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Apr 2909:00 AM PDT
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What’s in it for you- Live Profile Evaluation Chat Session with Jenifer Turtschanow, CEO, ARINGO. Come with your details prepared and ARINGO will share insights! Pre-MBA Role/Industry, YOE, Exam Score, C/GPA, ECs Post-MBA Role/ Industry & School List.
Apr 2908:00 PM EDT
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Join us for a live Ask Me Anything (AMA) session with Juno’s Co-Founder, where we’ll break down everything you need to know about financing your MBA in today’s rapidly changing landscape.
Apr 3010:00 AM EDT
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Applying to business school from a finance background? Personal MBA Coach is here to help with this quick tips video on how to set yourself apart during the MBA application process!
Apr 3010:00 AM EDT
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Sia Admissions Founder Susan Berishaj will walk through why reach/target/safety produces the wrong list for many specific profiles, how admissions committees at different programs read the same background differently, and more...
Apr 3012:00 PM EDT
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Starting at $975 and offering up to $545 of savings, our new Amplify Hourly Packages offer structure and support in certain high-value areas (story development, resume, essays, interviewing) to help get your applications across the finish line.
Apr 3009:00 PM IST
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Thinking about PE/VC? Most consultants are. Few actually make it. Learn how to position your profile, build the right skills, and break into Private Equity & Venture Capital.
May 0108:30 AM EDT
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Get the inside scoop on what makes Emory’s Goizueta Business School great and how you can present a strong MBA application. Explore the difference between our One-Year MBA and Two-Year MBA programs, talk to our admissions team, and meet students.- May 01
08:30 AM EDT
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Get the inside scoop on what makes Emory’s Goizueta Business School great, learn how you can present a strong MBA application, and connect with an Admissions Director to get your questions answered. 
May 0108:00 PM PDT
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Inquire for a free profile evaluation and guarantee statement for possible admits and scholarships!
May 0301:00 PM IST
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Looking to secure a coveted spot at a top business school? Our team of seasoned MBA admissions consultants, including top B schools alumni and industry leaders, is here to help turn your dreams into reality. Let’s kick-start your journey to success!
19 Apr 2019, 13:43
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Hello,
I would really appreciate it if you could evaluate my profile. My dream school is Cornell - Johnson and I'd be applying next year 2020. My career goal after graduation is to transition into investment banking and work for large bulge bracket bank (JPM, Goldman Sachs, BofAML, UBS, etc.) I think the small class sizes and the proximity to NYC would really benefit me and their investment banking immersion program is well known for preparing MBA candidates for a career in IB.
I will be applying when I am 30 years old. American - Male - White
I transferred majors and schools a couple of times through undergrad and and worked two jobs throughout as well. Because of this, and some credits not transferring, I did not graduate until I was 25 years old. I was always in good academic standing throughout undergrad.
Education: B.S. Finance - Undergrad GPA: 3.0/4.0 - from a large state school in the SW United States that has a top 35 business school.
- CFA charterholder
- GMAT Score: 720
Work Experience (4 - 5 Years): First two years after graduation I worked as a financial advisor for a large wealth management company (Morgan Stanley, Fidelity, Vanguard, BofA Merrill Lynch, Wells Fargo) last two years I have worked as a portfolio manager for a large private wealth management company (JPM, BofA Merrill Lynch, Wells Fargo) and was promoted once.
-In my current role I support Senior Portfolio Managers with a combined assets under management of $1.5 billion with customized investment management services to high net worth individuals, families, and foundations.
I have extensive volunteering hours through my company and local community.
Other schools I'll be applying to: Ross, Darden, and Stern.
Thank you so much for your expertise!
I would really appreciate it if you could evaluate my profile. My dream school is Cornell - Johnson and I'd be applying next year 2020. My career goal after graduation is to transition into investment banking and work for large bulge bracket bank (JPM, Goldman Sachs, BofAML, UBS, etc.) I think the small class sizes and the proximity to NYC would really benefit me and their investment banking immersion program is well known for preparing MBA candidates for a career in IB.
