Columbia - 08-25-2022 | Clear Admit ApplyWire

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August 25, 2022 10:07am ET

Applying: Columbia, Harvard Business School, London Business School, MIT Sloan, Northwestern / Kellogg, U. Chicago Booth, UPenn / Wharton

Intake Year: 2023

Pre-MBA Career: 2 years in auditing and 2 years in real estate investment and development

Post-MBA Target Industry: Private Equity Companies: Blackstone , Carlyle Group , TPG , KKR

GRE: 328

GPA: 3.73

Years of Work Experience: 4

Location: Montreal, Canada

Post MBA Location: New York

Notes:

Just to clarify, I am aiming for real estate private equity.

In order of preference: Wharton, Columbia, MIT, Harvard, LBS, Booth, Kellogg. Aiming for round 2 as I just finished my research and am starting to refine my resume and write my essays.

Education Background: undergrad from a top Canadian university (McGill) with major in accounting. Have earned multiple scholarships and prizes throughout for academic success and community involvement, Had high level of extracurricular involvement (president of accounting student club, teaching assistant, financial literacy tutoring, international business association). Have my CPA and on track to obtain my CBV (Chartered Business Valuator) title as well.

Professional Background: 2 years of Big 4 experience, auditing financial services and real estate companies. Then transitioned to finance, specifically in the investments team of a large Canadian residential developer. My modeling/analysis work and pro formas have helped raise $200M+ equity and $1.0B+ debt so far. Will have 2 years in this new role (so 4 years total work experience) by the time I enroll. Have had the top performance rating every year so far both in Big 4 and at new job. Would get a recommendation letter from my CIO.

Extracurricular: on top of what I listed during college, I now volunteer as a treasurer on the board of directors of a not-for-profit and may join another one in the coming month.

Why MBA: As my background is mainly Canadian markets and residential RE, I want U.S. and commercial RE experience to be well-rounded. I also want institutional investing experience to build my profile as a good executor in my field. So an MBA in the U.S. would be my launching pad to get into an institutional investor with real estate PE.
Also, My top 3 school choices have options for a RE major or very interesting courses, as well as real estate clubs and a strong alumni network that would align with my interests/needs.

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Show Comments (10) Last: March 28, 2023

alexbr4 Verified User. Likes Earned: 1674 Might be worth looking at Sloan for Round 1, you have a month until the deadline. This May then help to get an early signal as to your overall profile heading into Round 2? (Sloan’s app is a little lighter on the front end). Looks like you hit all the markers, regarding putting together a competitive profile. Decent work experience, where you’ve performed very well. Strong UG where you were a leader. Solid ECs, decent GRE, etc. What are your hobbies and interested? (1)

jls12345 Likes Earned: 18 Thank you for your time and comment! I love the outdoors/hiking, skiing, reading and travelling! I am pushing my application to next summer finally to finish writing my exams for my CBV title, to have a solid year in a senior analyst role (promotion expected early 2023), and to give me more time for any additional community involvement. I will start writing my essays though to be prepared for Round 1s next June/July! (1)

alexbr4 Verified User. Likes Earned: 1674 Strengthening your community involvement is great, assuming it’s for all the right reasons, not simply for your MBA applications. Continue to challenge yourself at work, pushing for impact, etc. Best of luck! (1)

grichmond Verified User. Likes Earned: 1224 Thanks for your post. While waiting until next year may be fine, I'd suggest that you at least consider taking a flyer on a dream school (or two)in the second round this season. You have ample work experience already, your academic profile is really solid, career goals make perfect sense, and ECs/outside interests seem goo enough to me. As a Canadian applicant, you will be less common than your American counterparts aiming at these schools, so I'd consider rolling the dice and saving a year of time. You can always reapply if things don't work out (there is no stigma in MBA admissions to being a reapplicant). Best of luck!
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jls12345 Likes Earned: 18 Understood. I'll consider both of your feedbacks and will look into a few schools to send in applications this year - thanks a lot Alex and Graham, really appreciated! (1)

alexbr4 Verified User. Likes Earned: 1674 More details on this candidacy in this episode of Wire Taps: https://www.clearadmit.com/2022/09/wire-taps-250/ (1)

jls12345 Likes Earned: 18 Thanks Alex and Graham for the mention on the podcast! I have decided that I will be applying to Wharton, Harvard and Booth this year in Round 2, and then if unsuccessful will try them out again next year in Round 1, as well as the rest that I listed. Will keep you posted! (1)

alexbr4 Verified User. Likes Earned: 1674 Terrific! Best of luck (1)

jls12345 Likes Earned: 18 Hi Alex and Graham, just wanted to share some news with you. I applied in R2 for Harvard, Chicago and Booth as indicated earlier. Was dinged by Harvard, dinged at Booth post-interview and accepted to Wharton! So I'm going to enroll and attend this coming Fall. Just wanted to thank you for your advice and for pushing me to apply this Fall. Without your podcast and written insights, I would have never taken the leap this year. Thanks so much, and will always be grateful for the ClearAdmit community! Cheers (1)

alexbr4 Verified User. Likes Earned: 1674 That’s really good news, very well done! (1)