Profile evaluation

Hello AayushM29 hope you are doing well

A fairly young applicant, you have a decent profile, but to present yourself as a highly differentiated candidate you would have to delve deeper into your personal story and professional motivation. If you wish to target the top 20 US schools, we recommend that you further improve your GMAT score (by 20-30 points) due to the sheer number of applicants who apply from the same demographic as you. Your CFA and FRM certifications would certainly favor your candidacy. Other schools that you could consider are ISB, IIMs, and if you have some relevant international experience you could also target LBS and INSEAD.

For Finance professionals seeking MBA, showcasing a balanced right brain thinking and search for meaning beyond the numbers is also important. While you may not have been consistent in your outside work pursuits, I hope that this brief write-up would help you massage your memory to recall instances where you subconsciously took initiatives that helped address some social concerns.

How to put together an impressive ECs essay when you don’t have many?

Your goals seem logical but back them up with research. It would be best to deliberate on what would you like to do in the long term and why, and then break down the trajectory into possible career paths with a plan A and plan B so as to give yourself some flexibility (also to the Business schools). Talk to as many alumni as you can from your target schools to draw insights around MBA and post MBA plans and use the takeaways to your advantage in demonstrating a conscientious strategy for your goals.

If you need professional help on creating a stellar strategy for your applications do reach out.

Best wishes

Hi AayushM29,

Thanks for your Post!

First of all, I would like to say that you have a good overall GPA and a very decent GMAT score. Moreover, having cleared both CFA & FRM would definitely add some additional points to your profile. Coming to your profile, you do have an appropriate amount of work experience; however, I would like you to stress a little more about your role & responsibilities, promotion, and professional accolades. Moreover, since you belong to financial background, it would also help if you quantize your critical projects and add examples of leadership and impact generated.

About your ECAs, I would say elaborate on your volunteering and community work and mention all about your contribution, the challenges faced, leadership roles played, and the impact generated. Furthermore, your FRM & CFA certification could play a huge role and add up in your favor to gain additional points on your profile. All you need to do is add relevant knowledge and skillset developed through these certifications to bank upon them!

Overall I certainly don’t think you have a weak profile, however, you would need to design a better structure to align your post-MBA goals with your past experiences. Your profile is still brief at some points and would like to know more about it. Hence, If you'd like, we are happy to hop on a call with you sometime this week to discuss your profile in length and further help you with your strategy for linking your post-MBA goals, essays, and interviews regarding MBA programs; feel free tobook a free session with us at your convenience.

Cheers!
Neha Hadke
Profile Analyst & Channel Manager, MBA and Beyond
Testimonials
Email: neha@mbaandbeyond.com

AayushM29:

Can you give us more information about where you want to attend school? Do you have any kind of ranked preferences or criteria? Everyone here is offering consultations (which you should take advantage of!) but if you want a public response, you should be more specific.

The focus on finance is helpful, but there are a plethora of options for schools that focus on finance. Plus, that doesn't even include those schools where finance may not be the core strength but it is still an option.

Where do you want to end up geographically after school? That can play a major role here.

Let us all know. Good luck!

Hey,
Thanks for the evaluation and sorry for not elaborating.
I am aiming T10-T20 US Bschools and would also love to know if my profile is decent enough for a T10 b school. Besides US, I am also aiming for Oxbridge, LBS, ISB and Insead.
Would love a US Bschool admit but no geographical preference in US itself.

Post MBA: Converting to Strategic and Corporate Finance Consulting role

Plan B: Investment Banking in the corporate finance department or a senior financial/ investment manager at a Tech firm

Thanks again.

Posted from my mobile device

AayushM29:

Based on what you have provided, I do not see Top 10 as a realistic option. I would pick 1 or 2 on the lower end of that range and label them "reaches."

Top 10-20 is still going to be very hard, but more obtainable. I simply don't see the "wow" factor and the somewhat limited ECs don't help. Is there anything in your work history that can help separate you from the pack within your competitive demographic?

Do you have any really interesting stories or special qualities you can bring to an application? The GMAT score is fine. Yes, you can retake, but I don't think that's going to make a huge difference overall.

Hello Admissionado, Thanks for your honest evaluation. What would you say is a “wow” factor? I thought my GPA and passing the certifications of CFA and FRM above 90th percentile across the world was a distinguishing factor. But that clearly is not the case. ( I am ready to improve my GMAT score to 740 or 750, if a high gmat plays as a wow factor).
To elaborate on my work experience:
I worked at a Financial services firm as a Research and Investment Analyst in the Private Equity department for a year.

Worked as an Analyst at a Big IB (Think MS, JPMC etc) in their corporate finance department.
Promoted to Senior Analyst within 1.5 years.

