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soloyolodolo
20 Nov 2018, 00:28
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Hi all,
I just completed my GMAT and was curious to see how my profile stack up for part time MBA programs. I am considering starting my application soon as I will need a good amount of time to work on essays, letters or recommendations, and re-take of my GMAT.
My Target school is UCLA's FEMBA program or USC Marshall. This goes without saying that Haas, Booth, Kellogg, and Stern would be ideal, but I think it might be a reach? I live in Orange County, CA so the appeal of staying local and obtaining a MBA is ideal, but I do not mind traveling to any of the top programs either.
-Age = 37
-Race/ethnicity = Chinese
- GMAT = 640 (Quant 44. Verbal 33. IR 5. AWA ??) - I have a scheduled re-take 01/05.
- GPA = 2.52 ( UCI - B.A. Economics ) - Explanation below
- Own my own Real Estate Investment Company - 6 rental properties. All free and clear. All positive cash flow.
- Work Experience = 19 years
1.) 9 years - Los Angeles, CA - Sales, Marketing, Product Development, Supply Chain Management, General Office Management- I ran the US division of my father's business while he was in charge of production in China. We imported and distributed/wholesale fashion accessories in the US Market. Ranging from small stores in fashion districts across the nation ( Los Angeles, New York, Houston, Atlanta, etc ) to large department stores (Burlington Coat Factory and Steinmart). I was primarily focused on sales, however, being the only person running a company at 18 years old until I was 27 with about 8-10 employees forced me to wear many hats.
2.) 1 year - State Street / Pimco - Irvine, CA - Asset Maintenance Associate II - Provide investment management solutions to buyside client PIMCO. I was in trade operations/ trade support setting up all traded swaps.
3.) 2 years 8 months - John Hancock / Manulife - Boston, MA - Sr. Technical Accountant - daily variation margin settlements for futures contract portfolio reconciliation. Derivative Analysis of cashflow projections and models. Maintain asset and collateral values pending market conditions. Instruct, validate, and settle FX trade with counter-party brokers.
4.) 8 months - PIMCO - Newport Beach, CA - Fund Accounting - Contract position to assist with PIMCO year end audits on trade reconciliation.
5.) 3 years - Discover Financial Services - Irvine, CA - Sr. Executive Mortgage Banker - Mortgage sales converting leads to committed applications, and assist as needed to bring the application to a funded/closed/booked transaction.
6.) 4 months - Discover Financial Services - Irvine, CA - Production Manager - Responsible for managing a team of 6+ Mortgage Bankers to perform sales related duties by ensuring efficient operation of sales activity amongst bankers and assist in establishing goals and objectives. Maintain accurate and thorough monthly management regarding production report preparation and perform regular complex sales performance analysis by monitoring volume, pull through ratios, conversion ratios, app to fund ratios, and other matters involving production metrics. Analyze daily economic/market trends to drive and increase business opportunities.
7.) 1 year - Loan Depot - Sr. Mortgage Banker
8.) 2 years - Current position - Nationstar Mortgage - Sr. Mortgage Banker.
My story is a little unique and full of bad luck/timing. I have faced 2 huge market crashes that affected me drastically. I was about to begin my undergraduate studies at UCI focusing on economics. I really wanted to work my way into WallStreet or IB. I was set to start 1999. With the dot com crash in 1999, my father lost his whole life savings as he decided to invest his assets to the tech sector. He was on margins and was exponentially leveraged which left him exposed to drastic shifts in the market. He had to use reserves in his business to cover and each dip in the market created more problems. Eventually he was forced to face the music and he was broke. I can still remember the moment when he sat me down and told me that he could not help pay my college tuition. I told him not to worry about it and that I would still go to school and I will figure out a way either through student loans and/or work. I also told him that I would help build his business back up.
I started working for my dad full time in downtown Los Angeles as much as I could I would schedule my classes on Tuesday and Thursdays. Go to work Mon, Wed, Fri. Study inbetween. At the time, Texas Hold em Poker was beginning to take off and I was pretty good at the game. I mixed that in to make some extra cash. My dad did not pay me while I was working for him and I knew that student debt would drown me so I made the decision to do the best I can in school while helping my dad and in my spare time I would play poker to pay the bills. At the time, my main focus was to finish school without being in debt. In my mind, having that burden of student loan debt would hold me back financially which would limit opportunities.
