Profile evaluation - Actuary
[#permalink]
11 Feb 2016, 08:40
Hi,
I am looking to applying to R1 for 2017 admission. Thanks for reviewing my profile!
1. I'm a Chinese Canadian, 27 years old, female.
3. GPA: went to a Canadian university (university of waterloo) and we don't do GPA system. Bachelor of Mathematics double major in Actuarial Science/Combinatorics&Optimization (both are very quantitative majors, graduating average 89%)
4. GMAT: still working on it but expect to be around 730 range.
5. I'm an actuary will full credential (Fellow of Society of Actuaries, Fellow of Canadian Institute of Actuaries). This is a professional designation for risk management and modelling experts who specialize in insurance products. The designation is very difficult to get. (a series of 7-9 exams with the average completion age of 30) I am also writing CFA exams (passed lvl 1 and 2)
6. I worked three years at a large Canadian insurance company as part of their actuarial development program. I was an associate director with direct reports after two years. Then I switched into a US consulting firm (best firm in the industry, though may not be widely known to non-actuaries) as consulting actuary.
7. my EC is somewhat weak, I am mainly volunteering with my professional society in developing exam questions and grading exams. I spent most of my first couple of years working and writing exams at the same time, it was extremely demanding.
8. I work with mainly actuaries so recommendation will likely come from my previous/current boss and other actuaries I work with. i'm not sure if that shows too little diversity since it'll be hard for me to find people outside my industry to write the letter. Even my volunteer work is with a group of actuaries.
My questions are as follows:
1. Do I have a shot at top 10 schools? with my current salary and career progression ( a niche but stable field), it's not really worth the investment to go to a second tier school.
2. Does being a Canadian make the application harder? (compare to US students)