Profile Evaluation

[gabe.rodrigues]

Background: Brazilian citizenship (born and raised)
Exchange student in US from 16 to 18 years of age

Education: Top 20 Liberal Arts College in the US
GPA: 3.78
Honors in Economics and Honors in Spanish Literature
Minor in Math (Stats)
Phi Beta Kappa
4-year swimmer
NCAA champion and record holder
NCAA postgraduate scholarship winner
A few other small awards for accomplishments in academics and athletics
GMAT: 720 (47/43)
Series 7 License

Work Experience:
2 years as Marketing Research Analyst with Nielsen - many projects in US and particularly Europe (including traveling to those countries)
2 years as analyst (3 by the time I start MBA) in investment banking for Regional Company in Virginia. Typical Ibanking job

Community:
Very involved with swimming, teaching little kids at local YMCA on Saturdays
Local church finance committee
Volunteer to help Rotary Club exchange students with culture shock
Other small/less important volunteer stuff around the community

Others:
Fluent in 3 languages: English, Spanish, Portuguese
Long swimming career as mentioned above with leadership roles related to swim teams

Recommendations:
Will come from previous 2 employers, and may add College Swim Coach as a third.


I'm considering the following for 2010: Harvard, Chicago, Kellog, Wharton, and Duke. Chicago is the first choice.

Realistically, how do you see my chances based on the brief description presented? More specifically, please discuss my chances in Chicago (my first choice) versus Harvard (third choice) versus Duke (fifth choice).

Many thanks.

Gabe

[mbamission]

Thank you for your inquiry. You have an interesting background with excellent academics, international languages/experience, a solid work history and involvement in community activity that shows continuity over a long period of time. From what you've presented, you seem like a well-rounded candidate with a number of different stories you can draw on in your essays.

I think you'll be competitive at any of the schools you listed. Harvard may be a mild reach; it depends on the strength of your work experiences and the quality of your essays, as the rest of your profile is very strong. Wharton, Chicago and Kellogg should all be competitive schools for you and you should be quite competitive at Duke.

Sincerely,
Jessica Shklar
MBA Mission

646-485-8844

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