What Are Your Odds Of Getting In

Mr. Value Investor

• 700+ GMAT (Taking in December)
• 3.0 GPA
• Undergraduate degree in business from a small public liberal arts school in Virginia
• Started off unfocused and unmotivated to be a doctor, had a change of heart and decided to pursue my passion for business.
• Work experience includes two years in the business management division of Northrop Grumman, then moved to NERA Economic Consulting. Will spend more than two years at NERA before matriculation.
• Extracurricular involvement includes being president of the Student Government, president and founder of the boxing team, and a senior member of a non-profit that has grown to become a multi-million dollar enterprise
• Indian-American (born and raised in US)
• Goal: “I am pursuing an MBA to become a value investor, and eventually to work for a value investing hedge fund.

Odds of Success:

Wharton: -20%

Chicago: 25%

Kellogg: 25%

Tuck: 20%

Columbia: -30%

Duke: 30%

Virginia: 35%

Sandy’s Analysis: Hmmm, unfortunately 3.0 could be deal breaker at Columbia, despite a powerful story. They are just really focused on stats. To the extent they take any non-minority with a 3.0, it could be you, since the rest of your story is compelling and NERA is an ace place to apply from. NERA kids get into Harvard and Stanford, but they are usually dudes from Ivy or Public Ivy with better stats.

Can anyone at NERA pull a string for you? That could really help.  Wharton has too many kids like you with better stats, so that is remote. Tuck is an outside, outside chance if you go there and really impress them. That place is like a frat rush. You gotta hang around and fit in, but it’s a good frat. Booth takes risks as well, although they are not so interested in value investors (nor are most schools. MBA programs don’t really teach you how to pick stocks, so that is not a good thing to say.)

For application purposes, I’d say you want to do NERA-type stuff or transition to management consulting. Value investing is just code for you want to be rich. The “value” part does not save you. In case you have not heard, people who say or hint that they want to be rich are not allowed to apply to business school, dirty little secret. The number of admissions to top 10 US business schools over the past eight years of anyone who said they wanted to be a “value investor in a bulge bracket bank” is something really, really low. Could be zero.

Handicapping Your MBA Odds–The Entire Series:

Part I: Handicapping Your Shot At a Top Business School

Part II: Your Chances of Getting In

Part III: Your Chances of Getting In

Part IV: Handicapping Your Odds of Getting In

Part V: Can You Get Into HBS, Stanford or Wharton?

Part VI: Handicapping Your Dream School Odds

Part VII: Handicapping Your MBA Odds

Part VIII: Getting Through The Elite B-School Screen

Part IX: Handicapping Your B-School Chances