Profile Evaluation for FT MBA Programs

Prossetti,

Thanks for your note. Please see my thoughts below.

Undergraduate School: Syracuse University
Undergraduate Degree: B.S. in Computer Engineering
Undergraduate GPA: 3.018

Graduate School: Boston College
Graduate Degree: M.S. in Finance, Part-Time
Graduate GPA: 3.700

Designations: Level 3 Candidate in the CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst) Program

GMAT: 700

While your college grades are below average, I am pleased that you have a 3.7 gpa in your finance masters and a 700 GMAT. This will demonstrate that you can handle the academics at a top business school.

Work Experience: Software engineer for five years working in online computer game development. Did part-time financial consulting work focusing on the oil industry for a Beijing based consulting firm through Boston College's international consulting program. Presented findings to the Chinese firm in Beijing after 7 months of research with a team of six.

Given the large number of software engineers who apply to business school, you will need to stand out from the pack. To do so, you will want to show that you have distinguished yourself at work. Were you promoted? Did you progress into a management role? What have you accomplished on the job? The fact that you were developing games as against corporate IT solutions should also help you to stand out. Assuming that you have solid answers to these questions, then you should be in good shape.

Career Goals: Join an investment bank that focuses on technology as a post-MBA associate with the intention of moving to the buyside (private equity) after a couple years. If that doesn't work out, go into consulting or leveraged finance focusing on M&A deals. If none of THAT works out, go into business development on the corporate side focusing on M&A.

Ok, it sounds like you want a finance related job - preferably in investment banking or private equity. While the typical software engineer might have a difficult time making this transition, I think that your Masters in Finance should make it easier to convince the adcom that you can accomplish this. (For your applications, you will want to settle on one set of goals.)

My target schools for full time MBA: MIT (my reach, wouldn't really expect to get in), Cornell, Dartmouth, NYU, UCLA, UVA, UNC, USC.
With my credentials, would I have a reasonable shot at getting into these programs?

While MIT and Tuck might be a bit of a reach, you should be competitive at Cornell, NYU, UCLA and UVA, and you will be very competitive at UNC and USC.

Are these schools a good fit based on my career goals and background? Do any of these strike you as a better fit than others? Since I already have a masters degree in finance, I would like to focus my MBA on consulting or management to round out my education.

All of these school offer a solid management education. You might consider the school's location if you have a locational preference for your post MBA career. (It sounds like you are partial to southern California)

Despite being the lowest ranked, USC is probably my first choice since they have a Strategic Management and Consulting focus (not to mention they are in sunny California). Does USC like a particular kind of person? Is there anything else I could be doing to boost my application? I'm not necessarily aiming for top 10, but definitely between 10-25. I would be applying in fall 2010 for a fall 2011 start date.

I think the most important thing you can do is to stand out from other software engineers. Thus, you should spend time identifying what makes you unique and be sure to highlight this in your application (career goals, extra curricular activities, etc). You also want to show your strong fit with your target schools. Thus, be sure to do your research on USC, etc.

Feel free to contact me if you would like a free initial phone consultation.

Sincerely,

Eliot Ingram
Clear Admit LLC

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