Profile evaluation request

[jwang459]

Hi there! Thank you for taking the time to go through my profile. I took the GMAT for the first time in March and I would really appreciate your thoughts on my chances at my target schools and whether or not I should retake the GMAT.

Ethnicity - Chinese American
Age - 26
Gender - Male
Undergrad - Emory U, Goizueta Business School - Finance and Accounting
GPA - 3.4
GMAT - 710 (Q47 V40; AWA 5.5; IR 8)

Work experience -
To date, 4 years of work experience at one of the bulge bracket banks (GS / MS / JPM). I began my career in a 2 year leadership development rotational program, building pricing and forecasting models and also working in a Corporate function on capital management.

After graduating the program, I was an early promote to Associate and joined a team for 9 months in a business management role before switching to my current role of corporate financial strategy for the firm.

I have been on this team for a year, part of the time is spent working on special projects directly for the firm's CFO and the rest of the time being staffed out to different parts of the bank to help them build models, improve processes, etc. like an internal consulting group. I also manage 1-2 analysts per project depending on the scale of the project.

Application strategy - I will be able to get a recommendation from a senior executive of the firm whom I've worked closely and directly with for the past 2 years, a direct report to the firm's CFO. The other will be from a direct supervisor. I am hoping my background, strong recommendations, and essays will show I am a good fit for the schools I am targeting and that is part of the reason I have not re-taken the GMAT.

Extra-curricular - I am a mentor for an organization that works with the underserved Asian community in NYC. I have been mentoring my soon to be 8th grader mentee since he was in 6th grade. We meet twice a month and work on various topics ranging from presentation skills, teamwork, communication, setting goals and showing gratitude and respect to others.

Post MBA goals - To work in corporate strategy/business development in the technology industry or the sports industry. I love the work I do now but am looking to move away from the financial services industry and into one that I am more passionate about.

Target schools - Columbia Business School, Haas, Stern, Anderson
If there are others you think would be a good target with my profile, please let me know!

Thanks again for your help!

[mbaMissionKate]

Hello!
Thanks for sharing your profile. Lots of great things here! To start with your immediate question, I don't think you need to retake the GMAT. You have a strong profile otherwise and a strong GPA. Now, if you only took it once, sometimes our clients see a slight positive boost in their 2nd attempt, and sometimes it can even look a little better to have 2 similar scores vs. just 1 (shows the ad com you are willing to put in the extra effort). But unless you were scoring much higher than 710 on your practice tests, I'm not sure it's worth the effort at this point. Your score is definitely strong enough for the schools you list.

Your work experience in particular seems very strong -- the development program is great, plus I love that you have an internal consulting role which sounds like it has great exposure to execs and it's also a little bit different from the standard pre-MBA banking path which is nice.

I would add MIT Sloan to your list of schools to consider....very strong in Tech and I also think they have a big sports analytics conference every year? I know Kellogg also offers a course in sports management if that industry is really appealing to you. But otherwise I think the schools you've got on your list are all good for your goals.

If you're interested in chatting more about your application strategy, feel free to sign up for a free phone consult with someone on our team at the link below in my bio. Good luck!

Kate

Hi there! Thank you for taking the time to go through my profile. I took the GMAT for the first time in March and I would really appreciate your thoughts on my chances at my target schools and whether or not I should retake the GMAT.

Ethnicity - Chinese American
Age - 26
Gender - Male
Undergrad - Emory U, Goizueta Business School - Finance and Accounting
GPA - 3.4
GMAT - 710 (Q47 V40; AWA 5.5; IR 8)

Work experience -
To date, 4 years of work experience at one of the bulge bracket banks (GS / MS / JPM). I began my career in a 2 year leadership development rotational program, building pricing and forecasting models and also working in a Corporate function on capital management.

After graduating the program, I was an early promote to Associate and joined a team for 9 months in a business management role before switching to my current role of corporate financial strategy for the firm.

I have been on this team for a year, part of the time is spent working on special projects directly for the firm's CFO and the rest of the time being staffed out to different parts of the bank to help them build models, improve processes, etc. like an internal consulting group. I also manage 1-2 analysts per project depending on the scale of the project.

Application strategy - I will be able to get a recommendation from a senior executive of the firm whom I've worked closely and directly with for the past 2 years, a direct report to the firm's CFO. The other will be from a direct supervisor. I am hoping my background, strong recommendations, and essays will show I am a good fit for the schools I am targeting and that is part of the reason I have not re-taken the GMAT.

Extra-curricular - I am a mentor for an organization that works with the underserved Asian community in NYC. I have been mentoring my soon to be 8th grader mentee since he was in 6th grade. We meet twice a month and work on various topics ranging from presentation skills, teamwork, communication, setting goals and showing gratitude and respect to others.

Post MBA goals - To work in corporate strategy/business development in the technology industry or the sports industry. I love the work I do now but am looking to move away from the financial services industry and into one that I am more passionate about.

Target schools - Columbia Business School, Haas, Stern, Anderson
If there are others you think would be a good target with my profile, please let me know!

Thanks again for your help!

[jwang459]

Thanks for the response and your tips Kate! This was really helpful insight for me. I'll definitely look into Sloan and Kellogg to learn more about their programs. I will reach out to your company if I have any questions as I move forward. Thanks again!

[mbaMissionKate]

You're welcome! Keep us posted with any further questions!

Thanks for the response and your tips Kate! This was really helpful insight for me. I'll definitely look into Sloan and Kellogg to learn more about their programs. I will reach out to your company if I have any questions as I move forward. Thanks again!