Ask Veritas Prep Admissions Consulting

Looking for a quick evaluation, I have not yet taken the GMAT and am debating whether I even have the chance to get into top 5 program, or whether I should work more/seek help. Looking to do an MBA at HBS, Wharton, Columbia, LBS or INSEAD.

Below is my simplified and edited resume.

SKILLS AND INTERESTS
Fluent in English, strong working knowledge of Italian and French;
Expert knowledge of Microsoft Office and VBA; Good Bloomberg skills.
Freelance as a writer on the subject of asset management. My articles have been published in a national canadian magazine and Seeking Alpha,
Recently joined the board as a general member for two local toronto charities (budgets of ~250k)

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Analyst, Treasury Toronto, Canada
Top 25 Canadian Corporation 2012 - Current
Evaluated new financing opportunities, changes to the bank's capital structure, interest rate and foreign exchange hedging; and presented the results directly to senior management.
Supported funding activities through cash flow and balance sheet forecasting.
Managed a GIC portfolio of CAD$XXX million with end to end responsibilities of broker selection, negotiation, GIC pricing and execution.

Analyst, Trading Risk Monitoring, Rates & FX Toronto, Canada
Big 5 Canadian Investment Bank 2011 - 2012
Detailed knowledge of risk measurement techniques, their limitations and inherent strengths/weaknesses of alternative methodologies.
Strong understanding of the pricing of interest rate and foreign exchange derivative products and the attribution of trading P&L.
Programmed multiple VBA programs for the automation of reporting processes, which reduced the daily investigation time by 2 hours.

Bilingual Senior CSR
Big 5 Canadian Bank, Investment Funds Group 2010 - 2011
Facilitated a high quality of service through the administration of timely, effective problem resolution to enhance the clients' relationship.

Teaching Assistant, Economics Department
Canadian Liberal Arts University 2009 - 2010
Lectured two Economics 101 tutorials weekly and graded students' assignments and midterms.

EDUCATION
Passed all three levels of CFA exam

B.COMM, Major in Economics - Honours Course load - 2.9 GPA
Highly ranked Canadian Liberal Arts University 2006 - 2010

The first thing thing that jumps out at me is the GPA.  WHat were the circumstances for the lower gpa?  Given the gpa you would need to ace the GMAT.  I would start with putting all of my energy into maximizing my score, it you score incredibly highly it will compensate some for the gpa.  You might also take a quantitative class or two at the Univesity and achieve an A in each to demonstrate your capacity to do A level work.

Secondly, your work experience, while excellent, shows a year at each stop.  THis looks inconsistent.  I would aim for at least 2 years at one place to show a career focus and then in writing the application leverage all of the experiences.

Also, you did not answer "Why an MBA?"  Or, "WHy an MBA Now?"  Additionally answering "Why an MBA at School X?" is essential.

I would start with the above, but my opinion is that the GMAT score must be stellar for you to be considered at a top 10 school, and then your story of  your GPA is going to have to be compelling.

Best of luck!

Several things I like about your profile including Canadian Citizenry (not as common for US b-schools since Canada has its own good b-schools), good finance experience and CFA designation. What may be a challenge for the top schools is your GPA and the career movement without promotion (seem to be lateral moves). If you can demonstrate intentionality in your career progression and weave a story that ties into your post MBA vision, you may have a shot, but the top schools typically take the top undergrad students and a 2.9 GPA, while not bad, will not be among the top when they start comparing you to other banking applicants. Standing out in this crowd for the top schools is exceedingly difficult considering the throngs of bankers that apply.