Do You Have What It Takes To Get Into A Great School?

Do You Have What It Takes To Get Into A Great School?

by John A. Byrne

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.

Our Latest Column: Handicapping Your Business School Odds

Last Week’s Column: What Are Your Chances of Getting In

Jerry

Undergrad GPA 3.8 (double major-honors) 750 GMAT 3.5 years work experience-management consulting (national consulting firm), business analyst
http://www.justinasbartkev.blogspot.com/ Justinas Bartkevicius

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
Im getting in, I know lol

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.
http://poetsandquants.com/members/jbyrne/ John A. Byrne

I’m getting in…,

Sorry to say this but I don’t think you have a chance.
Saad

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
ms.changtheworld

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
2012 Grad

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.
http://poetsandquants.com/members/jbyrne/ John A. Byrne

2012 Grad,

Thanks for sharing your profile and acceptances and rejection.
Mr. Let’s Startup Africa

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-
Mr.GRE

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
Mr.GRE

If nothing else.. what are your thoughts on applying with the new GRE
http://poetsandquants.com/members/jbyrne/ John A. Byrne

Mr. GRE,

I see no real disadvantage. Good luck!
Holland

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
Cantabridgian

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
isst

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)
Art Sample

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?
Ms. IntlBizGuru

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
Niki

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.
Niki

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.
StrategyGuy

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
MsIndependent

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
owensje

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!
Kevin

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
RB1978

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
RecentGrad

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.
HBSGURU

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.
http://www.mbamakeover.com Scott Arrieta

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.
http://poetsandquants.com/members/jbyrne/ John A. Byrne

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
Mr. Independent

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!
Ms Nomad

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.
http://poetsandquants.com/members/kmatt/ Oil Baron

Hi John and Sandy,
I had a few questions regarding my chances at the schools I fancy. I’d be really glad if you could help me out.
I am a 25 year old male, currently employed with Halliburton Offshore Services( Oil & Gas Sector). My current designation is M/LWD Engineer. Most people wouldn’t know what that means or what the work involves. Basically we provide services for Directional drilling of oil and gas wells. My job is to prepare tools that are sent downhole for the evaluation of the well conditions while drilling. So in a nutshell we evaluate the well while drilling and try to take the well to it’s target. My job involves technical work as well as handling the entire operation on field. There are times we are required to pitch to the clients to increase the revenue by means of using advanced tools. I have been with Halliburton for around 16months. Before moving to Halliburton I was with a company called ITS Energy Services ( Another Oil field company). I worked in different roles at ITS as part of my training and was later promoted as Sales Engineer. I worked with ITS for 10months. I was dealing with a lot of people from the oil field, so I decided I needed to work hands on to get the right feel of this sector. At Halliburton I am the Project Lead and I manage a group of 6-10 people from Halliburton and also oversee the operations which include crew from the client side. I graduated from the University of Mumbai in 2009, where I majored in Mechanical Engineering. I don’t know my exact GPA, but it should be between 3.2-3.3. I was involved in a lot of extracurricular activities in college. I was the President of MESA (Mechanical Engineers Students’ Association) and also the Event Head for several college festivals. I used to participate in Intercollegiate quizzes ( Won 1 and 2nd in another 1). I was part of the college cricket team and also participated in Intercollegiate Fashion shows. My first attempt of GMAT yielded a 690 ( Way below my average practice test score of 730). I intend to retake it and get 720+ ( Fingers crossed).
Now on the B-school front, I would like to apply to schools like Yale, Tuck, Darden, Ross, Mc Combs, Duke and Kellogg. HBS would be a blind 1st choice, but I am unsure of my chances. I would like to do an MBA in General Management. My goal is to work for an oil major like Exxon, Chevron or BP in Corporate strategy or Business strategy. I feel that I have the base in the Oil field and would like to grow in a role in business strategy. I would like to apply for the 2013-15 batch. So total work experience by then would be around 42-44 months.
I would like to know my chances at these schools and any other schools that might fit my profile according to you.

