Berkeley / Haas - 01-19-2022 | Clear Admit ApplyWire

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January 18, 2022 10:19pm ET

Applying: Berkeley / Haas, Columbia, Harvard Business School, INSEAD, London Business School, Oxford / Saïd, Stanford GSB, UPenn / Wharton

Intake Year: 2023

Pre-MBA Career: Venture Capital and Strategy & Operations (Big Tech & Series A Startup)

Post-MBA Target Industry: Consulting, Technology, Entrepreneurship Companies: BCG , McKinsey , Google , LinkedIn , Other

GRE: 326

GPA: 2.3

Years of Work Experience: 8

Location: South Africa

Post MBA Location: US / UK

Notes:

Post MBA plan to move in to Product Marketing / Management at Fintech or Edtech company or Venture Architect at BCG Digital Ventures. Would be seeking roles in the US (ideally New York / Atlanta) or London, UK. Long-term, would like to return to South Africa to launch a company fintech / edtech company serving the global South.

Worked during undergrad and participated it many extracurricular activities. Since achieved completed 2 postgrad program -- 3.7 (73% / A-) in info systems and 3.3 (68% / B+) in financial planning.

Extensive community service -- university student mentoring, financial industry transformation association, global shapers, and church related volunteering. Also co-founded a financial education project directed at new grads to up-skill them on financial matters and set them up for future financial wellness success.

Like (1)

Show Comments (5) Last: February 3, 2022

anon45782 Likes Earned: 5 *Erratum: Since completed 2 postgrad programs and achieved -- 3.7 (73% / A-) in info systems and 3.3 (68% / B+) in financial planning. (0)

alexbr4 Verified User. Likes Earned: 1693 Can you explain a little more about your undergrad GPA, it appears to be low, any context? Impact and progression at work will be very important, assume this is the key strength of your candidacy, so would like to know more about that. ECs do seem strong. (0)

anon45782 Likes Earned: 5 I'm not too sure about the grade conversion -- in some sources it extends to a 2.8 (but would rather have a conservative reflection for now). In regards to the context on the gpa, I had to work (part-time and side hustles) to supplement my scholarship award and complete my education. In addition, I participated quite heavily in extra-curricular activities at school and in the community, where I held leadership roles in both areas. First job out university was in venture capital, where I invested in underserved black women / youth owned startups across South Africa. Transitioned in to the strategy & operations roles in financial services (one of the largest asset manager in Africa), big tech (FAANG Adjacent, and focussed on +5 countries across Africa) and currently pan-African fintech series A startup (leading country operations) -- impact from these roles has been centered around creating economic opportunies and financial inclusion for economically excluded / disadvantaged people. I have had 5 internal promotions in total across my career. (1)

alexbr4 Verified User. Likes Earned: 1693 It’s not often I make this recommendation (in fact, this might be the first time), but you might benefit with working directly with an admissions consultant to help develop your story. There seems to be a lot to like here, but with the real exception of the undergrad GPA. You’ll really need to mitigate that. I understand the financial side of it, but getting heavily involved in ECs, while not focusing on your acads might send a wrong message to adcom. (1)

alexbr4 Verified User. Likes Earned: 1693 More details on this candidacy in this episode of Wire Taps: https://www.clearadmit.com/2022/01/episode-211-wire-taps/ (0)