Post MBA goals: I want to work in Strategy and Corporate Finance Consulting. My knowledge in finance and management skills which I will gain during MBA can help me a lot in fulfilling this post MBA goal.

Long term, I wish to open my own Financial advisory firm. With the help of the work experience which I would have gained during my post mba consulting experience combined with my knowledge on finance and risk management can help me better serve as an financial advisor to my clients

In T10-T20, I was thinking more of Darden, Johnson, Anderson, KF, Mccombs etc and Reach would be Ross, Fuqua and Tuck.
Out of this, which can be considered a good match for the profile?
Also, is Oxbridge a viable option?
It would be great if you can list some but not all b-schools in US I should aim for.

Please let me know how I can help more.
Thank you.

Posted from my mobile device

Hey,
Thanks for the evaluation and sorry for not elaborating.
I am aiming T10-T20 US Bschools and would also love to know if my profile is decent enough for a T10 b school. Besides US, I am also aiming for Oxbridge, LBS, ISB and Insead.
Would love a US Bschool admit but no geographical preference in US itself.

Post MBA: Converting to Strategic and Corporate Finance Consulting role

Plan B: Investment Banking in the corporate finance department or a senior financial/ investment manager at a Tech firm

To elaborate on my work experience:
I worked at a Financial services firm as a Research and Investment Analyst in the Private Equity department for a year.

Worked as an Analyst at a Big IB (Think MS, JPMC etc) in their corporate finance department.
Promoted to Senior Analyst within 1.5 years.

Post MBA goals: I want to work in Strategy and Corporate Finance Consulting. My knowledge in finance and management skills which I will gain during MBA can help me a lot in fulfilling this post MBA goal.

Long term, I wish to open my own Financial advisory firm. With the help of the work experience which I would have gained during my post mba consulting experience combined with my knowledge on finance and risk management can help me better serve as an financial advisor to my clients

In T10-T20, I was thinking more of Darden, Johnson, Anderson, KF, Mccombs etc and Reach would be Ross, Fuqua and Tuck.
Out of this, which can be considered a good match for the profile?
Also, is Oxbridge a viable option?
It would be great if you can list some but not all b-schools in US I should aim for.

Please let me know how I can help more.
Thank you.

Hello AayushM29,

Thanks for writing in.

The list of schools suggested by you seem in line with your overall profile, provided you are able to put forth a fine set of essays. Yes, you can definitely look at applying to schools such as Oxford. For schools such as Ross, Fuqua, and Tuck, we would recommend that you apply with a higher score.

We would recommend that you also add some US top ~25 programs that are good for Finance, and scholarship friendly as well. Feel free to schedule a detailed profile evaluation with us in case you are looking to discuss your prospects.

Thanks.

AayushM29:

The "wow" factor is basically another way of telling us what helps you stand out. What unique traits do you bring to the table? How is your story different (because of personal or professional experience) that will guide your essays in a way that makes you more than a finance/Indian candidate? You don't have to know that now, but that's going to be critical for someone with your profile.

Q: In T10-T20, I was thinking more of Darden, Johnson, Anderson, KF, Mccombs etc and Reach would be Ross, Fuqua and Tuck. Out of this, which can be considered a good match for the profile?

A: This list makes sense. Darden might be more in the reach category too. They also tend to go for slightly older candidates. You might need more safety schools too.

Johnson feels like a good fit. Same goes for McCombs and Anderson.

Q: Also, is Oxbridge a viable option?

A: Yes, but by no means a guarantee. You have a shot at an interview.

Q: It would be great if you can list some but not all b-schools in US I should aim for.

A: I would also add in Georgetown's McDonough and Indiana Kelley. Those are solid finance programs at great universities/business schools.

Hope that helps!

Hey Admissionado,
Thanks for the input. I am also aiming for ISB. Is this profile competitive for ISB?
Also, according to you what is the ceiling for international students especially Indians in terms of bschool and employability. Is it T15 or bust, T20 or bust or T25 or bust. As in till which b schools tier you will gain value and after that tier value of that mba falls?

Posted from my mobile device

AayushM29:

Q: I am also aiming for ISB. Is this profile competitive for ISB?

A: Yes, it is competitive for ISB but not guarantee of admission of course.

Q: Also, according to you what is the ceiling for international students especially Indians in terms of bschool and employability. Is it T15 or bust, T20 or bust or T25 or bust. As in till which b schools tier you will gain value and after that tier value of that mba falls?

A: It's nearly impossible to answer your question because it's highly subjective and individually based. How do you define value? How do you define these tiers? What does ROI look like? It's also depedent on what YOU do with your degree. Do you actually apply yourself and leverage the MBA or do you just use it as a rubber stamp or resume padder? I would focus on where you think you have the best chance and where you would be happy attending. Leave the value analysis to a backward-looking exercise after you have become immensely successful