Getting Through The Elite B-School Screen

Mr. Triple Degree

  • 710 GMAT
  • 3.65 GPA (Cumulative)
  • Three undergraduate degrees in accounting/finance (3.85 GPA), mathematics (3.8 GPA) and art history (3.2 GPA) from a mid-tier state school
  • Completed three degrees in four years, taking 22-24 credits a semester (at least 5 semesters)
  • Work experience includes two years at bulge bracket investment bank in controller and risk management
  • Extracurriculars include role as vice president in a business fraternity, leader for an “early career” church group
  • “Looking to make a career switch to a more client-facing role such as consulting.”
  • 23-year-old Asian

Odds of Success:

Harvard Business School: -20%

MIT: 25%

Yale: 30%

Wharton: 25%

Tuck: 30%

Booth: 40%

Columbia: 40%

NYU: 40+%

Sandy’s Analysis: Well, I like you and your hard work but this is not looking like an HBS profile. There are too many Chinese guys with similar stories and better schooling, stats, and jobs. And extras are weak as well, for HBS. I would say that goes for Wharton, too. The fact you have a non-client facing role in IB and are not a classic ‘ investment banking division (IBD) analyst’ is a deal breaker for those schools. They trust the selection process of the banks and will fill their finance bucket from that well.

You got a real outside chance at MIT only because they are hard to predict, don’t care about extras, may blink at lower verbal portions of stats and you could be their type. Columbia might take you on just the 710 GMAT and grades and fact you are in New York (I assume) and could probably get a job when you graduate (an important piece for them), if not the one you really want. Tuck has lots of banking connections, and you seem like a sweet guy, so maybe if you went up there and found a niche, that could happen. Ditto Booth and Yale.

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