I will be applying when I am 30 years old. American - Male - White
I transferred majors and schools a couple of times through undergrad and and worked two jobs throughout as well. Because of this, and some credits not transferring, I did not graduate until I was 25 years old. I was always in good academic standing throughout undergrad.
Education: B.S. Finance - Undergrad GPA: 3.0/4.0 - from a large state school in the SW United States that has a top 35 business school.
- CFA charterholder
- GMAT Score: 720
Work Experience (4 - 5 Years): First two years after graduation I worked as a financial advisor for a large wealth management company (Morgan Stanley, Fidelity, Vanguard, BofA Merrill Lynch, Wells Fargo) last two years I have worked as a portfolio manager for a large private wealth management company (JPM, BofA Merrill Lynch, Wells Fargo) and was promoted once.
-In my current role I support Senior Portfolio Managers with a combined assets under management of $1.5 billion with customized investment management services to high net worth individuals, families, and foundations.
I have extensive volunteering hours through my company and local community.
Other schools I'll be applying to: Ross, Darden, and Stern.
Thank you so much for your expertise!
24 Apr 2019, 11:19
Kudos
Bookmarks
Hi amk1126,
Thank you for your post. Based on what you've shared, I'd say that your profile is generally in the mix for the schools you're targeting, but you will have to execute very well and overcome a few obstacles. The challenges will be differentiating yourself as part of a very common / traditional pool of applicants, convincing them why you need an MBA at this point of your career (and on the higher side of the age curve), why you want to transition from investment management to investment banking, and why you fit / what you can uniquely contribute to each class.
If you sit on your current GMAT score, there will be an even bigger onus on your story, career goals, school specificity and fit, school research and engagement, etc. -- and how all of that fits together -- given that you're mainly in the low GPA, average GMAT camp for these schools. (Cornell's average GPA is a shade lower than the others.) That 3.0 GPA is often going to be outside of the middle 80% for these programs, placing you in the bottom 10% within a typical class. If there are any soft spots in your transcript, you might consider taking a course or two to toughen those up. I'd imagine that your job is fairly quantitative, so you (and your recommenders) should also keep opportunities to shore up those soft spots elsewhere in your application and recommendations.
You'll also need to be super proactive about the age / work experience / why now factor. Enrolling at age 31 to graduate at age 33 and presumably become an associate at an investment bank is doable but definitely pushes up against the higher side of the age curve. (You'd probably be among the oldest people in your associate class, and you will need to convince them adcoms that your recruitment path is still viable. Given you've worked at these firms, albeit in different capacities, I believe it is, but you will need to do some very effective convincing... and possibly even show the adcoms that you're already laying live foundations toward this transition now, before you even apply.)
For all of the reasons described, you can't afford to sleep on any parts of the application. There will be many others with similar personal and professional backgrounds, and while every candidate has strengths and weaknesses, you'll need to make adcoms love you and your story so much that they look past others in your bucket who don't have GPA and age working against them. You should ensure superb story development, career goal specificity and articulation, why MBA and why now, school specificity, school research and engagement (be active), why exactly you fit and how you'll contribute, unique passion / purpose / personal story, excellent recommendations, and even building the aforementioned preemptive paths to your desired investment banking roles. You can read more about several of these factors here: https://www.avantiprep.com/blog/the-mos ... on-process
Please feel free to sign up for a Free Consultation so we can go into these items further and you can ask questions. I worked at J.P. Morgan for seven years [analyst, associate, VP] so would be more than happy to share that perspective as well. You can sign up for a Free Consultation here: https://www.avantiprep.com/free-consultation.html
Best Regards,
Greg
Thank you for your post. Based on what you've shared, I'd say that your profile is generally in the mix for the schools you're targeting, but you will have to execute very well and overcome a few obstacles. The challenges will be differentiating yourself as part of a very common / traditional pool of applicants, convincing them why you need an MBA at this point of your career (and on the higher side of the age curve), why you want to transition from investment management to investment banking, and why you fit / what you can uniquely contribute to each class.
