Experience Platform that helps companies recruit, manage, and process the payrolls for their employees
● In-charge of conducting an ‘Industry Research and Analysis’ project for the company for a duration of one month
● Led three other students to complete an Industry Analysis and built an online Marketing Strategy for the brand

Business Development Intern,‘Autogenerate.Ai’
(17th August - 18th September, 2020)
A SaaS-based solution for fashion houses with a focus on automatic creation, modification of designs at prompt for products through AI
● Worked as a Business Development Intern, to build a database of potential clients for their AI-based project developed for
fashion brands, and reached out to them to convert them, created a database with 30+ brands after intensive research

Equity Research Analyst, ‘Growth Arrow’
(26th January - 26th February, 2021)
GROWTH ARROW SERVICES, is an independent financial service domain, located in Bangalore, India
● Gained an understanding of different trading systems and techniques, researched and resolved a variety of issues in tradings, and
finally, analyzed and created new trading strategies for the firm

Overseas Intern at ‘Kidadl’, London
(19th April - 9th July, 2021)
Kidadl is a platform that helps parents to educate and provide entertainment with edutainment content, ideas and activities
● Worked on a variety of day-to-day projects like Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Digital Content, and Website Engagement,
attended daily team meetings, researched & sorted SEO keywords, and created content briefs to meet daily targets

Here are the leadership positions,

Content Head, Theme-based Section, YAMUNA Annual College Magazine, SRCC (March - July, 2021)
Led a team of eight other students to build the theme-based section as a new addition to the magazine, managed the
development of 10+ articles from the team, supervised writers, edited content and managed the production process by the effective delegation of tasks

Author, The Connectere (20th December, 2019 - 25th April, 2021)
A forum that puts forward the view of students via articles, news forums, podcasts, has 5000+ subscribers, and reaches 85+ countries
● Contributed with 15+ published articles, on various topics like Economics, Politics, History, Culture, etc, worked on, ‘Ecosodes’
(simplifying economics), with 2000+ subscribers within two months, involved in ideation, wrote 5+ articles that were published

President Students’ Council, DPS, Ranipur, 2018-19
Organised and managed school competitions at state and national level, and social service projects, acted as a spokesperson for students of Classes IX-XII, and successfully worked to resolve problems

THANKS!

palakbatra · Answer

Thankyou! Do you have any specific courses in mind?

Admissionado · Answer

palakbatra :

So it is clear, there is no need to take these extra courses from the admissions perspective. If you are interested in taking these courses for your own knowledge, go for it. Keep in mind, you might be better off using your time in other ways to build a stronger application. Of course, at the end of the day it's your call.

-Admissionado

palakbatra · Answer

What programs do you think I have the best chance at?

Admissionado · Answer

palakbatra :

The schools you listed sound fair. It's hard to say where you have the BEST shot. As you know, generally the lower the ranking the less selective the program.

This website put together a strong list of schools/programs for you to consider. Do you only pursuing Masters in Finance degrees in the UK? Are you only looking at London or are you open to other programs in the UK, Europe or the US?

-Admissionado

palakbatra · Answer

I'm definitely open to the US, but I'd prefer UK because of the cost factor.

Admissionado · Answer

palakbatra : Absolutely fair enough. If the US does interest you, I'd also look at Berkeley (Haas), UCLA (Anderson), Michigan (Ross) and Duke (Fuqua) to get you started. Those excellent programs feel appropriate with your profile. You never know what type of money you may get if you are accepted. Definitely worth throwing in a few applications to give yourself options. Again, don't hesitate to reach out if you'd like to discuss further. We work with Masters in Finance applicants all the time and can pair you up with someone who specializes in London-based programs. If not, good luck! https://admissionado.com/free-consultation/ Best, Admissionado

palakbatra · Answer

What kind of recommendation letters are they looking for?

Admissionado · Answer

palakbatra :

The recommendation letters are fairly standard. Often times the recommenders are asked to respond to a handful of broad-level questions that ask about the candidate's academic or professional abilities, experience with receiving feedback, or comparing them to their peers. Sometimes there are also rankings based on several key criteria (teamwork, leadership, technical abilities, etc.)

Do you have someone in mind who will write one for you? I would get started on that as you are asking someone to do you a big favor. Giving them ample time is a proper courtesy.

If you'd like to have us review the letter, please let us know.

-Admissionado

palakbatra · Answer

I have already asked two of my teachers to write these letters for me. They would like to know if there's something specific they should highlight in the letters with respect to the finance course that could tell the schools what they want. Are the schools looking for something specific?

Admissionado · Answer

palakbatra : This is the kind of advice and counsel we provide as part of our consulting services. If you are interested in bringing us on board to help you out with letters of recommendation (and any other major components of your application), I strongly suggest you connect with us. You can start with a free consultation to get your toes wet and then quickly dig into the meat of the materials. https://admissionado.com/free-consultation/ We look forward to hearing from you! Best, Admissionado

palakbatra · Answer

Hi

Do you evaluate MSc Finance and essays for free as well?

Thanks

Admissionado · Answer

palakbatra : We do review MsC Finance essays and applications all the time. It's part of our core services, especially given the recent popularity of these degrees. We do not however review any essays or materials for free. We offer per school packages and hourly/half-hourly support depending on your needs and budget. Please reach out if you're interested in procuring our services: https://admissionado.com/free-consultation/

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