Candidate:

Ms. Big 4/PE Ops/Tech

About Me:

I was born and raised in China and moved to the US for college. I started my career as a CPA and M&A consultant at a Big 4 and switched to a well-known PE firm as an in-house consultant. In its operations arm, I provided support to the firm’s portfolio companies on finance & accounting topics. I joined one portfolio as a financial analyst last year.

Although my GMAT is higher than most school’s averages, my IR is low (only 4/8). Not sure if this will impact my odds or if I need to write an optional essay to explain. I’d prefer to not take the GMAT again as I don’t think I would get higher than 760. I got 7/8 in IR in a previous exam but the total score is lower (700).

Schools:

Target School: Wharton

Considering: Chicago Booth, Kellogg SOM, Harvard, MIT Sloan, Columbia

See More Profiles For: Wharton

Application Status: Open

Details:

Undergrad School: College of William & Mary

Undergrad Major: Accounting

GPA: 3.79

GMAT: 760

Age: 27, Ethnicity: Asian or Indian

Other Degree/Certification: Master's in Accounting & CPA License Holder

School Name: University of Virginia

Extracurriculars: 1. Serving in the leadership team at a local Asian organization to help the local community and professionals build leadership and professional development skills. 2. Co-founder of a brand-new YouTube channel with my fiance to promote data science and analytics. 3. Back in college, I was the board lead of my school's Study Abroad Student Advisory Board to promote diversity and study abroad programs.

Work History:

Title: Lead Financial Analyst

Industry: Technology

Company: Mid-size private technology company

Length of Employment: 1 yr, 1 mos

Title: Operations Consultant (Finance & Administration)

Industry: Banking & Finance

Company: Top Firm

Length of Employment: 1 yr, 7 mos

Big Life Wins:

1. Used a data analytics tool in one project to create an automated workflow to improve the efficiency of an M&A project. My work later got promoted across the firm and presented to multiple national partners.
2. Used to have a deep fear of public speaking especially in English but conquered my fear through years of dedicated work.

Post MBA Goal:

Short-term: MBB as a generalist to build-up strategy and operations experience.
Long-term: Lead strategy & operations in a small to mid-sized tech company in the US or Asia.