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I am a first-generation college graduate from rural South East Asia. My love for math and meeting new people combined with my upbringing led me down a path of finance and deal-making, where I founded an investment bank back in my country. I advise investors and businesses on investing and raising capital in frontier markets.
Target School: Stanford GSB
Considering: Harvard, Wharton, NYU Stern, Yale
See More Profiles For: Stanford GSB
Application Status: Open
Undergrad School: Coventry University
Undergrad Major: Electrical and Electronic Engineering
GPA: 4.0 (First Class Honours)
GRE: 333
Age: 27, Ethnicity: Asian or Indian
Other Degree/Certification: MS in Finance
School Name: Vanderbilt University
Extracurriculars: Co-founder of a non-profit organization helping refugees continue their education in the United States | Chair of a Rotary Club | Mentor at an SME incubator backed by the World Bank
Title: Founder
Industry: Banking & Finance
Company: Boutique Firm
Length of Employment: 2 yrs, 2 mos
Title: Chief Strategy Officer
Industry: Engineering
Company: Top Firm
Length of Employment: 3 yrs, 1 mos
1) First recipient of Fulbright Scholarship from my town and first nominated candidate to conduct research with noble laureates. 2) Started my own boutique impact investment bank that covers the healthcare and education sector in Fragile and Conflict-Affected States. 3) Received accelerated promotion to the C-Suite in 2 years instead of 8-10 years.
My plans after business school are 1) to be a leader within an organization that uses capital and business expertise to have a positive societal impact in the world (IFC or impact-focused growth equity fund in Africa) or 2) to raise an impact-focused PE fund. I aspire to be an impactful leader in business ecosystem reform in my country.
Join in! Click here to assess the odds of Mr. Optimistic Fulbright
Wow Mr. Optimistic Fulbright! There’s so much good here that I don’t even know where to start. On paper, you’ve got what it takes to be among the <10% who earn acceptance at Stanford GSB. You have a achieved a lot over your 5 year career thus far, including founding your own company without taking your foot off the pedal around making a positive impact in the community… all after nailing your Undergrad days and continuing to show up academically with your killer GRE score. What's there not to love? My advice to you is to do your homework/research on your top programs so you can give AdCom the confidence that you are invested and will also choose them as well. …
Wow Mr. Optimistic Fulbright! There’s so much good here that I don’t even know where to start. On paper, you’ve got what it takes to be among the <10% who earn acceptance at Stanford GSB. You have a achieved a lot over your 5 year career thus far, including founding your own company without taking your foot off the pedal around making a positive impact in the community… all after nailing your Undergrad days and continuing to show up academically with your killer GRE score. What's there not to love? My advice to you is to do your homework/research on your top programs so you can give AdCom the confidence that you are invested and will also choose them as well. Cultural fit will be key in how you communicate your stories and show up in the interview. I know you can nail these things too, in which case, you better pack your bags for b-school next year!
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The GSB has ~5% average acceptance rate and lower than that for international applicants, but you have a lot going for your profile: 1). Intellectual potential signals in spades (Fulbright! Math! EE! Finance! Vandy!) 2). Global perspective and experience (educated on 3 different continents – Asia, Europe, N. America – and work experience/interest in Africa). Good mix of urban and rural experiences, even within the same geographies. 3). Private sector experience with social impact ambitions and longstanding demonstrated EC passions to back up and validate that interest. All things equal, GSB wants to admit people who will change the world in positive ways rather than just maximize shareholder value. 4) Professional prestige signals (GSB lets some of the sifting be done by other prestigious institutions, so …
The GSB has ~5% average acceptance rate and lower than that for international applicants, but you have a lot going for your profile: 1). Intellectual potential signals in spades (Fulbright! Math! EE! Finance! Vandy!) 2). Global perspective and experience (educated on 3 different continents – Asia, Europe, N. America – and work experience/interest in Africa). Good mix of urban and rural experiences, even within the same geographies. 3). Private sector experience with social impact ambitions and longstanding demonstrated EC passions to back up and validate that interest. All things equal, GSB wants to admit people who will change the world in positive ways rather than just maximize shareholder value. 4) Professional prestige signals (GSB lets some of the sifting be done by other prestigious institutions, so it’s good if you have some name recognition in banking/consulting/VC/PE/FAANG on your resume to show that you can make the cut and thrive in these sorts of environment, even if it’s not your current employer since these employers are recognizable as known quantity skill-building factories to recruiters and MBAs that have these types of employers on the resumes pre-MBA do better in recruiting during and post-MBA). What you have working against you is that you appear to be a non-domestic MBA applicant. For GSB, this means that of their tiny class, you and all other non-US-applicants will be competing for one of <40% of all the spots. Depending on which country you hail from, this could go from very difficult odds (China, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh) to less difficult odds (Kazakhstan, Nicaragua, Malawi) given how over-represented your geographic demo is. Assuming an IFC or IMF role immediately post-MBA, your strategic positioning is sound considering your international work experience, finance accumen, and demonstrated social impact passions. Your citizenship will determine your potential in part (obviously, Taiwan is going to be hard with IFC, but Laos will be less represented than India and China, for instance). AdComs will know your odds of success in your stated career field and will factor that into the calculation. IFC/IMF/World Bank will be less represented in the applicant pool than traditional banks, so that will help you. You are a compelling candidate but international applicants have it rough in this process. I’d put your odds about 4 times better than the average GSB applicant (about 20%) assuming flawlessly executed strategic positioning and essays.
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