MBA Handicapping: Who Should Retake A 730 GMAT? by: John A. Byrne on August 18, 2023 | 5,346 Views August 18, 2023 Copy Link Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Email Share on LinkedIn Share on WhatsApp Share on Reddit For an MBA applicant to Harvard Business School or Wharton, this young professional is quite unusual. First off, he’s already 33 years of age, well outside the more typical 27 to 29 window for most of the highly ranked U.S. MBA programs. Secondly, he has no business experience whatsoever, having worked for the government in India for the past eight years. He has an undergraduate GPA of 3.2 in computer science at Panjab University, a score that is below the class average at every school he has targeted for admission, including Northwestern Kellogg, Chicago Booth, Dartmouth Tuck, and Michigan Ross. And finally, he wants to use the MBA to transition into a field, healthcare, where he has no prior work experience. What gives? In this Friday’s With Sandy episode, HBSGuru.com Founder Sandy Kreisberg and Poets&Quants Editor John A. Byrne not only assess his odds, they put him through the grind of a typical admissions interview and also offer some advice about other schools and programs that should be on his list of options. Despite the fact that this week’s candidate is a bit unusual, he also has a lot going for him. His GMAT score on a second try is 730, right on the Harvard Business School class median, with a 38 on the verbal and a 50 on the quant side. He already has a master’s degree in public administration. He manages and leads a staff of more than 500 people at the Indian equivalent of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the premier law enforcement agency in India. His post-MBA goal: “To work as an associate in any MBB consulting firm for two or three years then work as a Manager focusing on Healthcare Sector Consulting and then move to India to establish my own Consultancy Firm working at the intersection of Government, NGOs and Businesses to assist innovations in healthcare to enter, scale and sustain in India and other emerging markets and in turn improve the affordability and accessibility of healthcare systems for underserved populations.” What are his chances and how can he improve his odds of an admission? Find out in this handicapping episode. If you would like to participate in a future Fridays With Sandy webinar, you can contact Sandy and Poets&Quants John here. DON’T MISS PREVIOUS FRIDAYS WITH SANDY EPISODES BYU MAGNA, MCKINSEY, CHILEAN: WHAT GRE DOES HE NEED FOR HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL? 780 GMAT–HOW COME SHE’S NOT APPLYING TO HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL? CAN THIS NASA SUPERSTAR MBA CANDIDATE TALK TO EARTHLINGS ADMISSION OFFICIALS? 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