It took me 5 years to graduate. I took the 2.52 GPA and walked away with a BA in Economics. Thinking that I would be working with my father at his company forever....I learned a lot working for my dad. I was able to travel to every metropolitan city. I stayed in hotel rooms by myself, with tons of samples of fashion accessories going from store to store, meeting with wholesalers, distributors, etc. It was pretty much a real life internship on being an entrepreneur. I saw how hard my dad worked and realized that his business was inefficient. I had to make changes if we were going to keep up with the rest of the crowd. My dad was still timid and gun shy on taking any risks never recovered from the crash of 1999 and after 8 years of working with him. I was able to build up the sales volume to about $2 million in sales each year. I advised him to sell the company and retire. He did and is now happily retired. A scratch golfer and I have challenged him to work on getting his Pro Card.
I began my corporate career older then all entry level candidates. I thought about MBA, but again, no money to afford it and I did not want to carry any student debt. I began with State Street back office to PIMCO. setting up the derivative swap trades made by the trading desk. I felt like the work was routine, but I had to start somewhere.....about 8 months in, I decided to test the waters to see what is available....
I knew a contact working at John Hancock Financial Services out in Boston, MA. I was able to land an interview even though my resume was not the hottest ticket in town. I did well during the interview and landed the position. Moved out to Boston. 3 months into the job. The great recession hit. I was able to hold steady for about 2.5 years and with no upward mobility within the company and not a single company hiring unless they had Ivy league pedigree/MBA. I decided to pack my bags and come back to Sunny California and start over again...
I started studying for the GMATs back in 2011.....I got a call from a contractor who said that PIMCO is looking to hire for year end audits. If I do a good job they can bring me on permanently. I took the contract and continued to study. Towards the end of the contract I was told by my manager that they wanted to bring me on full time, but everyone else in the department said to me that they do that to everyone and they had no plans to bring me on. They did not want me to leave before the audit was completed. I had a feeling that was what happened so I decided to just shoot my resume around and see what happens.
in early 2012, a good friend of mine called and suggested that I give the mortgage industry a shot. I remember him telling me that I would be a good fit. I was reluctant, but at that moment I was not progressing in the Investment management industry and thus I decided to terminate the contract position ( even though I was burning a bridge ). I also decided to stop my GMAT studies to focus on my new craft.
Taking the position with Discover Financial Services was the best decision I have ever made in my life. In the 3 years that I worked there, I was top 20% of the company in sales all 3 years. I bought a house. I got married to my girlfriend who I have been with since 21 years old. We did a long distance relationship while I was in Boston. She is a big reason why I decided to move back to California. She gave birth to my only daughter. I also was promoted to production manager. I was managing a team of 6-10 bankers ( mortgage industry has very high turnover ). 4 months into my new management position, I already turned my team into producers. I increased originations by 20%. All my bankers were engaged. Hungry. They all bought into the we mentality that I instilled. We were a family. Unfortunately, as my luck would have it, Discover decided to shut down their mortgage division.
I was offered a position at Loan Depot as an Executive Banker and decided to take that on for the time being as my Senior VP was running the show over there and he welcomed me with open arms. 1 year later, the culture at the company was not something I wanted to be a part of and I parted ways. I was offered a Sr. Mortgage Professional position with Nationstar Mortgage with the same manager that gave me my first shot and I am currently working there now.
I have accomplished all my goals that I have set for myself and now I am circling back to my original goal of working in a corporate environment and working my way through the ranks. I want to learn. I want to build my network. I want to try jumping into the tech space. I would love to land a sales position for a major tech firm or start up and move up.
I also own a real estate investment company. I am looking to scale my business eventually wanting to branch out into property management and development.
I would also be interested in possibly getting into IB for private equity, although, I don't think my grades would warrant that. Who knows. Stranger things have happened.
Hope to hear from everyone and hopefully get some guidance. I have explored an Executive MBA program as well, but I feel like I would like to experience a part time program. Let me know what you think. I'd like to get some feedback on how to distance myself from my horrific GPA or should I embrace it? I know I can handle the coursework. The financial situation is all taken care of. I have no debt and I have no bills. My house is free and clear.
I'm open to anything. I can fly to any state to attend school. I do not plan to quit my job at least for the foreseeable future.....
Thanks!!!
I just completed my GMAT and was curious to see how my profile stack up for part time MBA programs. I am considering starting my application soon as I will need a good amount of time to work on essays, letters or recommendations, and re-take of my GMAT.
My Target school is UCLA's FEMBA program or USC Marshall. This goes without saying that Haas, Booth, Kellogg, and Stern would be ideal, but I think it might be a reach? I live in Orange County, CA so the appeal of staying local and obtaining a MBA is ideal, but I do not mind traveling to any of the top programs either.
