Do You Have What It Takes To Get Into A Great School?
The most common question MBA-wannabes are asking right now: “What are my chances of getting into a top-ranked business school?”
As would-be applicants pore over the raw stats and acceptance numbers of their dream schools, they’re sizing up their own odds of getting into a Harvard or Stanford, Columbia or Chicago, Kellogg or Tuck. And they’re making the inevitable calculations to answer the question: Should I invest the time and energy to apply this year?
Do you have what might be called “nosebleed stats” likely to open the doors to a top school? Or did you goof off during your undergrad years and worry about whether your work experience offsets your low GPA? And do you work for a “sexy” or “dull” company that is not a feeder into the best business schools?
To handicap the odds for various candidates, we turned to Sanford “Sandy” Kreisberg, founder of MBA admissions consulting firm HBSGuru, and asked him to analyze profiles of typical MBA applicants. He does so with a sense of irreverence, wit and intelligence that makes his assessments compelling and insightful reading. The story became so popular that we turned it into a weekly series.
Learn if you have what it takes to get into a great MBA program.
Handicapping Your MBA Odds–The Entire Series
Part I: Handicapping Your Shot At a Top Business School
Part II: Your Chances of Getting In
Part III: Your Chances of Getting In
Part IV: Handicapping Your Odds of Getting In
Part V: Can You Get Into HBS, Stanford or Wharton?
Part VI: Handicapping Your Dream School Odds
Part VII: Handicapping Your MBA Odds
Part VIII: Getting Through The Elite B-School Screen
Part IX: Handicapping Your B-School Chances
Part X: What Are Your Odds of Getting In?
Part XI: Breaking Through the Elite B-School Screen
Part XII: Handicapping Your B-School Odds
Part XIII: Predicting Your Odds of Getting In
Part XIV: Handicapping Your MBA Odds
Part XV: Assessing Your Odds of Getting In
Part XVI: Handicapping Your Odds of Getting In
Part XVII: What Are Your Odds of Getting In
Part XVIII: Assessing Your Odds of Getting In
Part XIX: Handicapping Your MBA Odds
Part XX: What Are Your Odds Of Getting In
Part XXI: Handicapping Your Odds of Acceptance
Part XXII: Handicapping Your Shot At A Top MBA
Part XXIII: Predicting Your Odds of Getting In
Part XXIV: Do You Have The Right Stuff To Get In?
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Undergrad GPA 3.8 (double major-honors) 750 GMAT 3.5 years work experience-management consulting (national consulting firm), business analyst
Please help me to determine if I can get into top 20 MBA schools.
650+ GMAT
3.4 Grade Point Average
Undergraduate Degree in Finance from SE state school
Work experience at Turner Broadcasting
Extracurricular includes leading investment club at school, involved in Beta alpha Psi honorary society
Board member for Atlanta Lithuanian Community
Moved to US in 2002 from east Europe
Speak 4 languages
Since seemingly identical profiles have been judged, let me throw my hat into the mix to see if the “expert” can give me some generic advice that would help anyone applying.
thanks
GMAT- 800
GPA- 4.0
College- Harvard University; Summa Cum Laude
Major- Finance, Accounting, Marketing, Management, Economics pentuple major
Experience:
-Orchestrating the merger between AT&T and T-mobile
-Generated $2,000,000,000 in profit for Boston Consulting Group 8 years in a row.
-Son of the president of the US
-Invented Facebook
-Professional parapalegic football player
-0% body fat.
Do I have a chance to get back into Harvard? im pretty worried so i want everyone reading this to see my credentials and let me know. i understand the likelihood is low.
I’m getting in…,
Sorry to say this but I don’t think you have a chance.
Would love to hear people’s take on my profile.
- Immigrant from Pakistan
- Age 24
- 3.3 – 3.4 GPA at a top 50 state school – Finance major (3.7 major GPA)
- Worked 40 hours a week to pay for college
- Co-President of the graduating class
- ~670-680 GMAT score on practice tests
- 2.5 years of corp dev experience at a top 5 investment bank
- 2 years of experience at a top 5 investment bank in the M&A group
- Co-founded 2 non-profits with $1m – $2m operating budget each year. Organizations were recognized by NY Times, Business week, Clinton global initiative and other publications and media sources. Both organizations are on trajectory for going national before me applying to b-school
Interested in knowing odds of getting into HBS, Stanford, Sloan. What else would you reco?
