Dear all,
I am a Senior Associate at an investment bank, planning to apply for MBA in a year or two. I would really appreciate some insights on the programs that I might have a chance at. Any advice would be helpful. Please see my profile below. Thank you so much for taking the time.
Education: Education is probably my weakest part. I wen to a top2 University in China(Majored in Math and double majored in Econ). I have a 2.9/4.0 major GPA and 3.5/4.0 double major GPA. The math department does not curve grades and the average GPA in the math department was about 3.0. I've studied with the top mathematical geniuses in Asia and honestly speaking I don't have their brains. Silver line is that my school doesn't have official GPA, the so-called GPA is only a reference figure provided by the school, it's calculated in a very different way comparing to US and it's not showed on transcripts, so I don't have to put it on CV. Despite of the super low GPA, I'm confident that I'm a better learner comparing to most. After undergrad, I went to Georgetown for a M.A. in Econ. While there, I achieved a 3.92/4.0 GPA and an academic thesis which somehow got me a PhD offer from WUSTL.
Tests: TOEFL 110 (took it 3 years ago with no preparation, 30 in speaking, weak in writing), could break 113+ if given some preparation. Have't take GMAT yet, but aim at 750+ before start applying to business schools.
WE: Will have close to 2.7 years' experience when applying, close to 4 years upon enrollment. I have been working at the Asset Management division of the largest investment bank in China (CITIC Securities Co., not so well known in US, sadly). My job is to innovate in the fixed income field. So far I have been appointed to co-manage a pre-ABS fund (one of the firsts in China), co-manage the creation of the first bank acceptance bills backed securities in China, co-manage the first PPP-ABS in China (this one is really the pain in the ass, no fresh graduate should be given such responsibilities, this is probably the most complicated ABS project any banker has ever done). I'm also in charge of researching alternative fixed income assets and allocating them to the asset management plans.
Leadership: Because my team has been severely short on man power, I had to learn faster than my peers, which gives me a little more exposure to projects. I led the issuance of a ABS when I was only 23, which was supposed to be pretty awesome until my client canceled the offering at the last minute after I have done everything else for the project for three months. I'm currently working on a very unique category of ABS in China, the PPP ABS, first of its kind, where I shared managing responsibilities with a colleague. I also helped managing a pre-ABS fund, I made most of the investment decisions and was responsible for packaging ABS to exit.
Volunteer: 1 year at a education charity fund+1 year at a NGO that provides charitable service in financial advisory to poor villages in China, both experiences were part-time job when I was in college.
Extracurricular: Kendo club president in college, used to be a national athlete in sprint.
I'm aware that my working experience is a little short. The reason I insist on applying soon is that the Chinese financial market is currently in the process of de-reforming and de-market, a lot of the innovation we have done has been banned by the authorities, I can't see any real career progress if I stay here for too long, 3 years or 5 years won't make much difference to my CV.
Thanks again if you had the patience to finish reading. I would really appreciate any insights, encouragement or discouragement, anything will be helpful.
