Hi Jon,
Looking for a bit of advice regarding the range of MBA programs I should be targeting (e.g. top 25, top 16, M7, etc.). Since you're the resident real estate expert, I figured I'd throw a profile evaluation your way since most of my experience is in the RE field.
Basics-25 years old, will be 26 in a couple of weeks
-3.48 cumulative / 3.83 major GPA from a small, private, non-target liberal arts college
-Majored in general business administration
-GMAT 740 (48q, 44v)
-Male URM
Work ExperienceCurrently an analyst at a regional commercial bank in the division that manages the bank's commercial real estate portfolio. Have been in this position for a little less than 3 years. The bank isn't a widely known name, but it is the biggest company (in terms of assets/revenue/net income) in the state and has a decently sized CRE portfolio ($574M) which includes the tallest building in the state. The division is small, so I've gotten a lot of good experience (including some leadership experience), but unfortunately no promotions. The job involves all different kinds of work, ranging from FP&A to tenant relations to property acquisition analyses to conducting research on the local market.
Prior to this job, I did some purchasing and accounting work for a small local telecommunications company for 7 months.
Extracurrics-Varsity athlete (wrestling) for a year in undergrad and some undergrad club leadership experience
-Volunteer work for the past year and a half at a homeless shelter with a program assisting residents in obtaining employment (resume/cover letter help, budgeting, computer skills, etc.). Have been with the program since its inception, so a little bit of leadership xp there as well.
-Brazilian Jiu Jitsu for the past seven years (actually the reason why I quit wrestling was to pursue competitive BJJ more seriously)
-Recently passed CFA Level I exam, looking to pursue Level II in June
I recently applied to MIT's and Claremont McKenna's Masters in Finance programs (was accepted at Claremont). My thought process was that with my current non-target UG and non-selective work experience, my chances at top 16/M7 MBA programs wouldn't be very good. I thought a Masters in Finance program could either be an MBA substitute, or get me to a better position to apply to top MBA programs (although at my age/experience I'm starting to realize a MFin/MBA is an either/or decision). I thought I could do Now>MFin>Better Job>MBA, but I'm starting to think I may be too old to go down that path and still remain competitive for top MBA programs.
Post MFin/MBA looking to get into investment management, although I am very open to exploring other career paths.
Basically, just looking to see what range of MBA programs I could target with my current experience and weigh that against any potential post-MFin options. Sorry for the novel and thank you in advance for your input!