In a nutshell:
- 690 GMAT( Will be retaking)
- 25 year old Indian Male.
- Oil n Gas Sector ( Halliburton)
- As of now Project lead for onshore operations.
- 46 months work ex at the time of matriculation.
- Decent extra curriculars.
- Mechanical Engineering from Mumbai University.GPA ~ 3.2-3.3.
- Post MBA goals to works in corporate strategy or business strategy for oil majors.
- Target Schools:
Yale
McCombs
Darden
Tuck
Duke
Ross
ISB
Harvard
Rishi

Hi, I am a 25 year old catholic Indian

750 GMAT (First attempt)

71/100 (University in India in the grading system followed)

Undergraduate degree : dropped out from IIT Madras in the freshman year due to medical reasons (infected eye requiring corneal transplant), took a sabbatical from academia in favor of family business. Resumed undergrad in local university in commerce after 3 years, now in the senior year

Work experience : Director board of family business involved in manufacturing and trading plastic items (3 separate firms over 50 employees)

Founded a PVC pipe plant and has been running it for the past year expanding operations across south India

Member of advisory board of the largest Jewelery retail chain in India with personal involvement setting up operations across the middle east

Several internet ventures including setting online dial a doctor scheme, centralised blood donation system for hospitals and even a mock GMAT testing software developed and distributed across the country

2 months internship at Ogilvy (advertising and communication firm)

Extracurriculars : Has been an active member of Pain & Pallieter, a cancer rehabilitation institution and over the years have involved in many of their operations.

Philanthropic and vocational activities through the catholic diocese’s of south India

Member of student organisation AEISEC.

Goal : I basically need an MBA from an international institution. This I believe would help me run my industry better, expand it base of operations and possibly diversify into other fields and a solid business education with the networking opportunities it entails would allow me to achieve it.

As I am a college senior (but 25 years old) I can only consider MBA programs that accept candidates like me say HBS 2+2, IESE Young Talent Program, Yale’s Silver Scholar Program and institutions claim to admit college seniors (Wharton, MIT, Columbia, NYU, Chicago Booth, Cornell, Darden, Tepper, Michigan Ross and INSEAD)

Please assess the chances for an highly unconventional applicant like me
Rishi

Hi, I am a 25 year old catholic Indian

750 GMAT (First attempt)

71/100 (University in India in the grading system followed)

Undergraduate degree : dropped out from IIT Madras in the freshman year due to medical reasons (infected eye requiring corneal transplant), took a sabbatical from academia in favor of family business. Resumed undergrad in local university in commerce after 3 years, now in the senior year

Work experience : Director board of family business involved in manufacturing and trading plastic items (3 separate firms over 50 employees)

Founded a PVC pipe plant and has been running it for the past year expanding operations across south India

Member of advisory board of the largest Jewelery retail chain in India with personal involvement setting up operations across the middle east

Several internet ventures including setting online dial a doctor scheme, centralised blood donation system for hospitals and even a mock GMAT testing software developed and distributed across the country

2 months internship at Ogilvy (advertising and communication firm)

Extracurriculars : Has been an active member of Pain & Pallieter, a cancer rehabilitation institution and over the years have involved in many of their operations.

Philanthropic and vocational activities through the catholic diocese’s of south India

Member of student organisation AEISEC.

Speaks 7 languages including 3 international (French, Spanish, German)

Goal : I basically need an MBA from an international institution. This I believe would help me run my industry better, expand it base of operations and possibly diversify into other fields and a solid business education with the networking opportunities it entails would allow me to achieve it.

As I am a college senior (but 25 years old) I can only consider MBA programs that accept candidates like me say HBS 2+2, IESE Young Talent Program, Yale’s Silver Scholar Program and institutions claim to admit college seniors (Wharton, MIT, Columbia, NYU, Chicago Booth, Cornell, Darden, Tepper, Michigan Ross and INSEAD)

Please assess the chances for an highly unconventional applicant like me . Since b-schools are so hung up on blue chip experience I am considering getting an internship at Golman Sachs in private wealth management although I am unsure of its value to my profile
LT620

Hi I was looking to see my chances for HBS, Stanford, Booth, Tuck,Wharton,Columbia,Darden

I’m coming from the military but come from an ROTC background so I’m not sure of how big of a difference that will make3.81 GPA from the University of Rochester (magna cum lade)Double Major in Math-Stats and Economics with a minor in Arabicstudy abroad in Jordan for a semesterSchool ECs: member of finance and economics council, Polisci/IR Council, Interned with Local Congressmen for two summers30 years old and finishing up my time as a naval aviator (F/A-18), enforced no fly zone in Iraq, served as professor of naval science at GWU…not sure if I need to elaborate more in this threadmasters in International Relations form GWU with 3.91 GPA715 GMAT
can speak arabic near fluency

looking to try to get involved with emerging markets overseas, maybe work in private equity to encourage a healthier business climate in less fortunate countries.
talwar1

Hi, Sa
AT222

Sandy,
I a 28 year old male, of Indian Origin presently working in Dallas.
Here are my stats:

Undergraduate –
Transferred from a college in India after 2 years to an electrical engineering program at a top midwestern school (ranked #2 only to MIT for electrical engineering). GPA -3.0 / 4.0. GPA was low because I basically did not expect the program to be as challenging as it was(rated to be one of the toughest undergduate majors in the country) intially and had a couple of semesters of poor scores. Added to that there was lack of proper guidance in terms of course choice and selection from some of the advisors in the University. I managed to pull back in my senior year and do pretty well.

