Mr. Finance To Consulting

Those invitations to interview are a good sign that you are a viable candidate and have a real shot at Kellogg, Duke and Yale, despite having a GMAT score that is below average for all three schools. A finance guy transitioning into consulting with an MBA is a common story and one shared by quite a few MBA students. So you are good to go there. I think Duke would buy this, less sure about Yale and Kellogg, largely because we don’t know if your employer is gold, silver or bronze and your GMAT scores falls below the current class averages.

Hi Mr. Finance to Consulting! This is Kate Richardson, Senior Admissions Consultant here. The ongoing dedication to mentorship is great, and I also like that you have been with your firm for so long. Hopefully that has translated to a promotion along the way, or other selective leadership roles in the firm, like the accomplishment you mentioned with the system integration, which sounds like you managed a complicated project with big impact! I also think your goals are realistic, and I like that you’re not set on MBB, as I think schools like to see you’re thinking ahead to a Plan B. Many schools even ask about a Plan B directly in the interview. Your GPA is excellent, though your GMAT does give me slight pause with a top school like Kellogg. The other interview invites at Yale and Fuqua are great signals though. I think there is a high chance that one of these schools works out, and all of these schools would be great fits to achieve your goals. Good luck!

Hi Mr. Finance to Consulting, this is Donna Bauman, Senior MBA Admissions Counselor at Stratus Admissions weighing in on your profile. I like your gpa and your consistency in your work role. You don’t note if you have been promoted, but ideally after 4 yrs you have a promotion so emphasize this if you do. With your financial systems background you may be able leverage your expertise to focus on consulting in financial services industry. I think it would be more interesting if you noted some niche firms that you’d target to leverage your background rather than just saying MBB which does not make you stand out. I encourage you to reach beyond just Kellogg as your profile and stats might make it hard to stand out from the crowd there—but you increase your odds by doing research about why Kellogg and emphasizing your community leadership a bit more. I would also look at programs like Tepper. I think you could benefit by doing some further introspection now—both on school selection and career goals—so that you can apply to programs where you also have even better odds and stand out from the crowd on exceptional school research and knowledge.