Profile Evaluation Please

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Profile Evaluation Please

by gauravku » Sun Aug 22, 2010 1:36 am
Hi,

Kindly Review my profile.

GMAT - 700 (Verbal - 34, Quant - 50). Was expecting more as I got 770 and 760 in the 2 GMATprep tests on first attempt and was getting 750+ generally.
Nationality - Indian
Age - 25
GPA - 3.2
Undergraduate School - Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)
Passed three years of CFA exam in minimum time possible i.e. 1.5 years. Waiting for charter next year (after completing 4 years of work ex)

Number of years of work experience - 3 years 2 months.

18 months in India with a Knowledge Process Outsourcing Firm, working for technology ventures group of GE in Princeton. For the last 18 months have been in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. From March 2009 to November 2010 as equity research analyst with a boutique, but known in the region.

Joined Al Rajhi Capital, investment banking subsidiary of Al Rajhi Bank, largest Islamic Bank in the World in December 2009. Joined as Associate with Private Equity team, worked on the development and structuring of Real Estate Private Equity Fund. Worked closely with the MD in preparing presentations for three other PE funds, however, they didn't get approved by the board. Recently the company had restructuring and the real estate fund was moved to asset management division and I moved to Investment Banking / Corporate Finance division. Pitched three deals, two of which got converted into mandates.

Leadership - Was involved in several team building exercises as leader and won first positions.

Recommendations - From MD of Investment Banking and PE (harvard alumni), colleague admitted into Stanford GSB this year, may be CEO of the company and my current direct supervisor (director)

Extra curricular - Not much. However, have plans in future. Have put in some money in my home village in India.

Target Schools - Harvard, Wharton, Stanford, Chicago Booth, Columbia

Reasons for MBA - To get exposure (in terms of knowledge of businesses (though case studies) and leadership skills) and interact with the best to be managers in the world. Short term goal to land in a global PE firm (blackstone may be with their investment team), stay with them for a long time and by 45 start investing on my own through a investment vehicle.

Please let me know your feedback. Should I retake GMAT exam?

Thanks and regards.
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by Lisa Anderson » Tue Aug 24, 2010 7:40 am
Dear gauravku,

Your profile is competitive for many schools with work experience a bit different from the majority of applicants with IIT degrees--an asset for you that should be used to your advantage. The potential weakness is your lack of extracurriculars/community activities since college. I am undecided on the GMAT score--the quant score is solid, so it might be hard to score at a 50 again. However, the 700 total puts you just below the average for your target schools. I think it is probably worth a retake if it will not take away from the time needed for your essays and you are confident you can bring your score up. I would also suggest identifying a couple of schools that are not as highly selective, outside the top 10, as MBA admissions is quite competitive for international applicants at these programs.

Best of luck,
Lisa
Lisa Anderson
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Stacy Blackman Consulting

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