Could you please give me your opinion on my profile for my target schools?
Age: 29
Work Experience: Current- Equity Analyst- research the consumer staples sector for a large buy side investment management firm think (Fidelity, Wellington, T Rowe, American Funds) for the past two years. Previously was in a research support role supporting portfolio managers for non-stock research and before that traded international equities and currencies. I worked my way from a customer service role to picking stocks in a front office role.
GMAT: Haven't taken yet but know I need 700+
College: University of Vermont- 2.7 GPA Business Admin/Finance, had 3 really bad semesters 1 my uncle died, and the other 2 my mom spent a lot of time in ICU with an undiagnosed kidney ailment, I was young and incapable of dealing with my personal issues and school at the same time, I just didnt go to class, without the my other 5 semesters my GPA averages over 3.3. I knew my low GPA and non-target school would hurt me so I enrolled at Boston College for their MSF program, graduated last year with a 3.75 GPA.
Extra-Curricular: Treasurer for my fraternity, managed a 200k budget. 100 hours of community service in college. I plan to get involved with a local charity to volunteer now that I have a lot of free time back in my life; I just finished the CFA program.
Certifications: CFA
Targets:
Reaches: Harvard and Wharton
Main Targets: CBS, Tuck, and Booth
Safety: Cornell
Timeframe: 2014-2015
Post MBA Goal: Become a portfolio manager at mutual fund company or analyst at a leading hedge fund.
Am i looking at the right schools? I know each of these schools are very difficult to get in to especially with my poor undergrad. Harvard and Wharton are probably extreme reaches for me and I am more realistically hoping for Columbia, Booth, or Tuck but understand those my also be out of the question. I would use Johnson as a safety for their finance reputation over Stern which I am not really interested in besides taking Damodaran. My current firm only recruits from HBS, Wharton, Booth, Tuck, CBS, and MIT that is how I came up with my list for the most part, they are one of the top firms in mutual funds so I am assuming other similar buy side firms will target the same schools.
Also is there anything else you would recommend I do between now and applying to try to overcome my poor undergrad? I believe I will have strong recommendations; I will be able to select alumni from each school to write them for me. I am hoping my MSF GPA, a strong GMAT, and passing the 3 CFA exams 3/3 consecutively can overshadow my 2.7 that I got when I was a lot younger and a much different person.
Basically I want to find out if it is possible to get in to one of my targets with my undergrad, I want to weigh my options before putting the time in to getting a GMAT over 700. I would be happy to go 1/5 on applications.
Thank you very much for you time and consideration.![]()
Age: 29
Work Experience: Current- Equity Analyst- research the consumer staples sector for a large buy side investment management firm think (Fidelity, Wellington, T Rowe, American Funds) for the past two years. Previously was in a research support role supporting portfolio managers for non-stock research and before that traded international equities and currencies. I worked my way from a customer service role to picking stocks in a front office role.
GMAT: Haven't taken yet but know I need 700+
College: University of Vermont- 2.7 GPA Business Admin/Finance, had 3 really bad semesters 1 my uncle died, and the other 2 my mom spent a lot of time in ICU with an undiagnosed kidney ailment, I was young and incapable of dealing with my personal issues and school at the same time, I just didnt go to class, without the my other 5 semesters my GPA averages over 3.3. I knew my low GPA and non-target school would hurt me so I enrolled at Boston College for their MSF program, graduated last year with a 3.75 GPA.
Extra-Curricular: Treasurer for my fraternity, managed a 200k budget. 100 hours of community service in college. I plan to get involved with a local charity to volunteer now that I have a lot of free time back in my life; I just finished the CFA program.
Certifications: CFA
Targets:
Reaches: Harvard and Wharton
Main Targets: CBS, Tuck, and Booth
Safety: Cornell
Timeframe: 2014-2015
Post MBA Goal: Become a portfolio manager at mutual fund company or analyst at a leading hedge fund.
Am i looking at the right schools? I know each of these schools are very difficult to get in to especially with my poor undergrad. Harvard and Wharton are probably extreme reaches for me and I am more realistically hoping for Columbia, Booth, or Tuck but understand those my also be out of the question. I would use Johnson as a safety for their finance reputation over Stern which I am not really interested in besides taking Damodaran. My current firm only recruits from HBS, Wharton, Booth, Tuck, CBS, and MIT that is how I came up with my list for the most part, they are one of the top firms in mutual funds so I am assuming other similar buy side firms will target the same schools.
Also is there anything else you would recommend I do between now and applying to try to overcome my poor undergrad? I believe I will have strong recommendations; I will be able to select alumni from each school to write them for me. I am hoping my MSF GPA, a strong GMAT, and passing the 3 CFA exams 3/3 consecutively can overshadow my 2.7 that I got when I was a lot younger and a much different person.
Basically I want to find out if it is possible to get in to one of my targets with my undergrad, I want to weigh my options before putting the time in to getting a GMAT over 700. I would be happy to go 1/5 on applications.
Thank you very much for you time and consideration.