The advice you guys are providing is very helpful and I want to thank you for that. I was hoping you guys could give me your take on my situation.
I am a 26 year old South Asian male. I graduated from the BBA program at the University of Michigan in 2004 and have worked on Wall Street since then. I was initially in an internal consulting program at JPM and transitioned to their Private Bank at the end of my program. After my two year stint at JPM, I took a job with a startup boutique investment banking firm (only 12 people at the firm). I have been here for two years and will be promoted to associate within the next month. I spoke with the CEO of the company today who is an HBS alum and was very supportive and said he would be honored to write my letters of reference. He recently also got elected to the HBS Alumni board of directors.
Some other notes about my experience: I co-founded a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization last year to raise money for awareness of the South Asian Arts. Through this organization, I was able to secure funding from the Ford Motor Company, General Motors, TCF Bank based out in Minneapolis, MN, and strike up a partnership with Kenneth Cole in their recent diversity ad campaign. I also co-founded an entertainment company while a freshmen in college that I still do work for today. I also moonlight as a dj in nyc from time-to-time and my older brother is a second year MBA at Columbia. Recently, a prominent PE firm based out of Boston reached out to me to gage my interest in helping them do additional business in India (I was born and raised in the states but I am fluent in multiple indian languages and would be able to conduct business there).
I definitely feel like I am ready to apply for the class of 2011 and wanted to hear if you think I have any gaping holes in my profile. I graduated with a 3.5 gpa and received a 700 on the gmat. I am looking to apply to HSW as well as Columbia and maybe a few others. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
-KS
GMAT Forum
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- MBAApply
It's not about "gaping holes" (now now don't let your mind wander...) but about the level of competitiveness at these schools.
You're up against people with similar profiles as you -- while there's certainly more blue-chip banker types like yourself at these schools than say the IT engineering crowd, it's still a numbers game; there's simply more qualified people than there are seats.
All you can do is put in your best effort on the applications, and apply to other schools in the process that may be easier to get into. You know there are folks like you at these top schools, but there's also quite a few who don't get in as well. And what separates one from the other isn't that clear cut -- it's a combination of how well the applications are executed, and luck (i.e. you can do the best you can and still not get in for whatever reason).
Alex Chu
alex@mbaapply.com
www.mbaapply.com
http://mbaapply.blogspot.com
You're up against people with similar profiles as you -- while there's certainly more blue-chip banker types like yourself at these schools than say the IT engineering crowd, it's still a numbers game; there's simply more qualified people than there are seats.
All you can do is put in your best effort on the applications, and apply to other schools in the process that may be easier to get into. You know there are folks like you at these top schools, but there's also quite a few who don't get in as well. And what separates one from the other isn't that clear cut -- it's a combination of how well the applications are executed, and luck (i.e. you can do the best you can and still not get in for whatever reason).
Alex Chu
alex@mbaapply.com
www.mbaapply.com
http://mbaapply.blogspot.com
2 posts Page 1 of 1