Profile evaluation

[huanged]

Hi,

I would like to have your opinion/feedback on my profile. Thank you in advance for taking time to look through it.


Male, 29 years
Fluent in both Chinese/English

GMAT - 710(92%), Q50(93%)/V35(73%), AWA 4.0(19%) (on 1st attempt)

Bachelor of Computer Engineering (1st Class Honour, Distinction Average)
University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia

Unsure what my GPA is but graduated with the highest grade (1st class honour)

Master of Commerce (Finance major, Distinction Average)
University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia

Passed CFA Level 3 in 2009

Approximately 7 years of experience (8 years in 2011).

Started in 2003 as a graduate analyst developer in a start-up financial software firm. Seen company grew from 4 people to 40 people in 2 years and then the company was acquaried by Australia's largest investment bank in 2005. Promoted to Senior analyst developer in 2005 and started working on client projects. Promoted to project team lead in 2007 for a two year long project for the deployment of a new financial planning system for the client across Australia, until 2009 when the project was complete. During the time I was supervising up to 7-8 analysts/developers.

June 2009-Sept 2009 - 3 months as contract system analyst at Lloyds Banking Group in Sydney

Oct 2009-March 2010 - Relocation to UK + Travelling.

March 2010-Current - Investment developer in a UK start-up pension fund

I don't really have much extra curriculum activities besides frequent travelling around East Asia, Oceania, Europe and Northern America through these years

I am considering to apply for
LBS
INSEAD
Chicago Booth
Northwestern Kellogg
Columbia
NYU Stern
Wharton
HBS


Can I have your guidance on the following:

1. I understand my verbal/AWA is not particularly strong. Should I consider re-taking GMAT for it? or should I be focussing on the rest of the application process? I don't think I'll be able to improve my score significantly within a short time frame.

2. What are my chances of getting into the business schools that I am interested in? Are there any other business schools that I should consider that my profile will be competitive?

3. Are there any guidelines I should follow for converting Australian grades into GPA? I saw organisations such as WES offering an evaluation service, should I be considering using one?

4. Any additional feedback?

Thanks!

[Anurag@Gurome]

Great background. Low AWA score. Verbal is low but not as much of an issue. I would focus on the application. If you can do both, then encourage you to take GMAT again, but not at the cost of your effort on the application.

Your list of target schools is good. Some of those may not be within reach, but most are. Apply to them not because they are ranked high, but because you feel that they fit your longer term goals best. That may open up other schools. I hesitate to recommend more schools based purely on the stats - a more conscious thought process must go into school selection. LBS, Columbia, NYU Stern are all great options.


Most top schools do their own conversion. But if you feel you need help, choose one of the reputed evaluation services. Ask schools for recommendations.