GMAT: 740 (97%) 48Q (85%) 42V (95%)

Undergrad: B.S. in Finance with a 3.6 GPA, Top 50 business school (state school)

Work Experience: 1.5 years as an analyst at a large investment bank in their Leverage Finance Group (big name, but not on the level of GS/MS/ML). Completed several left-lead syndicated debt and bond deals for sponsors such as Bain Capital and Fortress. Earned a strong review and was cited as having the best quant skills in the analyst pool. 1.5 years (to present) as an analyst and associate with a lower middle market buyout/mezz shop. Have completed 8 mezz debt and buyout transactions to date and have gained a wide variety of industry experience. Identified our financial model as an area for improvement, volunteered to rebuild it, and spent several months outside of work to rebuild the buyout model from scratch and then present it to senior management and the rest of the firm at our annual meeting. Have earned top performance reviews, pay raises, and was recently promoted to associate (equivalent to post-MBA associate position).

Outside Work: Co-founded a real estate investment partnership in June 2007 with two other partners. Currently spend an average of 10-20+ hours a week on real estate. Initial start-up work included negotiation of a 50 page legal operating agreement, creation of several LLCs, numerous investment models, extensive market research, and constant consultation with our attorney, tax consultant, accountant, real estate agents, and mortgage lenders. To date we have closed two transactions and are looking to acquire two more properties by the end of the year. We've structured our partnership to accomodate a LP/GP structure, and eventually hope to raise a modest amount of additional funds from other investors once we have proven that we can generate sufficient returns. A short blurb probably doesn't do this justice, but its my passion and a lot of effort/time has gone into this venture, which I think would come across in any interview.

Other: Studied abroad in Switzerland for 4 months. Have traveled extensively throughout Europe and North America. Participate in rec league sports. Volunteer work is very weak since college (mentored an elementary school student identified as having a lot of potential but in an unfortunate family and economic situation). Post-college, when work has allowed, I've spent the majority of my free time on real estate investing.

I apologize for the lengthy profile, but I always see your requests for additional info, so I've tried to provide a little more to base your opinion on. I'm interested in HBS, Wharton, Columbia, Chicago, Michigan, and NYU. Do I have a realistic shot at HBS or Wharton, or is that too much of a stretch given the state school background and "typical" investment banking/PE work experience? What about the others? Thanks in advance.

Your profile screams "hardcore finance guy" - all finance, all the time; you're great with numbers, but are you great with people? You love working with numbers, but do you love working with people? Most of what you seem proud of are numbers-related. Also, no one outside of banking cares how many deals you did or the mechanics of such deals (the more you talk about it, the more you will come across as "hardcore finance guy". Not trying to be mean, but just want to be blunt in case you're surrounded by finance types all day and don't know how non-finance people may perceive how you've characterized yourself.

If you're a Gordon Gekko in training, your chances at HBS are pretty slim (they like finance guys who have "seen the light" -- i.e. those who don't drink the deal-junkie kool-aid and are interested in more than just term sheets and sale/purchase agreements). My guess is that Wharton may also be a stretch since the school in spite of its rep in finance also tries to stay away from hardcore finance types (but not to the same degree as HBS).

The rest of the schools you should be competitive for, although again you still want to be careful about not coming across as too one-dimensional.

Alex Chu
alex@mbaapply.com
www.mbaapply.com
http://mbaapply.blogspot.com

Thanks for the quick feedback -- much appreciated. After reading back through my initial post, I had to laugh, because I can now easily see why it screams "hardcore finance" type. Its kind of funny though, because I couldn't be farther from that and I know my colleagues would definitely say the same. I know the exact type you're talking about though - every bank has plenty of "human calculator" types.

In any case, I'm new to the application process and I think I probably didn't paint the right "application" picture you were looking for. Instead I stuck to the quantative side of my work experience which is much more geared towards a resume for a potential employer. I only listed out the deal specifics because that's what employers seem to focus on when sorting through similar resumes - didn't realize it wasn't helpful here. I definitely wouldn't consider myself a "deal junkie drinking the kool-aid" by any stretch of the imagination though. I actually left i-banking before my 2 years were complete, took a PE job thats far more stimulating (with a much better work/life balance), and moved to be closer to my family. I now spend a lot more time with my family and friends and have a ton more time to pursue other interests rather than spend 100% of my waking hours at the i-bank crunching numbers in excel. In the long run, I definitely have the entreprenurial bug and would like to start something on my own that I can pursue fulltime (which is why I'm pouring so much time into my RE partnership).

As for "working with others" etc, yes, I absolutely enjoy working in groups, I know others enjoy working in groups with me, and hopefully that would come across in any rec letters, essays, and/or interviews. So back to the original question, assuming I'm not a "hardcore finance" type and I'm able to get that through in my application and interviews, would I stand a realistic chance at HBS or Wharton? I guess I'm worried that the state school undergrand and lack of platinum-tier i-bank/PE shop might hinder my chances. I apologize for the long response -- just wanted to make sure you have the right picture of my profile. Thanks again for your feedback and looking forward to your response...

If you aren't the hardcore finance guy, it will certainly help. Put it this way -- these are the hardest schools to get into (plus Stanford); they are hard for everyone to get into. If you really want to go, by all means apply, just make sure you have some alternatives as well.

Alex Chu
alex@mbaapply.com
www.mbaapply.com
http://mbaapply.blogspot.com

Yup, absolutely - no chance I'd put all my eggs in one basket. Thanks again for the honest feedback - very helpful.