Mr. Mortgage Specialist

Hi, it’s Nisha with mbaMission. It sounds like you’ve made some terrific impact so far – both within your banking career and as the founder of the education-based volunteering organization.

What you’ll want to be able to explain in your applications: why do you want to pivot into investment banking – what’s the type of impact you want to make in this role, and what do you see yourself doing in the long run? Also, in which specific ways do you want to take your volunteer program to the next level, and how will the MBA help you do that? If you explain your motivations clearly, that will maximize your chances.

Regarding academics – your GMAT is within range for the programs you’re applying to, but schools are accustomed to seeing high scores from finance professionals (and, IBs sometimes ask for GMAT scores as well) so if you could boost your score by 20+ points, it would be worth giving it another shot.

Hope that helps – best of luck!

Hi Mr. Mortgage Specialist, This is Donna Bauman with Stratus Admissions and it is a pleasure to weigh in on your profile. My first question when reviewing your profile is trying to figure out why you want to make a transition to investment banking. Be sure there is something in your stories in your essays or somewhere in the application to explain where this interest comes from. You should be looking at programs that are known for helping career changers and also for providing some strong experiential learning. Beyond your target of Johnson and Fuqua and Anderson, also consider UNC Kenan-Flagler and Owen Vanderbilt, Stern and even Emory as all these programs have strong investment banking networks and good experiential learning. If you are open to Canada, I think Rotman could be an excellent choice for you as well. To show that you are serious about making the transition, consider also doing some of the online Wall Street training courses to show that you are committed to making this transition and hitting the ground running. I’ve worked with many candidates who share your aspirations and have seen the steps people have taken to be successful in reaching their goals. I also think your volunteer work is extraordinary and I would want you to share more about both your motivation for getting involved in this as well as your impact in your school applications. Happy to discuss your profile further in a free consult if you would like to do so!