Profile Evaluation and Advice

Question

Hi Vantage Point,

Here is my profile:

Asian Male 
Age 31
Graduated from NTU Accountancy (Honours), Singapore (one of the hardest courses to get in due to demand and prestige) 
GPA: 2.9
GMAT: sec attempt 750 (Q50, V40), first attempt 710 (Q48, V39), 6.0 AWA, 7 IR

6 years of Professional Experience:
1 year as an investment associate for a private equity firm (recently clinched world class PE as new investor: Think TPG, Blackstone; KKR; )
1 Year as senior finance in the head office of a sovereign wealth fund private equity real estate (PERE) 
1 Year as management trainee financial analyst working on ROI computation, pricing options strategy USA oil and gas firm. 
3 years as financial services auditors (promoted 3 times in 3 years) in big 4 (client includes banks and listed co.)

I am looking to apply to top 20 programs in USA. Main goal for MBA is to join the investment banking to accelerate my deal experience and to widen my network. Also, choosing east coast school, particularly schools in NYC, would grant me the exposure. My long term career goal is to set up a PE shop in Emerging Market Asia. 
I am looking at east coast schools, including Wharton, Columbia, Booth, NYU, Tuck, Cornell. and intend to get in next fall.

Here are my questions:

1. Should I even consider Wharton and Columbia? What are my chances?

2. How do i address the concerns of the adcom of an older candidate for MBA? through essay?

3. What are other MBA schools or programs that i should be looking at to achieve same goal?

thank you for your help! Appreciate your guidance!

VantagePointMelody · Answer

Hi there, Sure, I’m happy to weigh in on your specific questions. However, before I dive in, I wanted to comment quickly on your post-MBA goals. It stood out to me as rather unusual that you would want to go into investment banking post-MBA when you already have 2 years of experience in PE and your long-term goal is to remain in PE. Typically, i-banking experience precedes PE, not the other way around. There’s certainly nothing wrong with wanting to veer “off the beaten” path but I would encourage you to be very clear in your apps about why this path is right for you. Just my perspective having worked in banking pre-MBA and also having advised numerous MBA applicants in finance

1. Is your undergrad GPA out of 4.0? If so, and absent further context, that could be a tough hurdle for schools like Columbia and Wharton. I wouldn’t say it’s totally out of the question because your profile is strong in other ways (GMAT, career progression, etc.) but I wouldn’t only apply to those schools. I would put them in the “reach” bucket. For Columbia, if it’s your top choice school, I would encourage you to apply early decision and take advantage of rolling admissions in order to maximize your chances. 2. There’s no magic formula, unfortunately, but generally you’ll want to showcase how being an older applicant adds a rich and diverse perspective to the class. You’ll also want to be very clear about why now is the right time for you to pursue an MBA and how your career trajectory to-date will support your post-MBA goals. Your resume, your letters of recommendation, and your essays will all be great places to convey that. 3. Within the US, I think you have a great list of schools. If you’re open to non-US programs, LBS, INSEAD, and CUHK could be good options for you. I hope that helps! Best of luck to you in your apps this year & let me know if I can help further! Best, Melody

Mastiff · Answer

Dear Melody,

Thank you for your response! It is really helpful and I appreciate your help.

I want to get into IB as the deal flows are much faster. This will allow me to accumulate experience much faster than it is now and I can learn much faster and gain much more exposure, especially when the bigger deals usually happen in the states.

1. It is out of 4.0. I think the gpa did not help my application at all. I was setting up an online shop with 3 other friends during university time and did not focus on getting to the top of the class. Though the venture did not succeed due to disagreement among the partners of the firm, I gain plenty new experiences. However, I should have managed better on both fronts. I have a follow-up question. When you mentioned "reach" bucket, in your opinion and the cases you've seen before, what is the chance of a candidate getting into the "reach" bucket school? 10% - 15%? At the back of my mind, I really do not want to trouble my recommenders to keep writing and sending their recommendation.

3. I am only looking at US programs because I talked to a few students, some of them graduated from LBS and Insead, saying that it is difficult to land a job in the US if the MBA was not from a US school.

Thanks again!

