I am currently 27/yo, American citizen. South-Asian descent.
Academics/Awards
.Columbia University - B.S. in Applied Math, minors in Econ/Philosophy. GPA~3.6
.Won Wallace Gray Prize for outstanding essay in literature humanities.
.Dean's List 7 of 8 semesters
.2x Ivy Leadership Summit Delegate
.Recognized as a "Business Today" Scholar by the Princeton undergraduate business publication "Business Today"
.Summer courses in philosophy & computer science at UC Berkeley
.Native English speaker. My Hindi isn't good enough to claim as a foreign language but I have an advanced knowledge of Japanese (passed JLPT level 4), and am fluent in Korean (having lived there and studied extensively).
GMAT: 740
Work Experience
.Bear Stearns - Global Risk Management (Hedge Fund Group) - 1 year
-first worked as intern, transitioned to full-time. Played a role in building relationships with Bear Stears' Asset Management Department to develop a risk model for private equity debt obligations
.GCA Savvian - Investment Banking Analyst - 1.5 years
-boutique investment bank specializing in M&A and Private Capital
-worked on several live deals, both M&A and Capital Raises. Public and Private companies. Total transaction experience includes about 10 live transactions and countless pitches.
.CollegeConnect (2 years)
(Left investment banking to start my own nonprofit high school mentoring/admissions consultancy with 2 collegues)
-mentored students in our local community including my own high school and other schools in the area.
-focused on top students at each high school and advised them on college admissions, career path
-~70% of advised students gained entrance to one of their top 3 choice schools
-expanded into a for-profit, online-based business advising students through skype, etc.
-gave seminar talks on college admissions at high schools in the US and Asia
-still operating online business at present
.Chungdahm Institute - Seoul, Korea (1.5 years, overlaps with CollegeConnect)
-taught test prep to middle/high school-aged Korean students
-advised students on admission to American universities
-Promoted after 6 months --> moved to Online Education R&D Department
Extracurriculars:
.Students in Free Enterprise - Co-founder of Columbia Chapter and President (3 yrs)
-Business organization focusing on social entrepreneurship
-Engaged in entrepreneurship education projects, mentoring students in the Bronx and teaching them about business & the stock market
-Taught financial literacy at abused women's shelters in NYC
-Pro-bono consulted for Museum of the City of New York and Fashion2Figure LLC in NJ
-2x Runner up at SIFE Regional Competition
-Goldman Sachs Capital Markets Competition Grant Recipient
.Asian Pacific American Student Union - President (2 yrs)
-Produced 1st ever NYC Asian-American Issues Conference & Music Festival held at Columbia Campus
.Columbia Undergraduate Philosophy Review - Managing Editor (1yr) Editor-in-Chief (1yr)
Background on How I plan to Frame My Application:
I feel I'm in a weird spot in life because I left Wall Street and the world of finance to pursue my passion for the field of education and admissions. I always felt that I wanted to do something that combined business and education, but currently I'm working in education/prep industry in Korea and feel far-removed from the world of Business School. I continue to operate CollegeConnect while in Korea. My knowledge of Japanese has allowed me to pick up Korean language at an extremely accelerated pace.
I plan to frame myself as someone who wants to continue to expand my online consulting business and needs an MBA to facilitate that expansion. Ideally I'd want to focus on both US and Asian markets. I also want to continue to find ways to combine education and business/entrepreneurship.
One of my key worries is that I haven't been very good at keeping in contact with previous employers. My 'wall street' recommender I know I can count on, but that person was only 1 rank higher than me, not a managing director or someone with real authority at my firm. Despite this, we worked closely so I'm confident it would be a good recommendation. Also, my extracurriculars are mostly in college, aside from volunteering periodically and being involved with Children International.
Any information you can give me on my chances would be great. My targets are: Harvard, Columbia, Penn, Stanford, Yale, and possibly INSEAD Singapore. I plan to apply in Fall of this year.
