Profile Evaluation; Non-Traditional Applicant

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Newbie | Next Rank: 10 Posts
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Joined: Sun Jul 26, 2015 10:43 am
Location: Puerto Rico
GMAT Score:550
Hi,

I am new to the site and would like to have an honest evaluation of my profile.

Nationality: Puerto Rico
Age: 36
Education: Will complete Bachelor's Degree in Accounting on May 2016 (3 courses left)
GMAT: 650 (Q44/V37) - First practice test. Will sit for the exam on September 29
GPA: 3.30 - Mid-tier local university
Work Experience: 9 years of full-time work in local accounting firm. Started as Tax Preparer and have been promoted to Senior Associate mainly managing audit, forensic accounting and business valuation engagements. Currently supervise two employees (the economy in Puerto Rico is not doing well) but have supervised up to 5 employees.
Other: Mainly because of immaturity in facing an adverse personal situation, made the horrible decision to leave school in 2008 just shy of obtaining degree. Intellectual curiosity led me to try CFA exams and passed all 3 exams on the first try (waiting to complete work experience requirement for charter). Extracurricular activity mainly consists of donating time to a local animal rights organization and writing investment articles for various online sites. Fully bilingual (English/Spanish). Have traveled to USA, Canada, Switzerland, Germany, Italy and Austria. Married and next month will become father of a baby girl.

My target is to land an investment/asset management job and continue a career in said field (hence the pursuit of CFA charter) so I prefer a program with internship opportunities. Also, I want to enter a full-time program so I can dedicate all my energy to my education (spouse is on board with this). I am looking for schools in the USA (I am a US citizen), Canada (wife is Canadian citizen) or Europe and would like to stay and continue working wherever I end up studying.

I have shortlisted some schools but have not decided to which ones I will apply. Some of these schools are:

Cornell (supervisor is Cornell MBA graduate and wants to recommend me)
Toronto-Rotman
Rochester-Simon
Boston College-Carroll
Babson-Olin
TCU-Neeley
Tulane-Freeman
Rice-Jones
Cambridge-Judge
Manchester Business School

Are there any other schools I am missing which have good placements in investment/asset management that I should consider?

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Source: — Ask an MBA Admissions Consultant |

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by fxMBAconsulting (Leah) » Fri Jul 31, 2015 10:40 am
Hi,

Sounds like you have a solid game plan and that a lot of things are falling into place in your personal and professional life. Congratulations on your wedding and new baby :)

With as much work experience as you have and the fact that you are a somewhat non traditional candidate in that you've just recently completed university (though I understand that you nearly had your degree years ago) I'd honestly recommend looking at executive MBA programs rather than more traditional programs. You might also look into one-year programs. You could try applying to any of the programs you shortlisted (and a few embas as well).

I think that at 38 it is going to be virtually impossible to land a more traditional associate role in investment management because of the age factor but also because the schools you shortlisted aren't the strongest at placing students in these sorts of roles (when the student has no prior experience in the industry). Typically at 38 a person is looking to strength their profile and continue on the same career path they're already on.

Hope this helps. Feel free to reach out if you'd like to chat.
Leah Derus
MIT Sloan MBA 2010
Independent MBA Admissions Consultant
[email protected]
fxmbaconsulting.com

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