MIT Sloan | Ms. Engineering + Extracurriculars
GMAT 695, GPA 3.45
Harvard | Ms. Impact Consultant
GRE 304 ( diagnostic test from ets) , GPA 7.41/10
Kellogg SOM | Mr. Fertilizer Financier
GMAT 735 GMAT Focus, GPA 3.85
Harvard | Ms. Indian Engineer
GMAT 760, GPA 3.5
Wharton | Mr. Private Equity
GMAT 730, GPA 3.2
HEC Paris | Ms. M&A Lawyer
GMAT 700, GPA 3.5
Stanford GSB | Ms. UK In the USA
GMAT 720, GPA 1st class (UK scoring)
Kenan-Flagler | Mr. Do I Have A Shot?
GMAT EA: 151, GPA 3.1
Chicago Booth | Ms. Tech4Good
GMAT 760, GPA 3.76
Columbia | Mr. Underdog
GMAT 695 GMAT Focus (750 Legacy GMAT equivalent), GPA 2.85
McCombs School of Business | Mr. Big Pharma
GRE N/A, GPA 3.1
Kenan-Flagler | Mr. Non-Traditional Undergrad
GMAT 660, GPA 2.9
Kellogg SOM | Ms. Talent Acquisition
GRE 316, GPA 3.6
Ross | Mr. Tax Accountant
GMAT N/A, GPA 3.3
Tuck | Mr. Nothing Is Perma
GMAT 760, GPA 7/10

Live At CentreCourt: Handicapping Your Elite MBA Odds – 4 Applicants to Top US, European Programs

by: John A. Byrne on August 01, 2021 | 919 Views

An auditor in India for Deloitte & Touche, Vikram boasts an impressive 760 GMAT score and a 4.0 undergraduate grade point average.

The head of product planning for a manufacturing company in Peru, Alex has a 680 GMAT and a 2.9 GPA.

Yuri is a supply chain manager in Brazil with a 700 GMAT and a 3.2 GPA.

From Nairobi, Elijah works as an impact investing analyst for a private equity firm in Nigeria and brings a 650 GMAT and a 2.2 GPA to the game.

What all four MBA candidates share is a desire to gain admission to a top business school in either the U.S. or Europe. What are their chances?

In this live CentreCourt MBA Festival edition of handicapping your MBA odds, HBSGuru.com founder Sandy Kreisberg and Poets&Quants founder and editor John A. Byrne assess their odds.

Profile One
Name: Vikram
Target Schools: Wharton, Columbia, Tuck, Duke, Kellogg, Darden
GMAT: 760
GPA: 4.0
Work experience: Auditor at Deloitte & Touche with over 2.5 years of experience in statutory audit in financial sector Industry auditing banking institutions, investment management firms, private equity firms.
6 months of experience in statutory audit from Ernst and Young.
Current Job Title: Assistant manager

Profile Two
Name: Alex
Target Schools: IMD, LBS, HEC Paris, IESE
GMAT: 680
GPA: 2.9 (did part-time jobs the last 2 years)
Work Industry: Manufacturing, Education (former lecturer in Top 3 Engineering University in Peru)
Current Job Title: Head of product R&D – Drilling tools at Geotec Boyles Bros – a Layne Co.

Profile Three
Name: Yuri
Target Schools: Duke, Darden, Kellogg, Ross, Johnson, MIT Sloan
GMAT: 700
GPA: 3.2
Work Industry: Technology and Retail
Current Job Title: Supply Chain Manager at Leroy Merlin

Profile Four
Name: Elijah
Target Schools: LBS, INSEAD, Chicago Booth, Berkeley Haas
GMAT: 650
GPA: 2.2
Work Industry: Private Equity, Accounting firm, Development NGOs
Current Job Title: Impact investing Analyst at Okavango Capital Partners

If you would like to participate in a future Fridays With Sandy webinar, you can contact Sandy and John here.

DON’T MISS PREVIOUS FRIDAYS WITH SANDY EPISODES

HOW DO ACCENTURE CONSULTANTS GET INTO WHARTON?

APPLYING FOR HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL’S 2+2 FROM ABROAD

HBS WITH A 3.4 & A 770? WHARTON?

5 YEARS OF FINANCE + 4 YEARS OF MARINES = HBS?

APPLYING AFTER 30: DO’S & DON’TS

MOCK HARVARD 2+2 MBA INTERVIEW: SANDY GRILLS THIS GUY (FOR HIS OWN GOOD)

HBS WITH A 3.2 GPA??? IT COULD HAPPEN.

CAN THIS INDIAN MALE WITH A 3.4/710 LEAPFROG HIS COHORT?  

CAN THIS PGA ANALYST LAND AT HBS?

HOW TO MOVE FROM PURE TECH TO STRATEGY CONSULTING

THREE ODDBALL JOBS NEED EXPLAINING, INCLUDING DOG DNA

WITH INTERNSHIPS AT TESLA, TWITTER, SPACEX & THE CIA, DOES HE HAVE A SHOT AT HBS?  

WHICH LATIN AMERICAN PASSPORT HELPS THE MOST AT HBS?

GREAT STATS, PUBLIC IVY DEGREE & FANG JOB. WHY HE’S GOING TO GET DINGED ANYWAY

2+2 WITH LOW STATS: SANDY SAYS IT COULD HAPPEN

SUMMA, 780: HBS LIKES THAT, WHARTON LOVES THAT, DOES STANFORD WANT MORE? 

ARE ALL OF INDIA’S ITT’S CREATED EQUALY?  MAYBE NOT FOR ELITE MBA ADMISSIONS

BIG 4 — LAUNCH PAD FOR H/S/W?

HOW THIS POWERFUL CANDIDATE SCREWED UP HIS FIRST HBS APP

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