MBA Handicapping: 32-Year-Old Pro Rugby Player: Can He Get Into H/S/W? by: Sandy Kreisberg & John A. Byrne on July 03, 2020 | 2,717 Views July 3, 2020 Copy Link Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Email Share on LinkedIn Share on WhatsApp Share on Reddit Sasha played professional rugby for nearly six years in Europe before landing a job with a privately-held renewable energy company in the U.S. With a 710 GMAT score and a 3.63 GPA from Rutgers Business School, this 32-year-old program manager would now like to take the next step in his career with an MBA. A first-generation college graduate, he’s aiming high, even though he is not from either a feeder undergraduate school or a feeder employer to an elite program and he would not matriculate until he’s 33 years old, outside the 26-to-28-year-old sweet spot for the most highly selective business schools. His targets: Harvard Business School, Wharton, the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business, Northwestern Kellogg School of Management, and Yale School of Management. His post-MBA goal is to become a consultant with MBB, ultimately to return to Eastern Europe to help the region in some way. The big question: Can he overcome those obvious downsides in his application by playing up the fact that he is a first-gen candidate who played professional sports and has racked up two promotions at a company that has employed him for five and one-half years? His raw scores, after all, are slightly below average for Harvard and Wharton. Should he retake the GMAT? Should he apply to a wider range of business schools? In this episode of Friday’s With Sandy, HBSGuru.com founder Sandy Kreisberg assesses his odds at the top schools and offers some valuable advice and pointed questions to sharpen Sasha’s candidacy. If you would like to participate in a future Fridays With Sandy webinar, you can contact Sandy and P&Q Founder John A Byrne here. DONāT MISS PREVIOUS FRIDAYS WITH SANDY EPISODES AN HBS MOCK INTERVIEW WITH A UNICORN TECH GUY HARVARD/STANFORD/WHARTON FOR THIS SILVER, NOT GOLD RESUME? IS STANFORD AND HAAS A HAIL MARY FOR THIS 33-YEAR-OLD CANDIDATE? HOW DO HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL & STANFORD GSB VIEW HR TYPES? Ā IS THIS ENGINEER A FIT FOR BERKELEY HAAS & MIT SLOAN? IS 2+2 HBS POSSIBLE WITH A 680 GMAT HOW A WHITE MALE WITH LOWER STATS GETS INTO COLUMBIA & WHARTON CAN YOU GET INTO STANFORD FROM YOUR FOURTH JOB? WILL STANFORD & HARVARD BUY THIS STORY? FULLBRIGHT, FAMILY POULTRY BIZ, PAKISTAN + HBS? HOW TO EXPLAIN SIX JOBS IN FIVE YEARS TO A BUSINESS SCHOOL SHOULD SHE RUSH TO APPLY NOW OR WAIT FOR THE NEXT CYCLE? HOW TO GET INTO HBS WITH A 3.2 GPA WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT HARVARDāS 2+2 DEFERRED ADMISSIONS PROGRAM GETTING INTO KELLOGG & MCCOMBS FROM PLUTO (NOT THE PLANET) HOW DOES THIS MCKINSEY ANALYST NOT GET INTO HBS & STANFORD? A HIGHLY RANKED MBA FOR THIS CONCERT PIANIST? SWIMMER, TECH FOUNDER, BANKER, COMEDIAN TRIES FOR H/S/W BAINIE, BYU ATHLETE = H/S/W? INTERVIEW ADVICE FOR MILITARY CANDIDATES ā AND OTHERS Ā A 770 GMAT & A 4.O FROM LONDON SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS ā WHAT ELSE DO YOU NEED FOR HARVARDāS 2+2 FAANG APPLICANTS TO STANFORD & HBS ARE OFTEN SUCCESSFUL. THIS GUY SHOWS WHYĀ GROUPON TO HBS? THIS GUY MIGHT DO IT WHAT IT TAKES FOR A NON-IIT FROM INDIA TO GET INTO HBS 2+2 OLD, WHITE MALES WITH A CHANCE AT HBS? MBA MOCK INTERVIEW: A MORGAN STANLEY STAFFER GETS A DRILLING GRE FOR 2+2 SUPERSTARS: HOW LOW CAN IT GO?Ā SAY āYESā TO SILVER OR āHOLD OUTā FOR GOLD? WHEN WHITE MALES SHOULD RETAKE THE GMAT 3.4 GPA, 700 GMAT & HISPANIC: CAN HE GET INTO HARVARD, MIT, KELLOGG? CAN THIS LIFE SCIENCE CONSULTANT GET INTO COLUMBIA & KELLOGG?Ā DO FEMALE INDIAN TECHIES HAVE AN EASIER TIME WITH THE HBS ADCOM? Ā CAN THIS INDIAN IT MALE GET INTO HBS WITH A 3.4 GPA BUT A 750 GMAT? WHERE RETAIL BUYERS & BRAND SPECIALISTS GET MBAs CAN THIS EX-AIR FORCE OFFICER-TURNED-SOFTWARE-ENGINEER CRACK THE MBA CODE? CAN THIS TARGET STAFFER GET INTO HARVARD OR STANFORD? HOW PETRO ENGINEERS CAN GET INTO A TOP MBA PROGRAM LONG DISTANCE CALL: HOW DOES AN AUSSIE TELECOM GUY GET INTO STANFORD? IS THIS 30-YEAR-OLD ENERGY GUY HEADED FOR HBS? GETTING IN IF YOUR STATS ARE BELOW THE MEDIAN WHAT GMAT DOES THIS LATINA GOVERNMENT ANALYST NEED? REAL GOOD ODDS FOR THIS INDIAN DO-GOODER. HEREāS WHY MILITARY-BANKER-HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL? HOW TO AVOID LANDMINES IN YOUR 2+2 INTERVIEW THE REAL HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL 2+2 INTERVIEW