Calculating Your Odds of MBA Admission

Ms. Africa

 

• 700 GMAT
• 2.5 GPA
• Undergraduate degree in economics from the University of Toronto
• 3.7 GPA (master’s)
• Graduate degree in international law and economics from the Switzerland-based World Trade Institute
• “I am a dual national of the Gambia and UK. I have lived, worked and
• studied in various countries (Gambia, UK, Kenya, Canada, Switzerland).
• I have worked mainly in the area of trade and development and believe
• in trade as an enabler of group if utilized”
• Long-term goal: To start a think tank/consultancy on issues related to trade and
• growth in developing countries
• “I would like to pursue an MBA to build my business skills in a top tier school, particularly to create important networks that can harness these goals”
• 27-year-old African woman

Odds of Success:

Harvard: 25% to 30%

Stanford: 20% to 30%

Wharton: 30% to 45%

Chicago: 40% to 50%

Columbia: 30% to 40%

(all depending on what work history is, as noted below).

Sandy’s Analysis: Well, let’s start with the bad news: a 2.5 GPA from the University of Toronto. On the other hand we have an alternative transcript in the grad degree, a 3.75 from the World Trade Institute in Switzerland, which  sounds legit on its website , and will help offset the 2.5, as will as the 700 GMAT. You will need to explain the 2.5 obviously and my suggestion would  be to say it was a result of both acclimating yourself to Canadian academic protocols and not focusing enough beyond that on pure academics versus what you did do, which was become  President of the Undergraduate Economics Council (big whoop). Most schools don’t care if that apology is  true or not, they just want to know that you are  shrewd enough to explain a boo-boo with some personal responsibility instead of trying to foist it all off on being a newcomer.

OK, there’s some more good news/bad news here. Your work history could go either way. You delineate it  as beginning with the  Ministry of Trade of Gambia for three years, then  moving on to  being a  “UN consultant” for six months, and finishing off with your current job (I think you are still there)  at the World Trade Organization for the past eight months. If you are no longer at the WTO, well, you got more problems, obviously, but I am assuming you are. If not, get a job real fast.

The good news part of this is that all those jobs line up as being in International Development which is also what you want to do. Also, working for the government of Gambia, the UN, and the WTO are classy gigs superficially, and the superficial is often what counts in this game.

Ahem, but given low GPA, given that there is some deeply unspoken but real skepticism in admissions circles about the reality of African government jobs, given that you spent THREE years in Gambia, given that you were aconsultant at the U.N. (what does that mean, consultant is a dodgy word, trust me, I am one), well . . . . schools are going to give your jobs, recs, and interview heightened scrutiny. That is why your current job is so important.

If you are currently employed by the  WTO in some rock-solid capacity such as a staff economist for the Secretariat, that is great and it ‘cures’ any questions about your other jobs. If you got some other iffy job there, or are, ahem, a “consultant,” well 1. try to make the job sound solid (you knew that), 2. that could be trouble. I hope I am not upsetting you or anyone else by this degree of skepticism. I am  just preparing you for what you will face at many adcoms, who, despite their bright, shiny, and optimistic public presentation faces, are quite experienced in getting at what is really going on in a resume.

In light of all that, your goal, as stated,   “to start my own think tank/consultancy on issues related to trade and growth in developing countries” would gain from a road map telling us exactly how you are going to get there. Also, you added,  “I would like to pursue an MBA to build my business skills  . . . in a top tier school, particularly to create important networks that can harness these goals.”  Well, also OK idea in general but it has the hint that the major reason you are seeking an MBA is to network, which may be true, but it should not be stated so baldly, given the potential infirmaties of your work history.

It would really help your story if you said that after earning your MBA you want to join a major think tank or even become that old stand-by, a consultant in trade issues.  McKinsey goes ga-ga for globally experienced, classy, applicants like you. You need to sound like an executive who is pro-big organizations, not an entrepreneur and company starter. Starting a company should be a slow, organic evolution of a career spent working in the belly of the world trade beast.

Aside from all that, the rest of this  is real solid.  Any school would fall over backwards to welcome an African woman with a masters in economics from a Swiss school and work experiences for an African government, the UN, and the WTO. If those jobs were solid and you can get impressive recs and lay out a public-service based story, well, you can follow the yellow brick road to most schools.

A lot will turn as well as to what you can point to as accomplishments and what your more full background is in terms of family, mentors, roles in Gambia. Given the sketchy info you provided, I am speculating a bit. If the good news part of this profile can be supported by facts and testimony, you are a real solid applicant.