MBA Handicapping: Can This Multi-Racial Map Maker Find Her Way To An Elite MBA?

For an MBA applicant, Michaela has a compelling if unusual story to tell. The 26-year-old professional currently works for a Fortune 500 company as a toponymist while also being in the U.S. Air Force Reserve. Shortly, she’ll depart her full-time job updating mapping data for Google and Bing for a six-month-long military deployment in the Middle East.

Since graduating from SUNY-Buffalo with a 3.3 GPA in international studies and Chinese, she has had three full-time jobs: the map-making gig, with a promotion in five months, as well as stints with two companies that import products from China. She speaks Mandarin and has spent roughly six years of her life in China. Raised largely by a single mother, who is half Puerto Rican and half Korean, Michaela originally wanted to pursue a military career, was selected for Officer Candidate School in the U.S. Marines, but then tore an ACL muscle which led to a change of plans.

She has yet to sit for the GMAT but has plenty of time because she will be applying next year to matriculate in 2022. With an MBA degree, she hopes to transition into a consulting firm that does work with the government. Her targets: Harvard, Wharton, MIT Sloan, INSEAD, Duke and Darden.

In this episode of Friday’s with Sandy, HBSGuru.com Founder Sandy Kreisberg assesses her chances and provides some valuable advice on how to tell her story and sway the odds in her favor.

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.

DON’T MISS PREVIOUS FRIDAYS WITH SANDY EPISODES

UNEMPLOYED POT EXEC GOES FOR TOP MBA. WE SAY MAYBE. ARE WE SMOKING SOMETHING?

A 770 GMAT & TWO NO-NAME EMPLOYERS EQUALS WHAT?

CAN THIS INDIAN MALE GET INTO HARVARD IF HE DID NOT DO HIS UNDERGRAD AT IIT?  

WILL THIS GUY’S FAST FOOD EXPERIENCE GET HIM BLACKBALLED AT HBS DESPITE A 770 GMAT & 4.0 GPA?

CAN THIS BLACK FIRST-GEN ENGINEER GET INTO HARVARD OR STANFORD?

GETTING INTO WHARTON & HARVARD WITH A 720 GMAT & A 3.6 GPA 

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?  

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 HARVARD’S 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 — AND OTHERS  

A 770 GMAT & A 4.O FROM LONDON SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS — WHAT ELSE DO YOU NEED FOR HARVARD’S 2+2

FAANG APPLICANTS TO STANFORD & HBS ARE OFTEN SUCCESSFUL. THIS GUY SHOWS WHY 

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? 

SAY ‘YES’ TO SILVER OR ‘HOLD OUT’ 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? 

DO FEMALE INDIAN TECHIES HAVE AN EASIER TIME WITH THE HBS ADCOM?  

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. HERE’S WHY

MILITARY-BANKER-HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL?

HOW TO AVOID LANDMINES IN YOUR 2+2 INTERVIEW

THE REAL HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL 2+2 INTERVIEW