Profile Evaluation

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Profile Evaluation

by yonderworld » Thu May 16, 2013 8:36 am
Hi,

I would like to have your opinion on my profile.

I graduated with a BTech degree from IIT Delhi, which is one of the topmost engineering colleges in India. My GPA was 6.72/10 and I was ranked 28th in a class of 42. I had 3 failing grades in college: one a core engineering course in which i got a 10/10 the second time, a computer science course in which I got an 8/10 the second time and finally a biology elective, which I dint repeat. The first two failing grades were received in the first year. Additionally, my GPA in five Economics electives was 7.83/10 and in all electives was 7.38/10, both of which are above average for my institution. My GPA was dragged down by core engineering courses and the standard deviation of all my grades is pretty high.

I have taken the GMAT thrice:

August 2011- 700, Q 50 V 34, AWA 6.0
September 2012- 720, Q51 V36 AWA 5.5
October 2012- 760, Q51, V41, AWA 6.0

So, my question is how would my academic profile look to the Adcom? Also, I have taken the GMAT thrice. Would the 760 be looked at as an aberration? I also hold the CFA Charter.

I have 4 years experience in macro proprietary trading in US/European Interest Rates. In this role, I was a top 3 US rates trader amongst 100 traders firm wide. My supervisor is now the Global Head of Fixed Income for the firm and I will have a very strong recommendation from him. I currently work as an offshore sell side fundamental equity research analyst at a top India based research house and my client is a bulge bracket Wall Street firm. The level of engagement with the client is very high. I m tracking the 'US Computer Services and IT Consulting' sector in the equity research position. My client's analyst, who I report to, is a Harvard MBA and has been ranked number one in the world for the past 7 years in this sector. Most of my colleagues are already MBAs.

I have also heard how tough it is to for people with IT background to get into an MBA Program. Would that be an issue for me as I am tracking the sector only from a business standpoint and work in a niche pure finance profile? Or should I think of changing my coverage sector?

My target schools are Wharton, Columbia, NYU, Booth & LBS. I am 27 years old.

Thank you.

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by mbaMissionJenK » Fri May 17, 2013 7:52 am
Hi yonderworld,

Thank you for sharing your profile. CONGRATS on the 760 GMAT score, that is impressive and you should feel very proud. The schools generally take the HIGHEST score, so no they will not view that as an aberration. The nature of the exam is such that it is adaptive as you know, so you are not meant to be able to score HIGHER than your ability level (since the level adapts to how you perform), but of course anyone could score below their level by having a bad day, etc, so that is why they look at the higher score.

You are right to mention/bring up the failing grades as a weakness in the application, but with the end of your undergrad/academics being strong, your GMAT stellar, and strong work experience, I am fairly confident you have overcome that weakness in your application.

What that means is from here on out, you will want to focus on the application factors that you CAN STILL CHANGE, specifically your application essays (and to a certain degree, recommendations and interview). Your application essays are going to be where you show the admissions committee who you are, why you want an MBA, what your goals are, and why THEIR program is best for you.

Start brainstorming now/in the coming months about all of those topics. Be sure that you have clear short and long term goals and can make a case for why you need the MBA for those goals. Research each of the schools you mentioned so you can cite specific reasons why the program is right for you.

And then just know that it will be important to demonstrate teamwork, leadership, and people-skills in your application too, to balance out your strengths on the quant side and IT & numbers side.

Good luck with this exciting process!
Jennifer Kedrowski
MBA Admissions Consultant
www.mbamission.com
[email protected]

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