xD420Juice wrote:
Hey everyone, I am looking into Master in Management and Master in Finance programs at HEC,St Gallen, INSEAD, Bocconi, IE and IESE and would love your feedback on my chances, below is a short summary of my resume.
I am a law and commerce Finance major student from the University of Sydney.
My GRE score was 329, 168 in Quant and 161 in Verbal.
I graduated as a Dalyell scholar with an academic scholarship and an average of 72.1%.
I also achieved the highest possible mark in Australia on my territary admission rank of 99.95 which means I was in the top 0.05 percent of students.
I have been playing chess professionally since the age of 12 and have started coaching since the beginning of Uni and have over a couple years of experience as a chess coach.
I have been a volunteer at multiple charities as well.
I also took an internship at a government-ran Legal clinic for a month.
I have done an industry impact project where my group was selected to present our findings to the lead partner in IBM.
I have done an online business impact ( internship like) consulting experience. It had to be held online due to the pandemic.
I have multiple group leadership and mentoring roles throughout university as I was selected as a Dalyell Mentor.
I am worried as I don't have any real finance related experience nor am I sure how my university mark of 72% translates. My mark is much lower than it would be if not for the difficult law degree units that are also being used to calculate my overal average and the University of Sydney is known for having harsh law markings so I am wondering if that's something I could mention to get around my lower than expected marks. In addition of course there is the extra challenges of doing a dual degree in Commerce and Law.
xD420JuiceThe dual degree indicates a strong academic background. 72.1 might be lower than the average score of admitted students at some of those target schools but it shouldn't be a deal breaker for you. The good GRE score can make up for it, especially because you have a strong quant score, which would work in your favor for a Finance program. Also, as mentioned by you, you can explain your below average performance in the optional essay space by talking about the rigor of the program, the difficulty of managing 2 majors and any other challenges you might have faced that impacted your scores.
Furthermore, you have been actively involved in extracurricular activities and volunteering activities, showcasing perseverance and a well-rounded profile.
Although you don't have finance-related experience, your internship, your industry impact project with IBM and your consulting experience can be used to show that you have gained relevant skills in research, analysis, and presentation. You will have to build a narrative to cover these strengths and show how these will help you in a finance course/career.
Overall, if you can show your passion for a career in finance and prove that you are a good fit with each school you apply to by highlighting how the school's offerings align with your requirements and also how you resonate with the school's culture and values, you stand a good chance of admission to your target schools.
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