Profile Evaluation

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Profile Evaluation

by ryan110 » Thu Apr 09, 2009 3:10 am
Just wanted to get a quick profile evaluation. Here is some background on me:

Undergraduate Institution: Cornell University
Degree: B.S., Economics
GPA: 3.5/4.0 (graduated cum laude)
GMAT: 760

I will have a total of five years of work experience at matriculation. I spent the first three years of my career after graduating from Cornell working as an Investment Banking Analyst in the Mergers & Acquisitions Group at Jefferies & Co. I was consistently ranked at the very top of my analyst class (and can and will get recommendations that support this). After my third year at Jefferies, I decided to leave banking and go to Hewlett-Packard as an Associate in the Corporate Development & Strategy Group there. I have been working in this capacity since August 2008. I lacked any free time at all while working at Jefferies, so I didn’t have anything in terms of extracurriculars for those three years. Since joining HP, I have spent about 8 hours a week volunteering with the Stanford University Institute for Neuro-Innovation. I have had a seizure disorder since I was a child, so this is something that really hits home for me.

I would really like to go into management consulting post-MBA for a few years before branching out into PE or possibly my own ventures, and wanted to get your thoughts on schools to apply to. I’m ambitious, but am also concerned about ROI and don’t want to waste my time. What types of schools do you think I should consider? Honestly, working for a McKinsey, Bain, or BCG post-grad would be ideal for me, so I’d like to create a list of five or so schools that would best position me to do that.

My concerns are that 1) GPA isn’t incredible, 2) worked in investment banking, which is traditionally more competitive statistically (i.e. higher GPAs and GMATs), 3) don’t have a lot of leadership experience.

Thanks in advance for your help.
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by Lisa Anderson » Thu Apr 09, 2009 4:33 pm
Dear ryan110,

You have no reason to be concerned--you are building a competitive foundation for a business school application. Your GPA is not exceptionally high, but it will be at or above the average for most schools. Likewise, it is from a highly selective school which makes your 3.5 all the more commendable.

I'm not sure what your concern is regarding point 2--you have a very high GMAT score and a good GPA. Additionally, your professional background demonstrates your intelligence and aptitude to succeed in business school.

As for leadership experience, think about what you have done in the last 4 years and what you can do in the next year. Maybe you are not a manager in the office, but have you led a team? supervised staff informally? led a project and/or been responsible for a budget? Outside of the office, have you been a team captain for a sports team? led a project for the Neuro-Innovation Institute? You have time to gain some experiences, but schools will also look for evidence of leadership potential in your application.

Finally, the best way to identify schools that have strong ties to top-tier consulting firms is to find out where they recruit their MBA talent from--look on the company websites for a list of core schools. Conversely, you can also look at where schools are placing graduates to determine if a school has a recruiting connection to your desired industry.

Best of luck,
Lisa
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by ryan110 » Thu Apr 09, 2009 6:08 pm
Lisa,

Thank you for your response.

My concern with my investment banking background has to do with my fear of being bucketed with a lot of other bankers who have higher GPAs and strong GMAT scores. I'm just afraid that my stats will be less impressive when compared with that group. I am also somewhat concerned with the Jefferies brand. While it's fairly well known within the financial services industry, it obviously isn't a Goldman Sachs or Morgan Stanley.

My initial list was the following:

- Harvard Business School
- Wharton
- Chicago Booth
- MIT Sloan
- INSEAD

I know the above are some of the most competitive b-schools out there, but with well prepared applications, do you think I can be reasonably confident that I will be able to gain admission to at least one? Or do you think it would be wise to add a "safety"? Please also let me know if I'm reaching too high.

Thanks again.

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by Lisa Anderson » Sun Apr 12, 2009 2:33 pm
I think it is always prudent to have 1-2 safety schools, no matter what your profile looks like. While it is possible you will gain admission to one of your top choices, there are no guarantees.

Good luck,
Lisa
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