dlod0
From the Philippines. Planning to apply for Fall 2018.
Background
- Work Experience: 1 year PE, 3 years IBD M&A
- Extra Curriculars: Invested/co-managed a small food stall.
- Undergrad: Mathematics in a Top 2 university in the Philippines, but not ranked highly internationally (around 400-500 range)
- Other education: CFA Charterholder (took cause despite being for investment management, the CFA holds a lot of weight in the Philippines for virtually any finance job)
- Race/nationality: Born in the USA, but raised and lived my whole life in the Philippines. Filipino parents.
- Sex: Male
Stats
- GMAT Score: haven't taken yet but I'm scoring 700-750 for practice tests
- Undergrad GPA: 2.6 (I know, I know, this is what hurts me most. I wish I took a different major. Though I do feel like our grading schemes are different from Western schools. Only a very small portion of our population get GPAs of 3.6-4)
MBA Info
- Goal: Transition to IBD/PE/Corp.Dev in USA. With my background, I have virtually no chance of working in those fields in the US. An MBA would ideally give me a better chance of working in the States. Hoping to come back to the Philippines eventually when I have enough experience and prestige for me to start my own fund (there are only about 2-3 actual traditional PE funds in the country)
- Target Schools: nothing specific, ideally Top 30 with a good Finance program
With my background, which schools would you suggest I apply for? And is a scholarship out of the question?
Hey there,
Well the UG GPA is a killer for Top 10 schools, but for Top 30 you should be allright as long as you do hit your GMAT range and the rest of your profile is good.
So far, it looks good. You are in a good industry and seem to have good work experience, but it's a bit hard to evaluate its strength in a vacuum and without great detail.
If you have a really good story/explanation for your low GPA it would be helpful.
Best,
JF