Profile review - Can strong GMAT+WE+EC's overcome a very poor undergrad performance?
GMAT: 720
EDUCATION:
Bachelor of Commerce from Canadian University (one notch below McGill/UofT/Queens)
CFA Designation
3.1 GPA - Started out with outright failure in first year and a half. Didn't go to class, goofed around. Got put on academic probation and eventually "academic dismissal" for a semester. Turned things around in 3rd year when I realized I was very good and interested in Finance. All finance courses after first year were A's.
Came back to do an extra year of school, retook some first year courses I had failed in first year (got mostly A's on the retakes) as well as audited some MBA-level courses. Also worked on the side for a small management consulting firm focusing on China strategy. Retaking courses helped boost my GPA from the 2's to the 3's.
WORK:
- 4-month internships in Dublin for a large conglomerate and Shanghai for a small Merchant Bank.
- 3 years FT working for large corporate leadership program, focusing on corporate finance
- 1 year FT as a credit analyst at a large bank, underwriting asset backed loans
EC's:
- 1.5 years working as a pro-bono consultant for a start up in Africa, focusing on raising capital from large multinational development finance institutions. It's a public private partnership focusing on expanding access to medical oxygen. So far we've helped them raise USD 5MM from The Clinton Foundation and are moving into a second round of financing
- 3 months volunteering in Brazil with Mother Theresa Sisters of Charity
- President of University Finance Society
- 2 years pro-bono business consulting in home city, helping small businesses run either by immigrants with no credit history, or people with mental illness
SHORT TERM GOAL: Move from Asset Backed Lending to Debt Capital Markets/Project and Infrastructure Finance
LONG TERM GOAL: International Development Finance (IFC/World Bank/IADB)
TARGET SCHOOLS: LBS/COLUMBIA/NYU/INSEAD/ROSS/YALE
Thank you in advance for your opinions on my chances.