Profile Evaluation Please

[akhil.parekh2006]

Hello,

Please help me evaluate my profile. My background -

1. Bachelors in Information Technology - top 10% of class
2. Masters in Computer Science - University of North Texas - GPA - 3.8
3. Work experience - 5+ years
4. Age - 28
5. Nationality - Indian Male
6. GMAT - 620 ( Q47, V29).
7. Other involvements - NY Cares (Mentoring students for SAT since Jan 2012)
Completed 2 day workshop of Leaders in Investment Banking NYC
8. Interest : Value Investing

I did my summer internship at Smith Barney, Citi for Project Management and Office group. Then I worked as Tech + functional Analyst for 2 years at a small firm (30-50 employee) in Dallas, a third party credit card processing company. I have been working as a consultant for Morgan Stanley Smith Barney since last 2.5 years. My role is more of operations + business analyst. I have been managing team of 3-5 business analysts since last 2 years.

Interest: I have been self learning Value Investing (VI) and Security Analysis since last 4 years. I generate my own investment ideas based on VI and apply them to my personal portfolio. At my current role I have been closely working with Financial Advisors of MSSB helping them create accurate performance reports. However at my current role I am unable to get the kind of exposure that I am now looking for. I intent to work in investment field on buy side post MBA. My short term goal (1-3 years) post MBA is to be a Research Analyst working for some firm (applying VI principles). My long term goal (+ 3 years) is to be a Portfolio manager managing some fund or start my own family fund managing people's money. I will be CFA level 1 candidate by Fall 2013.

Schools of interest -

1. Wisconsin School of Business - ASAP program
2. HKUST - Finance
3. NUS - Finance

Please evaluate my profile. Also let me know if there are any other schools with good program in security analysis / investment management. I am trying to find any more schools that fit my bill. I am open to US and Asian schools. Any kind of help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Akhil

[akhil.parekh2006]

Could someone please advise.

[mili]

Hi Akhil,

Thanks for submitting your profile, and my apologies for the delayed response. I think your story and background is pretty interesting. Let's break down your profile:

Academics: this is going to be your biggest weakness. Any chance of bringing up that GMAT score?

Professional Experience: Strong. You'll have a lot of leadership and teamwork stories to tell.

Community: NY Cares is good. Very common among applicants from your industry - not going to set you apart, but it 'checks the box' to some degree.

Extracurricular: Besides your interest in value investing, I don't see much in this area. I do recommend you work on bringing your own personal story/interests, etc. into the application.

Some other programs to consider:
-Rotman
-Creighton - MSAPM (http://business.creighton.edu/graduate/ ... ment-msapm).
-University of FL - (http://floridamba.ufl.edu/traditional/c ... ations.asp)
-Carnegie Mellon Tepper -

Hope this helps!
Mili

Mili Mittal
Senior Consultant
http://www.mbamission.com

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