MBA Handicapping: Sandy Tries To Fluster This Super Star 3.9/770 Chinese PR Woman While John Goes Ga-Ga

Perfect MBA applicants to the world’s best business schools are rare. Zoe might very well be one of them.

Born in China, she came to the U.S. early to gain an education at The Hotchkiss School, the prestigious boarding school in Connecticut. Zoe then went on to earn her undergraduate degree in international economics from Georgetown University with a stellar 3.9 GPA and an exchange semester in France.

The young graduate landed a plum job in 2018 as a research analyst at Primavera Capital Group, a China-focused private equity firm with $15 billion in assets under management. She works in the firm’s Hong Kong office but has also done a rotation in Beijing and hopes to get another rotational assignment in the firm’s Silicon Valley office. What’s more, she earned a promotion last year as an investment analyst and reports directly to the founder and chairman of the firm.

Her extras also make her a stand out candidate: She has been a volunteer for UnlimitedHer, a female-focused non-profit that fundraises for rural Chinese girls, and has unlocked tuition pledges for 120 girls in rural China. She also trained three female executives to summit Kilimanjaro, among other things.

Zoe scored a 770 on the GMAT and applied first round to Harvard, Stanford, Wharton, and INSEAD.

So what’s not to like?

In this episode of Friday’s With Sandy, HBSGuru.com founder Sandy Kreisberg puts Zoe through the paces of a true grilling in a mock interview. He’s tough but Zoe isn’t flustered at all. For any candidate about to walk into an admissions interview, this is a must-watch episode.

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