If you sit on your current GMAT score, there will be an even bigger onus on your story, career goals, school specificity and fit, school research and engagement, etc. -- and how all of that fits together -- given that you're mainly in the low GPA, average GMAT camp for these schools. (Cornell's average GPA is a shade lower than the others.) That 3.0 GPA is often going to be outside of the middle 80% for these programs, placing you in the bottom 10% within a typical class. If there are any soft spots in your transcript, you might consider taking a course or two to toughen those up. I'd imagine that your job is fairly quantitative, so you (and your recommenders) should also keep opportunities to shore up those soft spots elsewhere in your application and recommendations.
You'll also need to be super proactive about the age / work experience / why now factor. Enrolling at age 31 to graduate at age 33 and presumably become an associate at an investment bank is doable but definitely pushes up against the higher side of the age curve. (You'd probably be among the oldest people in your associate class, and you will need to convince them adcoms that your recruitment path is still viable. Given you've worked at these firms, albeit in different capacities, I believe it is, but you will need to do some very effective convincing... and possibly even show the adcoms that you're already laying live foundations toward this transition now, before you even apply.)
For all of the reasons described, you can't afford to sleep on any parts of the application. There will be many others with similar personal and professional backgrounds, and while every candidate has strengths and weaknesses, you'll need to make adcoms love you and your story so much that they look past others in your bucket who don't have GPA and age working against them. You should ensure superb story development, career goal specificity and articulation, why MBA and why now, school specificity, school research and engagement (be active), why exactly you fit and how you'll contribute, unique passion / purpose / personal story, excellent recommendations, and even building the aforementioned preemptive paths to your desired investment banking roles. You can read more about several of these factors here: https://www.avantiprep.com/blog/the-mos ... on-process
Please feel free to sign up for a Free Consultation so we can go into these items further and you can ask questions. I worked at J.P. Morgan for seven years [analyst, associate, VP] so would be more than happy to share that perspective as well. You can sign up for a Free Consultation here: https://www.avantiprep.com/free-consultation.html
Best Regards,
Greg
24 Apr 2019, 11:29
Kudos
Bookmarks
Some additional comments, amk1126:
After submitting, I reread your original post and see that you're considering applying in 2020, for potential enrollment in 2021. No matter the exact age math, I already think (and wrote, assuming you were applying this year) that age could become an obstacle for you for full-time programs. That will be the case even more so if you were to apply in 2020 instead of 2019.
Your unique undergraduate circumstances should be explained, as that helps show that you were working through undergrad and helps explain the age situation a bit. But if you're truly interested in full-time programs and an 11th hour pivot from the investment management pipeline to the investment banking pipeline, then I think that you should strongly consider applying this year over next. You're on the higher end of the age curve, and one more year (e.g., enrolling at 32) is rarer territory than enrolling at 31, which already sits either outside the middle 80% or right around the 90th age percentile for these schools.
If you can't apply until next year, then you might start thinking about 1Y programs (or at least a mix of 1Y and 2Y to hedge).
Also, your CFA helps offset the low GPA and probably eliminates the need to look at taking other courses (unless you completely flunked a couple of key ones). I did not incorporate the CFA into my original writeup. That definitely helps.
Best Regards,
Greg
After submitting, I reread your original post and see that you're considering applying in 2020, for potential enrollment in 2021. No matter the exact age math, I already think (and wrote, assuming you were applying this year) that age could become an obstacle for you for full-time programs. That will be the case even more so if you were to apply in 2020 instead of 2019.
Your unique undergraduate circumstances should be explained, as that helps show that you were working through undergrad and helps explain the age situation a bit. But if you're truly interested in full-time programs and an 11th hour pivot from the investment management pipeline to the investment banking pipeline, then I think that you should strongly consider applying this year over next. You're on the higher end of the age curve, and one more year (e.g., enrolling at 32) is rarer territory than enrolling at 31, which already sits either outside the middle 80% or right around the 90th age percentile for these schools.
If you can't apply until next year, then you might start thinking about 1Y programs (or at least a mix of 1Y and 2Y to hedge).
Also, your CFA helps offset the low GPA and probably eliminates the need to look at taking other courses (unless you completely flunked a couple of key ones). I did not incorporate the CFA into my original writeup. That definitely helps.
Best Regards,
Greg
