Mr. Finland

I always encourage people to aim high with their b-school aspirations so I like your ambition. I also like the breadth of interests you have listed and I’m guessing your military reserves training in Finland has helped strengthen your leadership and collaborative skills (also evident in your role with 180 Degrees). HBS will enjoy that strong GPA from Aalto, one of the top Finnish universities, and the fact you have entrepreneurial goals. But a healthy dose of realism is always a good thing. The acceptance rate for the HBS 2+2 program is even lower than that of the full-time program. You need to drill down into what that tech-related startup of yours might look like, so you catch the attention of the admissions committee who are sifting through applications from thousands of other high achievers. I’m also concerned about your big wins – it’s great that you connect well with people, but on a deeper level what does that look like? Can you build and sustain meaningful relationships? How have you demonstrated that? I’d like to see evidence of concrete impact, at work and in your community. Focus on how you are truly going to differentiate your profile as you go forward and think about casting your application net a bit wider.