23 y/o US Immigrant from West Africa. Moved to US alone at 16 for college. Sassy black female with requisite tales of overcoming adversity – plane crashes, motherless babies, civil unrest, bombings, car crashes, jobless parents etc. I wish I were kidding but I’m not.
GMAT/GRE- taking next year will shoot for >700 but standardized tests have historically not been my thing.
GPA – 3.3 – I was young and slightly depressed :/
College- #1 Public U in the USA & California, Chemical Engineering (Only black female in graduating class). Extracurriculars included teaching first gen/low income highschoolers how chemistry is used in the real world, outreach manager for AA theme house
Experience:
- 3 years managing projects (over $3M) in product supply for largest FMCG company in the world (not Walmart). Most challenging job ever! Interactions with manufacturing, QA, logistics, purchases, outside vendors, contractors, conflicting priorities. Did some organizational design and culture change work. I have recommenders that will say the work I was doing was definitely not entry level work. Delivered great results on par with people who had been with the company 13-20 years
- Taking a break (yes it was that challenging) from that to volunteer with an oil company CSR initiative in the Niger Delta & hoping not to get kidnapped – doing this for 3 months and hope to continue remotely. Will be working on how use Small and Medium business enterprises to sustainably develop economies in the Niger Delta – so people won’t be so poor.
- When I return to the company – will continue to manage projects but now interfacing with R&D, marketing, sales, consumer market knowledge, F&A. Basically moving into more early stage/front end engineering work. Also plan to leverage my nationality to contribute to company’s expansion plans into Africa in R&D/Consumer market knowledge. Plan to do this for 2 years then apply to B-school – don’t want to be too old.
Why B-school? I am tired of Africa being referred to as the dark continent and feel like the best way to do something tangible is help Africans make money on a very large scale versus trying to raise money for nonprofits (since we all know they aren’t very well run in most cases and I despise the build a borehole type of economic development). Ultimately I want to help engineer joint ventures between governments, nonprofits and for profit enterprises that will run large high profit margin businesses – think clothes, beauty care etc. The end goal of this is to build human capital in Africa, create jobs and sustainable socio economic development. I specifically think that dedication of Corporate America to maxmizing return on shareholder’s investment is the kind of discipline Africa needs. The return of Western educated talent to the continent and the focus on Africa has the last untested frontier for doing business is a great time to go make these joint ventures happen and prevent a recolonization of the continent. Not sure how PC all that is but it can be edited.
Lastly, I suck at interviews – I have no filter! please help
Perhaps it helps to see an actual candidate who’s gone through the process.
White Male, 26 Years Old
- 3.26 GPA, Finance Major (Ohio State)
- Worked 20-40 Hours / Week to pay for undergrad, first in family to attend.
- 680 GMAT
- 3 Years Rotational Finance Program at Fortune 50 Co.
- 2 Years at a prominent not-for-profit (lived abroad for 6 months)
Accepted to: Michigan, Texas, Indiana, Darden
Rejected by: Cornell
No scholarship offers from any schools.
2012 Grad,
Thanks for sharing your profile and acceptances and rejection.
Hi Sandy,
Have already begun my career switching, and would love to get some advice about the schools I’m targeting. Poetic Entrepreneur here, with a unique background. Here goes:
- African (raised in Nigeria, went to high school in the US (dual citizen)), Male, 29 years
- GMAT 680, Q-42, V-41 (retaking to raise quant to 48)
- BA 3.5 UCLA, double major in Theater and Film ( Full Academic Scholarship (1 student per year) )
Worked fulltime as a video editing instructor and manager of a multimedia lab.
While in school created a newsmagazine show that was nominated for the Student Emmys which subsequently led to being hired by MTV out of college.
- Work experience
5 years in entertainment as a VJ for MTV, and a host of various network shows (E!, G4,etc). Guest starred in numerous network TV shows, and acted in award winning film presented at Sundance Film Festival. Interviewed some interesting people/characters- from Jesse Jackson to Kanye West to Elmo from Sesame Street.
-lost out on a lead role in the highest grossing movie all time after a long drawn out process, went home to Nigeria depressed and disillusioned and was inspired to put my energies into Nigeria’s future rather than my own future in Hollywood- thus began the career switch.
3 years till current working between Nigeria and the states, launching a family business with interests in mining (export) and clean tech (soil & water remediation: rejuvenating land destroyed by oil spills). In charge of business strategy, and managing a team of 7.
- EC’s:
Co-developed an award-winning trilogy of plays. Taught theater classes for local children.
Helped launch a cottage industry for the elderly women of my village (sewing traditional clothes to sell throughout the Nigeria)
Created a private social network for the international expat community of my village, upgrading our communication platform from email forums.
Target B-Schools: Harvard, Stanford, Booth, Columbia, Wharton, Dartmouth
Career Progression post-MBA: Short-term Consulting in emerging markets. Long-term: Expand the family businesses in order to revolutionize and dominate the Nigerian, and African economies with investments spanning multiple industries. Nigeria doesn’t need aid, we need business partners- going to business school to become the bridge for capital and talent to flow into our country.
A few questions:
1. Which B Schools would be best to target with my current profile?
2. Any positives / negatives associated with my age and artistic work experiences?
3. What if I was to score above 700, and not hit the 48 quant, which is most vital?
Let me know if u need any more info, thanks so much-
John and Sandy-
I’m applying with the new GRE scores. Havent seen a single analysis done on an PhD-holding entrepreneur applicant using the GRE to apply. See below for details:
• 30yr old south asian
• 750-800 Q (waiting for final scaled score)
670-770 V
6.0 written (last go around – prob the same this time)
• 3.9 undergrad GPA (UNC), 4.0 masters GPA (also UNC), no GPA for PhD
• PhD in genetics
• few years of med school
• Played tennis in college, currently coach and compete at CrossFit – qualified for and competed at the 2010 CrossFit games (on ESPN2 this yr)
• Founded Biotech company and raised $250K — still operational, not to revenue yet
• Founded heath/fitness focussed IT company. Built machine learning algorithm based solution to find drivers of health and athletic performance in individuals using crowd-sourced data. Responsible for al strategic and operational decisions. Raising first round in 1Q 2012. Will be working on this while in business school albeit in a reduced capacity.
• B-School will make me a better leader, manager and allow me to grow the business faster by leveraging information and networks gained during MBA.
B-Schools targeted : Harvard, Stanford, MIT, Duke, UNC all because of proximity or affiliation with startup incubators
If nothing else.. what are your thoughts on applying with the new GRE
Mr. GRE,
I see no real disadvantage. Good luck!
Demographics: 28 (at time of matriculation), Caucasian, male, 1st gen college graduate.
GMAT: 710
Education:
-3.5 gpa in International Relations from a top-10 public university (graduated in 2.5 years)
-Worked part-time in a leadership position over other students for 2 years.
-Elected to student government position
-President, Model European Union
-3.9 gpa in a Top-10 public policy masters program, with a focus on economic policy (coursework in econ, statistics, and econometrics)
Internships:
9 month internship with a boutique consulting firm.
1 year position as a research assistant at a research center focusing on government management strategy.
1 year internship with a federal agency (position required a bachelors degree).
Work Experience:
3 years at a public sector consulting firm, with a promotion to an MBA level position (Been there for only 1 year, just promoted, but I don’t plan to apply till next year).
Extras:
-2 year missionary for LDS church in Las Vegas.
-Volunteer consultant for multiple nonprofits and local library, helping with strategy and operations.
-Volunteer with habitat for humanity
Goals: I originally thought I wanted to work for the government, but realized I didn’t enjoy that as much (at least at the entry level), while interning there. Public Sector consulting has been much more challenging and rewarding. Post MBA, I would like to get into MBB, eventually working in their public sector practice area.
