Ask mbaMission

Thanks in advance for looking at my profile. I am very interested to know where my profile stands.

Age/Gender/Ethnicity: 26/M/Hong Kong
Country of Residence: United States

Undergraduate/ Professional Education:

College: Cornell University, Class of 2005
Major: Electrical and Computer Engineering
GPA: 3.6

Fellow of the Society of Actuaries (FSA), attained fellowship in December 2008

Passed Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) level 1

GMAT: 750 (Q49, V42)

Work Experience

Have been working in a Fortune 100 Life Insurance Company since graduation. First started in the company's actuarial development program, which allows students (in insurance companies, employees who are in the actuarial study programs are called students, since they need to take and pass exams) to rotate between departments once every 2 years. I was in 2 different positions while I was in the program, and I am working for a 3rd department currently, although I have officially "graduated" from the development program. Over the period my title has changed 3 times due to my exam progress and increase in work experience. The following are my responsibilities in each department:

1) Corporate Actuarial (summer 2005 - summer 2007)
Responsible for experience studies and dividend calculations for traditional insurance products in the northeast US.

2) Corporate Development - Mergers and Acquisitions (summer 2007 - summer 2009)
Responsible for analyzing financial impacts of potential acquisitions. Also had to assist consultants and i-bankers on M&A related issues when necessary.

3) International Pricing and Oversight (summer 2009 - now)
Responsible for reviewing and overseeing variable annuity products sold outside the US. Still involved in International M&A projects due to my past experience.

Extracurricular Activities
Mostly related to the actuarial community. I am currently a mentor of the Society's Younger Actuaries Network Mentor program. I am also a committee member of the Network, whose goal is to connect perspective students with young qualified actuaries and to attract more people to the profession.

Before I graduated from the company's development program I was one of the student representatives of the program. The representatives' tasks were to organize student activities within the company, and to communicate with the management regarding the aspects of the student program.

In addition, I also volunteered to proctor actuarial exams for the past 2 years.

Target Schools
I am hoping to advance my people and project managements skills to complement the analytical skills I developed over the past years. Here's my wish list ("safe" schools are not listed here since I am still researching):

Columbia
Wharton (<- never thought about Wharton until after my GMAT. I was expecting a lower score)
MIT Sloan
NYU Stern


Again, thanks for your profile evaluation!

Hi -

Thanks for the inquiry and congrats on the great GMAT score. Your GMAT and academic record are strong and it sounds like you have an upward trajectory professionally. The fact that you have some extracurricular/volunteer work is good but one thing that crossed my mind is that your profile seems very focused on the actuarial community. You make want to think about making sure you are not presenting yourself as one dimensional.

As it relates to your school list, I would probably suggest selecting 2-3 of the four schools you have and add 1-2 options which tend to be a bit less competitive. Perhaps Duke, Cornell or Darden ...

Hope that helps.
Erin