Candidate:

Mr. Commercial Banker

About Me:

I’ve been in commercial banking for 5 years at two different banks and now am at a top regional bank (PNC / SVB / Key Bank) that directly lends to middle-market companies, typically backed by private equity firms. Financing M&A, buyouts and evaluate risk and return, downside protection, upside, operational issues, competition, deleveraging, etc.

Details:

Undergrad School: UC Berkeley

Undergrad Major: Economics

GPA: 3.3

GMAT: 700

Age: 28, Ethnicity: White

Other Degree/Certification: CFA level II (passed in 2018)

Extracurriculars: Pac-12 all conference football player (College football commitments averaged 40 hours/week between practice, meetings, conditioning, film, and games), Tutor on Wyzant 5 hours per week, Coach local high school football players 4 hours per week

Work History:

Title: Assistant Vice President

Industry: Banking & Finance

Company: Fortune 500

Length of Employment: 5 yrs, 6 mos

Big Life Wins:

Finalist for the 2014 Academic All-American College Football team. Had game-winning score in double overtime televised on ESPN. I passed the CFA level II exam in June 2018. I was a key part of the technology lending team that tripled loan commitment size in my 3 years at my current job. Was promoted from relationship manager to underwriter, to biz dev.

Post MBA Goal:

Want to transition to a top 4 investment bank that underwrites and analyzes debt issuances (debt capital markets or leveraged finance group). Also would be interested in moving to a similar direct-lending role at a credit fund (hedge fund or BDC).

Schools:

Target School: UCLA Anderson

Status: Open

mbaMission | Odds Assessment: 45%

Hi Mr. Commercial Banker! This is Kate Richardson, Senior Admissions Consultant. Sounds like you’ve been on a strong trajectory with your career, as evidenced by the multiple promotions – well done! I also think your post-MBA goal seems achievable and well aligned with Anderson’s strengths. That is wonderful that you make time for tutoring and coaching football, those activities align very well with Anderson’s focus on ‘sharing success’. Your GPA is within their range, and it’s pretty strong considering the strength of your school and balancing athletics on top of that. Your GMAT is also in range, but I’d love if you could get closer to 720. The CFA does help some too, so you could pursue level III of that instead. From what I …
Hi Mr. Commercial Banker! This is Kate Richardson, Senior Admissions Consultant. Sounds like you’ve been on a strong trajectory with your career, as evidenced by the multiple promotions – well done! I also think your post-MBA goal seems achievable and well aligned with Anderson’s strengths. That is wonderful that you make time for tutoring and coaching football, those activities align very well with Anderson’s focus on ‘sharing success’. Your GPA is within their range, and it’s pretty strong considering the strength of your school and balancing athletics on top of that. Your GMAT is also in range, but I’d love if you could get closer to 720. The CFA does help some too, so you could pursue level III of that instead. From what I can see, that is the main area to work on improving. Good luck!
10 months ago Read the full review
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Stratus Admissions Counseling | Odds Assessment: 50%

Hi Mr. Commercial Banker, This is Donna Bauman with Stratus Admissions and I am happy to weigh in on your profile. Congrats on passing level II CFA—if you are able to pass level III that would be awesome too. Great undergrad program and you have solid stats on top of being a college football player too! I am impressed! I think you have a great profile for your post MBA goal of underwriting and analyzing debt being issued. I think Anderson could be a solid choice for you. I have a client who was just accepted there and his profile reminds me of yours. You seem to have a west coast focus—although there are many top MBA programs in the Midwest and East who send …
Hi Mr. Commercial Banker, This is Donna Bauman with Stratus Admissions and I am happy to weigh in on your profile. Congrats on passing level II CFA—if you are able to pass level III that would be awesome too. Great undergrad program and you have solid stats on top of being a college football player too! I am impressed! I think you have a great profile for your post MBA goal of underwriting and analyzing debt being issued. I think Anderson could be a solid choice for you. I have a client who was just accepted there and his profile reminds me of yours. You seem to have a west coast focus—although there are many top MBA programs in the Midwest and East who send lots of people for post MBA jobs in the west. To broaden your options a bit, I think your sports (team-focused) background would also play well at Michigan Ross or Kellogg or Darden—and that you can also be successful in investment banking in any of those programs. I would be glad to talk to your further if you want to reach out for a free consult.
10 months ago Read the full review
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