Longer term, I would like to switch to an executive level position within the government.
Targets:
Harvard
MIT
Wharton
Kellog
CBS
Tuck
Darden
Yale
Georgetown
Hi Sandy,
Would love to hear your feedback on the stats below:
- 26 year old female. Brazilian citizen, US permanent resident.
- 720 GMAT (76Q/95V)
- 3.5 GPA econ major from H/P/Y Ivy
- 3+ years of experience in top 15 global consulting firm
- Immigrant raised by single mom; worked to support family junior year of college
- Founded $1000 scholarship for students from single-parent homes in former NJ high school, now in its 3rd yr
- Gay; post-college community service with Pride organization and Human Rights Campaign, top recruiter for firm’s LGTB organization
- Not a lot of college extracurriculars: 2 years as writer for school’s hispanic community guidebook; 3 years rowing intramural crew; some community service
Why MBA: transition into media/entertainment industry and eventually build a major media company in Brazil
Schools:
Stanford
Wharton
HBS
Haas
Columbia
Booth
Hi Sandy,
I haven’t seen many geeks with combat deployment experience yet. What do you think?
Age/gender/ethnicity: 30 Male Asian Canadian
GMAT: 710
GPA: 3.3
Education: Electrical Engineering from top Canadian school
Work experience: Research and development on data mining (what McKinsey calls “Big data”) for government defence intelligence. Led a team on 2M project on real-time decision making for troops in Afghanistan. Deployed to Afghanistan as team leader supporting combat ops. Worked a lot with the US at a research posting at National Security Agency (NSA) and with the handover from Canadian to American combat mission in 2010 in Afghanistan during Canada’s draw down.
Goals: Use data mining to help businesses with real-time decision making. Eventually start my own company. Why MBA? Mission is done. My purpose at Defence has been fulfilled.
Extras: Lots of tutoring throughout high school and university. Started to tutor to children of deployed military parents to alleviate stresses on families left behind.
Schools: HBS (ding), Booth (int), MIT (pending), Wharton (Round 2)
Hi Sandy,
Very old school 45 year old gay male raised in SE US, albeit in the age of Bowers vs. Hardwick. Experienced much gay bashing at Florida State University(Tyler Clementied without the video), Florida A & M University and University of Florida. Took break, moved and started multifaceted retail sales career, while attending night school at School of Business at Georgia State University(received B.B.A. in accounting ’92–3.07 GPA). Prior to graduation, was outright discouraged by Arthur Anderson recruiter to persue CPA exam or career fulfillment through Big 6(was informed they were reexamining their options in the wake of passage of ADA–I have been epileptic since age 3 and wanted to disclose, but not after his reaction). Did various temp jobs in Atlanta after graduation but was advised by former professor to leave and chose to do so in the wake of Stonewall ’25. Moved to NY, did some temp work, accounting work and restarted retail sales career which lasted about 15 years. While in sales, also chose to take on rehabbing an old home into 3 rental units in NJ(now sold), purchasing a rental property in NY(now sold), and relocating to CA and trying to convert a new home into 3 units(now foreclosed due to mortgage crisis). Now back in NY/NJ, closer to friends, considering either taking CPA exam, an MBA program or both. Have not taken a standard test since SAT(no GRE or GMAT), which was not great–1040 high score, albeit a 3.59 high school GPA and graduated 31/459. Speak Spanish fluently and some French. Have been sent abroad for business training. Son of WWII veteran. Presidential tax case candidate, but declined due to passage of prop 8, previous experience with Bowers vs. Hardwick, military’s previous Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy & non passage of ENDA(thank you Al Gore). So I humbly ask, is the GRE/GMAT worth taking?
Greetings Sandy,
I noticed that you reply selectively, so I hope that I can compel you to respond! Your perspective and opinion would be much appreciated.
Background:
-25 Y/O White Female from Little Rock, Arkansas
-690 GMAT (42V 95%, 42Q 59%)
-3.4 GPA from non-Ivy (Duke, Georgetown, UVA) in Chinese Language/Literature and International Business (GPA in Statistics, 2 Years of Calculus, Accounting, and Finance is 3.67) Studied abroad in Shanghai, China.
