Forum Home > GMAT > Quantitative > Problem Solving (PS)
Events & Promotions
|
|
GMAT Club Daily Prep
Thank you for using the timer - this advanced tool can estimate your performance and suggest more practice questions. We have subscribed you to Daily Prep Questions via email.
Customized
for You
Track
Your Progress
Practice
Pays
Not interested in getting valuable practice questions and articles delivered to your email? No problem, unsubscribe here.
Dec 1511:00 AM EST
-11:30 AM EST
Meet Tuck at an informal student or staff-hosted coffee chat in a city near you!
Dec 1408:00 AM PST
-11:30 AM PST
Join us for an exclusive Admit Weekend designed to help you navigate the exciting yet challenging process of choosing between multiple MBA offers and provide valuable guidance on financial aid, scholarship negotiation, visa processes, and more.- Dec 16
08:00 AM PST
-11:59 PM PST
GMAT Club 12 Days of Christmas is a 4th Annual GMAT Club Winter Competition based on solving questions. This is the Winter GMAT competition on GMAT Club with an amazing opportunity to win over $40,000 worth of prizes! - Dec 18
10:00 AM PST
-11:00 AM PST
Here is the essential guide to securing scholarships as an MBA student! In this video, we explore the various types of scholarships available, including need-based and merit-based options. 
Dec 2007:00 PM PST
-08:00 PM PST
Inquire for a free profile evaluation and guarantee statement for possible admits and scholarships!
Dec 2111:00 AM EST
-12:00 PM EST
Save 20% on your subscription to onTrack by mbaMission, a first-of-its-kind on-demand MBA application experience. Use code 20OFFDEC until Dec 31!
Dec 2109:00 PM IST
-10:00 PM IST
Dreaming of a successful post-MBA career? Explore the 2026 career pathways in consulting, tech, finance, and dive into the exciting opportunities and the potential ROI these industries offer, helping you make informed decisions and more.
04 Oct 2019, 18:54
Kudos
Bookmarks
Hi team,
I'd be grateful for any ideas you may have in relation to my profile and what schools you think I might be a fit for. Thanks in advance for your thoughts!
GMAT 720 (Q46, V44)
GPA B+ equivalent (~3.25) double degree engineering/finance major. Non-target (top NZ) university
CFA charterholder
Nationality: New Zealand (Chinese ethnicity)
Applying at 31 years old, male
Worked in 3 countries - NZ, Canada, United States
Worked in 3 industries with 8 years exp - Civil Engineering, Commercial Banking, currently working in investment management in New York
Post MBA goal is to transition into Real Estate Investment Management
Extracurriculars are not so strong. President of sports club in university, spent a couple of years mentoring high school students through class visits. More recently, I have only been involved in networking groups (eg. CFA society and school alumni, etc) engaging as a regular member.
Considering: Columbia, NYU, Berkeley, INSEAD
Thank you!
I'd be grateful for any ideas you may have in relation to my profile and what schools you think I might be a fit for. Thanks in advance for your thoughts!
GMAT 720 (Q46, V44)
GPA B+ equivalent (~3.25) double degree engineering/finance major. Non-target (top NZ) university
CFA charterholder
Nationality: New Zealand (Chinese ethnicity)
Applying at 31 years old, male
Worked in 3 countries - NZ, Canada, United States
Worked in 3 industries with 8 years exp - Civil Engineering, Commercial Banking, currently working in investment management in New York
Post MBA goal is to transition into Real Estate Investment Management
Extracurriculars are not so strong. President of sports club in university, spent a couple of years mentoring high school students through class visits. More recently, I have only been involved in networking groups (eg. CFA society and school alumni, etc) engaging as a regular member.
Considering: Columbia, NYU, Berkeley, INSEAD
Thank you!
12 Oct 2019, 07:40
Kudos
Bookmarks
Hi dsam12,
Thank you for your post. Your international experience and CFA are nice profile elements, and your overall GMAT score is solid -- more or less what I'd think about as a threshold score when applying from a not-super-underrepresented or not-super-overrepresented applicant pool. I also imagine that there's plenty of value to unpack within your diverse work experiences and personal perspective.
