MBA Handicapping: Getting Into Wharton & Harvard With A 720 GMAT & A 3.6 GPA by: Sandy Kreisberg & John A. Byrne on August 07, 2020 | 17,035 Views August 7, 2020 Copy Link Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Email Share on LinkedIn Share on WhatsApp Share on Reddit How’s this for an MBA applicant profile? Dakota is a 26-year-old young professional who was once the catcher and captain of the senior varsity baseball team at Vassar. He majored in economics, racked up a 3.63 GPA, landed a job as a senior account associate at PIMCO, the well-known and prestigious asset management firm. While at PIMCO, he designed the internship program. About a year and one-half ago, he moved to Uber as a strategic operations manager. His GMAT score? An impressive 720. Add it all up, and you clearly have the makings of a strong candidate for a highly selective MBA program. His targets: Wharton, Chicago Booth, Duke Fuqua, London Business School or Berkeley Haas. In this Fridayās With Sandy episode, HBSGuru.com founder Sandy Kreisberg and Poets&Quants Editor-in-Chief John A. Byrne assess Zachās chances and tell him how he could go awry even with a 750 GMAT score and a 3.69 Ivy League undergraduate transcript. 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 WHAT ENGINEERS NEED TO DO TO GET IN HOW DOES AN INDIAN APPLICANT STAND OUT AT THE M7? CAN SHE TURN SILVER INTO GOLD FOR WHARTON & COLUMBIA? CAN THIS 32-YEAR-OLD FORMER PRO RUGBY PLAYER GET INTO H/S/W? 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