Applying to M7: What are my chances?

Hello, I'd like to ask for your help in assessing my chances of getting into M7. Right now I'm planning to apply to the earliest rounds of following schools: Chicago, Columbia, and Stern. I'm not particularly looking for encouragements; just want to do a reality check before I get started with my essays. All comments are welcome, criticisms and anecdotes especially are greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Education:
BASc from a decent Canadian university (U of Toronto) in Electrical Engineering
GPA: 3.3/4.0
GMAT: 730/96%, Quant: 51/98%, Verbal: 37/81%, AWA: 5.0/57% (got it in May 2011 but didn't apply last year)

Work Experience:
4 years as a research engineer at the same company.
6-month stint in HR at top semiconductor company in South Korea.
1 year internship between my junior and senior years at major tech company in Toronto

Extracurricular Activities:
Volunteer once a month for a day at Christian elderly home for retired ministers
Local squash club (plays once a week)
Triathlon (participated in several events; no awards/achievements though)

Why am I applying to b-school:
I want to make career transition from tech to financial services(IB), with PE/HF exit in mind. Ideally, I am looking to leverage an MBA into summer internship at a BB, turn it into a full time offer, do a decent job, and move to PE/HF.

Ideally I want to go to Chicago, because I'm interested in finance and also because it's closer to my home town(Toronto). Columbia is at par in terms of my preferences because AFAIK it's also very strong in finance. Stern is what I think of as my safe-school (no offence to anyone. It's in New York, firms I want to go to hires from it, and I'll be very happy to get accepted to Stern). Never given any thoughts to HBS/Stanford since it's impossible for me to get into.

Also, schools aside, how difficult is it to go from tech(engineer) to MBA to BB? Some people say it's nearly impossible as I'll be competing with people who had their pre-MBA work experiences at BB, while others say it's entirely feasible as a lot of MBAs(almost one third) come from engineering background anyway.

Is it simply impossible to start working in PE/HF right out of MBA, with pre-MBA work experience in unrelated field? That's what I've gathered thus far, so please correct me if I'm wrong.

Any and all comments are welcome, and criticism and anecdotes are greatly appreciated. Thanks again!

 
futurectdoc:
Maybe add Tuck, it has an incredible alumni network, Haas for west coast tech banking.
They all have incredible alumni networks, you twat. Seems like OP wants to be in a city which rules out Tuck and they do not specifically express a desire to go into tech banking which makes an application to Haas, at least by your logic, a complete waste. OP- Which sector(s) would you want to cover? Tech would make the most sense given your background.
 
turtles:
futurectdoc:
Maybe add Tuck, it has an incredible alumni network, Haas for west coast tech banking.
They all have incredible alumni networks, you twat. Seems like OP wants to be in a city which rules out Tuck and they do not specifically express a desire to go into tech banking which makes an application to Haas, at least by your logic, a complete waste. OP- Which sector(s) would you want to cover? Tech would make the most sense given your background.

Actually, I grew up in a small town - a tiny village in rural Ontario that no one from the cities even heard of - so I think I should feel right at home in places like Hanover. The reason why I listed the schools in big cities is because I thought that since those schools are located near the centers of finance, it'll be better in terms of finding a good job. If Tuck can offer equal or better career opportunities, I'll definitely add it to my list. I ruled out Hass right off the bat because it's on the west coast. Strong preference for cold weather. Winters without snow is a deal breaker for me. turtles- I guess tech would make the most sense, but then my question to you is, does it matter? I mean, are job functions/work environment/compensation differ that much covering different sectors? I personally want to cover energy or financial sectors, since they seem to matter most and affect everyone everywhere. If you are talking about my chances of getting the job, not my wants, then yes I guess I should go for tech sector.

 
turtles:
futurectdoc:
Maybe add Tuck, it has an incredible alumni network, Haas for west coast tech banking.
They all have incredible alumni networks, you twat. Seems like OP wants to be in a city which rules out Tuck and they do not specifically express a desire to go into tech banking which makes an application to Haas, at least by your logic, a complete waste. OP- Which sector(s) would you want to cover? Tech would make the most sense given your background.

