The Second Round Ding Report by: John A. Byrne on February 14, 2014 | | 142,191 Views February 14, 2014 Copy Link Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Email Share on LinkedIn Share on WhatsApp Share on Reddit Mr. West Point (dinged from HBS without interview) 670 GMAT (44Q/38V) 2.96 GPA Undergraduate degree in engineering management from West Point Work experience includes five years in the U.S. Army, :consistently rated top junior officer in the battalion (out of 20-30); spent last year commanding 80 soldiers (far ahead of normal timeline, usually eight years until command in my branch) “I didn’t decide I was leaving the Army until late November, and only gave myself a month to cram for the GMAT and apply, so I’m sure my apps weren’t well-polished, although they weren’t sloppy, and my essays talked about relevant experiences. I understand the ding at Harvard, but I was also not invited to Fuqua, which surprised me because I thought I clearly demonstrated fit (seems like a school where many military members would fit in well). My question is what should I do now?” “Recs were very strong, virtually no extracurriculars, although I’ve read that’s normal for military” Goal: To work in consulting for McKinsey, Bain or BCG 27-year-old white American male Sandy’s Analysis: You were asking schools to blink twice, at the GPA and the GMAT. You should really re-take the GMAT, and keep retaking it until you get near 80 percent on both sides. A solid 710-720 GMAT and any solid job should put you in the running for military-friendly schools like Duke and Darden. Also, start lobbying. Find out if you can speak to someone at Fuqua, just to make nice and to make a friend. As to job next year, any well-known outfit will do. A lot of big companies, even tech giants like Google and Microsoft, have programs for vets, and West Point is a great brand, no matter what the GPA. Look into that or maybe some poster can help us out. I would seriously think about getting a solid job and then reapplying in Round 2 next year, for entry in September 2015. That may require burning some small bridges, but . . . . Also, not a tragedy if you enter in 2016. Another reason to focus like a laser on the GMAT is because Big 3 consulting firms sometime ask your score. As to jobs, I assume you know that many Wall Street firms have special programs for vets as well. http://www.gijobs.com/wall-street-warriors.aspx A trading firm would be a good place from which to apply to Duke, Darden, and other vet friendly MBA programs. Previous Page Continue ReadingPage 4 of 14 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Questions about this article? Email us or leave a comment below. Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus.