Calculating Your Odds of Admission

Mr. Health Care

• 760 GMAT
• 3.76 GPA
• Undergraduate degree in international relations from a top ten liberal arts college
• Work experience includes 28 months as a project manager at the dominant healthcare IT company (35-40% of Americans receive care using our software) working with the billing module; Worked first 16 months as a coordinator, splitting my time between two clients and was primarily responsible for leading a team of 10 client-employed analysts for each project and guiding them through the process of designing and implementing our software. Now mainly work with our clients’ CFO and Director level staff to help them manage the financial risks and leverage the opportunities for efficiency that come with the roll-out of an electronic billing system. Extracurricular involvement as editor of the student newspaper, writer on two other papers, plus a volunteer and eventually a paid tutor for first-generation college applicants and underprivileged students; also president of a small political club (not Dems or Reps)
• Goals: “To move into strategy consulting for health care organizations. The industry is at a major turning point right now when it comes to technology, regulations, and business models and I want to make a difference in how hospitals do business.”
• 23-year-old white male

Odds of Success:

Northwestern: 40% to 50%

Harvard: 35%

Stanford: 20%

Berkeley: 50%

Chicago: 40% to 50%

MIT: 50+%

Sandy’s Analysis: Hmmmm, a 760 GMAT and a 3.76 from a Top 10 liberal arts college is a good start, and being at the intersection of health care and IT is a good place to be, since that is getting a lot of attention. You seem to have had a successful run at this company, which you claim is the “dominant health care IT company (35-40% of Americans receive care using our software).”

Say, do you mind if I ask a question that may not have occurred to anyone who has read these last 150 profiles: HAS ANYONE FROM YOUR  COMPANY IN A JOB SORTA LIKE YOURS APPLIED TO A FLIPPIN’ BUSINESS SCHOOL AND WHAT WERE THE RESULTS????   This shouting is not so much directed at you as to future profile writers, it would really help if you included that as part of the metric, but I have a feeling many of you do not because it is TOO predictive and you want to see if somehow you can jump the shark, as it were.

Given your ace grades and GMAT, and what appears to be increasing levels of responsibility, if anyone from your company from a similar job got in to school X, Y or Z, well, so will you. If not, you are still in solid shape, since I assume your company is a brand name of some kind, and you have interesting and varied college extras, viz. “Lots of volunteer hours and eventually paid employment tutoring first-generation college applicants and underprivileged students. President of small political club (not Dems or Reps).”

Lack of current extras, could be an issue at HBS and Stanford, but could be overcome with exciting execution of your total application and some spit on the ball from execs at your company. Sounds like you deserve strong recs.  At other places you note, Kellogg, MIT, Booth, Haas, you should get in on stats, solid job and excellent career advancement alone, plus the hot field of IT/Healthcare.

Your goals as stated, “I want to move into strategy consulting for healthcare orgs. The industry is at a major turning point right now when it comes to technology, regulations, and business models and I want to make a difference in how hospitals do business,” is right on the money.  Although don’t limit yourself to hospitals. You mean health care delivery in general, but you knew that.

This is real solid profile, just make sure your company gets behind you big time.

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

Part X: What Are Your Odds of Getting In?

Part XI: Breaking Through the Elite B-School Screen

Part XII: Handicapping Your B-School Odds

Part XIII: Predicting Your Odds of Getting In

Part XIV: Handicapping Your MBA Odds

Part XV: Assessing Your Odds of Getting In

Part XVI: Handicapping Your Odds of Getting In

Part XVII: What Are Your Odds of Getting In

Part XVIII: Assessing Your Odds of Getting In

Part XIX: Handicapping Your MBA Odds

Part XX: What Are Your Odds Of Getting In

Part XXI: Handicapping Your Odds of Acceptance

Part XXII: Handicapping Your Shot At A Top MBA

Part XXIII: Predicting Your Odds of Getting In

Part XXIV: Do You Have The Right Stuff To Get In

Part XXV: Your Odds of Getting Into A Top MBA Program

Part XXVI: Calculating Your Odds of Getting In

Part XXVII: Breaking Through The Elite MBA Screen

Part XXVIII: Handicapping Your Shot At A Top School

Part XXIX: Can You Get Into A Great B-School

Part XXX: Handicapping Your Odds of Getting In