Profile Evaluation: 710 (Q49, V39), 3.65 GPA, weak work experience

Question

Hi, thanks for taking the time to evaluate my profile. I was wondering if I can get an honest opinion about my chances in getting into the following schools:

Berkeley
UCLA
USC
Yale
NYU

Here is a more detailed look at my profile:

GMAT: 710, Q49, V 39, IR 7, AWA: TBD

GPA: 3.65 (but majored in political science and minored in chinese studies). I managed to get cum laude and high honors in my major (required an honors thesis).

Undergrad: Nothing special but my school did like to brag it was a top 10 public school.

Work Experience: 3 years at a small business doing underwriting and administrative work (think real estate, insurance, mortgage). I plan to apply in R1 next year (2015) so I should have 4 years of experience by then and 5 years by the time I matriculate. The thing is that this is a family owned business with about 25 employees so I am afraid this won't be as impressive as applicants who worked at a fortune 500. I can demonstrate an increase in responsibilities and might even get a promotion to manage a department of about 4 people soon. But even so, will my application be hurt because I worked for such a small company?

Extracurriculars: Don't really have anything after college but in college I won a fellowship to do a summer research program, worked part time, and got high honors on my honors thesis. I also had a scholarship in college that put me in a scholar's program where I was paired with a mentor and worked on leadership abilities like public speaking.

Career Goals: Right now I work in the underwriting side of things and have tiny exposure to the financial side (bond trading and hedging that our company does via another investment firm). Right now the investment firm does all the hedging for us but I do work with them by supplying daily reports so that they know what to hedge. I want to either move to that side of the business or something more finance related. I believe I can craft a convincing essay and justify my desire and ability to career switch.

Other: I am a first generation college student and Asian-American if any of that helps.

My main concern is my work experience and the lack of quantitative coursework. I took AP calc in high school, 2 econ classes in college, and 1 stats class for political science majors. Do you think I should take one or two math classes at a CC prior to applying to strengthen my application. Also, what are your thoughts about my work experience?

Lastly, I would like some input on getting a merit scholarship in the mentioned schools. Just wanted to know my chances for that too. Thanks again for your time.

CriticalSquare · Answer

Hi there,

Thanks so much for posting! You have some great questions AND YOU ARE ASKING THEM AT THE RIGHT TIME. I love that. So let's talk about what we're dealing with and how you can move forward for the next 9 months or so!

Academically, you're on pretty decent ground. Good school, strong GPA (with honors) and a GMAT that lets you play at all the programs you've listed. It isn't amazing, but it's a solid score! To your question about taking a couple of courses - yes, maybe a Calc or Stats or something to show you can hack it.

Involvement wise, you're weak. You need to fix that and ASAP. You had some great accolades in undergrad but if you're working for a small company in a pretty 8-5 role then there is no excuse for this to be light. If bankers and consultants can do it, you should be doing it to. That's the skinny of it. So find something you're passionate about, and get to it. Like...tomorrow.

Work wise - this is what it is. If you can get your promotion and manage people, that'll be fantastic. And the fact that you have interesting exposure to the finance side of things is a plus. But it being small and family owned isn't the ideal situation to be in. You definitely get more responsibility and exposure, but blue chip companies act as proxies. Proxies are important. In addition to the promotion, try to run a really impactful initiative if possible. Something that is the cornerstone of your experience!

As for merit scholarships, you're stretching. If aid is a priority, then you should look a little bit lower (more around the USC range).

Let me know if you have any questions!

Bhavik

fgale08 · Answer

Hi Bhavik, thanks for your detailed response! I will definitely take your advice and try to polish my profile in the next 10-11 months.

Involvement wise, it's true I haven't been really been out there volunteering or helping my community. This is definitely something I have wanted to do but never could find the time for or the right opportunity (and I pretty much keep making excuses about it). I will try to push myself to do something more meaningful in my spare time. However, I do have many hobbies so hopefully I don't come off as someone who just works, studies, and hangs out with friends. I love going to the gym to work out, staying active by hiking, and cooking is a giant hobby for me now. I also research companies and stocks because I have set aside a decent sized fund for investing. That is probably the most business school related activity I do. I will try to work on my extras.

Work wise, now that you mention it, I do seem to be lacking a leadership/defining project role. I will definitely be gunning for that promotion and be on the lookout for opportunities to contribute and/or lead an important project.

One question I forgot to ask is that do you happen to have insight on whether or not Berkeley is open to accepting career switchers, especially applicants who have limited experience in traditional business positions? I know they love people with quant heavy backgrounds and science/engineering applicants. Do you think I will have a decent shot since I am a career switcher?

Thanks again, this has been very helpful.

CriticalSquare · Answer

Hey there,

You're very welcome! To your point about career switching...

An MBA is a fantastic way to make a switch. An adcom isn't there to serve as a gate keeper on your desire to switch alone. But what they are looking for, if you're thinking about it, is someone who understands a) why and b) how. A lot of times people think adcoms don't like career switchers because they got dinged but usually that's because either the goals they communicated were wildly unrealistic or they were conveyed in cursory and superficial ways that led the adcom to believe they didn't really GET IT.

So Berkeley is no more or less welcoming to career switchers than other programs. But with a class size of <300, they're really focused on making sure the career switchers they DO let in, know what they're about.

Does that make sense?

Bhavik

fgale08 · Answer

Yes, I believe I understand. You are saying my academic and GMAT profile are solid. Work is what it is and it's not like I can go back in time to change my work experience. Extras I can hopefully work on.

So it really just comes down to my execution during the application and interview phase. If I can demonstrate that I worked hard and gained increasing responsibilities throughout my career, this will go a long way in mitigating this weakness. I also have to do a good job articulating why I want to career switch and sort of craft a good story about how I plan on doing so. Since crafting an argument has always been my strong suit (I was a poli sci major), I am hopeful I can pull this off.

Thank you so much for pinpointing the areas where I can improve.

CriticalSquare · Answer

My pleasure! Good luck!

Bhavik

Profile Evaluation: 710 (Q49, V39), 3.65 GPA, weak work experience

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