Mr. 1st Gen Grad

Let me just say that as a first gen grad myself, I am a sucker for your story. I’m less concerned about your 3.1 GPA because your 740 GMAT makes it clear you can do the work. It’s not surprising that you would get a 3.1 as a first gen college student. Your work history is very impressive, particularly your consulting role at PwC when you didn’t even have a degree and the fact that you were in the top 10% of the staff and then your role in strategy at a top bank. It’s one thing to get these positions hwen you have connections; it’s another when you earn them through hard work and diligence. Your post-MBA goal lines up nicely with the work you’ve done as well. I would bet you have a great story to tell about how you became a speed skater as well. I think Haas will buy this, even though the school is highly selective (an acceptance rate of 17.7% that is lower than Wharton, Booth, Kellogg, or Columbia) with a small annual intake of less than 300 MBA students. It might make sense, too, for me to point out that when we set odds, if they are above the school’s admit rate, that is a very positive assessment for a candidate. The fact that we never go much beyond 50% is because the vast majority of rejected candidates who apply to these highly selective schools are qualified to attend and would do well. There are some factors that are simply hard to predict, for example, does Haas already have several other Russian bankers in the class or is there another Russian banker with better stats and even a better story than you? And then there is a randomness to selective admissions that can never be accounted for.

Hello Mr. 1st Gen Grad! (Or should I say Priviyet?) Krista Nannery here from mbaMission. Thanks for posting.

I have a question first — it’s unclear to me given what you’ve written — do you have a university degree now? You say you were the only consultant without a degree…not sure if that means just at the beginning of your career? Or that you eventually graduated from Moscow Polytechnic. If you do not hold a university degree, it’s really hard to say what your chances are as I have few people to compare you with.

But if I assume the 3.1 from MPU and that 740 and a Russian passport and consulting experience, I think b-schools are going to like seeing your application come across their desks. That being said, I think the 3.1 warrants explanation and/or you need to check with each program to make sure you’ve converted your GPA to a 4.0 scale correctly. (The 80th percentile range for GPAs in typically 3.2 to 3.8, although it’s fair to say that international candidates have more flexibility.)

I also want every b-school to know about your family background. You bring diversity to the program and a unique perspective given this upbringing. Make sure they understand that. Use the optional essay that each program provides to highlight this. (For the main essay questions for most schools, bringing up your upbringing may/may not work.)

You have a competitive list of schools here but assuming you execute well on your applications, I think you’ll do well at Booth, Haas, and LBS. Booth and Haas in particular probably don’t get as many Russian applicants as they’d like. CBS and HBS may be harder. CBS because of the GPA and HBS because your leadership experience isn’t entirely clear to me. Not impossible, but just tough. (Both schools probably also get more Russian applicants because of location and brand recognition so you may not be as unique.)

I think you’re a super-interesting applicant. I wish you all the best for this process! Reach out directly if I can help you in any way.
Krista

Hi! This is Melisa, Admissions Counselor at Stratus Admissions. Your 1st generation story and continuing your legacy through your brother is inspiring – and I think Haas and other schools will find it so. Haas’s optional essay question was designed to bring stories like yours out in the application. Your increasing levels of experience at PwC show a good trajectory and your GMAT score underscores your ability to handle the quantitative rigor of the program. As an international applicant, you’ll want to make sure that you can help explain any differences in the grading system or reasons for your 3.1 GPA, which is lower than the mid 80% range. Another area that you will want to dig a bit deeper is on extracurricular involvement. Knowing that consulting can be all consuming and make it difficult to have time to be involved outside of work, you’ll want to highlight where you have gone outside of your role to build additional business or mentor other colleagues. Consulting is so much about building relationships, so use the opportunity to talk about how you are collaborative in your role. As you think about other schools, you’ll want to weigh the benefits of a potentially shorter program (LBS offers a range of lengths) and traditional American programs. Many of the European applicants I work with look to East Coast, so looking to the MidWest or West Coast will put you at an advantage as there will most likely be fewer European (and Russian) applicants. Your finance background and goals will be a good fit for any of the schools you have on your list. Best of luck!

GPA too low for Berkeley and working for a top-five bank in Russia does not equal working for a Goldman, a Morgan Stanley a JP Morgan, a Citi, a Barclays or a Blackstone.