Handicapping Your Shot At Getting In

Mr. Frenchie

• 770 GMAT
• 2.5 GPA (I know…)
• Dual master’s degree in international business from a French business school and an unknown Canadian University
• Work experience includes three and one-half years in business development for a French digital media company
• Extracurricular activity includes serving as president of one of three main student associations
• World traveler, fluent in four languages
• 28-year-old French male
• Goal: To work in general management for a media/entertainment company

Odds of Success:

Columbia: 10% to 20% (Wildcard)

Wharton: 5% to 10%

Yale: 20% to 30%

Berkeley: 30% to 35%

Northwestern: 30%

UCLA: 350% to 45%

Sandy’s Analysis: Unknown schooling and companies could be an issue, even for those willing to overlook the 2.5 in favor of the 770. You really need to present company very clearly in the application and resume.  One common mistake of resume writers, even kids who already have two jobs post college (and I assume have used resumes to get those jobs), is not adding a generic line to describe company. 

BAD: 

NoName Inc,                                           Paris , Dec. 2008-June 2011

 

· Created financial models to evaluate impact of blah blah on blah blah

· Performed company and industry due diligence in preparation for March Madness lottery to determine WTF we are doing next year.

· Worked with management to create funny logos, party drinks and snarky Twitter come-backs to help company positioning.

GOOD:  

NoName Inc,                                           Paris , Dec. 2008-June 2011

 

 

 

NoName Inc is a privately-held Paris media advisory providing integrated strategy, technology and marketing solutions to leading French and European MNC’s, with offices in Paris, Berlin and Milan, employing 1500 professionals with annual revenues of $XXXXXX.

· Created financial models to evaluate impact of blah blah on blah blah

· Performed company and industry due diligence in preparation for March Madness lottery to determine WTF we are doing next year.

· Worked with management to create funny logos, party drinks and snarky Twitter come-backs to help company positioning.

It is really important to include that generic tag line, especially for little-known companies, because it helps establish the bona fides of the company, and helps understand the bullets which follow.  Not including that tagline is one of the top five resume mistakes, which sounds like the kind of feature John Byrne might  twist my arm  into writing, but for now, I don’t even know the other four.

OK, back to you.  After you set up the company, the bullets will also be important. Spend a lot of time on your resume, and keep your eye out for my article on the Top FIve Resume Errors, but even before that, just do a good job.  There are plenty of resources on the Internet about how to write a resume.  You might also have to add a paragraph on the need for a second business degree.  Jeepers, man, if that low GPA extended to grad school, you better be really charming.

Columbia–longshot but could happen if you lobby, visit, find someone to contact admissions office: you are a natural fit in New York, media, etc.  and the 770 will go a long way, after you do the usual mea culpa about grades.  You need to find some way to contact them and let them know you are serious and now focused.

Wharton–not going to happen, they take off-the-grid kids but digital media, entertainment is not one of their sweet spots.

Yale, Berkeley, Kellogg, UCLA: The California schools might be interested for same reason as Columbia, and you will need the same approach. Yale is Wharton writ small, you are not their kind of oddball. Kellogg, well, you would be a BOLD choice which might fit into their new shtick (you can look that up, like Bill O’Reilly, I am signing off with the  word of the day.).

Just remember folks, THE SPIN STARTS HERE.

Handicapping Your MBA Odds–The Entire Series:

Part I: Handicapping Your Shot At a Top Business School

Part II: Your Chances of Getting In

Part III: Your Chances of Getting In

Part IV: Handicapping Your Odds of Getting In

Part V: Can You Get Into HBS, Stanford or Wharton?

Part VI: Handicapping Your Dream School Odds

Part VII: Handicapping Your MBA Odds

Part VIII: Getting Through The Elite B-School Screen

Part IX: Handicapping Your B-School Chances

Part X: What Are Your Odds of Getting In?

Part XI: Breaking Through the Elite B-School Screen