-4 years of experience in sales and marketing/digital advertising upon matriculation – laid-off from first job due to down-sizing in early 2009, been with second job over 2.5 years. Current job is at a top-growing software company (recently had largest US software-funding deal since 2007), I manage one of our product lines’ development into the European and Latin American markets, working with hotels. I also manage a team in India, have worked there for a few months at a time in the past few years.
-Volunteer Experience: Working/fundraising with an NGO in Southern India, including travel to do mission work. On team to raise $30,000 to build a new AIDS/Tuberculosis center for the org. From college to now have also worked with projects in New Orleans for new home-building.
-Extracurricular – Division Kickball Champions (Two Spring Seasons in a Row, also participate across year), School Alumni Loyalty Society (top annual donators of class of 2008). Member of Class of 2008 Alumnit Committee. At college, manager at all student-run coffee shop on campus. Self proclaimed “gym-junkie,” training to be a Zumba instructor.
Career Goal – I am highly interested in international business and intercultural communications. I have been on the revenue-generating side of business in my career to this point but have found that only a deeper understanding of general business can propel me to my next goal. I want to focus on strategy for retail companies targeting growth in emerging markets – with the largest growing consumer populations in the world in India and China, companies with the right strategy can grow aggressively. Long-term, I would like to start my own international strategy consulting firm.
I am submitting applications to the following schools:
Harvard
Columbia
Tuck
NYU
Darden
How would you assess my chances?
Many thanks,
Ms. IntlBizGuru
Hi – i would love to get your thoughts of my chances of getting into Harvard, Columbia or NYU.
GMAT 740
GPA 3.85 from top ranked liberal arts school in the US with merit scholarship for 4 years, phi beta kappa (economics degree)
2 years at Bain&Co
7 years in digital marketing industry at top ranked firms (NYC) at an analytics/planning capacity with regular promotions
29 year old female from a small middle eastern country
extracurriculars: JV squash at college, house representative at college, learnt tennis from scratch with regular training after graduation, small fundraising/charity efforts, continuing education class at NYU.
i am sorry. i forgot to mention… that i was born and raised outside of the US and came to the US for college.
Goal is to continue in digital marketing but to rise to a general management position.
Hi John/Sandy –
This series is extremely helpful. Thanks for your insights.
If possible, it would be great to get an assessment of my profile:
-700 GMAT (85% math, 80% verbal)
-3.61 Cumulative GPA, 3.7 Economics GPA, 3.8 senior year GPA at Top 5 liberal arts school (Williams, Amherst, Middlebury)
-2 years at as strategy associate strategy consulting firm (~20 people). small, but founded by ex-bain, McK. has consistently sent people to HBS, Wharton, Tuck, Booth, Johnson. Involved in cases with high level executives at large companies (think Pepsi, CVS). Above average performer, on track to early promotion before I left. Started training program for new analysts. extra activities in job included heading up IT (but not part of job description — probably took up 2% of my time)
-Last 6 months (and currently) in strategy group of internet company. bosses are ex-bain/ex-wharton. high level of responsibility — frequently leading presentations to c-level executives at our company.
-Extracurrics: founded and currently managing youth community service group for a local church (~20 person membership) — also have hosted sports events through this group. Taught at sunday school for 2 years. Participate in big brother mentorship program. helped out with fundraising for a global charity (6 hrs/week for about 8 weeks/year for 2 years)
-Background: 2nd generation south asian from texas; 24 y/o male
Goal: To lead strategy decisions for a large company
-Target schools:
HBS
Wharton
Stanford
Tuck
Columbia
Booth
Kellogg
Hi John & Sandy,
Thanks for putting together this informative and highly entertaining guide. I’d love an assessment of my chances.
Ms. Poet&Quant
740 GMAT, evenly split
3.4 GPA (3.0 in Yr1, 3.7 in Yr4)
Wellesley 2009, double-major in Econ and Psychology.
