Things to do to make my MBA application look good

You fellow provided me great advice for the MSF admission but I'm changing my plan given my age factor. I'm now strongly considering an MBA which will help me lower the negatives of higher age & lower WE.

Sharing my profile again: Age 24 - Indian
BS. Material Eng from Big Ten school (Not Iowa, Nebraska or Michigan State). Bad 2.9 GPA though.
Passed all levels of CFA, FRM & CAIA exams in one attempt.
Just started working at a PE firm in my home country as an analyst. Hopefully, I will try to move onto US PE firms that have offices in my city.
Managing my personal & client's portfolio since last 1.5 yrs worth a huge amount.
gmat score: 700. Will again be attempting for a higher score.

I'm preferring Canada as my destination given the tougher immigration policies of the US & UK. Later, I will possibly try to move to the US using L1, H1B or TN-Economist Visa.

Post MBA, I'm targeting IB Associate or PE firms. I want your guidance on:
Choosing the university. I think Rotman & Ivey would be great. Are there others worth applying for?
How should I build up my community service & leadership profile? I'm looking for something that doesn't consume more time but looks good for an MBA application. Does volunteering in a local CFA society counts?
What can I do to cover-up my low GPA? I'm targeting a total of 3yr WE before I join the b-school. So, I will be lower on the GPA & WE but higher on the GMAT score when compared to a usual Canadian MBA class profile.
Any other advice on making my MBA application look better?

 

Do not go to Ivey if your end goal is IB. Last time I checked, Ivey's MBA program is one year designed for working professionals. If you go there you will not have access to associate level summer internships since its not a two year program. The vast majority of post MBA hires come from summer internships. I have heard some bad things about the career center at Rotman from current/past students. If I were you and I had the choice of either Top 15 US MBA or any Canadian one I would go for the US one (and I'm Canadian).

 

It is true that US MBA programs are by far the best but the immigration issue with a huge burden of debt post MBA makes the whole US MBA thing very risky. If I don't go through the H1B, paying off a loan of that magnitude in my home country would take many years.

 
Best Response

Profile looks fine. You may want a slightly higher GMAT but you said you're already taking again. Your GPA is a weak spot but since you passed CFA, etc. that should make up for it. 740+ GMAT would also be good to balance out stats.

Other than that, your story would make sense for going into IB. Now it's just writing good essays, getting the right people to do your recs, etc. and also doing really well at work, pushing for more responsibility, etc. to show some progression.

 

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