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I will have been working in Commercial Banking for 4 years and want to apply to top programs with the goal of breaking into Investment Banking.
Will I be competitive for M7 Programs?

Also, I attended my undergrad for 5 years as I changed my major from Engineering to Finance and my GPA took a roller coaster ride. I started off with a 3.8, but it plummeted during sophomore and junior year. During that time, I failed 2 courses: Intermediate Accounting and Corporate Finance, and retook them getting B+'s in them. I graduated with a cumulative GPA of 3.36.

My question is, how badly will this hurt me once AdCom sees my official transcript? I have leadership experience outside of work as I am on the board for my county's Boys and Girls Club and volunteer at another organization.


Thank you for your help.

angrybird89 wrote:I will have been working in Commercial Banking for 4 years and want to apply to top programs with the goal of breaking into Investment Banking.
Will I be competitive for M7 Programs?

<<snip>>

My question is, how badly will this hurt me once AdCom sees my official transcript? I have leadership experience outside of work as I am on the board for my county's Boys and Girls Club and volunteer at another organization.


Thank you for your help.

Dear Angrybird89,

Here are a few thoughts that come to mind reading your post:

1. Your transcripts are what they are and they arent going anywhere. The best you can do is to ensure all other factors contributing to your application are rock solid. That too depends on the kind of schools you are targeting. While your GMAT may be good for lower ranked schools, you may have a tough time staking a claim at M7 due to this handicap and a less than stellar GMAT
2. You havent mentioned the name of your school or your employer - those would help in the overall assessment. Though you mention commercial banking, it is not clear as to the nature of your achievements and progress. That coupled with your ECs (if anything substantial), will be also important considerations.
3. Finally, the goal itself needs to be well though through. i-banking is not necessarily a natural progression from commercial banking. What is your motivation? You need to find a logical answer to that to share with the adcom

Hope this helps,

Cheers,

The reason behind your getting 2 F's would help to determine to the degree to which this will hurt you. Normally, people improve their grades after switching from Engineering to Finance, because Engineering is usually a more difficult subject and/or grades on a more difficult curve. Also, applying with the goal of switching into Investment Banking might not be the best overall strategy for you given you would then be competing with some of the more competitive students having those same career goals.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend,

MBAPrepAdvantage wrote:The reason behind your getting 2 F's would help to determine to the degree to which this will hurt you. Normally, people improve their grades after switching from Engineering to Finance, because Engineering is usually a more difficult subject and/or grades on a more difficult curve. Also, applying with the goal of switching into Investment Banking might not be the best overall strategy for you given you would then be competing with some of the more competitive students having those same career goals.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend,

Thank you for the honest feedback. Would you say it would be more beneficial if I applied to the programs with a different "goal"? And if so, can you provide some brief advice on what type of way I would be able to spin my story. Ultimately, I would like to break into investment banking - but would it make me a more attractive candidate overall if I tell Adcom I am looking to go into something more challenging such as investment banking, consulting, or corporate strategy as I am interested in challenging myself even further- taking a more flexible approach instead of just saying I want to get my MBA to break into investment banking?

Thank you for all the honest feedback.

Somehow I missed this reply of yours. I am sorry.

I do not know your entire story. I also would not suggest you "spin" and write something "inauthentic". Feel free to contact me for a free assessment. I will help you explore your options.

Have a great weekend,