Ask Veritas Prep Admissions Consulting

I am currently in the middle of planning for a future MBA and wanted to know what my current odds at my target schools and what could I do to improve my standing.

Educational Background:

I went to a middle tier Undergrad my first year was horrible I ended up with a 2.5 average for that year (which included introductory stat courses), I regained momentum and be raised my GPA to a 3.2 overall and Finance Major GPA 3.8, I also passed the first level of the CFA during my first semester senior year. I also recently sat down for the Level 2 CFA exam, and think I did fairly well (we'll see in august), I am only 22.

Experience:

My work experience is not what you call ordinary, when I graduated from undergrad I decided to go back home to Puerto Rico, and began working as an unpaid intern in August at the islands pension system which manages around 8B in gross assets, I quickly excelled among my peers and was offered what they call a "political position" as executive assistant to the Pension fund Administrator (comparable to the CEO) and to the Chief Investment Officer.

The pension system I am working in is currently the worst funded pension system in the united states, 9.8% funding, and it has an estimated life of five more years and a total obligation between all the funds of about 30 Billion, It is been called the Islands Achilles heel. The administration I am currently working with was brought in to try to salvage and restructure the system; we are dealing with a very demanding, dynamic, and challenging situation.

I know that I will be able to get excellent recommendations from both the Administrator and the plans CIO.

GMAT:

I am currently planning to take the GMAT in October, now that I have time to study since a just took the CFA level 2 exam which was pretty grueling and gave me no time for anything else.

Targets:

I would like to enter a MBA program at a top tier school I am currently looking at
Harvard, Columbia, Wharton

The Question:

Assuming I am able to achieve a GMAT score around 700 and I pass the Level II I recently sat for and the Level III CFA Exam.

What are my prospects for getting into one of these schools and more importantly what other recommendations do you have for improving my candidacy?

Thank you for your help,

D.R.

Given your stellar work experience, you stand a good chance at a top program if you score well on the GMAT. Be prepared to explain your initial low undergrad GPA and also talk about any "lessons learned" from your freshman year. You could further improve your candidacy by re-taking stats and doing well in it and also by adding some extra-curriculars activities. Finally, you should be able to clearly articulate your short and long-term goals and discuss why an MBA is important to your career progression at this point in time. Make sure that the individuals who write your recommendations also clearly understand your goals and plans for the future so their LORs will be strong.