-Age = 37
-Race/ethnicity = Chinese
- GMAT = 640 (Quant 44. Verbal 33. IR 5. AWA ??) - I have a scheduled re-take 01/05.
- GPA = 2.52 ( UCI - B.A. Economics ) - Explanation below
- Own my own Real Estate Investment Company - 6 rental properties. All free and clear. All positive cash flow.
- Work Experience = 19 years
1.) 9 years - Los Angeles, CA - Sales, Marketing, Product Development, Supply Chain Management, General Office Management- I ran the US division of my father's business while he was in charge of production in China. We imported and distributed/wholesale fashion accessories in the US Market. Ranging from small stores in fashion districts across the nation ( Los Angeles, New York, Houston, Atlanta, etc ) to large department stores (Burlington Coat Factory and Steinmart). I was primarily focused on sales, however, being the only person running a company at 18 years old until I was 27 with about 8-10 employees forced me to wear many hats.
2.) 1 year - State Street / Pimco - Irvine, CA - Asset Maintenance Associate II - Provide investment management solutions to buyside client PIMCO. I was in trade operations/ trade support setting up all traded swaps.
3.) 2 years 8 months - John Hancock / Manulife - Boston, MA - Sr. Technical Accountant - daily variation margin settlements for futures contract portfolio reconciliation. Derivative Analysis of cashflow projections and models. Maintain asset and collateral values pending market conditions. Instruct, validate, and settle FX trade with counter-party brokers.
4.) 8 months - PIMCO - Newport Beach, CA - Fund Accounting - Contract position to assist with PIMCO year end audits on trade reconciliation.
5.) 3 years - Discover Financial Services - Irvine, CA - Sr. Executive Mortgage Banker - Mortgage sales converting leads to committed applications, and assist as needed to bring the application to a funded/closed/booked transaction.
6.) 4 months - Discover Financial Services - Irvine, CA - Production Manager - Responsible for managing a team of 6+ Mortgage Bankers to perform sales related duties by ensuring efficient operation of sales activity amongst bankers and assist in establishing goals and objectives. Maintain accurate and thorough monthly management regarding production report preparation and perform regular complex sales performance analysis by monitoring volume, pull through ratios, conversion ratios, app to fund ratios, and other matters involving production metrics. Analyze daily economic/market trends to drive and increase business opportunities.
7.) 1 year - Loan Depot - Sr. Mortgage Banker
8.) 2 years - Current position - Nationstar Mortgage - Sr. Mortgage Banker.
My story is a little unique and full of bad luck/timing. I have faced 2 huge market crashes that affected me drastically. I was about to begin my undergraduate studies at UCI focusing on economics. I really wanted to work my way into WallStreet or IB. I was set to start 1999. With the dot com crash in 1999, my father lost his whole life savings as he decided to invest his assets to the tech sector. He was on margins and was exponentially leveraged which left him exposed to drastic shifts in the market. He had to use reserves in his business to cover and each dip in the market created more problems. Eventually he was forced to face the music and he was broke. I can still remember the moment when he sat me down and told me that he could not help pay my college tuition. I told him not to worry about it and that I would still go to school and I will figure out a way either through student loans and/or work. I also told him that I would help build his business back up.
I started working for my dad full time in downtown Los Angeles as much as I could I would schedule my classes on Tuesday and Thursdays. Go to work Mon, Wed, Fri. Study inbetween. At the time, Texas Hold em Poker was beginning to take off and I was pretty good at the game. I mixed that in to make some extra cash. My dad did not pay me while I was working for him and I knew that student debt would drown me so I made the decision to do the best I can in school while helping my dad and in my spare time I would play poker to pay the bills. At the time, my main focus was to finish school without being in debt. In my mind, having that burden of student loan debt would hold me back financially which would limit opportunities.
It took me 5 years to graduate. I took the 2.52 GPA and walked away with a BA in Economics. Thinking that I would be working with my father at his company forever....I learned a lot working for my dad. I was able to travel to every metropolitan city. I stayed in hotel rooms by myself, with tons of samples of fashion accessories going from store to store, meeting with wholesalers, distributors, etc. It was pretty much a real life internship on being an entrepreneur. I saw how hard my dad worked and realized that his business was inefficient. I had to make changes if we were going to keep up with the rest of the crowd. My dad was still timid and gun shy on taking any risks never recovered from the crash of 1999 and after 8 years of working with him. I was able to build up the sales volume to about $2 million in sales each year. I advised him to sell the company and retire. He did and is now happily retired. A scratch golfer and I have challenged him to work on getting his Pro Card.
