Candidate:

Mr. Car Guy

About Me:

I may be the biggest gearhead you will ever meet. Since a young age, I’ve been obsessed with cars. To this day, I nerd out over everything from obscure, retro Porsches to the latest minivan. This passion fuels my desire to have an impact on the automotive industry and become a pioneer in automotive strategy and innovation.

Schools:

Target School: Harvard

Considering: Darden, Berkeley Haas, Kellogg SOM

See More Profiles For: Harvard

Application Status: Open

Details:

Undergrad School: Top 30 Public School

Undergrad Major: Economics + Public Policy Double

GPA: 3.2

GMAT: 740

Age: 23, Ethnicity: Asian or Indian

Extracurriculars: Special Olympics Volunteer, Cars N' Coffee car meet organizer

Work History:

Title: Territory Manager

Industry: Automotive

Company: Fortune 500

Length of Employment: 1 yr, 4 mos

Big Life Wins:

I have been able to place Top 5 in the country in 6 of the past 15 months for YoY sales growth, among almost 100 coworkers. I was given a promotion just 5 months after starting, despite colleagues with years of experience being considered. I consistently exceed wholesale targets, generating over $8m in incremental revenue.

Post MBA Goal:

I have started to grasp a higher-level understanding of automotive manufacturers in terms of sales, marketing, supply chain, and operations. Together with skills gained from an MBA, I hope to leverage my experience to become an asset in the automotive strategy space, where there is a lot of change coming in terms of electric & autonomous cars.

Odds:

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The Experts Rate The Odds At: 5%

See what the industry experts have to say:

John A. Byrne, P&Q Founder & Editor-In-Chief | Odds Assessment: 5%

You’re on the very young side for Harvard and would substantially increase your odds of admission by gaining more work experience and a promotion or two. HBS likes candidates who actually work for important companies that make stuff. Your passion for the auto industry is a great thing. But having been in a job for less than two years and applying to HBS will likely get you rejected without an interview. The average age of an MBA applicant who is admitted to the Harvard Business School is 27, with 54 months of work experience. In the most recent class where data on age and work experience is available, our analysis shows that students with two years of post-undergrad work experience made up just 4.4% of …

You’re on the very young side for Harvard and would substantially increase your odds of admission by gaining more work experience and a promotion or two. HBS likes candidates who actually work for important companies that make stuff. Your passion for the auto industry is a great thing. But having been in a job for less than two years and applying to HBS will likely get you rejected without an interview. The average age of an MBA applicant who is admitted to the Harvard Business School is 27, with 54 months of work experience. In the most recent class where data on age and work experience is available, our analysis shows that students with two years of post-undergrad work experience made up just 4.4% of the incoming students at HBS. You can see our analysis here:

https://poetsandquants.com/2018/06/21/can-you-be-too-young-for-harvard-business-school/?pq-category=admissions/

Cool your heels. Hang in there and gain the kind of experience that will make you a more valued classmate in those case study discussions that are at the center of the MBA experience at Harvard. Obviously, if you really still want to go, your odds are much better at Darden, Berkeley and Kellogg. But even at those schools, I think you would get so much more from your MBA experience if you had at least a year or two more of work experience and possibly managerial experience in leading a team of people.

4 years ago Read the full review