Handicapping Your Business School Odds

Mr. Corporate Finance

  • 710 GMAT (Q48, V37)
  • 3.8 GPA
  • Undergraduate degree in business from a relatively well-known university
  • (Enrolled for Advanced Stats & Business Math as alternative transcript classes)
  • Work experience includes two years in a corporate finance role for a textile manufacturer; two years at the ministry of the second largest city in Japan/South Korea in administrative planning; also did two internships in finance and consulting
  • Extracurricular involvement as president of a global college Christian mission organization, led annual conference for 1,500 people; volunteer teaching English to low-income children
  • Re-applicant who applied for class of 2013 with 690 GMAT and two years of experience; got dinged without interview by Columbia, Cornell, and UCLA; received interview invites from UT-Austin, Indiana, and waitlisted at USC)”
  • Goal: To consult at the intersection of the public sector and manufacturing to help organization, and countries become better managed
  • Fluent in Japanese, English, and Korean
  • Lived in the Middle East, Japan, Korea, and the U.S.
  • 27-year-old East Asian male

Odds of Success:

Northwestern: 30%

Dartmouth: 20%

Duke: 30+%

Cornell: 40+%

Carnegie Mellon: 50%

Sandy’s Analysis: Dunno, this year (versus dings from year before last year you note) you will have a 710 GMAT vs. 690 GMAT and two additional courses as an alternative transcript– or was that part of your story last time (the profile you sent was not crystal clear, which could be part of your problem).

Anyway, the issue here is what difference that GMAT score will have on adcoms at Kellogg, Tuck, Duke, Cornell and Tepper versus results year before last (for class of 2013) which were, as per your account, “dings at Columbia, Cornell, UCLA, received interview invites from UT Austin, Indiana, waitlisted at USC).”

Your experience now is in a “corporate finance role at a textile/clothing manufacturer (major supplier to famous clothing companies)” whereas when you applied last time you had only had your alternative military service experience at the “ministry of administrative planning at second largest city.” (Is that second largest city in Korea? Sounds like you are Korean given language fluency and fact that you passed Japanese language tests.)

I think one reason you may have been dinged is execution. Your profile is hard to understand, but, hey, that won’t stop me. But it may stop you, if you cannot explain yourself.

Let’s put those dings aside and face this head on: you are a 28-year-old East Asian male (at matriculation) working in some corporate finance role at some big but no-name company. You got a 710 GMAT, lousy grades, an alternative transcript with good grades (two courses), some wonderful leadership extras with church-based organizations in Asia, and also with NGOs. You want to be a consultant. You speak at a lot of languages.

Well, there’s lots to like and lots of problems. Working for a no-name company and bad grades (despite alternative transcript of two courses) is usually a HUGE roadblock at places like Kellogg, Tuck and Duke. You need to cook up some powerful story, which captures all your extras, your solid accomplishments at no-name but large company, your language skills, your alternative service, and focus on working in East Asia, where you have contacts.

If you do, you could call Kellogg a reach, Tuck a far reach (because it is smaller and you don’t fit their ‘average’ profile) and Duke a small reach. Duke runs older, has a 30% admit rate vs. 16% at Tuck and 19% at Kellogg and is just easier. Not sure what they will make of your story, but there are enough core strengths, solid accomplishments, and a 710 GMAT to help you out. I think Cornell and Tepper are in-line, although you might have a hard time explaining why you want to go to Cornell. It is isolated and I am not sure how many top consulting companies visit, although maybe some reader can help me out.

You need to clarify your story, focus on how you do consulting-type work in your current job (and LOVE it), and stress how your language skills and contacts in East Asia will give you a leg-up in doing public sector consulting. You are too stuck in the prior dings and confusing story: You’re a guy with a solid job, real language skills, lots of extras, a 710 GMAT, and an alternative transcript to beef up your lousy grades from a long time ago. That ain’t bad—forget about those dings from two years ago. You got a lot to like, just focus on the positives and make it clear.

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