Academics/Awards
.Columbia University - B.S. in Applied Math, minors in Econ/Philosophy. GPA~3.6
.Won Wallace Gray Prize for outstanding essay in literature humanities.
.Dean's List 7 of 8 semesters
.2x Ivy Leadership Summit Delegate
.Recognized as a "Business Today" Scholar by the Princeton undergraduate business publication "Business Today"
.Summer courses in philosophy & computer science at UC Berkeley
.Native English speaker. My Hindi isn't good enough to claim as a foreign language but I have an advanced knowledge of Japanese (passed JLPT level 4), and am fluent in Korean (having lived there and studied extensively).
GMAT: 740
Work Experience
.Bear Stearns - Global Risk Management (Hedge Fund Group) - 1 year
-first worked as intern, transitioned to full-time. Played a role in building relationships with Bear Stears' Asset Management Department to develop a risk model for private equity debt obligations
.GCA Savvian - Investment Banking Analyst - 1.5 years
-boutique investment bank specializing in M&A and Private Capital
-worked on several live deals, both M&A and Capital Raises. Public and Private companies. Total transaction experience includes about 10 live transactions and countless pitches.
.CollegeConnect (2 years)
(Left investment banking to start my own nonprofit high school mentoring/admissions consultancy with 2 collegues)
-mentored students in our local community including my own high school and other schools in the area.
-focused on top students at each high school and advised them on college admissions, career path
-~70% of advised students gained entrance to one of their top 3 choice schools
-expanded into a for-profit, online-based business advising students through skype, etc.
-gave seminar talks on college admissions at high schools in the US and Asia
-still operating online business at present
.Chungdahm Institute - Seoul, Korea (1.5 years, overlaps with CollegeConnect)
-taught test prep to middle/high school-aged Korean students
-advised students on admission to American universities
-Promoted after 6 months --> moved to Online Education R&D Department
Extracurriculars:
.Students in Free Enterprise - Co-founder of Columbia Chapter and President (3 yrs)
-Business organization focusing on social entrepreneurship
-Engaged in entrepreneurship education projects, mentoring students in the Bronx and teaching them about business & the stock market
-Taught financial literacy at abused women's shelters in NYC
-Pro-bono consulted for Museum of the City of New York and Fashion2Figure LLC in NJ
-2x Runner up at SIFE Regional Competition
-Goldman Sachs Capital Markets Competition Grant Recipient
.Asian Pacific American Student Union - President (2 yrs)
-Produced 1st ever NYC Asian-American Issues Conference & Music Festival held at Columbia Campus
.Columbia Undergraduate Philosophy Review - Managing Editor (1yr) Editor-in-Chief (1yr)
Background on How I plan to Frame My Application:
I feel I'm in a weird spot in life because I left Wall Street and the world of finance to pursue my passion for the field of education and admissions. I always felt that I wanted to do something that combined business and education, but currently I'm working in education/prep industry in Korea and feel far-removed from the world of Business School. I continue to operate CollegeConnect while in Korea. My knowledge of Japanese has allowed me to pick up Korean language at an extremely accelerated pace.
I plan to frame myself as someone who wants to continue to expand my online consulting business and needs an MBA to facilitate that expansion. Ideally I'd want to focus on both US and Asian markets. I also want to continue to find ways to combine education and business/entrepreneurship.
One of my key worries is that I haven't been very good at keeping in contact with previous employers. My 'wall street' recommender I know I can count on, but that person was only 1 rank higher than me, not a managing director or someone with real authority at my firm. Despite this, we worked closely so I'm confident it would be a good recommendation. Also, my extracurriculars are mostly in college, aside from volunteering periodically and being involved with Children International.
Any information you can give me on my chances would be great. My targets are: Harvard, Columbia, Penn, Stanford, Yale, and possibly INSEAD Singapore. I plan to apply in Fall of this year.
