Handicapping Your Dream School Odds

Mr. Philosopher

• 700+ GMAT (expected)
• 3.33 GPA
• Undergraduate degree in philosophy and psychology from a small but well-ranked liberal arts college
• 3.82 GPA (graduate level)
• PhD degree in philosophy with a focus on ethics from a top 15
university
• Work experience includes four years at a $1 billion non-profit foundation, currently
as director of technology and innovation.
• “My job involves serving as the product manager on two technology-related philanthropic investments with a combined budget of $12 million. I am also responsible for 
scouting for new projects that the foundation could invest in. I was promoted
 three times in my first year and under my leadership, the department received
national media attention for its highly innovative approach to philanthropy”
• No extracurricular involvement due to working and going to school full-
time for the last four years.
• Goal: To transition into a leadership role in an
on-the-ground nonprofit or into social entrepreneurship
• 28-year-old white male

Odds of Success:

Harvard: 20% to 30%

Stanford: 20%

Wharton: 30% to 40%

MIT: 20%

Yale: 30% to 40%

Chicago: 30% to 40%

Texas: 40+%

Sandy’s Analysis: A Ph.D. in ethics? Lots of B-schools may take you just for the alumni magazine cover, “WE GOT ETHICISTS HERE!!!!”

That story works even better given what seems like your solid work at a $1B non-profit, where you seem to be doing both good work as “product manager” for “two technology-related philanthropic investments” whatever that means???? The foundation invests in two tech companies, and you are product manager? Anyway, I’m sure you can explain it, and I suggest you do.  My apologies if “product manager” is some crossover term of art in the Giving Business, which is suspect it is. I would explain it anyway.

“I am also responsible for scouting  . . . new projects . . . . I was promoted
 three times in my first year and under my leadership, the department received national media attention for its highly innovative approach to philanthropy.”

That I understand, and that sounds solid. All that said, we still got a 3.3 GPA and a projected 700 GMAT—that is marginal, although your grad grades (3.82) help in terms of showing that you can sit still and be bored (prereq number one for business school), even if all those grad courses were in “Phil” (well, I am just channeling adcom and herd thinking, which are often similar; I personally know how hard that stuff is).

I think your super-seeming success at the foundation and Ph.D. halo in general may give you a fighting chance at places like HBS and Stanford, especially HBS which is more open (because the door is wider) to spin-able stories such as yours. The fact that your goals are a continuation of what you have been doing so well is another big plus. A lot will depend on what they think of your foundation and if you can line up any big wigs there to back you.  Those recs will become super important as well because you don’t have much room in the HBS application to strut your accomplishments at the foundation, which is your ace in the hole, so recs will have to be detailed and specific about that. Remind your writers that HBS is not strict about the word counts on recs, have them really lay-out what your accomplishments are in Questions 1 and 2, and have them dilate on what a powerful and transformative leader of a social enterprise you could be with your triple threat 1. Ethics, 2.  Do-Gooder “Project Management,” and 3.  MBA background.

MIT has way less patience with stories like this, and the numbers alone may doom you over there. Wharton could go either way. They are big and could take a chance on an interesting wild card like you (with a rock solid employment and goals story, the kind of wild card everyone likes). Booth, Yale, UT are all possible. Kellogg is worth a look as well.