Candidate:

Mr. Basketball To B-School

About Me:

Growing up, I was taught not to feel sorry for myself because there is always someone worse off. The gravity of this didn’t hit until I was an RA at an international policy institution where I learned about devastating poverty in the world. I’ve worked in banking and apparel, while interesting, these do not satisfy my desire for societal impact.

Schools:

Target School: Wharton

Considering: Kellogg SOM, Said Business School, Harvard, Chicago Booth, Cambridge Judge

See More Profiles For: Wharton

Application Status: Open

Details:

Undergrad School: State University (not flagship)

Undergrad Major: Business Administration (Economics and Finance)

GPA: 3.73

GRE: 334

Age: 28, Ethnicity: White

Other Degree/Certification: MA Applied Economics / CFA / Certified Business Economist / Certificates in Advanced Econometrics and Predictive Analytics

School Name: MA (think NYU/Michigan) / CFA Institute / National Association for Business Economics / SAS

Extracurriculars: Basketball coach, VP High School Alumni Association (2 years), Big Brother (3.5 years)

Work History:

Title: Foreign Exchange Analyst

Industry: Apparel

Company: Fortune 500

Length of Employment: 4 mos

Title: Quantitative Analyst

Industry: Banking & Finance

Company: Fortune 500

Length of Employment: 3 yrs, 3 mos

Big Life Wins:

I’ve had 11 ankle sprains, 4 concussions, 22 chipped teeth, and 1 scratched cornea (among other injuries), but rehabbed repeatedly and kept playing basketball at a high-level despite 12 years of injuries that turned my hoops dreams into going to school at night to earn my master’s degree in applied economics while working full-time.

Post MBA Goal:

I’d like to become a big-picture thinker than can articulate complex stories using financial and economic data. Once the story is told, I’d like to leverage said data to lead projects and teams in a consulting role that can impact either policy creation or implementation domestically or abroad.

Odds:

Join in! Click here to assess the odds of Mr. Basketball To B-School

The Experts Rate The Odds At: 32%

See what the industry experts have to say:

mbaMission Odds Assessment: 30%

Hi, it’s Nisha from mbaMission! It sounds like basketball has been a part of your life for a long time. From what you’ve written, though, I wasn’t clear – did you play on your college team? Regardless, you’ve had an excellent track record of extracurricular involvement in coaching, the HS alumni association, and as a Big Brother, and your academics are quite competitive as well.

Regarding your career path – what kind of impact do you want to make as a consultant? What are some of the issues that you’ve grown very passonate about in your time as a quant/FE analyst? You’ll want to explain this in your application in a way that is compelling and genuine so that the admissions committees can understand the …

Hi, it’s Nisha from mbaMission! It sounds like basketball has been a part of your life for a long time. From what you’ve written, though, I wasn’t clear – did you play on your college team? Regardless, you’ve had an excellent track record of extracurricular involvement in coaching, the HS alumni association, and as a Big Brother, and your academics are quite competitive as well.

Regarding your career path – what kind of impact do you want to make as a consultant? What are some of the issues that you’ve grown very passonate about in your time as a quant/FE analyst? You’ll want to explain this in your application in a way that is compelling and genuine so that the admissions committees can understand the true motivations behind your goals. It sounds like management consulting is a logical post-MBA goal that would prepare you for nonprofit consulting/policy management in the future.

Have you ever considered pursuing a joint MBA/MPP degree? It seems like this combination would be in line with your interests – definitely look into it at the schools you’re targeting.

Hope this helps a bit – best of luck!

5 years ago Read the full review
Stratus Admissions Counseling Odds Assessment: 35%

Mr. Basketball – Thanks for sharing your profile! Susan Cera here from Stratus. I’m impressed by your resilience and commitment to basketball and continued engagement as a coach. I’m sure that you have some fantastic examples of teamwork and leadership to share from these experiences. Given that you already have a masters degree and a CFA designation (btw – congrats – not an easy feat!) it will be imperative that you explain why you need an MBA and why now is the right time for you to get it. You will also want to have crisp short-term goals (strategy consulting?) and a career aspiration that you can connect with personal examples – perhaps based on what you witnessed and were not equipped to address when …

Mr. Basketball – Thanks for sharing your profile! Susan Cera here from Stratus. I’m impressed by your resilience and commitment to basketball and continued engagement as a coach. I’m sure that you have some fantastic examples of teamwork and leadership to share from these experiences. Given that you already have a masters degree and a CFA designation (btw – congrats – not an easy feat!) it will be imperative that you explain why you need an MBA and why now is the right time for you to get it. You will also want to have crisp short-term goals (strategy consulting?) and a career aspiration that you can connect with personal examples – perhaps based on what you witnessed and were not equipped to address when you worked in international policy.
Your solid stats will serve you well and overall I think you’ll have a great narrative. I’ve worked with many college athletes (from golfers and soccer players to swimmers and basketball players) and even an Olympic medalist. One of our counselors, Jeff, was a professional athlete prior to attending Wharton.
All the best!

5 years ago Read the full review