Wharton | Mr. Private Equity
GMAT 730, GPA 3.2
HEC Paris | Ms. M&A Lawyer
GMAT 700, GPA 3.5
Stanford GSB | Ms. UK In the USA
GMAT 720, GPA 1st class (UK scoring)
Kenan-Flagler | Mr. Do I Have A Shot?
GMAT EA: 151, GPA 3.1
Chicago Booth | Ms. Tech4Good
GMAT 760, GPA 3.76
Columbia | Mr. Underdog
GMAT 695 GMAT Focus (750 Legacy GMAT equivalent), GPA 2.85
McCombs School of Business | Mr. Big Pharma
GRE N/A, GPA 3.1
Kenan-Flagler | Mr. Non-Traditional Undergrad
GMAT 660, GPA 2.9
Kellogg SOM | Ms. Talent Acquisition
GRE 316, GPA 3.6
Ross | Mr. Tax Accountant
GMAT N/A, GPA 3.3
Tuck | Mr. Nothing Is Perma
GMAT 760, GPA 7/10
Kellogg SOM | Mr. Desi Product Manager
GMAT 740, GPA 2.90
Columbia | Mr. Clean
GMAT 770, GPA 3.1
Harvard | Mr. Travel Enthusiast
GRE 333, GPA 2.7
Chicago Booth | Mr. UK-Big 4
GMAT 740, GPA 2:2 (UK Scoring)

Rejected By Harvard B-School? Don’t Feel Bad. You’re In Great Company

by: John A. Byrne on February 15, 2016 | | 44,882 Views

guystars

Mr. Medical Device

 

  • 780 GMAT
  • 3.2 GPA
  • Undergraduate degree in biomedica engineering from Rutgers University
  • Work experience includes six years at a Fortune 100 major medical device company in U.S.;

    promoted twice and currently a senior engineer; recognized by site leadership on 4 different occasions

  • Goal: To transition into a leadership position at a healthcare startup attempting to disrupt the medical device industry
  • 29-year-old Indian male

     

    Sandy’s Ding Analysis: OUCH. I would hate to think that your 3.2 GPA is behind this. But it could be that and what HBS thinks of your company, and what the cohort was for medical device guys (not sure that is a distinct cohort, but it could be, or you could have lost out to Desi engineers they liked more.

    The rest of your profile is solid and everyone likes a 780. But again, this goes to show that it takes a lot more than a high GMAT score to get into Harvard Business School, as so many dinged applicants have shown.

    This has shades of an Executive MBA, given the number of years at the same gig, so that could be an overhand as well.

    All that said, if you told me you got in, I would not have been surprised.

    DON’T MISS: FIRST ROUND DING REPORT AT HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL

    Previous Page

    Questions about this article? Email us or leave a comment below.