Hi Paul, Please evaluate my profile

Question

Hi Paul,

The following is my profile:
1. GPA - 2.84
2. GMAT - 710
3. Location - Philippines
4. Professional Experience - Senior US Equity Trader (for the past 6 years) for a mid-sized firm. I manage 5 people
5. Entrepreneurial Experience - I also started a food service company last 2002. I cater to educational institutions. I now have 5 outlets. I have 18 employees
6. Community/Charity work - I am very involved in charity work. After I graduated from college, I started a personal scholarship foundation. To date, I have sponsored the college education of 10 individuals. I also tutor them during the weekends.

I think the biggest problem that I have is my low GPA.
I have applied to the following schools:
1. Cornell - finished interview, will know the results tom
2. Columbia - finished interview, denied
3. Chicago - will interview next week
4. Darden
5. Duke - applicant-initiated interview next week

What other schools can I apply to for the 2nd round? I am very interested in applying to NYU, UCLA, and Yale. Do you think that I have a shot with these schools?

In the event that I don't get into an MBA program this year, do you think that a Masters in Finance from Boston college will help compensate for my low GPA when I reapply next year? What other things do you think I should improve on so that I have a better chance of getting into elite schools?

Thanks

yogil80 · Answer

Hi,

I am not here to evaluate your profile but I thought you have a pretty strong background. Do you know why you were rejected by Columbia?

apollo168 · Answer

Hi Yogil80,

I'm pretty distraught about the denial. Columbia was my dream school. I'm really not sure why I was denied since Columbia doesn't offer feedbacks. But the interviewer I selected turned out to be a tough cookie. She was a former president of the Hermes society ( which are student representatives who assist the adcom as MBA students in selecting people to invite for interviews).

yogil80 · Answer

I am really sorry to hear that. I have plans to apply for CSB as well..however I don't think I am a stronger applicant than you are. Sheesh.... hopefully Paul can give u some advice. good luck.

apollo168 · Answer

Hi Yogil80,
Don't be discouraged. Each candidate is different and maybe you will perform better in the interview. By the way, go to https://www.clearadmit.com and check out the interview reports from Columbia. They ask exactly the same questions. I wish you all the luck!

PaulBodine · Answer

Apollo168,

I agree that you are a strong candidate, even with your GPA. Columbia is a tough school with one of the smallest acceptance rates around so don't get down on your qualifications. I think you have a decent to good chance at Duke, Darden, Chicago, and Cornell. You have a good chance at Yale, and a decent chance at UCLA and NYU. Go for it.

Earning a master's in finance just to convince schools to ignore your undergrad GPA seems misguided to me. First, they may wonder why you need both an master's in finance and an MBA, and second, a much simpler solution would be to bump up your GMAT score or ace a few pre-MBA classes like statistics. Even better might be improving your impressive leadership and community profile; make it hard for them to deny you. Take a look at Accepted.com's advice for  applicants with low GPAs . Also look at our  database of interview responses as you prepare for your interviews.

I think the schools you named will come through for you, however, so probably no need to worry about strengthening your profile. 

Good luck,

apollo168 · Answer

Hi Paul,

Appreciate all the advice. I think I'll take your advice on taking a few pre MBA classes. Aside from statistics, what other classes would you suggest? Financial Mgt, Financial Accounting?

Thanks Paul!

Jon

apollo168 · Answer

Just to update Just got waitlisted in Cornell

Didnt have a great interview. Used accepted.com interview database was amazingly helpful. Was able to prepare for almost all the question save for two leadership type questions. This has been a grueling process. Off to Chicago tomorrow for the interview. I've reformulated my answers using my experience from Columbia and Cornell. Hope I have better success this time around. Paul from your experience, do you feel that there is a hit-miss factor with regards to the person who does the interviewer? For my Columbia interview, I interviewed in New York with an ambassador. I unfortunately picked a former president of the hermes society, and a former president of the womens business club. The interview was going smoothly until she asked me how I could contribute to Columbia. I responded with my spiel saying that my leadership experience from my charitable to my professional and entrepreneurial endeavors demonstrates a pattern of proactively seeking leadership roles..... I said i intend to maximize the plethora of leadership opps afforded by both socially and career oriented student orgs. She was disappointed with my response. She said something like how can u concretely contribute? How do you respond to that? Thanks Paul

PaulBodine · Answer

apollo168,

I would vote for Financial Accounting. It's the basic subjects like calculus, statistics, accounting that they like to see preparation in, not Advanced Derivatives, etc.

Yes, interview matches are quite hit-or-miss affairs. Nothing you can do but your best. I think what she was looking for was the *names* of specific Columbia clubs. That question was a How Well Do You Know Our School question. If I were you I would do some memorizing before each interview. 

For those who don't know, Accepted.com's quite deep and recently remodeled interview database can be found  here .

Good luck,

apollo168 · Answer

Thanks Paul,

Really appreciate it!

Jon

PaulBodine · Answer

You're welcome.

Hi Paul, Please evaluate my profile

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