MBA Handicapping: Yes At HBS With A 3.0 & A 680 — This Guy’s ‘Twin’ Did It

David graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 2017, majoring in management and playing football all four years. After an internship with a private equity firm, he went to work in the military on a range of issues, including long-range nuclear cruise missile planning. In his current job, he’s a program manager overseeing $200 million of software development and a staff of 80 persons for the newly created Space Force’s National Reconnaissance Office.

With a 680 GMAT and a 3.06 GPA,Ā he is targeting five of the M7 MBA programs at Harvard Business School, Stanford GSB, Wharton, Columbia, and Chicago Booth. David plans to retake the GMAT, hoping to score a 700 or higher. His GPA suffered in his early undergraduate years, largely because he found it difficult balancing the demands of playing football with the academics.

In this episode of Fridays With Sandy, HBSGuru.com Founder Sandy Kreisberg assesses his odds and provides some valuable advice.

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.

DONā€™T MISS PREVIOUS FRIDAYS WITH SANDY EPISODES

2+2 POSITIONING FOR FINANCE TYPES

40% QUANT YET HIGH ODDS FOR HBS 2+2. FIND OUT WHYĀ 

SALES GUY, 31. HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL? HEREā€™S HOW

THE BASICS OF GETTING AN MD-MBA

CAN THIS BAND LEADER JAZZ HIS 3.3 GPA INTO HBS 2+2? WORKING AT MCKINSEY HELPS

HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL WITH A 670? HEREā€™S HOW

TOO YOUNG FOR HBS, EVEN WITH A 750 GMAT?

MEXICO, MASTERCARD, MAESTRO: 3 HOOKS FOR AN M7 ADMIT?

AVERAGE GMAT & GPA? CHECK. SO WHAT DO YOU NEED TO BUST INTO BOOTH & KELLOGG?Ā 

OVERCOMING TWO STRIKES: A LOW GPA & A LOW GMAT

720 VS. 740 GMAT: THE SLIM DIFFERENCE CAN BE HUGEĀ 

HOW TO MAXIMIZEĀ A 320 GRE AND A 3.4 GPA

HOW ASIAN IB/PE APPLICANTS SHOULD PRESENT THEIR STORY TO H/S/W

CAN THIS WHITE SOUTH AFRICAN GUY CRACK STANFORD & HARVARD?

APPLYING TO H/S/MIT FROM LATIN AMERICA WITH A 770

WHERE SHOULD THIS BMW ROCK ā€˜Nā€™ ROLLER GO TO B-SCHOOL?

CIAO!!! EURO ADMISSIONS FOR BIG 4 TYPESĀ 

DONā€™T SCREW YOURSELF IN THE FIRST TWO MINUTES OF AN ADCOM INTERVIEW

CAN THIS MULTI-RACIAL MAP MAKER FIND HER WAY TO AN ELITE MBA?

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? Ā 

WILL THIS GUYā€™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 GPAĀ 

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 HARVARDā€™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 ā€” AND OTHERS Ā 

A 770 GMAT & A 4.O FROM LONDON SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS ā€” WHAT ELSE DO YOU NEED FOR HARVARDā€™S 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 ā€˜YESā€™ TO SILVER OR ā€˜HOLD 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. HEREā€™S WHY

MILITARY-BANKER-HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL?

HOW TO AVOID LANDMINES IN YOUR 2+2 INTERVIEW

THE REAL HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL 2+2 INTERVIEW