The Second Round Ding Report

Mr. Education (Dinged at HBS without interview)

• 170V/163Q GRE (first sitting)
• 3.47 GPA
• Undergraduate degree from a “tiny liberal arts school” with no majors
• Master’s degree in education from a “super-small, first-of-its-kind program”
• Work experience includes being a member of a founding team of 12 people who opened a new independent school in 2007; still work there creating programs & curriculum from ground-up; have held a variety of leadership roles: directed service program, led teams, planned and led three service trips to China for 100 students, sent to Germany to teach a seminar at a university.
• Goal: Social-sector consulting for McKinsey or Bridgespan
• “Still waiting for R2 decisions from Stanford, Sloan, Booth, Kellogg, and Darden, so at this point I’m just hoping I get in somewhere.”
• 32-year-old white Middle Eastern male and U.S. citizen in New York

Sandy’s Analysis: Bottom line—Your age, low-ish GPA, and non-pedigree (although impressive!) work history in something that is not business per se, added enough instability to this story to result in a ding.

A story very similar to this, e.g. 1. went to Princeton, got a 3.7, Joined Teach for America, and then started your school for three years, so your age was more like 27 (vs. 32) are all subtle differences which could have tilted this narrative into the admit column.

HBS will not embrace that explanation, but it captures a good deal of the way they think. Leadership is fine, just don’t overdo it, or more to the point, make sure it is balanced with anchors they really respect: pedigree schooling, strong GPA, established organizations (TFA, etc), and not being over 30.

You are an interesting test case, and Exhibit A in our running debate about whether personal narrative or pedigree/stats count more–see the video at the head of the article introducing our round two ding report. You have a very strong personal narrative, a 740 equivalent GMAT, a totally reasonable set of goals which emerge from your work, and, unlike MANY of the admitted kids, you have shown actual LEADERSHIP.

But that is not enough if the stats are iffy: viz. age, no school/work pedigree. All that said, if you told me you got in, I would not be super shocked, but a ding on these facts does lend support to what I have been saying all along about some important things HBS looks for.

I’m rooting for you, NY.
 HBS’s loss.