Profile Evaluation / GMAT Advice

[stant62]

Hi – looking for some advice on my credentials for admissions and what GMAT score I should be targeting as a candidate with a somewhat traditional finance background.

Stats
- Age: 27
- Gender: Male
- Ethnicity: 2nd generation Chinese American
- Undergrad: B.S. in Business Administration from large private institution in the Northeast
- GPA: 3.22, Major GPA: 3.49

Experience
- 1 year of corporate banking in Houston at large Canadian bank
- 1 year of corporate banking in NYC at large Canadian bank
- 1.5 years of investment banking in NYC at bulge bracket European bank (received Analyst promote to Associate)
- 2+ years as a buy-side high yield debt analyst focused on tech investments at large publicly traded asset manager (currently employed – solely responsible for managing >$500MM or 11% of platform AUM)

College Extracurricular Experience
- Fraternity: VP and various volunteer experiences
- Inter-fraternity council: Treasurer
- Finance & Investment club

Post-College Extracurricular Experience
- National charitable organization: executive board member for young professionals group, personally responsible for fundraising $10,000/year, indirectly responsible for hitting $250,000/year fundraising target
o Organize various social / fundraising events throughout the fiscal year
o Reach out to network to solicit for corporate sponsorships / personal donations
o Regular volunteer work in hospitals and other support organizations in NYC
o Other outreach to local organizations for support / volunteers

- Alumni mentor for undergrad finance students
o Regular communication with students
o Participate in annual networking sessions
o Served as team captain for undergrad recruiting team during my tenure at the bulge bracket bank: in the 2014 summer recruiting season, we had 7 first round interviews, 3 final rounds and 2 offers; these results exceeded some traditional target schools such as Boston College and Georgetown
 Responsibilities included resume review, interview prep for candidates, and organizing internal alumni network (Analysts through Managing Directors globally within the firm)

Target
Any of the M7 schools, although I would like to move to the West Coast so I was thinking Haas and Anderson as well. Pending a solid GMAT score, I would consider applying to H/W/S in round 1. I will be receiving a recommendation from my current supervisor and the campaign director for the charitable organization I volunteer for.

Post-MBA
Stay in investment management focused more on tech investing, but I am also thinking about transitioning away from finance into a strategy/consulting role on the West Coast. In either scenario, I would like to remain committed to the charitable organization I am involved with.

[mbaMissionKate]

Hi there!

As far as GMAT score...first, you want to make sure your raw scores demonstrate competence in each section...for that we usually say you need a 35 verbal, 47 quant, a 3 or 4 IR (this section is not as important), and a 3 or 4 AWA (again, not as important). Now, that kind of score won't put you above 700 though which is where you really need to be to target M7 schools. In your case, your GPA is not great and will be slightly below average for M7 schools, so I'd seek to be as close to those schools' medians as possible, ideally just above -- this means you want to target between 710-730 given your list of schools. Do you think that's doable? Remember you can take the test multiple times if you don't hit your target on your first attempt.

Otherwise, looks like you've got a good amount of work experience with a promotion which is great and your experience in finance with a tech focus puts you in a nice position to open up different post-MBA career options. You'll want to pick one of those two paths when it comes time to write your essay (and perhaps that even varies by school) but I think both seem plausible. You also have great extracurricular involvement, so kudos! Definitely highlight that.

Have you been with 4 different firms in <6 years? If so, make sure you can tell a compelling story for why you made those career moves, and perhaps even plan to use the Optional Essay to address that. Or maybe I interpreted that incorrectly and this won't be an issue.

Good luck, and keep us posted if we can help with anything else.
Kate