MBA Admission Profile Evaluation Help! Chances Assessment

[klamcpp]

Hello all,

I am considering business school in two years and would love a quick view at my chances at top programs.

Background:
Will be 28/29 when entering MBA program
Mexican-born Latino male, fluent in English & Spanish, conversational in French

GPA UG: 2.99 (yes, couldn't make the 3.0) overall in UG, 3.8 major GPA (economics)
GPA grad school: 3.3 Master of Finance
GMAT: 630 (Q41,V35) first try, 730 (Q48,V42) recent re-try
Schools: UG - Arizona State, Grad: Washington University St. Louis
Work Experience: 2 years in middle-market investment banking (Piper Jaffray, Stifel, Houlihan, Harris Williams), currently investment associate at billion-dollar investment manager doing both private equity and public investment work, will have 2-2.5 years at fund at time of admission
ECs: UG treasurer of two clubs, Grad: treasurer of investment society, currently treasurer at a family-sponsored charity where I commit 4 hours a week, every week of the year (~200 hours a year)
Recommendations: Former boss at investment bank (Booth MBA grad), current boss well-respected investor and Wharton grad

First-Tier Choices:
Wharton
Columbia
Booth
Stanford GSB
Berkeley
Dartmouth
Yale


Second-Tier Choices:
UCLA
NYU
Darden
Duke
Michigan
Cornell

Reason for MBA: Want to get the brand name on my resume, would look to transition to a big money-manager post-MBA (PIMCO, Capital Group,Blackrock, Oaktree, DoubleLine, etc.)

Thank you!

[Jon@Admissionado]

Hey man,
Good to hear from you.
Overall your GMAT is impressive, and profile is quite good.
That GPA is killing me though, dude. (you, too I know)
Anyhow you already did the BEST thing possible - Get an awesome GMAT.
And I think being a Latino candidate will help you out here.

But what would also be REAL nice is if you had some cool ace up your sleeve - like you've done a billion hours of community service at six places or something like that.

It will also be VITAL for you to come up with some sort of really good story explaining why your GPA was so low.

With your current stats to be honest, the follow schools will be real long-shots:
Wharton
Columbia
Booth
Stanford GSB


The average GPA is around 3.6. It doesn't mean you shouldn't try some of them, but DO take it into consideration when you come up with your list.

I also think that on the "low end" you might be lacking a safe school or two.

I hope all this helps!

If you have any other questions, feel free to drop a line.

Best,
Jon Frank

[klamcpp]

Hey man,
Good to hear from you.
Overall your GMAT is impressive, and profile is quite good.
That GPA is killing me though, dude. (you, too I know)
Anyhow you already did the BEST thing possible - Get an awesome GMAT.
And I think being a Latino candidate will help you out here.

But what would also be REAL nice is if you had some cool ace up your sleeve - like you've done a billion hours of community service at six places or something like that.

It will also be VITAL for you to come up with some sort of really good story explaining why your GPA was so low.

With your current stats to be honest, the follow schools will be real long-shots:
Wharton
Columbia
Booth
Stanford GSB


The average GPA is around 3.6. It doesn't mean you shouldn't try some of them, but DO take it into consideration when you come up with your list.

I also think that on the "low end" you might be lacking a safe school or two.

I hope all this helps!

If you have any other questions, feel free to drop a line.

Best,
Jon Frank

Jon,

Appreciate the response and always like the honesty. I was thinking of targeting 2-3 schools from my top tier and focusing on the second tier. I currently live in the West Coast and would love to stay here so my top choices would be GSB, Berkeley and UCLA in that order.

Based on my profile, are there specific schools you have worked with that are better at looking past some of the shortcomings? Overall my UG GPA was 2.99 but my GPA in the last 2 years was above 3.6 (Overcame a horrible first year). Who would you target in my shoes?

In addition, are there any other schools you feel I should add to the lower tier and safety? I want to make sure they are still capable of getting me where I want to be post-MBA.

FYI, I am definitely looking for a consultant to work with and if this would be easier to discuss over the phone, that would work as well.

Thanks Jon, appreciate the help.

[MargaretStrother]

Great profile here! Top business schools will love your awesome GMAT and the intensity of your work experience. It's also great that you got that Masters in Finance to compensate for the low undergrad GPA. Will it be enough to sway GPA-sensitive schools like Wharton or Stanford? Hard to say, but everything else aligns so you're wise to try your chances.

A couple of areas that might help you: first of all, goals. Make sure that for every school you apply to, your post-MBA employer choices align 100%. That means getting to know a lot about each school, ideally from the inside: be sure you spend time on each school's campus, preferably when classes are in session. Do an official school visit, organized by the admissions office. Sit in on a class, get to know students if you don't already, connect with the finance club at that school, talk to recent alumni from that school and are now working in the jobs and companies you're targeting. You've got plenty of time to really lay strong groundwork in this area.

At the same time, be sure that the community service work you do is dramatic and recognizable. Family-run NGOs are great for gaining experience, but they don't always have brand recognition at the schools you're applying to. So make sure the organization has a professional website in English, and crank up your involvement from treasurer to some kind of group-leadership role, where we see you leading teams of volunteers. This will add more value for you by giving you leadership stories to tell -- something that can be challenging for young investment banking folks.

Also, a reminder that Stacy Blackman Consulting offers a plan-ahead package that might be ideal for where you are in the application process. You can learn more here: https://www.stacyblackman.com/plan-ahead/

Good luck!
Margaret Strother

[Donna@Stratus]

Hello all,

I am considering business school in two years and would love a quick view at my chances at top programs.

Background:
Will be 28/29 when entering MBA program
Mexican-born Latino male, fluent in English & Spanish, conversational in French

GPA UG: 2.99 (yes, couldn't make the 3.0) overall in UG, 3.8 major GPA (economics)
GPA grad school: 3.3 Master of Finance
GMAT: 630 (Q41,V35) first try, 730 (Q48,V42) recent re-try
Schools: UG - Arizona State, Grad: Washington University St. Louis
Work Experience: 2 years in middle-market investment banking (Piper Jaffray, Stifel, Houlihan, Harris Williams), currently investment associate at billion-dollar investment manager doing both private equity and public investment work, will have 2-2.5 years at fund at time of admission
ECs: UG treasurer of two clubs, Grad: treasurer of investment society, currently treasurer at a family-sponsored charity where I commit 4 hours a week, every week of the year (~200 hours a year)
Recommendations: Former boss at investment bank (Booth MBA grad), current boss well-respected investor and Wharton grad

First-Tier Choices:
Wharton
Columbia
Booth
Stanford GSB
Berkeley
Dartmouth
Yale


Second-Tier Choices:
UCLA
NYU
Darden
Duke
Michigan
Cornell

Reason for MBA: Want to get the brand name on my resume, would look to transition to a big money-manager post-MBA (PIMCO, Capital Group,Blackrock, Oaktree, DoubleLine, etc.)

Thank you!

So that GPA makes the highest tier programs harder- but you have some other positives that could help. I see your best odds at that second tier but my suggestion for Tier 1 is apply EARLY. Your best shot at Columbia is to apply in the summer. You will then either be in (and if you are in you need to go so only do that one if you will go) but that can be a great way to increase your odds. Absolutely do R1 everywhere. The other thing you need to do- and I am sure you will on your application- is have a better stated reason than just stamp your card for the brand! That's not going to fly in admissions land. I can see a consultant really helping so consider reaching out for a free consult if you'd like! Best wishes!