See he likes rural areas and Tech makes a lot of sense, so to quote Nell Diamond HMD

 
Best Response
f5edba:
Work Experience: 6-month stint in HR at top semiconductor company in South Korea. 4 years as a research engineer at the same company.

.... Why am I applying to b-school: I want to make career transition from tech to financial services(IB), with PE/HF exit in mind. Ideally, I am looking to leverage an MBA into summer internship at a BB, turn it into a full time offer, do a decent job, and move to PE/HF.

Hi f5edba, Your grades and scores, particularly your quant, put you in the range for all the schools you are considering. And yet, it's a lot more than that. Your switch from research engineering to HR is very interesting. (did I get that sequence right? If not, please correct me) It is a risk and it can really introduce you to the kinds of leadership issues that business schools, and businesses, care about daily. I would never recommend anyone go into HR in the long term, but I think a short term stint, especially in an Asian company, is ripe for great stories,

I think you have a challenge in connecting the dots from your current career to your future one. You may be able to achieve your goals, but it's not obvious from what you've written why, or how you have prepared yourself. Your challenge is to show the admissions committee that you are not another guy who wants to do PE.

Best regards, Betsy

Betsy Massar Come see me at my Q&A thread http://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forums/b-school-qa-w-betsy-massar-of-master-admissions Ask away!
 
Betsy Massar:
f5edba:
Work Experience: 6-month stint in HR at top semiconductor company in South Korea. 4 years as a research engineer at the same company.

.... Why am I applying to b-school: I want to make career transition from tech to financial services(IB), with PE/HF exit in mind. Ideally, I am looking to leverage an MBA into summer internship at a BB, turn it into a full time offer, do a decent job, and move to PE/HF.

Hi f5edba, Your grades and scores, particularly your quant, put you in the range for all the schools you are considering. And yet, it's a lot more than that. Your switch from research engineering to HR is very interesting. (did I get that sequence right? If not, please correct me) It is a risk and it can really introduce you to the kinds of leadership issues that business schools, and businesses, care about daily. I would never recommend anyone go into HR in the long term, but I think a short term stint, especially in an Asian company, is ripe for great stories,

I think you have a challenge in connecting the dots from your current career to your future one. You may be able to achieve your goals, but it's not obvious from what you've written why, or how you have prepared yourself. Your challenge is to show the admissions committee that you are not another guy who wants to do PE.

Best regards, Betsy

Hi Betsy, It was from HR to Engineering. Should've put it in reverse chronological order. Thanks for pointing that out. And yes, it was pretty interesting experience and I got some great stories out of it!

I'm surprised, although I guess shouldn't be, that you saw right through me. A year ago, after writing my GMAT and having started brainstorming for my essays, I encountered some serious trouble connecting the dots - where I came from, where I am, where I want to go - which eventually lead me to give up applying altogether after my work got busier. Since then, I got my CFA Lv.1 (if it means anything, I honestly don't know), and I follow the markets daily as I've been doing for the past few years. Market is my passion, I want a career change, and I'm under the impression that at this point doing an MBA is the only feasible option for me.

I've been told that people with similar backgrounds have successfully made the transition. You're probably right I am just another guy who wants to do PE, but truth be told I got the PE idea from people in IBs talking about their "exit strategies" so I don't know, I might really love my work at IB and end up staying there.

So a guy who wants to do PE is a bad candidate. Thanks, I didn't know that. What would be a better image to portray, then? A friend of mine who did a MFin at MIT says I should just say I want to work in corporate strategy. It's more realistic goal, fits with my experience(corporate), just easier to connect the dots. I wouldn't exactly be lying since this is to be my "plan B" at b-school should my whack at the career in finance doesn't pan out. Thanks for your comment, and I eagerly await your reply.

 

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Betsy Massar Come see me at my Q&A thread http://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forums/b-school-qa-w-betsy-massar-of-master-admissions Ask away!

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