Post Undergrad I Worked for 9 months at an engineering start up company started by one of my professors as a design engineer. The company specialized in creating products based on principles of nano-science and its application in optical communication.

Switched jobs and worked for 6 months in New York City for another start up company which made wireless communication products for subway systems all over the world with New York City subway being their biggest customer. The company worked directly with Mass Transit Authority of New York as a design engineer. Unfortunately I had to leave because work visas (the infamous H1b) were exhausted in number for the year and I would have had to wait an entire year to re-enter the United States. The company did not have any offices outside of New York.

I chose not to go back to my home country (india) I applied for graduate school and got a masters in operations research at a public ivy in Texas I paid for it by working as a research and/or teaching assistant. Completed a thesis for my masters.
Masters in operations research and industrial engineering : GPA -3.5/ 4.0

Post graduate school I have been working as a Consultant at i2 technologies . My job focuses on design and Implement solutions for Assembly Line Sequencing and Factory Planning ~ 2 years.

Social Service:
Helped organized 2 blood donations camps under the supervision of the fire chief of Austin area. (Had a random chance to meet and interact with her at a bar during a film and art festival. That is how I got to know her and find out about her community outreach programs and volunteered so).

GMAT score – 730

Target Schools :
Northwestern – Kellog
INSEAD,
Dartmouth – Tuck,
U.Michigan – Ross
UC Berkeley – Haas

I’m not considering H/S/W/C because they’re probably out of reach

Post MBA goals — Work in management consulting or get involved with a start up consulting firm.
Draizle

25 year old Hispanic Male
760 GMAT
3.9 from UCLA (engineering major)
2 years in West Coast office of top consulting firm (McKinsey/ BCG)
1 year at major technology PE firm (so far)

Extracurriculars from college: (started an investment fund, started a charity that fed the homeless), nothing outstanding after

Current extracurriculars: I’m into building web applications. I’ve made some okay ones (no Angry Birds! like hit yet though!)

Job aspiration: switch over to entrepreneurship, with a focus on educational technology and/or gaming

My issue: I had a really rough experienced in my first job. Everyone I liked there has already left, so one to go to bat for me. I probably would not try to get a recommendation from there. I could get decent (perhaps generic) recommendations from the place where I currently work.

Question: How much will the first experience matter? Will they have contacts that will look up my (not good) reviews? Will it look suspicious that I don’t have recommendations from there? While you’re at it, answer for everyone: exactly what kind of due diligence do schools and future employers do on your past work?
Yguy

Hi John and Sandy. Thank you very much for evaluating my profile!

I am a 25 year old white male.

770 GMAT (first attempt)

Undergraduate degree: 3.6 GPA in finance from a top-50 ranked school (top 20 for my major)

Work Experience: 3 years in the finance department of a mid-size software company. Started as an analyst and was recently promoted to a managerial role and have 10 direct reports.

I am also planning on counting a 2-year Mormon mission as part of my work experience for those schools that consider it as such. I spent 2 years in Japan and am fluent in spoken Japanese and comfortable with written Japanese.

Extracurriculars: Boy Scout Master for a group of about 15 12-13 year-old boys. Actively involved in church community.

Goal: I am planning on applying to Harvard, Wharton, Cal Berkeley, Duke, and UCLA. Pursuing an MBA because I would like a career change (maybe I-banking or consulting), and am very interested in opportunities where I could use my Japanese-speaking ability.

I feel my GMAT is above average, GPA is around average, and international experience is above average for the schools to which I am applying, but I wonder how much my work experience may hurt me (not being from a major “feeder” company or industry). I greatly appreciate any feedback you may have!
Late bloomer

Hi! I’ve been reading the profiles and all are quite impressive. May I ask though if people like me who started out as average but now doing well at our respective fields stand a chance?

