Profile Evaluation Request

Question

Hi Alex,

Please could you evaluate my (abridged) profile providing any clue as to the probability of getting accepted to my target schools? This is all under the assumption that I assemble a cracking application and nail the interview of course.

Profile:
Undergrad: Went to Brock University in Canada. Took a year off to travel Europe before high school, and took a year off after second year of University due to the passing of my father. (2 years late)
Other school: a graduate studies program founded by Google and NASA. Selected as a top student to collaborate on how emerging technologies can help to solve the planet’s grand challenges.
GPA: Barely passed all courses in the first two years of undergrad, including the only core math classes I took. Took a year off due to father passing, averaged an A in my final two years to graduate with honours Econ.
Work experience: London UK Private Equity placement executive where I helped raise $1billion and was promoted. Currently Vice President of a new derivatives brokerage and have founded my own venture capital portal.
Age: 29 now.
GMAT: 720

Honest to goodness reasons why I want to do an MBA: (besides the above)
- To learn the formal language of business - I have always had an intuitive/natural understanding of business, but I feel a bit inadequate when talking about it with others, as I have never studied it formally and am always unsure of the terminology, metrics and analysis. I need to be able to communicate with business people if I am to work with them. I have to learn it anyway, may as well get credit for it. I am genuinely interested in the topics and think it would be good fun actually.
- International network - when I am older, wheeling and dealing, buying and selling businesses, I would like to have an international network that I can call up and trust. Hoping to find this with an MBA.
- General personal development - I have realized that I am very sensitive to my environments. I wouldn’t mind spending a year or two surrounded by top students and faculty. I have had difficulty assembling a mastermind group in the past, this is basically like paying someone else to assemble one for me.

Don’t really care about employment – but would give it a shot.
- Working for a top MC firm for a couple years would be good to polish my operational skills which I will need.
- Transitioning into PE principle investing for a couple years would good be to polish my M&A skills which I will need.

Concerns:
Age – Would be 32 upon matriculation - unless I can find a program that starts in January or the summer.
Only boutique experience – never worked at a large company or attended a big name school. Except perhaps Singularity University which was founded by Google and NASA.
Undergrad school – You were born in Canada, so maybe you are familiar with Brock? Yeh that is my undergrad school, sucks I know.
Undergrad transcript – mentioned above, first couple years = not so hot.

Strengths:
International experience
PE contacts
Entrepreneurial experience

Target schools:
 H/S/W  - too old I think, so..
INSEAD (like the one year program), MiT
LBS, Columbia

AlexMBAApply · Answer

You should be competitive for any of the schools outside of H/S/W.

I'd target INSEAD, LBS, Columbia, Chicago, Sloan, and then maybe NYU, Cornell and Yale as your safeties (they're not true safeties, but they're schools where you should have a reasonable shot of getting into unless you run into bad luck; for real safeties you'll have to look outside the top 16 or even at the Canadian schools like Rotman or Ivey).

Just put together some strong applications and you should be able to get into at least a few of your choice schools.

leomba · Answer

Thanks!

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