Job 1: 1.5 years in F500 finance leadership program: corp dev, FP&A. Wanted asset management job, left for Job 2, didn’t finish program.
Job 2: 2.5 years as equity research associate at Boston investment management firm ($200B AUM). Initially on US consumer discretionary team, then rotated to international chemicals & managed care. Level III CFA Candidate. My boss is an HBS guy and has already offered to write my recommendation.
Service: 2 years on Boston board of 85 Broads, a global women’s network. Very active in alumna activities, especially recruiting & job search.
Other: poet, work published in reputable literary journals. First book forthcoming.
Profile: American citizen, Asian-American female, 25, speak Mandarin and English fluently.
Goal: switch from long-only to hedge fund (Citadel/Blackstone), with LT eye towards running my own Asia-focused fund. Continuing to promote women in business, particularly finance.
Targets:
HBS
Wharton
Booth
Stanford
Sloan
Columbia
Hi Sandy,
It would be great to hear your feedback on the following stats:
- 22 year old African-American female
~ 740 GMAT (I plan on taking it in the next few months, but that is the average from my practice GMAT test so far)
- 3.6 Cumulative GPA in Finance (BBA) from a well-known public school (think MSU or U of M)
- Graduating in 3 years (instead of the normal 4 or 5 at my school)
- Raised by single parent; worked all through college.
- Beta Alpha Psi E-board member; worked in Admissions and International Office.
- Created and led a service learning mentoring program connecting students on campus with students at high-risk public schools. Currently in its second year.
- Coordinated a mentoring program for incoming international students and helped advise students on international opportunities that fit their goals and academic plan.
-Studied abroad for a semester in Padua, Italy and for another semester in Dubai
- Volunteer for 3+ years at shelter for victimized women and children, as well as at-risk families.
Goals: I am interested in international business and finance; eventually want to start an international strategy consulting firm.
I am entering my last year of undergrad, and wondering what else could improve my chances? (Other than work experience)
Schools:
Wharton
HBS
Haas
Columbia
Booth
Thanks!
24 year old white male
3.71 GPA University of Washington (Accounting, Finance, and Economics)
760 GMAT (48Q, 45V, 5.0 AWA, one attempt)
Lots of student organization involvement in college (Beta Alpha Psi, Finance Association, etc)
Auditor with McGladrey & Pullen
Licensed CPA, member AICPA
14 months experience (today, 21 at matriculation)
Private Pilot
School specific:
Father graduated from Tuck ’77
Took a mid-level undergrad finance class at NYU over one summer, got an A
Wonder what my odds would be at:
-Harvard
-Dartmouth/Tuck
-NYU/Stern
-Berkeley/Haas
-Another school of your choice that seems reasonable for my profile
33 year old Indian Male
Chartered Accountant working in Sales & Trading for last 10 years. ICICI Bank, Citi and currently Director as Credit Agricole CIB
Started working at the age of 16 when dad had paralysis
family business for 4 years before getting back to academics
GPA – Under grad – Top 10% of class, no well know college
GPA – CA – Top 0.1%
GMAT – 750
Married with 1 kid
Want to move to investment management and eventually start on my own
Extracurriculars – Mentoring CA students, funding child education
Admit from Stanford / MIT sloan for Fellow Program
Thinking of making application to Harvard as well. 3rd Round
Have seen some other people listing their stats having gone through the process, and thought I would offer the same as a barometer for people interested in applying:
26 y/o White male
Undergrad GPA 3.5 (Top State School – full scholarship)
GMAT 710
4yrs work experience in esoteric research/sales function for a small but international private company.
Very international upbringing and background (Haven’t lived in the same place for more than 2 years since I was 9).
3 Languages.
Accepted at INSEAD and LBS, rejected by Columbia. Attended INSEAD.
thanks, I’d say you were on the bubble at Columbia, and timing of your application (earlier the better) could have been a factor, as well as execution, what they thought of your current job.
I’d be real interested, and will reply, to peeps who post results-try to be as detailed and terse as possibel about gpa, gmat, round, extras, work, anyone else fr.your firm apply/outcoes, extras, etc.