Profile:

27 years old female from the Philippines
2.5 GPA double degree in Economics and Finance from leading university in country
710 GMAT
7 years work experience in multinational banks from Sales Analyst to Product Manager posts
Ms. 1st Gen Non-Traditional

Hi,

Your help would really mean the world to me!

Profile:
Age: 24
Ethnicity: Vietnamese-American
Gender: Female
College: Stanford
Major: Management Science & Engineering
GPA: 3.1
GMAT: 760 (first attempt)
Additional Background: From low-income non-English speaking family. Was first person in my family to graduate from high school and college. Tuition was covered through financial aid, but financed personal expenses through work and outside scholarships.

Undergraduate internships:
-Merrill Lynch Wealth Management
-Morgan Stanley Trading
-Morgan Stanley Investment Banking

Undergraduate activities:
-Student government
-Officer in female business organization
-Founded non-profit science camp for girls from disadvantaged backgrounds (funding lasted two summers…ran it the first summer, hired someone the second summer)
-Advised disadvantaged youth on science projects, raised some $ to buy materials for them

Senior year came along and I got an offer to go back to MS in trading! Too bad everyone else (including the parents) was more excited about it than I was. I hated Wall Street…just felt like I didn’t fit it coming from my background. Took a public health class senior year and LOVED it. Decided that’s what I wanted to do.

Post graduation:
-1 year in basic science research (stanford)
-1 year in clinical research (UCSF), managed multi-site clinical trials, oversaw 1 research assistant
-1/2 year health policy analyst, managed 2 administrative assistants
-For the past two years, have been volunteering a Board member of a community clinic ($3M budget) trying to help turnaround dire financial situation, almost out of debt! At least 10 years younger than next youngest person on the Board.
-Has continued volunteering to tutor disadvantaged youth in science
-Have been active in advocating for more homeless housing in SF, having been cited on news source once

After volunteering on the Board of the clinic, my dream is to pursue healthcare management, no longer public health. My absolute dream would be to go to Yale…do I stand a chance?
Ms. 1st Gen Non Traditional

Oh to clarify, I am currently working at a health policy analyst still
Catherine Mackenzie

Hello!
I am thinking about applying to business school next year, but I don’t know if I even have a chance.

Profile:
25 year-old female (white, American)
3.7 GPA from public Ivy in international politics (graduated with honors in three years)
760 GMAT (even Q/V raw scores)
Current job: Work as a strategy consultant at a small firm that specializes in working with the Department of Defense, the Intelligence Community, and Aerospace and Defense firms (I’ve done lots of work with all three, and can play up whatever sector works best). Been there 4.5 years, been leading projects for 3.5 years. Currently lead a multi-year, multi-million dollar project, supervise a team of 10.
Previously: Interned at a think tank and a large non-profit (total of one year).
Extra-curriculars: Many and varied in college, very few to speak of since graduating (aside from some limited work with my church).

Schools: Harvard, Stanford, Wharton, UCLA, Tuck, Darden, Ross (also open to suggestions)
(still) Catherine Mackenzie

Also, why an MBA? Short term I’d like to continue in consulting, preferably at a larger firm where I can get exposure to a wider range of client (including more traditional commercial experience). Long-term I’d like to open my own practice, focused on helping women start small businesses in the national security industry.
arthur

i taught my dog to play the tambourine. i do a really good impression of dog the bounty hunter. i used to play the guitar fairly well before i hurt my wrist.

i did pretty crappy in college. it is a top-25 school but my major was a joke. i really want to become a foreign exchange guru.

should i apply to wharton or haas?

please reply this is really important because i need a good job.
Frank Ballinger

Hi Mr. Kreisberg, here’s my profile, thanks!

White male, 35 American

GMAT: Never took it, but I’d bomb the test.

GPA: 3.4, honors

- Undergrad degree from top-ranked US school in my major (film/tv production)

- Work experience: 12 years primarily film/video production,
distribution, and acquisitions; experience covers national and
international programming, with an emphasis on documentaries.

- International work experience: producing/crewing on social-issue films in
Central and South America; distribution/acquisitions experience in
Sweden and a few other chilly places.

- Currently freelancing as consultant and designer on
above stuff; producing and directing feature documentary for educational/commercial
audiences; topic is history and military intelligence.

Goals: Looking to continue in my field or bring skill-sets into another field like gaming, journalism, marketing, interactive design (apps), etc.

Schools: HBS, Kellog, the other top ones.
Noah Mencia

per below, should add that my GMAT breakdown was (Q76%; V99%).

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