Profile Evaluation

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Profile Evaluation

by gamaitec » Mon Dec 28, 2009 12:09 pm
Please evaluate my profile. Thank you.

GMAT: 710 Q44 (70%) V42 (95%) [I did not study hard for the test. Should I re-take and attempt to get in the 750 range?]

Undergrad GPA: 3.0 from State School in Mathematical Finance with minors in math and economics. The split in my undergrad record is pretty significant with C and Bs in advanced mathematics courses and B+ to As in Finance/Business classes.

Work Experience:

Started career with a MAJOR financial institution in the controller's group. I was promoted within the first 6 months and received an internal rating designated for the top 5% of the company. After 1 year at this position, I was hired at a mid-tier investment bank in the equity research group.

Specifically, I covered specialty finance and banks & thrifts. I was ranked as the number 2 associate in the company even though I was the youngest associate and one of the few without an MBA.

After 1.5 years in that position, I was lured away to start a business for a well-known entrepreneur. He has started two publicly traded companies ($500M+ market cap) and currently owns a very large media business. Our business was tailored to providing political research for institutional investors. I was the 2nd employee and drove the majority of the revenue in the first year. Unfortunately, there were compensation disagreements with management and employees and none of the original employees are with the firm.

I returned to the first company and perform mostly corporate strategy functions with high interaction with government agencies. Currently, I am a Senior Financial Analyst and have once again received the highest rating in the company.

Recommendations
-My boss (managing director) at the investment bank
-A senior vice president at my current company

Extracuricular
-College
Inter-fraternity Council President
Inter-fraternity Council Treasurer
Fraternity Man of the Year (award given by the administration to the individual who most exemplified academics, leadership, and ethics)
Fraternity Treasurer
Fraternity Ritual Chair

-Post College
Founded an Investment Club and act as CIO
Active in both the Republican Party and the Libertarian Party
Campaign for certain candidates


My academics are notably weak. Since college, I have outperformed almost every other individual at my level in every job. I think the significant advancement as well as my extracuricular activities should help to highlight my leadership potential.

What do you think are my potential schools?

Below is my list:

HBS (a reach obviously)
Wharton (a reach, but since I have very strong experience and recommendations in the Finance community it should be less of a reach)
Tuck
Johnson (Cornell)
Anderson (UCLA)
Darden (UVA)
Fuqua (Duke)
USC (safety)
Georgetown (safety)
Source: — Ask Stacy Blackman |

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by Lisa Anderson » Wed Dec 30, 2009 6:03 pm
Dear gamaitec,

You have the foundation for a competitive application to any MBA program. A higher GMAT score certainly won't hurt you, but whether or not you necessarily need to retake the test is up for debate. If you have only taken it once and believe you can increase your score more than 30 points, then it might be worth retaking it. I would not suggest spending time on a retake though at the expense of other parts of the application. While your GPA is slightly below the average for your target schools, it is not out of range and your GMAT score does show your academic aptitude. Additionally, your track record in your career demonstrates your level of motivation and commitment.

For the schools on your list, your essays, recommendations and interviews will be critical; you must present a solid rationale for your MBA in relation to your past experiences and future career goals. Likewise, you will want to make a compelling case for why that school. I think your assessment of the schools on the reach/reasonable/safety scale is probably right, but once again, it will depend on the strength of your overall application.

Best of luck,
Lisa
Lisa Anderson
Consultant
Stacy Blackman Consulting

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