Handicapping Your Odds Of Acceptance

Mr. Strategy Consultant

740 GMAT
Undergraduate degree in engineering from a school in India
MBA degree from one of the top five business schools in India
Work Experience includes nearly two years as a strategy consultant with a Big Four firm; one year as a product manager for a brokerage firm
Extracurricular involvement as placement coordinator during my MBA and represented by MBA university in four sports
Reason for second MBA: “I did not utilize my first MBA to the fullest (due to lack of work experience – fresh out of college).
Goal: To work for VC/ PE in emerging markets, gain sufficient exposure on  aspects like fund raising, business planning and then return to India to start my own investment banking and management consulting firm
25-year-old Indian

Odds of Success:

Harvard: 10%

Stanford: -10%

Wharton: 10% to 20%

Chicago: 20%

NYU: 20%

Yale: 20%

Kellogg: 20%

Sandy’s Analysis: U.S. schools will sometimes overlook an Indian MBA since they typically, as in your case, are earned right after college, and are not case- method and field-work programs, like most US programs now, but just dusty, boring old lectures and exams. (Someone correct me if Indian MBA education has had a Desi-Spring in terms of pedagogy.)

All that said, I ain’t seeing this as HBS or Stanford. There’s a lack of gold-plated education and work experiences, although one could say ‘silver’ plated. Most homegrown Desis at Harvard and Stanford are IIT + GOLD PLATE, and the fact you have too many wrong-turn jobs is another negative. VC/PE goals are fine for me, you, and for impressing dates. You can keep them as your own little secret but I would not say that on application. You just seem to be going from one series of poorly thought out jobs to a misty dream of what $ucce$$ means, –again, OK with me, but that does not go down well with adcoms.

You say: “I intend to take courses on negotiations, entrepreneurship, private equity etc.”

I say: Nobody cares about your electives, all that much. Your case for a second MBA has to be based on the fact that first one did not stress case-method/interactive learning/field work and you want to use second MBA to focus on leadership, global awareness, and sure, some electives which match-up with your new goals.

Wharton is a maybe for a guy like you with a goal statement that has more connective tissue to your past. Try saying you want to be a strategy consultant, and firm leader, who helps companies in emerging economies. Cite firms, which do that, and leaders you admire, just like I suggested to Marine Biologist. That should be your spiel to everyone. Intend to take courses and have experiences (say what they are), which will make you a 360-degree leader and manager who can gain the trust of clients, peer professionals, and members of your firm.