Mr. Average White Guy

Hey, you’re hardly an average white guy. You have a master’s degree in engineering on top of a bachelor’s and you’ve been doing really important work for the U.S. Navy. You have an admirable set of extras to boot that show you care about others. The average, or as Sandy would say, the silver part of your profile puts you at a slight disadvantage for Chicago Booth. That includes going to a state university (I have no problem with that but you will be competing with applicants who have gone to more branded prestige places), using a GPA and GMAT score that are below the class averages for Booth, and then landing a job that might be considered less selective. So how to offset these issues? You don’t say so but if you work collaboratively with others or manage a team in the work you do, that would be an important asset to play up in your application. The elite schools you are interested in will be looking for some evidence of early leadership potential and your ability to work successfully with others. It is absolutely critical for you to provide that to them. If you really want to have a better shot at Booth, you need to try to at least hit 700. It can make a real difference to you as a white male applying to Chicago. Whatever you do–aggressively leveraging the leadership/team angle or getting a better GMAT score–I would also urge you to apply to a wider range of schools. It looks like you want to be in Chicago but I would seriously broaden your horizons. Why not Michigan Ross in Ann Arbor, Washington University in St. Louis, UNC-Chapel Hill, or Duke Fuqua?

Hi, it’s Nisha from mbaMission! I don’t think you give yourself enough credit with your “Average” nickname, especially since you’ve made such an impact in your Navy role, revamping their Material Specific Welding Procedures, and got an engineering master’s before doing so.

That said, I do think that the schools you’re targeting are a reach, especially given that your GMAT/GPA are below the average for these programs. Programs I would target that are especially military-friendly: Duke, Cornell, Tuck, and Darden. Even for these, though, I recommend retaking GMAT for a 700+ to be more competitive, and research each program thoroughly so that you can make a strong case for why it’s a good fit for you culture and resource-wise. Best of luck!