Candidate:

Mr. Non-Linear Career

About Me:

I am a Chartered Accountant from India (US CPA equivalent), in the top 0.01% academically, who has also cleared all three levels of the CFA program. I am an investment enthusiast and a consulting professional working with a Big-4 firm. I conduct Financial Due Diligence to support investments and acquisitions of corporate clients and private equity funds in India.

Details:

Undergrad School: University of Mumbai - Mithibai College

Undergrad Major: Commerce

GPA: N/A

GMAT: 730

Age: 28, Ethnicity: Asian or Indian

Other Degree/Certification: CA from India (CPA USA equivalent), CFA (charter pending)

School Name: CFA Institute, Indian Institute of Chartered Accountants

Extracurriculars: Volunteer at NGO for child rights for 2 years - leader of a group concentrated in western suburbs, Black Belt in Karate, Avid Reader, Running enthusiast (completed half marathons)

Work History:

Title: Dy Manager

Industry: Consulting

Company: Top Firm

Length of Employment: 3 yrs

Title: Associate Partner

Industry: Accounting

Company: Boutique Firm

Length of Employment: 3 yrs

Big Life Wins:

Left my first full-time job at Deloitte India (within nine months), joined our accounting and consulting firm (family business) after it lost 30% revenues in 2015 – successfully repositioned the firm by 2017 (new clients and services) (revenues back to 2015 levels). Rejoined Deloitte at entry-level in 2018, got a fast track promotion in 2019.

Post MBA Goal:

Transition to Finance role (preferably investment banking), and, in the long-term, leverage my CA and CFA designations and post MBA experience to set up an investment management company / fund in India.

Schools:

Target School: Columbia

Status: Open

Considering: Tuck, Cornell Johnson

Rejected: Tuck

mbaMission | Odds Assessment: 10%

Hi, it’s Nisha from mbaMission. Oftentimes, life is anything but linear, so there’s nothing wrong with having a non-linear career path. And, it’s great to see that you contribute to the community outside of work as well.
Schools always want to understand the WHY behind your career goals – what attracts you to investment banking? And, what drives you to want to open your own investment management company/fund in India someday, based on your observations and experiences to date? Since you already have the CFA and CA, schools will also want to understand why you need an MBA – what are the skills and experiences you need from business school, and how will you gain those at each target school? …
Hi, it’s Nisha from mbaMission. Oftentimes, life is anything but linear, so there’s nothing wrong with having a non-linear career path. And, it’s great to see that you contribute to the community outside of work as well.
Schools always want to understand the WHY behind your career goals – what attracts you to investment banking? And, what drives you to want to open your own investment management company/fund in India someday, based on your observations and experiences to date? Since you already have the CFA and CA, schools will also want to understand why you need an MBA – what are the skills and experiences you need from business school, and how will you gain those at each target school? These are the questions you’ll want to be able to answer in the application process.
Regarding your target schools: I’m sorry that Tuck didn’t work out. I’ve seen that for applicants from heavily represented backgrounds (in your case, an Indian male in finance) it’s best to apply as early in the application season as possible. If CBS is your first choice and if you can make a strong case for why you want to be in NYC for your MBA and beyond, consider applying Early Decision. For Cornell, I recommend applying in one of the first two rounds as well. You can also consider NYU Stern and UVA Darden given their strengths in finance.
I hope that helps – please feel free to sign up for a free consultation if you would like to discuss further. Best of luck!
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