Some potential considerations I see are the lower Quant sub-score (the CFA and presumably quant-ish experience help, but there's not much room for "error" here), three different industries and now a fourth post-MBA (you will need to be proactive about explaining those transitions and stitching them together into a narrative that accrues toward the MBA and then your goals), and semi-outlier status from a work experience perspective for the U.S. schools (i.e., you will be a year or two above the 90th percentile from a work experience perspective at enrollment). Each of these factors puts more pressure on the other, and thus puts more pressure on you to address / explain / counteract them where you can. (Also, a 3.25 GPA would be low for Columbia and Berkeley and somewhat low for Stern, but I tend not to trust most back-of-the-envelope international GPA conversions. Were you graded on a 4.0 scale?)
All together, I'd say that you have a competitive base and can put up a good fight, but definitely keep your antenna up about the aforementioned factors. Work experience-wise, INSEAD offers the best alignment, and applying with eight years of experience to enroll with nine is pretty neutral there (whereas at the U.S. programs it's something to "explain" or "overcome"). Berkeley trends a little older than Columbia and Stern, but it's also the smallest and toughest to get into of the bunch. If you live in New York and want to strategize / hedge a bit around the work experience factor, then you might consider looking at Columbia's J-Term MBA or Cornell's One-Year MBA (both accelerated full-time programs) or the likes of Columbia's Executive MBA or Stern's Part-Time MBA (if you're open to those), as they will all align better work experience-wise and give you more leeway on some other factors.
As a country of ~5 million so far away, being a New Zealander with experience in three different countries can be a nice differentiator too! Your 'why MBA' and goals are going to need to be super clear, well researched, and specific, so definitely be sure to focus on that. You can read more in this blog post: https://www.avantiprep.com/blog/the-mos ... on-process. If you would like to chat, please sign up for a Free Consultation here: https://www.avantiprep.com/free-consultation.html. Hope this helps and hope we have the opportunity to connect!
Best Regards,
Greg
Thank you for your post. Your international experience and CFA are nice profile elements, and your overall GMAT score is solid -- more or less what I'd think about as a threshold score when applying from a not-super-underrepresented or not-super-overrepresented applicant pool. I also imagine that there's plenty of value to unpack within your diverse work experiences and personal perspective.
Some potential considerations I see are the lower Quant sub-score (the CFA and presumably quant-ish experience help, but there's not much room for "error" here), three different industries and now a fourth post-MBA (you will need to be proactive about explaining those transitions and stitching them together into a narrative that accrues toward the MBA and then your goals), and semi-outlier status from a work experience perspective for the U.S. schools (i.e., you will be a year or two above the 90th percentile from a work experience perspective at enrollment). Each of these factors puts more pressure on the other, and thus puts more pressure on you to address / explain / counteract them where you can. (Also, a 3.25 GPA would be low for Columbia and Berkeley and somewhat low for Stern, but I tend not to trust most back-of-the-envelope international GPA conversions. Were you graded on a 4.0 scale?)
All together, I'd say that you have a competitive base and can put up a good fight, but definitely keep your antenna up about the aforementioned factors. Work experience-wise, INSEAD offers the best alignment, and applying with eight years of experience to enroll with nine is pretty neutral there (whereas at the U.S. programs it's something to "explain" or "overcome"). Berkeley trends a little older than Columbia and Stern, but it's also the smallest and toughest to get into of the bunch. If you live in New York and want to strategize / hedge a bit around the work experience factor, then you might consider looking at Columbia's J-Term MBA or Cornell's One-Year MBA (both accelerated full-time programs) or the likes of Columbia's Executive MBA or Stern's Part-Time MBA (if you're open to those), as they will all align better work experience-wise and give you more leeway on some other factors.
As a country of ~5 million so far away, being a New Zealander with experience in three different countries can be a nice differentiator too! Your 'why MBA' and goals are going to need to be super clear, well researched, and specific, so definitely be sure to focus on that. You can read more in this blog post: https://www.avantiprep.com/blog/the-mos ... on-process. If you would like to chat, please sign up for a Free Consultation here: https://www.avantiprep.com/free-consultation.html. Hope this helps and hope we have the opportunity to connect!
Best Regards,
Greg
