Profile evaluation appreciated

Free advice from the world's top MBA consultants
This topic has expert replies
Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts
Posts: 15
Joined: Tue May 13, 2008 5:56 am

Profile evaluation appreciated

by 334MBA » Tue May 20, 2008 1:56 am
Hi,

I'd like to apply to an MBA program for Fall 2009. Here’s a brief profile:
* American-Chinese male. I'll be 33 upon matriculation
* UG in Business w/ major in Finance - No name state school with 2.98 GPA (up trend and 3.45 GPA in Finance)
* Grad (MS Finance) – Brandeis with 3.7 GPA
* GMAT – 650
* W/E - started in back office of financial services with very low-profile work and progressed. Currently working at a large investment management firm as quantitative performance analyst.
* CFA Charterholder
* Community – Outreach and support to people living with HIV/AIDS (current). Acted as a manager for HIV/STDs prevention outreach. Taught Adult ESL for a year. Mentored students at my UG school and a career contact for Brandeis.
* Reco - from current supervisor and a co-worker. Both should be very strong with prep.
* MBA Goals - my primary motives for an MBA are to further technical skills, gain strategic/leadership abilities, and to get into a finance rotation program upon graduation, after which I hope would lead to high-level executive positions in industry finance over 3-5 years.

I'm most interested in the Goizueta's One-Year MBA. I'm also thinking about Notre Dame's One-Year. I'd rather go to a One-Year program, but since there aren't many, I also want to try Texas, Indiana, UNC but not sure if I'd have a reasonable shot. I'm also going to apply to Rice, which I think I should be okay.

Do you think I have a chance at these? Any other suggestions appreciated. Thanks!

MBA Admissions Consultant
Posts: 690
Joined: Thu May 01, 2008 12:51 pm
Thanked: 39 times
Followed by:3 members
GMAT Score:750+

by VP_MBA_Guru » Tue May 20, 2008 1:54 pm
Hi,
Thanks for your post. Based on your profile, you are a strong candidate for all the programs mentioned below. Your strong ECs will help differentiate yourself from other Finance applicants. The only red flag is your lower undergrad GPA, but like you said there is 'uptrend' and your high Masters GPA does offset.

What you need to be most mindful of is WHY you are applying for a one-year program (vs a two-year program). You will need to sell why the 1yr program makes more sense for you. I believe 1yr programs are for candidates who are interested in going back into their field/industry after graduation.

If you are interested in a post-MBA corporate rotation program, AdCom might argue that you actually need 2 years in order to be fully prepared to successfully make the switch. So make sure you have a strong argument as to why the one year program makes sense for you.

Good luck,

NP
Nikhil P. | Admissions Consultant | Veritas Prep

Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts
Posts: 15
Joined: Tue May 13, 2008 5:56 am

by 334MBA » Tue May 20, 2008 7:05 pm
Thank you so much for your time, Nikhil.