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Hi there,

I am Bob from India. I have an acceptance for the Master of Finance / Management programs from 2 major business schools (one M7 and other top 10), but I am contemplating on applying for an MBA and then going for an MBA next year instead. My preparation for b school is on track - just wanted to understand my shots before I hire an admissions consultant in a matter of few weeks.

I have been an analyst at a Bulge Bracket bank since 2 years and if apply for my MBA now, so that I start B - School with 3 years of work experience, what kind of schools would I have a shot at ? Would appreciate any 2 cents on this situation of mine, thanks a lot ! Appreciate a prompt response if possible as I need to take the decision regarding my Master's acceptances in three days.

Some details are generalized in order to preserve anonymity.

24 year old male, will be 25 when I start B school if I get accepted.

Education : Chemical Engineering from a top 8 engineering college in India (not IIT)
CGPA : 9 on a scale of 10 - top 10 % of class

GMAT : 720/800
GRE : 327/340
TOEFL : 117

Work experience :
1 year as a Team Lead (leading 3 people) in BB bank in Risk Management
1 year as an analyst in BB bank in Risk Management - got best performer of team award
Summer internship in BB bank in Risk Management
Summer internship as a research intern in a top university in Europe during college

Please note, in my company, the official designation is not analyst / senior analyst but something else. That same designation holds for analysts and senior analysts/team leads. So on paper, I have been not been promoted as such from analyst to team lead. Although first year I worked in the capacity of an analyst and second year in the capacity of a team lead, my on paper designation has been the same as what the company awards for all senior analysts, team leads and analysts alike. My recommenders are however ready to mention this distinction in my letters so that can serve as some sort of proof.

Extra-Curriculars:

1 year teaching underprivileged school kids basic English 4 times a week through a popular Indian NGO

4 months worked a human capital consultant for a major, old international NGO : advising strategies on best practices to employ disabled persons in microfinance organizations - conducted interviews with microfinance organizations and disabled persons. Results published on the NGOs website

Been on my company's philanthropy committee for eight months - have coordinated and organized three philanthropy events for the company

Led the sponsorship team during college to raise funds for the college's cultural festival

Recommendations : Can get stellar recommendation from company's director from London , second one from reporting manager who is a Vice President in India, and third if needed from then from the company's city philanthropy committee's head who is a Vice President in India

Other details : Love cooking food - have a food blog which has somewhat moderate traffic, love traveling, have been to USA, Europe, South East Asia and Middle East.

Will be visiting B Schools ASAP in the coming days or once the summer ends - will plan to visit almost all schools.

The India office of my company has no major track record of sending applicants to B schools as the teams have started recruiting undergrads just recently, but we have 2 people going to Chicago Booth and CMU.

I am a closeted male who wish to use the transformative experience in B school and of living in a developed country to come out and inspire fellow closets to stand up for who they are.

Post MBA goal : Financial services consulting in a major consulting firm.

Schools : Plan on early round / Round I for all of these.
H/W/S / Chicago
LBS / Columbia / INSEAD / Kellogg / MIT Sloan
Tuck/NYU/Haas / Duke
Cornell / UCLA / Darden
Kelley / Emory / Yale / Tepper

Please note, If I go for my MBA, I will be rejecting Masters admits from two of the above schools, not sure if they will accept me when I apply for their MBA program.

Hi Bob!

Before answering your question about MBA programs, a little bit about myself. My name is Arnab Mukherjee, a first-year MBA candidate at the Johnson School at Cornell University. I grew up in Delhi before I came to the States to pursue my undergraduate education at Brandeis University in the Boston area, where I studied Economics and Anthropology. I worked as a consultant at Oliver Wyman in New York for 7 years after graduating, before coming to Cornell last August. I am gay and out to my family and friends at home (in Delhi) as well as here in my day to day life in the States.

Re: Masters in Finance vs. MBA programs - this is a function of what you are looking for in terms of higher education. Business school is much broader than a finance program, and will provide you exposure to many different disciplines beyond finance, in addition to leadership skills and many really exciting extra-curricular opportunities. MBA programs are aimed at building well-rounded business leaders and entrepreneurs. A finance program will likely be a lot more quantitative and focused on just finance and will prepare you for careers in finance but likely not have nearly as many career, leadership and extra-curricular opportunities.

You have impressive credentials and given your work experience, I reckon you will have a good chance of getting into some very good MBA programs, contingent on your recommendations and application essays. Perhaps you could negotiate with your existing finance programs and defer your admission by a year? If you want to reach out to me with specific questions about Cornell and/or being out at school etc., please feel free to contact me directly at am2459 [at] cornell [.] edu.

Cheers,
Arnab
@cornellmba_am
@arnabito
linkedin.com/in/arnab

Hi Bob!

Before answering your question about MBA programs, a little bit about myself. My name is Arnab Mukherjee, a first-year MBA candidate at the Johnson School at Cornell University. I grew up in Delhi before I came to the States to pursue my undergraduate education at Brandeis University in the Boston area, where I studied Economics and Anthropology. I worked as a consultant at Oliver Wyman in New York for 7 years after graduating, before coming to Cornell last August. I am gay and out to my family and friends at home (in Delhi) as well as here in my day to day life in the States.

Re: Masters in Finance vs. MBA programs - this is a function of what you are looking for in terms of higher education. Business school is much broader than a finance program, and will provide you exposure to many different disciplines beyond finance, in addition to leadership skills and many really exciting extra-curricular opportunities. MBA programs are aimed at building well-rounded business leaders and entrepreneurs. A finance program will likely be a lot more quantitative and focused on just finance and will prepare you for careers in finance but likely not have nearly as many career, leadership and extra-curricular opportunities.

You have impressive credentials and given your work experience, I reckon you will have a good chance of getting into some very good MBA programs, contingent on your recommendations and application essays. Perhaps you could negotiate with your existing finance programs and defer your admission by a year? If you want to reach out to me with specific questions about Cornell and/or being out at school etc., please feel free to contact me directly at am2459 [at] cornell [.] edu.

Cheers,
Arnab
@cornellmba_am
@arnabito
linkedin.com/in/arnab

Thanks Eliot for your reply, I really appreciate it, will definitely get in touch via email.

@ Arnab : I cannot emphasize how much I appreciate you proactively posting here. Thank you and will reach out to you on email for sure .