Profile Evaluation for MSF

Question

Hello guys,

I am preparing to apply for MFin/MSF programs for 2021 intake in the US. While my profile is pretty average compared to most applicants, I would still like to know my chances at Universities with my current profile so any help is highly appreciated.

Bangladeshi student applying as an International
Undergrad Information: GPA: 3.22; BBA majoring in Finance (Completed in August 2019) from Bangladesh
GMAT: 550 (Q41 V25); Not at all great I know, but what options are available to me with this score?
Work experience: 6 months, as of now, fulltime experience at an AMC as a Research Analyst (work focuses on IPO Valuation and Fundamental company research to make investment decisions)
Choice of Universities: 
1. UCI Paul Merage
2. UIC Business Liautaud Graduate School
3. Baruch Zicklin School of Business.

I currently have an offer from Saint Mary's College in Moraga, California for their MSF (STEM Eligible).

Plan is to get into investment banking and portfolio management post degree (possibly in US).

Even though I feel like a sheep amidst a pack of wolves, any suggestions on how to work with this profile and my chances at the mentioned schools is appreciated. 
PS: My biggest worry is my GMAT score but I don't think I have the option to take it again as I have already taken it thrice without a fruitful result.

Thank you for your time and suggestions.

MiMEssay · Answer

Hey  Jim0907 !

To commence your profile evaluation, I would say that your academic background is quite strong. Your GPA of 3.32 not only displays your academic prowess but also opens a lot of opportunities and doors to top business schools for you. Moreover, your ethnicity would also work in your favor considering schools are always looking forward to expanding the diversity in the cohort.

Coming on to your work experience, You have 6 months of quality work experience in the field of finance, a trait well appreciated by the admissions committee. However, a major factor that I’d like to draw your attention towards is the relevance of brand name in the profile of a B-school applicant. The brand name definitely plays a major role in an application as you’d be competing with applicants from the top schools and big4 companies. To negate the lack of big brand names, talking about the kind of projects you have undertaken, the impact you created, and your career progression with major learning takeaways would definitely showcase the quality of your work and establish you as no less than a big4 candidate.

Further, on the note of extracurriculars, you must be cognizant of the fact that schools seek applicants having a holistic profile. Hence, accounting for the same, you can draw attention towards the endeavors taken up during your UG or take up some CSR initiatives in the company you are currently working in or certifications such as FRM. Extracurriculars are a great way to showcase your skills like leadership, networking, communication skills, etc. Thus, you must get your hands on some extracurricular engagements/initiatives to strengthen your profile.

Moving forward to your GMAT score, it definitely falls short especially when contrasted with the demands and average applicant pool of an MSF program. Since giving a retake is out of bounds for you, I’d suggest you divert your attention towards schools that don’t require a GMAT/GRE.

Given your school choices, all your target schools fall under the safe category where your chances of acceptance are about 80-90%. Additionally, I would like to remind you of the fact that when targeting B-schools abroad, it’s never a good idea to target schools with low ranking as it not only lowers your ROI but also severely hampers your chances of employment, since all the top-notch companies in the industry wish to employ students from the top-ranking universities only. Hence, given your inclination towards the STEM programs and your requirement of a non-GMAT B-school, you can target schools such as Fordham, Mc Combs, Michigan, Georgia Tech, UC-Irvine and Northeastern D’Amore-McKim.

Moreover, as you are targeting the non-GMAT schools, it becomes highly imperative that you focus all of your attention towards your admission application. Application carries 30% weightage in the entire admission process and in the cases of non-GMAT schools, it’s the only way you can showcase your worthiness of the program and also your ability to contribute to the school cohort despite coming from a background with no major brand names.

Since, the major chances of your acceptance are dependent on your admission application, I’d suggest you to check out our flagship service, All-in-One Solution, which provides you with enriching insights into how you can craft a really strong admission process that will allow the admission committee to not only peer into your skills and capabilities but also smooth over the flaws in your profile by providing apt justifications for the same.

Link for the ALL-IN-ONE solutions-
 https://www.mim-essay.com/mim-all-in-one

Hope this helped!

MSFHQ · Answer

3.22 and a 540 GMAT are pretty weak scores. I would make sure you have Saint Mary's on lock and maybe fish for a couple other schools. Pick lower ranked schools near major job markets. I am thinking Pace/Fordham for NYC. The schools you've identified for Chicago. Maybe Case Western. Maybe UT Dallas.

The 540 is what is really killing your application. What is your TOFEL? Are you fluent in written/spoken English? This will be the important thing when it comes to getting a job in the US.

sonkarnishant · Answer

Hi Guys, I have applied for master in finance at emlyon business school and they have invited me to take the digital test of theirs? Does anyone has any idea about the test's difficulty and question types? kindly let me know.

MiMEssay · Answer

Hey  Jim0907 !

To commence your profile evaluation, I would say that your academic background is quite strong. Your GPA of 3.22 not only displays your academic prowess but also opens a lot of opportunities and doors to top business schools for you. Moreover, majoring in a relevant degree such as BBA in finance further bolsters your profile by providing you with a strong foundation in quantitative and theoretical perspectives of finance.

Your GMAT scores however do fall on the shorter end. Since retake is not in the picture, I’d suggest you target non-GMAT schools since several US B-schools have waived off their GMAT/GRE requirements due to the pandemic.

Coming on to your work experience, you have 6 months of relevant work experience in the field of finance, however, there seems to be a factor that’s missing throughout your profile and it is the presence of big brand names. The brand name definitely plays a major role in an application as you’d be competing with applicants from the top schools and big4 companies. To negate the lack of big brand names, talking about the kind of projects you have undertaken, the impact you created, and your career progression with major learning takeaways would definitely showcase the quality of your work and establish you as no less than a big4 candidate.

Further, on the note of extracurriculars, you must be cognizant of the fact that schools seek applicants having a holistic profile. Hence, accounting for the same, you can take up some volunteering activities in a local NGO or Non-profit or take up some certifications such as CF or FRM to further build upon the same. Extracurriculars are a great way to showcase your skills like leadership, networking, communication skills, etc, thus, you must get your hands on some extracurricular engagements/initiatives to strengthen your profile.

Given your school choices, all of these schools fall under the upper competitive category which means you stand a 60% chance of getting into their program. A few other schools that you can target as per your profile would be Fordham, McCombs, Michigan, Georgia Tech, and Northeastern.

Another aspect that you should be acquainted with while applying to B-schools is the importance of a strong application. Since you wish to apply to a highly competitive program such as MFin, you’d be facing competition from a highly saturated and holistically developed competitor pool, hence, a strong application would not only allow you to highlight your strength but also distinguish you from other applicants.

Thus, if you are contemplating on how to draft an impactful application, you can check out our All-in-one service which is a complete end to end consulting process aimed at providing personalised application suggestions, unlimited edits, and expert consultants who would constantly be there to help you throughout your application journey!

Link for the All-in-One solutions:

https://www.mim-essay.com/mim-all-in-one

Hope this helped!

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