Your Odds Of Getting Into A Top School

Mr. Bank

• 710 GMAT
• 3.85 GPA
• Undergraduate degree in business and economics from a top Philippine University
• Work experience includes three years at a startup international bank subsidiary of a large local universal bank in the Philippines where I work directly with CEOs and senior executives in almost all aspects of the firm’s operations
• Extracurricular involvement as head of a Catholic  organization that holds retreats for students, headed a 100+ person car pool group for university students, and have dabbled in painting, sketching, and digital multimedia
• Goals: To use the MBA to transition into a private equity role focused on emerging markets “My interest in this path takes off from my experience working on deals that create socioeconomic impact in the Philippines.”
• 24-year-old Filipino male and member of Mensa

Odds of Success:

Stanford: 30+%

Wharton: 50+%

Chicago: 50+%

Harvard: 30% to 40+%

Sandy’s Analysis: This is a pretty solid story with a Philippines twist and guys like you get into Stanford and HBS 1. if they are taken with your do-gooder goals and personal story, and 2.  they know your bank, or someone can put a word in for you (not infrequent occurrence at Stanford, probably more so than most schools, although obviously I don’t have statistics).

At HBS,  guys like you get in and get dinged depending on execution and a bit of luck. You are pretty solid at Wharton, so again, it is execution and luck (or more to the point, no bad luck) and Chicago the same. But man, you should be a real strong candidate there. The goals and work experience all synch together, the extras are solid, the Philippines story is a plus, and stats are totally fine. Also sounds like you have had great experiences in the bank.  The only issue is how well known your employer is to schools. You say, “large, local universal bank” so I am assuming some global brand name. If so that will help seal the deal.