Assessing Your Odds Of Getting In

Mr. Big Data

 

• 770 GMAT (Q50, V45)
• 3.85 GPA
• Undergraduate degree in economics at a higher-tier Big Ten school
• Work experience includes three and one-half years at a boutique business intelligence and analytics consultancy; recently joined a major client of the firm, a storied national news organization as an engineer/analyst in their analytics group
• “If buzzwords count, there is a significant ‘Big Data’ component to my work”
• Extracurriculars involvement during undergrad in a paid software development internship; a volunteer as a peer tutor;  Active in alumni association and a leadership committee of a chronic disease advocacy group (for a condition my wife has), managing websites and outreach efforts for both groups,
• Goal: To join a technology or media firm in a strategic management or operations role, leveraging my understanding of the nuts and bolts of data management with strategy and leadership skills gained from a top-tier MBA program.
• 25-year-old biracial male and first generation college graduate

Odds of Success:

MIT: 60%+

Berkeley: 60%+

Chicago: 60%+

Northwestern: 60%+

UCLA: 60%+

Harvard: 50%+

Yale: 60%+

Columbia: 60%+

Sandy’s Analysis: Dunno man, this is pretty clear cut. What we got is another bona fide minority (ahem, drop the bi-racial stuff for box checking purposes but feel free to write about it), first generation college kid, with a 3.85 at at Big Ten school, with a show-stopping 770 GMAT and a solid work history first at a boutique business analytics consulting group and then a media client we all would guess, “a storied national news organization (one of the first you’ll think of).”

Ok, I’m guessing? National Enquirer? Oprah? The Onion?

Anyway, I assume others will be guessing right. Plus you are savvy in Big Data, a most excellent buzz concept, as you note, and have OK extras, including “leadership committee of a chronic disease advocacy group (for a condition my wife has).”

Dude you had me at 770 but the rest is also rock solid and judging from the savvy post you wrote, communication and buzz-creation won’t be a problem for you.

Sloan will take ANYONE with a 770 without a major felony record, and they will scrutinize any felony you present to make sure it is indeed major. Plus the rest is super solid. HBS goes for this as does Stanford, although you did not mention them.  Other places you note, Haas, Booth, Kellogg, Anderson, Yale and Columbia, will go for this if you can convince them by words and deeds (visits, early applications) that you are serious. Some of those schools ding kids like you to protect their yield, sensing, often correctly, that you want to go elsewhere and are not serious.