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05 Feb 2015, 13:53
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Personal: South Asian, Male, 28yrs, US citizenship
Undergrad: BS Math and BS Econ with 3.5/4.0. State School. Horrible student... ended up with ~10 W's total in 9 semesters. Finished my freshman year with ~2.7. Went from almost getting C's in classes like calc 3 to getting A's in graduate level stats classes in probability theory, mathematical stats, and regression analysis in my senior year. GPA for last 60 hours ~3.95.
Grad: MS Industrial Engineering with 3.9/4.0. Same State School. Did the program online right out of undergrad while working full time. Took my electives in optimization and statistics.
Internships: Prior to starting my first full time, worked in operations for a BB, did some healthcare analytics for a local consulting firm, data science internship for an IT firm
Full-time: Did a 2yr quant rotational program at a BB. Worked in Data Science for a year and quantitative risk management for another. Ended up getting my full time position, which i currently work at right now as a quantitative finance analyst.
GRE: got a 760.
Other: Not much unfortunately. Between working 40+ hours a week and finishing my MS, I wasn't able to do much else during my first 3 years of full-time work. However, I work with the local tennis club to arrange monthly free tennis clinic program for underprivileged youth. Also have been involved in LGBT outreach in my city.
References: Should be able get at least 3 above average references from my higher-ups. Stellar? I'm not sure. haha
Goals: I'd like to stay in finance, but relocate and get a job in NY. So NYU and Columbia are definitely my goals.
Concerns:
1) The W's I got in my undergrad are worrying. The W's are also in completely irrelevant classes to my major as I was in danger of failing due to non-attendance in some cases. How would these be valued in the admission process?
2) Seems like a fairly standard application? Nothing unique to really set me apart?
Which schools should I target? I'm planning to apply within the next 1-2 years. Do I have a shot at top 10?
Thanks for the advice!
Undergrad: BS Math and BS Econ with 3.5/4.0. State School. Horrible student... ended up with ~10 W's total in 9 semesters. Finished my freshman year with ~2.7. Went from almost getting C's in classes like calc 3 to getting A's in graduate level stats classes in probability theory, mathematical stats, and regression analysis in my senior year. GPA for last 60 hours ~3.95.
Grad: MS Industrial Engineering with 3.9/4.0. Same State School. Did the program online right out of undergrad while working full time. Took my electives in optimization and statistics.
Internships: Prior to starting my first full time, worked in operations for a BB, did some healthcare analytics for a local consulting firm, data science internship for an IT firm
Full-time: Did a 2yr quant rotational program at a BB. Worked in Data Science for a year and quantitative risk management for another. Ended up getting my full time position, which i currently work at right now as a quantitative finance analyst.
GRE: got a 760.
Other: Not much unfortunately. Between working 40+ hours a week and finishing my MS, I wasn't able to do much else during my first 3 years of full-time work. However, I work with the local tennis club to arrange monthly free tennis clinic program for underprivileged youth. Also have been involved in LGBT outreach in my city.
References: Should be able get at least 3 above average references from my higher-ups. Stellar? I'm not sure. haha
Goals: I'd like to stay in finance, but relocate and get a job in NY. So NYU and Columbia are definitely my goals.
Concerns:
1) The W's I got in my undergrad are worrying. The W's are also in completely irrelevant classes to my major as I was in danger of failing due to non-attendance in some cases. How would these be valued in the admission process?
2) Seems like a fairly standard application? Nothing unique to really set me apart?
Which schools should I target? I'm planning to apply within the next 1-2 years. Do I have a shot at top 10?
Thanks for the advice!
PersonalMBACoach
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Expert reply
05 Feb 2015, 16:21
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The good news is your academic performance improved over time, which is something that will definitely be considered. It doesn't completely outweigh the poor performance initially, but it helps a lot. Your GRE score will also help, so its great you did well there. You have two years of experience now, correct? I am concerned by your comment about not getting stellar LORs, do you have any managers who would give you a great reference? These are important and most people have very good letters, so an average or above average letter puts you below average. Feel free to answer some of these questions in a private email to [email protected]
- The LGBT work is nice and will help you. Are you part of that community?
- How has your performance been at work relative to your peers? Can this change between now and application time so you can stand out more?
- Is tennis a passion of yours? Its nice if your extra-curriculars tie to a passion, and even better if you have a powerful mentoring story
Some of the top 10 would definitely be a stretch for you, but depending on some of the points above and your overall resume, you may have a shot at some. I would also target some in the second tier. If you want more specific advice and specific schools, feel free to reach out and I can give a more customized, in-depth recommendation.
- The LGBT work is nice and will help you. Are you part of that community?
- How has your performance been at work relative to your peers? Can this change between now and application time so you can stand out more?
- Is tennis a passion of yours? Its nice if your extra-curriculars tie to a passion, and even better if you have a powerful mentoring story
Some of the top 10 would definitely be a stretch for you, but depending on some of the points above and your overall resume, you may have a shot at some. I would also target some in the second tier. If you want more specific advice and specific schools, feel free to reach out and I can give a more customized, in-depth recommendation.
07 Feb 2015, 13:37
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sundevilmba
Hey dude,
I don't think your profile is that "Standard". I mean, first of all, working for BB is not standard. It's friggin good! Okay, so you have a few poor grades... no biggie dude. the rest of your stuff is totally in order.
I assume that by giving your GRE score, you meant that it's your equivalent GMAT score? Which is awesome as well.
That, plus your LGBT work makes you a pretty good shot for Top 10.
Other finance classics are: Wharton, Booth, HBS, MIT, Haas (for West Coast stuff). Johnson, Tepper, UNC would be all good safe schools which place well in Finance.
Keep up the good work, dude,
Jon
