MBA Profile Evaluation

We actually have very similar profiles so take that into consideration with my assessment (i was 3.3 GPA at a target w/ finance and accounting double major, i'm CFA level 3 candidate - just took it ~3 weeks ago, D1 varsity athlete, 720 GMAT, and i also want to get into Value Investing).

Your college GPA and majors seem good enough, especially if your school is truly "pretty good" not actually pretty shitty. GMAT total score shouldn't cause you any problems, although your Quant is a little low. I'd think and hope that passing Level 2 CFA would speak volumes to your quant abilities, in addition to your undergrad coursework and the quantitative nature of your job.

Assuming you're a white American male, H/S are going to be tough, just because they love stories. Having said that, they also love young applicants, so if you're not planning on starting until fall 2014 it may be worth it to apply to H/S this year when you're younger to give them each a chance (or extra chance). I definitely wouldn't rule out Wharton, they love finance guys and will probably respect the CFA more than H/S. I'd also expect the other strong quant problems to respect it - Columbia, Booth, NYU, maybe MIT.

Sounds to me like Columbia's Value Investing program is what you're after, and i think that's a great target. I'd reiterate that if you know what you want it's worth considering applying to a handful of stretch schools this year to give yourself up to 2 chances at each of them.... and Columbia offers early acceptance

sorry if that was scattered, i'd bucket schools for you like this:

Stretch: HBS, GSB Stretch / Target: Wharton Target: Booth, Kellogg, MIT, Columbia, Dartmouth Safety: UVA, NYU, Duke, UCLA

Keep in mind the acceptance rates for all these programs are stupid low and this may be optimistic / build in the fact that you can apply to each more than once

Good luck

I got admitted to Columbia ED matriculating in 2012. I think you have a good shot. Like previous poster said, admittance rates are low and GPA/GMAT is not everything so admissions is always at least partially a crapshoot. Also note that the value investing program at columbia is very very competitive.

Thanks for the responses here guys. Valuable insight, and more or less in line with my original thinking. mbaer congrats on the acceptance.

Any other thoughts/perspectives out there?

Monkey See:

Greetings Monkeys,

Frequent reader, first time poster here. Was hoping for some sage advice and constructive feedback regarding my future MBA chances. A bit about me...

Education/GMAT-

2010 liberal arts college grad, pretty good midwestern school, though not a target I suppose. Cum Laude graduate, 3.55 GPA biz/econ double major. 3.7 major GPA and A's or A+'s in all of the very relevant math/finance/econ courses. Student tutor in intro micro/macro courses as well as advanced financial accounting. TA in micro theory. 1 year of a varsity sport.

710 GMAT 47Q, 40V

Hi Monkey See. I think your grades look good, and if you took some other liberal arts courses to round out your education, that will help your profile. Your student tutoring is a nice touch, as is varsity sports -- hopefully that one year was not just freshman year and then you gave it all up. Any other activities while in college?

Your quant score is borderline -- they want 80%, but if your undergraduate academics and current jobs are analytical enough, it shouldn't matter. And your CFA Level II is a very big plus, and should lay any doubts to rest.
Your promotion is a good thing, especially going from risk/compliance to the front office. That's competitive -- I used to work for BGI before it became BlackRock, so I know. Admissions officers really care a lot about career progression, and want you to do everything you have with your current situation. Looks like you did that.

So, your next job is to really tell your story well. It's hard on these forums to get any perspective on your three-dimensionality, so I really cannot say more than the fact that you've hit the ball over the net. Your chances will depend on what kinds of decisions you've made in your life and how you've demonstrated a habit of leadership. Your extra-curricular activities are a start, but how you talk about what you have done, your intellectual curiosity, and your cross-cultural experiences all play into what separates the ok candidates from the ones that get in.

Between now and the time you apply, see what you can do to get on an international project. Schools are increasingly looking for people who have lived and worked abroad. But that's not possible for everyone -- but many firms have global offices, and you want to demonstrate that you can work cross-border and understand different cultures.

Hope this helps, Betsy

Betsy-

Thank you for all the great analysis. My work experience has been all in NY thus far, but I work as part of a global team and do interact frequently with colleagues in London/Brazil/etc. My college EC's spanned across all four years and I have continued athletic pursuits after the my official playing career ended.

As far as specific schools, would you say targeting the non-H/S/W MBA business schools ">M7 schools make sense? Or should my focus be a bit lower down the scale, as CompBanker suggested? My only fear, is that there is minimal recruiting for IM opportunities at the Stern/Duke/UVA's of the world. Thanks again!

CompBanker-

Thanks for you input. I have no objection to the schools you mention here and was planning on applying to them as well. I have heard, though, that outside of the MBA business schools ">M7/Tuck, IM roles are tough to come by. But I would have to do a bit more research on this.