Hi,
I am posting this to request for a quick profile evaluation from mbaMission. Hope anyone could help.
Age: 27
Country: Philippines
College: Ateneo de Manila University (top private school in the country, think Harvard of the Philippines)
Course: Bachelor of Science in Management Engineering (Honor's Course, requires that an applicant's entrance exam score be on the top 10% of all takers) with a Minor in Finance
GMAT: 670, but retaking again this month
GPA: 3.3 (kind of worried here, but took Advanced Finance courses towards end of my university life, got straight 4s in all 6 subjects, buoying up my overall GPA)
Work experience:
Internship at JP Morgan's IB division (2 months), only one slot for the entire country
2 years consulting at Big 4 firm (KPMG)
1 year at Daiwa Capital Markets (regional IB) -- Institutional Investor Magazine-rated analyst
1 year at UBS Investment Bank (bulge bracket IB) -- Institutional Investor Magazine- and Asia Money Magazine-rated analyst, number 2 most read analyst in the Asia Pacific region, number 1 analyst in a couple of big funds such as Fidelity
Extra-curricular activities:
University
(1) Associate Vice President of largest organisation in the univerisity
(2) Represented University in the Chartered Financial Analyst Investment Research Challenge
Work
(1) Active member of Akyat Aral (where we help communities in the mountains by bringing school supplies and building classrooms, not to mention our latest project, which is to provide solar panels, for the Mangyan Tribe in Mindoro).. also just finished building a classroom for the Dumagat Triube in Nueva Ecija --- I think this is where I will focus on my essays
(2) Ultramarathoner and ultra-tail runner (think 50-100KM races), was also featured by GoPro Philippines and The North Face Philippines.. also coached 6 people to finish their first half-marathon, including someone who was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes and someone who was deemed overweight (through BMI)
(3) Holds records for mountaineering feats such as first Filipino to complete Magayon Trio in 3 consecutive days, also led teams to reach the summit of Mt. Pulag and of Mt. Apo
Schools: HBS/Wharton/MIT/Columbia/LBS/Stanford
Post-MBA goals: Work in Private Equity that focuses on retail (as I am a retail analyst to begin with and I believe getting an MBA will give me a general look, bird's eye view of things, rather than focusing on just the finance aspect of a business)
Hoping for your kind response,
D
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Request for profile evaluation --- from the Philippines
This topic has expert replies
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mdavidm_531
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GMAT/MBA Expert
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mbaMissionKate
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Hi there! Thanks for sharing your profile...those are some really cool / interesting accomplishments you've got! Actually your extracurriculars definitely seem to be a real strength. I think your work history seems strong too...would want to know more about the trajectory you've been on to make sure there's a consistent story there and strong progression of responsibilities and leadership, but it sounds like you've been a top performer at well known firms so that's great.
The only concern I see is the GMAT / GPA combo, especially given the caliber of schools you're considering. There's nothing you can do to change the GPA of course, but you can write an optional essay that explains that upward trend and any other circumstances. I'm glad you're retaking the GMAT because I think that could make a real difference for you. Perhaps also think about taking a supplemental pre-MBA course, especially if there are any business / quant courses that you didn't do very well in during college.
Other than that, make sure you're presenting a logical story around your career goals...as I'm sure you know, private equity can be notoriously tough to break into so make sure you're demonstrating the skills you've got that will help you make that transition. Having the I-banking experience will definitely help you.
Feel free to reach out again if we can help with any more questions!
The only concern I see is the GMAT / GPA combo, especially given the caliber of schools you're considering. There's nothing you can do to change the GPA of course, but you can write an optional essay that explains that upward trend and any other circumstances. I'm glad you're retaking the GMAT because I think that could make a real difference for you. Perhaps also think about taking a supplemental pre-MBA course, especially if there are any business / quant courses that you didn't do very well in during college.
Other than that, make sure you're presenting a logical story around your career goals...as I'm sure you know, private equity can be notoriously tough to break into so make sure you're demonstrating the skills you've got that will help you make that transition. Having the I-banking experience will definitely help you.
Feel free to reach out again if we can help with any more questions!
