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
Kellogg SOM | Mr. Desi Product Manager
GMAT 740, GPA 2.90
Columbia | Mr. Clean
GMAT 770, GPA 3.1
Harvard | Mr. Travel Enthusiast
GRE 333, GPA 2.7
Chicago Booth | Mr. UK-Big 4
GMAT 740, GPA 2:2 (UK Scoring)

MBA Handicapping: How This Consultant Bats Above His So-So Stats

by: Sandy Kreisberg on June 01, 2022 | | 1,090 Views

Sean had a great track record of success. As an Accenture consultant for nearly four years, he has been promoted twice and is on track for a third promotion. He wants an MBA degree to pivot slightly to niche strategy consulting or break into big tech strategy or business development. He’s also heavily involved in mentoring others, including advising and guiding undergrads at his alma mater as a member of the university’s Economics Advisory Board.

His target business schools: Dartmouth Tuck, MIT Sloan, Michigan Ross, Cornell Johnson, and UCLA Anderson. It’s a good mix of exceptional, highly-ranked MBA programs for someone with a 3.5 GPA in economics and business intelligence from James Madison University. His GRE score is 325, with an 88% on the verbal side and an 81% on the quant.

Those stats are a bit below the averages for his target schools so the big question is how does Sean offset the numbers and stand out from the crowd of other applicants.

In this episode of Friday’s With Sandy, HBSGuru.com Founder Sandy Kreisberg offers some valuable advice for anyone with lower GPAs and standardized test scores and assesses Sean’s odds of acceptance to a top MBA experience.

If you would like to participate in a future Fridays With Sandy webinar, you can contact Sandy and Poets&Quants Founder John A. Byrne here.

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MINORITY CANDIDATE, 550 GMAT, WAIT LIST AT MIT — ADVICE ON SEVERAL FRONTS 

APPLYING FROM MYANMAR WITH A 3.26 FROM San JOSE STATE

BIG 4 CONSULTANT: 33, 2.9 PGA….KEEP READING

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YOU WANT TO START YOUR OWN BUSINESS AFTER B-SCHOOL: SOME GREAT TIPS 

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SURGEON JOINS FAMILY BUSINESS — BE PREPARED TO EXPLAIN WHY

WHY HARVARD, STANFORD & WHARTON LIKE PILOTS

HBS INTERVIEW TIPS FOR NON-LIBERAL ARTS MAJORS 

EGYPTIAN VC GUY — GREAT START FOR H/S/W . . . AND THERE IS MORE

CORE ANSWERS FOR COMMON B-SCHOOL QUESTIONS

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GOOGLE, FACEBOOK, MARINES: HOW TO EXPLAIN TRANSITIONS IN YOUR B-SCHOOL INTERVIEWS

SANDY TRIES TO FLUSTER THIS SUPER START 3.9/770 CHINESE PR WOMAN WHILE JOHN GOES GA-GA

H/S/W ADMIT TIPS FOR FINANCIAL GUYS 

2+2 SUPER APPLICANT — CAN HE GET AROUND A LOW GRE

H/S/W TIPS FROM THIS DESAI AT EXXONMOBIL 

SANDY’S TOUGH LOVE FOR A SUPER STAR WITH A 650 GMAT

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

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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.

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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

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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?

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WHERE SHOULD THIS BMW ROCK ‘N’ ROLLER GO TO B-SCHOOL?

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DON’T SCREW YOURSELF IN THE FIRST TWO MINUTES OF AN ADCOM INTERVIEW

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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?  

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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?

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IS THIS ENGINEER A FIT FOR BERKELEY HAAS & MIT SLOAN?

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WILL STANFORD & HARVARD BUY THIS STORY?

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SHOULD SHE RUSH TO APPLY NOW OR WAIT FOR THE NEXT CYCLE?

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GETTING INTO KELLOGG & MCCOMBS FROM PLUTO (NOT THE PLANET)

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A HIGHLY RANKED MBA FOR THIS CONCERT PIANIST?

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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

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OLD, WHITE MALES WITH A CHANCE AT HBS?

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SAY ‘YES’ TO SILVER OR ‘HOLD OUT’ FOR GOLD?

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CAN THIS INDIAN IT MALE GET INTO HBS WITH A 3.4 GPA BUT A 750 GMAT?

WHERE RETAIL BUYERS & BRAND SPECIALISTS GET MBAs

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THE REAL HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL 2+2 INTERVIEW

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