Please evaluate my profile??!!

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Please evaluate my profile??!!

by arctic » Tue Jun 22, 2010 12:15 pm
Age: 27
GMAT: 690 (47,37); did better on practice tests. I was scoring n the 710s.
Undergrad: University of Illinois at Urbana/Champaign
Major: Physics (A top ten program in the nation)
GPA: 2.6

My gpa dropped significantly from a 3.2 to a almost a 2.0 after I pledged a fraternity and then moved in the following year. After I moved in to my own apartment my junior year my gpa shot back up to a 3.12, but the damage had already been done. Advice on how to address this would be helpful. Obviously, my career options diminished with this gpa, but I still found a way to succeed and surpass most of my peers.

Work Experience:

4.5 years of trading experience of financial derivatives, particularly of fixed income and short term interest rate options at a 100 strong prop firm. I was eventually promoted to a portfolio manager. A weakness to my experience is that there is not much management experience in the trading field. All management is focused on your own operation and portfolio. It is like running a small business, but using firm resources to handle menial tasks. It did provide me with the chance to train and mentor younger employees of the company (not sure how valuable that is to talk about)

Extra cirriculars:
Another weak area, but I worked a lot during european hours so it was difficult for me to be involved in much.

LOR:
I am sure I can get some strong letters of recommendation.

I am hoping to get into a top full-time school. I would like to attend booth or kellogg, but they may be a long shot. Are there any schools that you think my profile would stand a chance?
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by Lisa Anderson » Tue Jun 22, 2010 12:30 pm
Dear arctic,

I think you should apply to both Kellogg and Booth, but also think you should apply to some schools that are not as selective for a back up plan. If you want to stay in the midwest, there are certainly plenty of options--they just might not be in Chicago. Notre Dame, Vanderbilt, Indiana, and Iowa all have great programs you might want to check out to see if they match what you seek. If you are looking to move and end up elsewhere, then hours of research awaits you. For tips on identifying schools, I encourage you to visit our sticky on school selection.

As for your GPA, your story is not uncommon and one that is familiar to business school admissions. My advice is to be honest and address it directly in the optional essay. Use the bulk of the essay to show how you are in a different place now and focused on school though, citing your career successes and upward trend in your last two years as evidence.

Finally, you can't change history and add extracurriculars to your background. Many folks work crazy hours and still find time to be involved in something outside of work. Perhaps you are and just don't think it is a relevant endeavor? Either way, you might want to get involved in something now or you can assume the risk of not having anything here. Some schools will be more concerned about your lack of extracurriculars than others.

Good luck,
Lisa
Lisa Anderson
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Stacy Blackman Consulting

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