Profile - International Applicant

[jmarinpu4]

Hi Jessica, I been reading at your evaluation responses and find them sincere and down to earth. Appreciate a lot if you could take a look at my profile:

Gender: Male
Age: 30 (when entering)
Region: Latin America
Family: 1 kid (10-yr old)
Industry: Investment Banking
GMAT: 670 (best effort)
Work: Investment banking analyst with 6 years of experience (including international)
Undergrad 1: International Business at highly ranked local university (3.4 GPA)
Undergrad 2: BBA from small community college in the US (3.9 GPA)
(Both are independent degrees obtained during a period of 6 years)
Community Involvement: Solid (see below)

Pros
* Employer is Top tier LATAM Investment Bank listed on NYSE
* Sound M&A and Project Financing transaction summary (adding up to USD 2.5 Billion, which is quite competitive for local standards)
* Transaction profile not dispersed but focused on economic development activities (energy and infrastructure), which allows me to bring detailed expertise to the classroom
* International Experience (worked both in NY and locally)
* Great recommendations by current VPs of the firm
* Although a teenage parent (19 yr) back then, I present an ascending undergraduate performance while raising my kid
* Solid extra-curricular profile revolving around one theme: "community education activities". Three main roles: 1) Adjunct professor of finance in local university; 2) Juror and advisor for national entrepreneurship and business plan contest; 3) Lecturer in local high schools on the subject of "Financial Education for the Youth"
Come from LATAM country normally underrepresented in top MBAs
* Hopefully a few more pros that I can´t think of righ now

Cons
* Not a great gmat
* Belong to an overrepresented industry (Investment Banking)
* Although I have obtained managerial experience through transactions, does not have people under charge
* I guess I´m on the older spectrum of applicant (30 years + 6/7 years experience)
* Although I have decent career advancement, it is not stellar since the local industry is not as dynamic as the US in terms of fast promotions
* Not a strong record of awards, prizes, etc
* Probaly much more that I can think of righ now

Reasons for MBA

Work related. Not a career switcher. In the short term, planning to remain linked to IBanking and to further explore private equity initiatives in LATAM while financing ever bigger projects. Set of skills and resources provided by target MBA to attain this goal are clearly identified. In the long run, objectives are setting up a focused banking boutique an spending some time in the public sector.

Community related. In the short term, planning to get back and keep teaching as adjunct professor but at a graduate level and preparing a new course bridging Corporate Finance & Entrepreneurship. In the long term, creating a foundation that promotes financial education among younger people. Programs, professors, and specific courses planning to take at target school for supporting these goals are identified.

Target schools:
Honestly, any top ten that might appreciate the most what I can bring to the table. (Ideally, a "finance" school: 1) Wharton, Columbia? 2) Sloan, Booth? 3) Stern, Anderson? )

1. Which school do you feel I can be realistically competitive at?
2. Any other pros or cons that you see on my profile?
3. Although my gmat cannot compete with the 750s, I still find co-workers from LATAM that get admitted at top ten MBAs with 650s. What is the myth behind it?

Thanks very, very much and please forgive the length!!!

[Jessica@VeritasPrep]

I like your profile and with compelling essays I think you could absolutely be one of the 10% of applicants admitted (to a top school) with a below 680 GMAT. Your strong GPA and solid work experience should help offset your lower GPA. Letters of recommendation will be very important because you do have a longer work history and this will be one of your biggest selling points. You will also need to explain why you need an MBA in order to reach your final goals. If you have been successful and don't really intend to switch industries, you will need to better explain why the MBA is necessary. Obviously there are plenty of reasons, but, make sure to state them (broaden your experience, improve your skill set, new perspectives, etc.) and, I agree that you can bring a lot to the table so address that as well.

But, I think you have a shot! Latin America is underrepresented at many of the top schools so it does help you (this will help less at a school like Columbia and more at a school like Ross or Fuqua). Top ten schools are never guarantees (which I'm sure you know) so you may want to apply to a school in the next tier to help improve your chances of being admitted.

Jessica

[jmarinpu4]

Jessica, thanks a lot for your quick response. Any suggestions as of which next tier schools could be a good choice? (Are NYU and UCLA - since they are not top ten- in this category?

Thanks

[Jessica@VeritasPrep]

I'm sure there are many methods to evaluating "tiers" of schools. I generally put the top 15 in the same group since the rankings tend to change from year to year. I still consider NYU and UCLA to be top tier, but, yes, they are a bit easier to get in to than would be Stanford and Columbia. I also might look at Duke or Ross (both of these are also top tier in my mind but don't always attract as many international students because they aren't in cities and cities tend to be more appealing to those from other countries). The next tier might include UNC, Cornell, Yale or Georgetown.

However, as you consider the "tiers", you also need to consider whether or not the investment would pay off for you. If you are interested in working in a brand name US investment bank, you are probably best served focusing on the top tier of schools. This won't guarantee that you are admitted, but, it will put you in a better position when you graduate.

If you just really really want to go to business school for the education and the experience, there are non-top-tier schools that would still fit the bill. I know this doesn't exactly answer your question, but, there is no exact answer!

Good luck!

[jmarinpu4]

Thanks for your response Jessica, it sure does help. When you past the top-15 it starts to get kind of blurry.

Regards,