Mr. Operator

Hi, it’s Nisha from mbaMission. You’ve got solid academics and an intriguing career path within the EPC firm. I’d like to understand more about your career goals, though – why are you interested in turnaround consulting or a distressed fund? Also, since you’ll have to choose 1 path for the purpose of your application, I’d go with consulting since it’s a more realistic post-MBA goal (funds are generally seeking banking experience, so if you’re really leaning towards this path, you can state IB as your post-MBA goal and the fund as your long-term goal). In any case, you’ll want to fully explain the motivation behind your goals.

Kellogg especially values leadership and collaboration, and Sloan innovation, so you’ll want to convey in your essays how you have demonstrated these qualities. While they will value your TA experience, top applicants to these schools generally (though not always) have more substantive community/extracurricular involvement during and post-college, so I’d consider expanding your list of programs as well, to hedge your bets. Other programs I’d think about are Darden and Stern given their finance and consulting strengths – I have had quite a few clients with aspiration in those areas get accepted to those programs and enjoy their experience. Hope that helps – best of luck!

Hi Mr. Operator, Melisa here from Stratus Admissions. Sounds like you have reaped the benefits of your boutique experience by gaining experience across the organization and increasing your level of responsibility. Your stats are sound with good work experience/leadership, GMAT/GPA. And your short term goals are realistic with consulting, and maybe a bit more ambitious depending upon the type of fund you are looking at. IB is very viable, but generally PE/hedge funds are looking for post-MBA grads with either consulting or IB experience – maybe this is a next step for you. For your Kellogg application, you will need to pick one, MIT is a bit more open to you investigating multiple options. Which leads me to your opportunities: long term goal and community involvement. For your long term goal, do you plan to stay in distressed markets – and why? Or do you see your post-MBA distressed experience as a step along the way. What are you passionate about – and how does working in distressed markets tie in there. It’s good that you did some teaching in undergrad, but unless you did that out of the goodness of your heart, it’s not exactly community involvement. Kellogg is an extremely collaborative and involved program. They (and MIT) will be looking for evidence that you will be involved as a student there – while both have stellar academics, so much of what you learn happens outside of the classroom in clubs or experiential learning opportunities. I would suggest you highlight the collaborative nature of your roles and leadership. There are a couple schools that you might want to add to your list: Wharton, Booth, Ross and Darden jump to mind. Best of luck through the process! I have you slightly lower than the average acceptance because of the lack of community involvement you have listed in your profile.