If I could jump in here – reading through the comments, I’ve noticed that most people have got some pretty impressive stats. Great GMAT scores, GPAs, and work experience.
Here’s my advice: I realize that, as future MBAs, you all have a tendency to gravitate towards stats and hard numbers, but I think that the REAL question is whether or not you will be able to construct a compelling narrative through your essays, interview responses, and recommendation letters that intrigues the Admissions Committees and convinces them of two things:
1) That you’ve got a high potential for future success and
2) That you’ll bring something interesting and unique to the table
My stats were NOT great:
3.85 GPA – University of Phoenix (I know, right?!); also completed coursework at UCLA (2.5 GPA) and University of Arizona (3.17 GPA)
690 GMAT
3 years work experience (only one of which was in a leadership position);
I only applied to one school (Fuqua) and got in. I did pretty well in the program, too.
My point is this – I know that getting into Duke isn’t as tough as getting into H/S/W, but most of you don’t have the baggage that I did, either. I know for a fact that my essays, interviews, and references were what sealed the deal for me, so don’t underestimate the power of these factors.
At the end of the day, there’s only so many highly-distinguished, summa cum laude, Ivy League educated, investment banking analysts who volunteer at the local homeless shelter every weekend and scored 790 on their GMAT that top B-schools can realistically admit without compromising the diversity of their incoming class.
So my advice is – stop sitting on the fence being insecure and just go for it.
Scott,
That’s great advice! I think too many people are scared away by some of the raw stats in these columns and are therefore selling themselves short. Thanks for reminding folks of that reality.
Best,
John
Hi Sandy,
I would really appreciate it if you could analyze my profile.
25 year old white male
3.48 GPA; UCLA – History major
700 GMAT
I interned at Merrill in wealth mngt and PIMCO during undergrad. Going on 2nd year at Disney in corporate treasury for interest rate risk/Corporate Finance.
Throughout college i worked as a full time student supporting myself, which detracted from some of my involvement with student clubs/organizations. However, I received a slew of very compelling scholarships and leveraged the experiences from my college jobs to grow and overcome difficult financial situations (ie. coordinator/marketer of networking events for Anderson Alums, salesman of security alarm company).
I am concerned about my History major hurting my chances. But i do plan on taking some extra math courses to improve in the quant. area.
Wonder what my odds would be at:
-Harvard
-Stanford
-Columbia
-Yale
-Kellogg
-Booth
-Dartmouth/Tuck
-NYU/Stern
-Another school of your choice that seems reasonable for my profile
Thanks!
Hi Sandy,
I would really appreciate if you could analyse my profile and recommend the universities I should be aiming for. I’d love to get into H/S/W but want to know if I really stand a chance.
- 27 yrs old Indian female, with New Zealand Citizenship (migrated to NZ when I was 18)
- Education: Engineering from University of Auckland with first class honours.
- 3.6 GPA (3.8 for last 2 yrs). Was nominated in the Dean’s list for 3rd and 4th year.
- Received NZ Aluminium Smelters Undergraduate Prize
- GMAT ~ 740 (I am taking the test next month but this is the average from my practice GMAT test so far)
- Work: 4 yrs experience as an Engineer and Job Manager
– Worked as an Engineering Consultant (technical) and a Job Manager at GHD Ltd (Consulting Firm) in NZ (2 yrs)
– Was seconded to the Brisbane office (Australia) for 3 months where got a chance to work on high profile projects (Defence, Hospitals etc)
– Transferred to Perth, Australia, where I have been working as an engineer and a job manager for 2 years now (still with the same company).
- Extracurricular:
– Mentored in University as part of a program called STEPS to assist students with lower grades achieve their full potential
– Was a member of Uniguide in university. A program initiated to help new students adjust with uni life (was assigned 6-8 students)
– Treasurer of Women in Engineering (WEN) for 1 yr. Active member thereafter
– Volunteer work at old age centre after graduation
- Goal: To further develop my leadership and management skills and move into managerial roles. I also have keen interest in finance and hope to enhance my knowledge.