Handicapping your MBA odds is always tricky business because there are a lot of unknowns about every candidate. Yet the chances of an elite MBA admission for Raunak, a 25-year-old analyst in New Delhi seem pretty darn good. Since graduating with a degree in mechanical engineering from the National Institute of Technology in Jalandhar, he landed a job in the R&D department with Honda Cars India. After a year and one-half, he engineered a career switch to consulting, landing a plum job with ZS Associates in India.
Work experience in both manufacturing and consulting helps to take him out of the most overpopulated part of the elite MBA applicant pool and will help him differentiate himself from the thousands of male Indian software engineers who apply to business schools every year
But no MBA candidate for a highly selective business school is perfect, of course. Raunak will still be competing against others with higher GPAs from the elite Indian Institutes of Technology with higher standardized test scores as well. His GPA is a bit on the low side, a 7.41 out of 10. And while his GRE score of 326 is pretty much on the mark for the schools he is targeting, it may be below other male Indian engineers. One compensating factor: he did place in the top 0.5 percentile of some 222,000 students who took the country’s Common Admission Test in 2022.
In this episode of Friday’s with Sandy, HBSGuru.com founder Sandy Kreisberg assesses his chances at INSEAD, London Business School, Chicago Booth and Northwestern Kellogg. Kreisberg and P&Q Editor-in-Chief John A. Byrne provide advice on both his application strategy and the elements of his MBA application.
DON’T MISS PREVIOUS FRIDAYS WITH SANDY EPISODES
THIS INDIAN MALE BREAKS WITH THE STEREOTYPE: WILL H/S/W BE IMPRESSED?
INDISPENSABLE ADVICE FOR INTERNATIONAL MBA APPLICANTS
IMPACT INVESTOR WITH A GREAT STORY SO FAR
MBA MOCK INTERVIEW:20 FUNDAMENTAL INTERVIEW QUESTIONS ASKED & ANSWERED IN THIS ROCKING MOCK
MBA MOCK INTERVIEW: COKE, PEPSI & OTHER BIG CONSUMER BRANDS TO HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL
BLOWING AN HBS INTERVIEW: SANDY POINTS OUT SEVERAL WAYS IT CAN HAPPEN
HBS INTERVIEW TRAPS FOR THIS 780 GMAT TYPES
3.2 GPA — HOW DAMAGING FOR THIS MEXICAN STAR (740 GMAT!)?
THIS SUPERSTAR APPLICANT NEEDS TO POLISH HIS STORY
IF THIS DING, DING, DING RE-APPLICANT CAN GET AN 80/80 GRE, HE IS GOLD
CAN A ‘BIG FOOT’ MENTOR HELP YOU OVERCOME A 2.9 GPA?
HOW DOES A GREAT MBA APPLICANT OVERCOME A 3.2 GPA?
IS WORKING FOR TOBACCO & BOOZE COMPANIES A BLOT ON YOUR MBA APP?
MOCK INTERVIEW: HOW TO ANSWER THE MOST COMMON MBA INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
HOW THIS CONSULTANT BATS ABOVE HIS SO-SO STATS
SUPER-STAR AFRICAN WITH A 630 GMAT–HSW???
30-YEAR-OLD, AFRO-AMERICAN, NAIROBI-BASED, 5 JOBS — SANDY SAYS TOP 10 CAN HAPPEN
APPLYING TO B-SCHOOL FROM BIG ENERGY
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\]\
HBS WITH A 2.9 & AN INDIAN MALE? WHY THIS GUY COULD BE THE ONE
DOA? DOES THIS TED TALK SUPERSTAR SOUND SCRIPTED?
DO WHITE MALES NEED BETTER STATS THAN SCHOOL AVERAGES TO GET IN?
HOW TO USE YOUR INTERNATIONAL BACKGROUND TO GET INTO HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL
YOU WANT TO START YOUR OWN BUSINESS AFTER B-SCHOOL: SOME GREAT TIPS
HOW TO OPTIMIZE A ‘WOMEN IN TECH’ STORY FOR B-SCHOOLS
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
WHEN DOES A 710 vs. A 730 GMAT MAKE A DIFFERENCE
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
HOW TECHIES & ENGINEERS BEAT OUT THEIR PEERS AT TOP MBA PROGRAMS
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
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
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?
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