Profile Evaluation and framing question

[lajohnson2200]

Hello,

I recently took the GMAT and am trying to decide where to apply and how to frame my application. I would also be interested in purchasing a few hours of consulting, but am unsure of whether a couple of hours would really make a difference or not. My profile is below:

Female / Caucasian - 29

GMAT : 680 Q40 V41 - I am considering taking it again to get my quant score up. I have never been good at math, but with practice I have increased my quant score from the low 30th percentile to the 60th, which while still low, makes me think I can get a few more percentile points by studying consistently over the next month. Also, that is one of the lowest verbal scores I've gotten on my practice tests so I think that can be improved as well. I'd appreciate any advice on whether a retake is a good idea or not.

GPA : 3.0 from a little known private school / Finance Major. Spent waaayy to long in school and had terrible grades in the beginning with a clear improvement to mostly A's in the second year of my major courses when I finally figured out what I wanted to do, and took it seriously.

Note: I worked through school, paying for nearly all of my private school tuition bartending and throwing parties for a local magazine and bar/restaurant openings with a group of friends who now own several restaurants and clubs in the area. This is where my framing question comes in. Is this something that I can write about and use as an extracurricular? I'm not sure if event planning and bartending are really what adcoms have in mind when they ask about this. However, I do think I gained a lot of "soft skills" that I still use today through these activities. Any advice here would be helpful as well.

Work experience: Since I was busy bartending and event planning I didn't really have any internships that would help me get a job in finance. So, when I graduated I got an internship at a boutique investment bank, and then another internship at a small hedge fund that was part of a well recognized P.E. fund. I was able to us e this experience to get a job in finance:

1 year Sales Associate - Private Wealth Management at a top tier firm
6 months - Junior Consultant at a small real estate consulting firm
3+ years as an Investment Analyst at a Fortune 500 Insurance firm doing direct debt and equity private placements. Top of my class / excellent reviews and excellent recommendations. Promotion. Have a specialty in commodities.
I feel that my application is a little all over the place. I want to get into a top school but I'm not sure where I would be competitive. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
The schools I would like to consider for round two are as follows:
Kellogg, Haas, Booth, McCombs, Fuqua, UNC, - also interested in Tuck, Carnegie Mellon, Darden

Thanks,
Lajohnson2200

[Eliot]

lajohnson2200,

Thanks for your note. You do have an interesting array of experiences so framing your application properly will be key. To do so, you need to carefully pick your career goals. For example, ideally you would pick career goals that combine elements of your past experience - for example, perhaps you will focus on banking with a focus on the hospitality sector. By the way, what are your current goals?

While a 680 score is not bad, it isn't enough to overcome a 3.0 college gpa. To address your academics, you need to build an alternate transcript - get As in two of the following classes: statistics, economic and accounting. In addition, see if you can improve your GMAT score. These two steps will make your academic profile more competitive.

Business school will respect the fact that you worked your way through college as a bartender/event planner.

Now, you will also need to explain the career choices that you have made since college. What made you decide to change jobs?

Sincerely,

Eliot Ingram
Clear Admit LLC

[lajohnson2200]

Elliot,

Thanks for your quick reply. Apologies for the long post, but I figured I would provide a bit more information.

I was hoping to avoid taking additional classes, as I would like to apply for 2011. Given that my major was Finance I have already taken Statistics, Macro and Micro Economics, as well as two accounting courses. I did well in econ and Accounting II. Accounting I and Statistics I believe I may have gotten C's, but took them earlier in school when I was less focused. I did receive A's in all of my finance and strategy courses which I was hoping would show that I can manage the finance classes in business school. I am planning on retaking the GMAT to increase my quant score.

Initially out of college my goal was to get a job at an investment bank, although I knew I wouldn't be competitive in say, tech M&A or other highly sought after positions. So, instead of taking a job right away, I did the two separate 3 month internships I mentioned in my last post to build my resume. I then secured a position at a top tier investment bank in the private wealth department. However, I quickly learned that the job was not what I was looking for, I wanted to do something more analytical, and I really didn't love being on the sell side. I wanted learn how to make investment decisions, and learn about companies. So, I started looking for another position in either in financial consulting, or at a buyside firm. The real estate consulting position was interesting because it involved consulting for large real estate funds that were making investment decisions partially based on information the consulting firm provided. I was there for six months, and then the real estate market began to slip, and I was laid off. Then, I found my current position which is exactly what I was looking for, which I really enjoy, and I have now been with the same firm for 3 years.

Additionally, in my current job a senior investment analyst I use accounting on a daily basis when building financial models and evaluating potential investments every day. Our investments range from $10-$250MM in companies that use the funds for capital projects, acquisitions, restructurings, and LBO's. We invest on a buy and hold basis, so I also monitor a large portfolio which includes 17 companies which requires extensive accounting. Given this experience, and my excellent reviews (I received a "5" out of 5 for the last two years and will have excellent recommendations) I thought that taking accounting or other business courses might be a bit redundant. Let me know your thoughts on this.

As for my career goals, I cover primarily commodity related companies in Canada (think lumber, mining, energy, agriculture), and would like to secure a job at a buyside firm (either institutional, or private equity) that focuses on this sector. The ideal situation would be working for a fund that is investing in Latin America specifically, (I have toured mining operations in the region and traveled extensively In South America). I took Spanish in high school and scored a "5" on the AP test negating the need to take it in college and would therefore like to take Spanish along with my business classes while getting my MBA to brush up and improve my language skills.

Let me know if you have any additional advice given this information and again, thanks for the help. Also, in terms of getting a consultant do you think it makes sense if I am just going to do a few hours rather than the whole program?

Best,

[Stacey Oyler]

Hi,

Thanks for the additional information. I'm responding on behalf of Eliot.

Let's first focus on academics. I agree, if you plan to apply this year then it doesn't make sense for you to to take additional courses due to time constraints. I do generally recommend building an alternate transcript as Eliot suggest as it is a great way to demonstrate a genuine interest in getting your MBA by taking foundation courses and it also proves you have the academic rigor to be successful in your bschool courses. However, since you plan to retake the GMAT, it is best for you to focus your time and energy on studying with a goal of 700+ (ideally 720 or higher).

As for your career to date. Thank you for the additional details regarding your choices and changes to date. This really is an important part of your profile, and I recommend going into specifics around these decisions in your applications. You are given the opportunity (and expected) to explain all job changes and gaps in your employment in your application data forms. Essentially the adcom needs to gain a better understand of you choices and your ultimate career plan, which leads me to your goals...

Your goals are certainly clear and logical. You'll want to be sure to explain why the MBA is necessary for you to achieve your goals as the adcom may assume that you don't need an MBA to make this career switch.

Best,

Stacey