Profile evaluation request

Question

I was hoping you could evaluate my profile, and let me know where I would be competitive - thanks!

I currently work for a large investment fund in a research role and I have been here for two years – I would like to apply to an MBA program next year for matriculation in 2 years. There are very few opportunities for leadership here, so I develop my leadership abilities mostly outside the work place (please see extracurriculars below). I would like to earn an MBA from a top US school in order to move to an Analyst position at another fund. Others in my same role, apply at the same time, have gotten into Wharton (3 have gone there), Chicago, Berkeley, and UCLA (they all went to better undergrads than mine). Oddly, no one has ever gotten an interview at Stanford or Harvard.

Personal stats:
- GMAT: 730
- White male, 24
- CFA level III Candidate
- Private pilot (licensed at age 17)

School stats:
- Large, unranked state school
- Major: Finance
- GPA: 3.63

While working I do the following extracurriculars:
- President of my HOA – 18 unit complex, bought the condo when I was 22
- Toast Masters - earned several certifications for public speaking and will likely hold a leadership role by the time I apply
- Volunteer for local the PKD foundation – my girlfriend had kidney transplant from the disease, I was the third largest fundraiser for a half-marathon (raised $2K)
- Volunteer for college student mentorship program (mentor 1 student/semester)
- Volunteer for financial literacy non-profit – I give lectures to college students and lead a local outreach effort

During undergrad, I had the following extracurriculars:
- President of my Finance Society (50 members)
- Treasurer of my Fraternity (100 members, $300K budget) - held 6 other positions over 3 years
- Won leadership award through my university (given to five people annually)
- Won leadership award through my fraternity (given to one person annually)
- 5 internships (IB boutique, IB public finance, Merrill Lynch, family office fund, non-profit finance

Thank you for your advice!

Admissionado · Answer

Dude, Looking good! I don't know why nobody from your firm has never gone to HBS or Stanford, but it never hurts to try and be the first

. I think your profile is totally top 10 material. You've got the job, the grades, the GMAT, the industry. Plus you've got lots and lots of extras in undergrad, and FIVE internships, which definitely put you in the top percentile as far as that is concerned. The only thing Top 5 schools might not like about your profile is the 'non-brand' school. That, plus the fact that you are applying from a big investment fund,puts you up against all those other "boring guys and gals" who are applying with finance backgrounds... except the fact that some of them went to Harvard for their undergrad...

So how can you beat the game? You gotta play your uniqueness card... write passionately, differently. They are gonna know your employer, and your job. They will have your good test scores.... now, in your application, what else can you ADD that they will otherwise not know about?? How will you surprise them? How will you leave your mark??? If you figure that out, you have got your strategy going... (And getting the support of your current employer never hurts) Hope this helps, JF

eriginal · Answer

Thanks for the reply! I just wonder since my peers (from better undergrads) have not gotten in, if my time/effort is better spent applying to non-H/S schools... that said, how many schools would you recommend I apply to in round 1? And from an investment management perspective, where would you apply? My only other criteria: the school needs to be in a city so that my significant other can work. I have a good idea of where I want to apply, I just want to hear your opinion before I say anything. Not sure if this is helpful, but in my year, I will be the only person applying from my fund (we are large, but not PIMCO large, think ~$50-100 bn. with a very unique focus). As for the uniqueness factor, I have definitely heard this before and I have a few ideas for how to play this. But we will see how it works out I suppose

I will have a quite a few solid recs from bosses that already know I want to go to business school (and know me very personally).

Admissionado · Answer

Well, first of all: since you are talking about next year, apply to as many top 10 schools as you can... all ten (doesn't have to be only and exactly the top ten... but you get my drift...) if you can find the time. Why not? I mean, worst possible result is that you get a surprise full ride somewhere

From an investment management perspective, you have all the usual suspects - HBS, Wharton, Booth, Sloan, NYU, Tepper, Haas, Johnson, Columbia... but don't let anyone tell you that if you graduate from Tuck, Duke, Kellogg, Stanford, it won't help you get a good investment management job... even if they are not exactly in the right cities... As for your significant other, I gotcha... but what does she do? Best, JF

eriginal · Answer

Interesting, I've usually heard the opposite, but I love having my opinion changed! I've typically heard that focusing time/energy on your favorite few is the best call, instead of spreading yourself too thin. However, I do have a lot of trouble differentiating the different programs... Quick question: when do applications open and are the essays, structure of the resume and what the recommender needs to focus on really all that different accross schools? This may be overly cinical, but it seems like every school site I read has a focus on team work, innovation, and leadership. After the first application, should the rest be relatively easy?

She works in marketing, so as long as we are relatively near to a reasonably large city it shouldn't be an issue. Also, niether of us have ever lived in a city before and we both want to try it out before I pick a job. I just worry about Tuck, Duke, Johnson or Kellogg for that reason (I have never actually visited these schools so definitely correct me if I'm wrong).

Admissionado · Answer

Who said anything about spreading yourself thin??? I'm talking about spreading yourself thick!

What I mean, is that if you start early enough, you should have no problem getting 5-6 schools in one round. The usual reason people don't make that many schools is because they either don't plan well enough, or don't begin early enough. I mean, you don't have to apply to ten (unless there's ten you want to go to)... but more is not a bad idea. (I wanted to write something ridiculous like "more is more than less"). Regarding the schools, you are right, they all want motivated, teamworky leaders... but there are nonetheless REAL differences there - differences in approach, in curriculum, in style, in people... But start with the practical: Where do you want to work after your MBA? And this company X, from which school to they pull grads as new hires? And there you go, question answered! Given your wife's occupation, she can likely find work anywhere. I mean, marketing is a function in need pretty much everywhere, and not a concentrated industry like Finance or Auto manufacturing. Okay, maybe Johnson would be a bit tough. It's pretty far upstate. But Kellogg is not that unreasonable, Duke either, I don't think. Tuck hmmm. I honestly don't know what the work situation looks like in that area, but obviously its something to be researched. Final thought: Since you are applying next year, definitely definitely definitely visit at least SOME of the schools with your wife. It will make things a LOT clearer for the both of you (Like can I REALLY live here? Can I REALLY work here? ) Best, JF

eriginal · Answer

That makes sense - I always thought the amount of schools others applied to seemed low given that all I need are resumes, recs, and essays... but then again, like you said, they all were people that tended to procrastinate. I will definitely be visiting some schools to get a feel for the various locations. At this point we want to end up in the Bay Area - we are both from the West Coast, with family, friends etc. all located there. Is it true that a better school (Wharton, Booth) trumps region (Haas) for ultimately landing a good Bay Area job - for example, if I go to a better school, all the funds I am interested in from the Bay Area would rather have a Wharton/Booth graduate over a Haas graduate and thus focus their recruitment efforts to match?

Admissionado · Answer

Well, when it comes to selecting where you actually go after you get your results, the answer is simple: You go to the best school you can. (Okay so maybe you have two schools that have similar levels of prestige and then you need to decide based on other reasons). But especially the Top 10/20 schools - they aren't thaaaat regional. I mean people come from everywhere and go to everywhere. Lower ranked schools do tend be a LOT more regional than Top ranked schools, but anyways, you don't need to think about that

As for "school trumping region" I'd say it's usually more true the greater the difference between the schools. So say, graduating in Finance from HBS and then going to West Coast rather than going to Haas is probably for the most part the right choice. There may be certain employers that don't care/prefer a certain school. I mean that exists, but the only way to find out is to speak with folks from your target firm before you make that decision. Best, JF

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