The Second Round Ding Report

creditcard

Ms. Oxford (2+2 ding)

 

  • 710 GMAT
  • 3.7 GPA
  • Undergraduate degree in Latin and Ancient Greek from the University of Oxford
  • Job offers lined up at JP Morgan’s investment banking division upon graduation
  • Prior work experience includes work at a fashion label in New York as ell as a leading luxury department store in London
  • Extracurricular involvement as president of the College Commemoration Ball (elected by peers and staff to be responsible for creating, financing and delivering event to 1200 people on time and within $300,000 budget); founder and president of University Fashion Society (with over 400 members and regular events from leading industry speakers); and community involvement through coaching tennis, volunteering at children’s summer camps in UK and US and tutoring underprivileged children.
  • Goal: To become CEO of a leading global luxury goods brand, learning financial skills by starting career in IB
  • 21-year-old white British female

Sandy’s Analysis: Well, I LIKE YOU. You had me at “Latin and Ancient Greek.”

This is all really strong and something of a head scratcher. Assuming no execution/essay horror stories, I’m left with two possible explanations, none of which is entirely satisfying.

First, 2+2 is really hard and odd, and its focus is on STEM engineers and making sure that really, really smart graduating seniors don’t go to law school because they cannot think of anything else. (Capturing law students was the program’s original dirty little secret, “STEM love” was something they happened upon.)  All that said, the 2+2 program admits plenty of high-performing future bankers and CEO-wannabes like you, but the odds in that cohort are high and there can be lots of real question marks either way, admits or dings.

Second, given the above, I believe you are really interested in fashion. It is possible, however, they were put off by a future fashionista who is hedging her bets at JP Morgan IBD, although, of course, it sounds like a perfectly logical and safe and parent-pleasing thing to do. It also introduces a doubt about how much the fashion jive is just window dressing, or taken with other execution elements in your app, makes a reader say, ‘hmmmmmm……’ which is all you need to be knocked out of 2+2.

Also, 2+2 admits often have a stronger social service element to their story, either by dint of powerful and impactful extras helping poor and victims (not fashion victims) or by dint of stated career impact.  Banking is fine for HBS, Luxury Retail is fine for HBS, who knows, if you applied AFTER two years of banking and said you wanted to be a Fashion CEO that would also be fine. For 2+2, they may have wanted a less windy yellow brick road.

All that said, if you told me this was a prank post and you actually got in, well, you didn’t totally prank me. The above explanation is the best I can come up with,. I’d have predicted a better outcome.

Do you think you were annoying in your app? There is no hint of that in your post (I have a great, great nose for sniffing out even ancient Carbon-14 type  annoying elements in English prose) but that could be another possible factor. Luxury fashion is something HBS nominally likes, and something the adcom ladies actually practice, but also something as a career goal which is easy to hate.

Questions about this article? Email us or leave a comment below.