Posted from my mobile device

swarup1981 · Answer

Hi

Pl can you evaluate my profile for 1 year MBA programs & share relevant colleges.

I am preparing for GMAT & aim for a score of 650-680. looking forward to 2019 enrollment.

- 35 years Indian Male
- Bachelor of Commerce ( H) from Delhi University, ICWA ( Inter ) , PRINCE2 Certified PM , IIM A Data Analytics Certified
- Senior Manager for Finance & Supply Chain Projects with IBM
- 12 + years international experience ( Infosys, Capgemini , IBM ) as a client managing consultant & advisory for Europe , USA & APAC clients. Projects managed worth $5 million - $ 100 million & managing team sizes globally during projects from 40 - 200 people.
- Awarded Best Project Manager by Infosys
- 3 years International stay exposure based out of England ( 2 years ) & Singapore ( 1 year )
- Senior Reviewer with Trip Advisor ( 20000 + readers ) for frequent travels documented during official trips to Europe , APAC & USA
- Volunteer at orphanage run by charitable foundation teaching kids and supporting weekend meals

Your guidance is most welcome. Thanks.

VantagePointMelody · Answer

Hi there,

You're welcome! Happy to help! Unfortunately, I really can't quantify the chances of getting admitted to a "reach" school since it depends on so many individual factors. But I've definitely worked with clients who were admitted to programs where some aspect of their profile is below average - so it happens, but you have to be strategic about offsetting that weakness. I understand your concern about your recommenders so I would suggest taking a balanced approach to school selection and apply to 1 or 2 reach schools that are your dream schools and then also apply to some more realistic options. That way you're taking a calculated risk but not wasting everyone's time. Does that make sense?

Best,
Melody

VantagePointMelody · Answer

Hi there,

Thanks for reaching out! Given your years of work experience, have you considered EMBA programs? I think you may find them better suited for your profile and place in your career. One-year MBA programs in the US tend to skew quite a bit younger (avg age: 28, avg years of work ex.: 5, etc.), unfortunately. However, European schools offer way more options in terms of one-year MBA programs and those may be good options for you, depending on your career goals post-MBA. Besides this general guidance, it's tough for me to advise you on school selection without understanding your goals for the MBA and your career post-MBA. At this point, my recommendation to you is to consider a range of schools where your age and GMAT score are competitive and then further research the career placement opportunities that graduates have pursued in the past in order to determine which programs are the best fit for you.

In terms of your profile, it sounds like you've had a significant amount of international experience and well as leadership/management experience, which will certainly play into the strengths of your application. The details behind those experiences are what will ultimately differentiate you in a competitive applicant pool.

I hope that's helpful! Wish you the best!

Kindly,
Melody

Mastiff · Answer

Thank you so much for your advice, Melody.

Posted from my mobile device

VantagePointMelody · Answer

You're welcome!! Wish you all the best with the application process this year!

kells26 · Answer

Hi, Vantage Point, need some advice on my profile.

Intending to apply for Oxford and Cambridge 1yr MBA for 2018 intake

Profile:
-Age: 27 (Singaporean Female)
-Bachelor of Business Admin (2nd upper honours) from National Uni of Singapore, NUS (top 30 in the world) 
-GPA: 4.3/5
-GMAT: 3 attempts. Best: 680 (Q48,V34,IR7)

Work Experience
-5years work experience at point of admission
- Product Manager in front office corporate and investment banking with one of the biggest US banks with huge footprint in Asia
-started with management associate prog (only admits 10-12 analysts per year in Asia) 
-Promoted once during 3rd yr with bank
-from analyst to product manager within 3 years. Area of coverage expanded from south east asia to whole asia 
-heavily involved in both regional and global projects (within job scope and enterprise-wide) 
-heavily involved in community events, campus events, bank wide interest groups and nationwide sports competition representing the bank.

Objective of MBA
-widen network
-hope to move into corporate strategy, business development or innovations role with huge mnc (Visa, mastercard,amex) or with other bulge bracket banks in asia or UK

Questions: 
1) will I stand a good chance with these 2 schools and if yes, what are the chances of partial or full scholarship.

Thanks!

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