MBA Handicapping: Big 4 — Launch Pad For H/S/W

Geon Yoon has worked as a Big 4 auditor and senior analyst and wants an elite MBA. With a 332 GRE score that includes a 170 quant and a 162 verbal, along with a 3.6 undergraduate GPA, this 28-year-old accounting professional is aiming for Harvard, Stanford, Wharton, Columbia and Chicago Booth.

In this episode of Friday’s With Sandy, HBSGuru.com founder Sandy Kreisberg assesses his chances of an admit at one of his target schools. As Sandy points out, the Big 4 accounting firms in the U.S. are considered “silver” firms, not “gold.”

So the big question is whether his stints with PwC and KPMG in Korea will pass muster with admission officials. Each school on Yoon’s target list has what Sandy calls a “soft quota” for Big 4 applicants so he will be compared against other Big 4 candidates from Asian in the applicant pool. Yoon also bring some other important work experience to the game: he was a squad leader as well as an HR and finance manager in the military, an opportunity that gave him leadership experience.

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.

HOW THIS POWERFUL CANDIDATE SCREWED UP HIS FIRST HBS APP

DON’T MISS PREVIOUS FRIDAYS WITH SANDY EPISODES

4.0/760, CALTECH: MINEFIELDS FOR 2+2

YES AT HBS WITH A 3.0 & A 680 — THIS GUY’S ‘TWIN’ DID IT

2+2 POSITIONING FOR FINANCE TYPES

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

SALES GUY, 31. HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL? HERE’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? HERE’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? 

OVERCOMING TWO STRIKES: A LOW GPA & A LOW GMAT

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

HOW TO MAXIMIZE 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 ‘N’ ROLLER GO TO B-SCHOOL?

CIAO!!! EURO ADMISSIONS FOR BIG 4 TYPES 

DON’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?  

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