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MBAIvyLeague
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ASK MBA IVY LEAGUE - Harvard Grad 19 Jan 2014, 22:24
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I'm a Harvard graduate, as well as a former Harvard admissions interviewer. I currently run my own boutique consulting firm: MBA IVY LEAGUE and specialize in helping top MBA & EMBA clients get in to the Ivy League and Top Ten schools.

Happy to answer and discuss any questions here on the forum, so post away and I will check back as frequently as possible. Thanks!

Jillian
CEO/President
MBA Ivy League Consulting
(646) 276-7042
www.MBAIvyLeague.com
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Karateboy
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Joined: 27 Jan 2014
Last visit: 15 Feb 2014
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Schools: AGSM '16 Stanford '16
GPA: 3.71
WE:Asset Management (Finance: Investment Banking)
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ASK MBA IVY LEAGUE - Harvard Grad 27 Jan 2014, 20:59
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MBAIvyLeague
I'm a Harvard graduate, as well as a former Harvard admissions interviewer. I currently run my own boutique consulting firm: MBA IVY LEAGUE and specialize in helping top MBA & EMBA clients get in to the Ivy League and Top Ten schools.

Happy to answer and discuss any questions here on the forum, so post away and I will check back as frequently as possible. Thanks!

Jillian
CEO/President
MBA Ivy League Consulting
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Hi Jillian,

Could you please provide me with some of your insight? I'm aiming for the top schools and I'm not sure what I should be over next 9-months or so to improve my application. Thanks in advance!

Here's a brief summary of my profile:

White male
Immigrant from Europe
First generation college student
Will be 26 years old when matriculating
Big 10 undergrad
Graduated with degrees in finance and accounting
With honors/distinction and 3.7 GPA
Started career in sell-side research at well-regarded Midwestern investment bank
While at the bank, I learned all the prerequisite financial statement and modeling skills
On my 2-year anniversary, got promoted from junior associate to associate
After 32 months on the sell-side, moved to a the busy side as an equity analyst
10+ billion asset manager
I'm the only analyst that works on our long-only products as well as out newly seeded L/S fund
I source and research all my ideas. I speak directly to CFOs and CEOs.
Completed each level of CFA on my first try. Will get the charter in 4-months.
Will have about 2.5 years of buy side experience assuming a Fall 2015 start date

My target schools are Harvard + Stanford for all the standard reasons and as an opportunity to move outside of the Midwest for at least 2-years. I would also consider Booth, Northwestern, and Wharton, but staying in Chicago or moving to Philly is less appealing.

After grad school, my goal is to find a role as a senior analyst at a top shop, such as ValueAct or Ruane.

I'm still pretty early in the process so I have no idea I how attractive is my profile (been told good enough to try) or what score to aim for on the GMAT.

Any feedback? Advice? Criticism?

Thank you,

KB
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MBAIvy
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ASK MBA IVY LEAGUE - Harvard Grad 28 Jan 2014, 09:57
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Hi KB, happy to offer you some advice. I tell all my clients to shoot for a 720 on the GMAT. 720 (or above) will put you in an entirely different (and highly sought after) league. I do think based on the background you mentioned that you are already very competitive and yes, should apply to your targeted schools mentioned. A lot will depend upon your essays, and how you structure your background, experience, and future goals and vision.

Please let me know if I can be of any additional help.

Thanks -
Jillian
MBA IVY
(646) 276-7042
www.MBAIvyLeague.com
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Karateboy
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Joined: 27 Jan 2014
Last visit: 15 Feb 2014
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Schools: AGSM '16 Stanford '16
GPA: 3.71
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ASK MBA IVY LEAGUE - Harvard Grad 29 Jan 2014, 19:55
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MBAIvy
Hi KB, happy to offer you some advice. I tell all my clients to shoot for a 720 on the GMAT. 720 (or above) will put you in an entirely different (and highly sought after) league. I do think based on the background you mentioned that you are already very competitive and yes, should apply to your targeted schools mentioned. A lot will depend upon your essays, and how you structure your background, experience, and future goals and vision.

Please let me know if I can be of any additional help.

Thanks -
Jillian
MBA IVY
(646) 276-7042
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I don't want to dominate the thread, but what is your advice on "how to frame my background" for s school like Harvard vs. Stanford?

The future goals things is something that I struggle with too - from an application perspective. I genuinely want to learn how to be a manager/run a business so that I can be a better investor. I want to be in a position where I can have a relationship with the management teams of my portfolio companies and give them capital allocation and strategy advice, as one day I may want to pursue an activist strategy. But, I wonder if that sounds too "small" for the MBA application. Maybe I should say something along the lines of "leveraging the financial analysis skills I learned from my career with the managerial skills I hope to learn during my time at [insert B school] to open up my own [insert entrepreneurial idea]."

Thanks again,

KB
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ASK MBA IVY LEAGUE - Harvard Grad 31 Jan 2014, 22:29
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Hi KB, in terms of how to frame your background, that is a really what I help clients with when they decide to work with me directly. The main point though, is to make sure your path sounds logical -- if you are going from one field into another, you want to make sure it all is a logical plan and pathway to your future goals, were all of your experience has "built" to this point.

You do want to be particular though, in terms of details (regarding your future plans), as much as you can. Hope that at least helps somewhat.

Thanks!
Jillian
MBA IVY
www.MBAIvyLeague.com