I began my corporate career older then all entry level candidates. I thought about MBA, but again, no money to afford it and I did not want to carry any student debt. I began with State Street back office to PIMCO. setting up the derivative swap trades made by the trading desk. I felt like the work was routine, but I had to start somewhere.....about 8 months in, I decided to test the waters to see what is available....
I knew a contact working at John Hancock Financial Services out in Boston, MA. I was able to land an interview even though my resume was not the hottest ticket in town. I did well during the interview and landed the position. Moved out to Boston. 3 months into the job. The great recession hit. I was able to hold steady for about 2.5 years and with no upward mobility within the company and not a single company hiring unless they had Ivy league pedigree/MBA. I decided to pack my bags and come back to Sunny California and start over again...
I started studying for the GMATs back in 2011.....I got a call from a contractor who said that PIMCO is looking to hire for year end audits. If I do a good job they can bring me on permanently. I took the contract and continued to study. Towards the end of the contract I was told by my manager that they wanted to bring me on full time, but everyone else in the department said to me that they do that to everyone and they had no plans to bring me on. They did not want me to leave before the audit was completed. I had a feeling that was what happened so I decided to just shoot my resume around and see what happens.
in early 2012, a good friend of mine called and suggested that I give the mortgage industry a shot. I remember him telling me that I would be a good fit. I was reluctant, but at that moment I was not progressing in the Investment management industry and thus I decided to terminate the contract position ( even though I was burning a bridge ). I also decided to stop my GMAT studies to focus on my new craft.
Taking the position with Discover Financial Services was the best decision I have ever made in my life. In the 3 years that I worked there, I was top 20% of the company in sales all 3 years. I bought a house. I got married to my girlfriend who I have been with since 21 years old. We did a long distance relationship while I was in Boston. She is a big reason why I decided to move back to California. She gave birth to my only daughter. I also was promoted to production manager. I was managing a team of 6-10 bankers ( mortgage industry has very high turnover ). 4 months into my new management position, I already turned my team into producers. I increased originations by 20%. All my bankers were engaged. Hungry. They all bought into the we mentality that I instilled. We were a family. Unfortunately, as my luck would have it, Discover decided to shut down their mortgage division.
I was offered a position at Loan Depot as an Executive Banker and decided to take that on for the time being as my Senior VP was running the show over there and he welcomed me with open arms. 1 year later, the culture at the company was not something I wanted to be a part of and I parted ways. I was offered a Sr. Mortgage Professional position with Nationstar Mortgage with the same manager that gave me my first shot and I am currently working there now.
I have accomplished all my goals that I have set for myself and now I am circling back to my original goal of working in a corporate environment and working my way through the ranks. I want to learn. I want to build my network. I want to try jumping into the tech space. I would love to land a sales position for a major tech firm or start up and move up.
I also own a real estate investment company. I am looking to scale my business eventually wanting to branch out into property management and development.
I would also be interested in possibly getting into IB for private equity, although, I don't think my grades would warrant that. Who knows. Stranger things have happened.
Hope to hear from everyone and hopefully get some guidance. I have explored an Executive MBA program as well, but I feel like I would like to experience a part time program. Let me know what you think. I'd like to get some feedback on how to distance myself from my horrific GPA or should I embrace it? I know I can handle the coursework. The financial situation is all taken care of. I have no debt and I have no bills. My house is free and clear.
I'm open to anything. I can fly to any state to attend school. I do not plan to quit my job at least for the foreseeable future.....
Thanks!!!
AugustAcademy
Joined: 26 Jan 2013
Last visit: 06 Jul 2024
Posts: 470
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 7
Schools: Stanford '19
GMAT 1: 770 Q51 V44
GPA: 3.99
10 Mar 2019, 03:16
Kudos
Bookmarks
Phew - that is some life story! You've inspired me to work harder at my job 
I'm not sure where you are in the application journey, considering that you posted your message about 3 months ago. But based on what you say, I do believe that UCLA and Marshall would be happy to look at your application. Hopefully, your GMAT retake went well too.
If you need further assistance, please feel free to write in and set up an appointment with us using the link below. We will have a skype session, where we can evaluate the different options for what you could do at this juncture.
Best wishes,
Karthik
I'm not sure where you are in the application journey, considering that you posted your message about 3 months ago. But based on what you say, I do believe that UCLA and Marshall would be happy to look at your application. Hopefully, your GMAT retake went well too.
If you need further assistance, please feel free to write in and set up an appointment with us using the link below. We will have a skype session, where we can evaluate the different options for what you could do at this juncture.
Best wishes,
Karthik
soloyolodolo
