Mr. Colombian Consultant

Hi there! It’s Stephanie Horn, Master Consultant with the MBA Exchange and recent Poets and Quants “Top 10 Admissions Consultants”. There are several encouraging aspects to your profile. Consulting is a primary feeder into MBA programs, and schools will be interested in a candidate from Columbia. However, there are some areas of your application that will need to be addressed. Improving your GMAT to 740 will be a big step in improving your profile. While being a consultant is a respected and well-known path for business school, it is a category with a lot of competition. You will need to demonstrate on your resume, essays and letters of recommendation that you have excelled in your position, demonstrating leadership beyond what is expected of your peers. Your extracurricular activities are another way to demonstrate your leadership and ability to have impact on an organization. Playing soccer is great, but can you step up in some way? Being team captain, taking a role organizing the league more efficiently, volunteering to organize a skills day for children — these are all ways to show your ability to lead others and impact your community. Haas and Columbia will also be challenging unless you improve your GMAT scores. I see you have experience living in the Midwest — I recommend you look at Kellogg and Ross, both excellent schools for consultants, and one of my favorite up-and-coming programs, the new degree options from Cornell.

Hola Mr. Colombian Consultant! Krista Nannery from mbaMission here. Thanks for posting.
You’ve gotten a lot of good advice already so here are my top tips for you:
Consider CBS Early Decision. You’re a bit on the younger side for HBS but CBS may snap you up given that you add some diversity to the class and have brand-name consulting experience.
It sounds like you would like to work in the US post-MBA. It’s not clear to me what your US visa/citizenship status is given that you went to the University of Cincinnati, but make sure you understand which programs offer STEM-certification, which will make it easier for you to stay in the US post MBA. (H1B visas have been getting tougher and tougher to get.)
Describe your work in easy to understand ways. When I read IFRS 17 and Solvency II, I have no idea what they mean. The AdCom won’t either. Make sure they “get” what you do.
Definitely emphasize your international experience! That could be a great selling point for you. It’s like a double-win…a Colombian, and a Colombian with international experience!
If you can get your GMAT to a 740, your stats combo becomes tough to beat! Bear in mind though that University of Cincinnati is probably not a feeder school (check Linked in to see if there are any HBS University of Cincinnati grads). This doesn’t mean HBS is impossible but it probably won’t be easy either.
I hope that helps!
Krista

Hi, it’s Jennifer Jackson from Stratus Admissions. I think you have some positive things about your profile that will be attractive to top MBA programs. Being from Colombia alone is relatively rare and something that will make you stand out! Your GMAT for your demographic is solid although it won’t hurt to raise it to 740. You’ve had work experience both in the US and South America, but your years of work experience is on the light side. You would likely be a stronger candidate if you waited a year and got a bit more experience under your belt. Bonus points if you could be put on a project related to an industry you’re interested in (such as sports)! As far as extracurriculars, I’d want to know more about the amateur soccer. Do you just play recreational soccer or have you played and/or coached others in soccer for many years? Often applicants’ extracurricular experiences can help build out their interests and connect the dots to their career goals. You don’t say much about what function or type of organization you might be interested in, so an important part of your application will really be digging into what you want to do for those short- and long-term goals after the MBA and how that connects to what you’ve done and to who you are. Overall HBS is tough for everyone, but you’ve certainly got a shot if you can put together a compelling narrative that weaves in your past with your interests, experiences, and your goals. Good luck!