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13 Jul 2017, 02:17
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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!
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
Joined: 19 Apr 2016
Last visit: 26 Jun 2024
Posts: 203
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 1
Schools: CBS '13 (A)
Expert reply
18 Jul 2017, 12:44
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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
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
19 Jul 2017, 20:10
Kudos
Bookmarks
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
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
