I am currently in the middle of planning for a future MBA and wanted to know what my current odds at my target schools and what could I do to improve my standing.
Educational Background:
I went to a middle tier Undergrad my first year was horrible I ended up with a 2.5 average for that year (which included introductory stat courses), I regained momentum and be raised my GPA to a 3.2 overall and Finance Major GPA 3.8, I also passed the first level of the CFA during my first semester senior year. I also recently sat down for the Level 2 CFA exam, and think I did fairly well (we’ll see in august), I am only 22.
Experience:
My work experience is not what you call ordinary, when I graduated from undergrad I decided to go back home to Puerto Rico, and began working as an unpaid intern in August at the islands pension system which manages around 8B in gross assets, I quickly excelled among my peers and was offered what they call a “political position” as executive assistant to the Pension fund Administrator (comparable to the CEO) and to the Chief Investment Officer.
The pension system I am working in is currently the worst funded pension system in the united states, 9.8% funding, and it has an estimated life of five more years and a total obligation between all the funds of about 30 Billion, It is been called the Islands Achilles heel. The administration I am currently working with was brought in to try to salvage and restructure the system; we are dealing with a very demanding, dynamic, and challenging situation.
I know that I will be able to get excellent recommendations from both the Administrator and the plans CIO.
GMAT:
I am currently planning to take the GMAT in October, now that I have time to study since a just took the CFA level 2 exam which was pretty grueling and gave me no time for anything else.
Targets:
I would like to enter a MBA program at a top tier school I am currently looking at
Harvard, Columbia, Wharton
The Question:
Assuming I am able to achieve a gmat score around 700 and I pass the Level II I recently sat for and the Level III CFA Exam.
What are my prospects for getting into one of these schools and more importantly what other recommendations do you have for improving my candidacy?
Thank you for your help,
SIL
Sounds like if you can get a good GMAT you have good chances at the M7 schools, and worth applying to H/S/W
Thanks for your reply. How do you suggest I improve my candidacy?
Being a URM certainly won't hurt. As for your overall candidacy, have a story that jibes with what you have done thus far. You're taking the CFA, done some asset management....so keep that path going with respect to your essays. The why mba/why here/why now will ultimately make or break you.
I meet a guy who at McKinsey who graduated with a 2.7 from undergrad and was a HBS grad. He did go to an Ivy and started an extremely successful NPO in Africa. I think if you could (since you're in such a position of power) turn the funds performance around and even make it reputable; coupled with a strong GMAT I believe you'd be a candidate for HBS.
Thanks for the comments, I know the essays are a must and I'll have to work hard on those. If you have any more suggestions I'm all ears.
What do you do outside of work? What types of extracurricular activities do you pursue - what clubs do you belong to, what organizations do you support, etc. You definitely want to bring more to the table than a sub par GPA, good GMAT and solid experience - what else can you do in your community/in your life that ties into your goals post MBA - this will not only help to enhance your candidacy overall, but also create more talking points for your essays to help separate you further from the rest of the pack.
Thanks bankonbanking
Well, in college I co-founded and was the treasurer of a student association with over 50 members, but since I began work I have been so busy between the CFA 2 and work, that I haven't had time for other extracurriculars, now that the exam is over I finally have more free time for extracurriculars, I was thinking either of starting a side business or just simply doing some charity work for foundations I previously worked with while in high school.
You are 100% right this is an area that I definitely have to work on, any suggestions?
Something that you are passionate about is worth doing far more than something you think "might look good to B school" If you can do something (and possibly take some sort of a leadership role, or at least a valuable/impactful role) that you are passionate about, you will be able to talk to it in a much more inspired and, ideally, inspiring manner.
edit
It sounds like you are in a position to gain some great experience which can translate into a good story on your B-school app. My main concern would be adequately conveying exactly how your experience demonstrates the things the b-schools look for like leadership, initiative, upward momentum... ect. To me "executive assistant" sounds like a politically correct way of saying secretary, which doesn't seem to be the case here. You need to make yourself stand out and secretary to CEO of the worst pension in the country isn't going to get you noticed. If you can do well on the GMAT, tell a good story on your app, and finish up level 3 of the CFA you have a shot.
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