Hi WSO
I am a Chinese applicant aspiring for U.S. MBA programs and just hope you guys could kindly shed some light on my application/career planning.
-Chinese national (mainland), male (ethnic minority that accounts for less than 0.5% of China’s population)
-Age: 26 (enroll at 27)
-Undergrad GPA: about 3.9/4.0, majored in English/Political Science, graduated from a mainland China institution
-Work experience: 3 years at the government's official export credit agency (a wholly owned subsidiary of China's sovereign wealth fund and finances over 400 billion USD each year) with:
2 years covering outbound Chinese greenfield investments/acquisitions in oil &gas, power, telecom and transport Southeast Asia, sourced deals, conducted credit & financial analysis, led financing negotiations with local finance ministries on behalf of Chinese PE funds and top state-owned enterprises and closed a few first-of-its-kind deals awarded by Chinese government
Now following former Soviet bloc states, worked closely with sovereign wealth funds, advisors (investment banks, law firms, accountants), and multilateral institutions like IFC on credit enhancements for bonds, syndicate loans, project finance, structured finance, etc, and closed a few deals in infrastructure, energy and resources.
-Other experiences: a few development finance internships at Chinese Ministry of Finance and the United Nations
-A few unique and interesting extra-curricular experiences with leadership positions.
-GMAT: 760
-Passed CFA Level 3 exam (would be a Charter holder by matriculation)
-Post-MBA career goal: BB IBD Associate in HK and accumulate experience while waiting for opportunities to mainland China PEs
-Recommendation: A close client (an M7 MBA) and a direct supervisor (MD)
Concerns:
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Adcom recognition of what I believe could be an "unconventional" mainland Chinese male+ public-sector finance background? Given the different philosophies and roles of government financial institutions between China and the West, I'm not sure if I could accurately get my profile across to the Adcom. Our functions are similar to those of EBRD, World Bank, ADB, etc.
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Am I a bit old for IBD associates upon graduation? I figure if I could actually get admitted then would ideally start as an Associate at 29, which could be a few years older than those straight up from Analysts. Not sure if that would still be older than MBA-turned Associates and viewed negatively.
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Lack of international experience? The nature of my work is quite cross-cultural and I do travel frequently (visited over a dozen countries on business trips) but I don't have any study-abroad experience or grow up in different countries.
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Anything else I should be aware of in the application this year, besides essay polishing and alumni outreach?
Thanks for the inputs!
