Mr. FinTech

Super hard to give you odds without knowing your GMAT or GRE score. As you know, your 3.5 is below the Stanford average of 3.7 and the GSB has the lowest acceptance rate of any prestige MBA program in the world. Still, your hands-on experience at a core tech firm and an early stage company that did an IPO is super impressive. Other than your mentoring of disadvantage kids, I don’t see any leadership chops in your extras. So I think this is all about execution and whether you can convince GSB’s admissions people that your work experience is so valuable they can’t turn you down. I’ll base my odds on your getting a GMAT score within 10 points of Stanford’s 734 average.

Hi, it’s Nisha from mbaMission! It sounds like you’ve had an impressive career to date – congrats on the successful IPO.

It’s challenging to assess your odds for Stanford or any other program without your GMAT or GRE score. You did well as a Wharton undergrad so expectations will be high – I’d aim for a 740+. Also, it seems that you’ve had some community involvement with the mentorship/performing arts/boxing – the strongest candidates are leaders within their extracurricular activities, so you’ll have a stronger profile if you fit that bill.

Aside from those application elements, you’ll want to make sure that you fully explain the motivations behind your goals (why strategy & ops?), communicate the impact you’ve made in your professional and personal pursuits (and get strong professional recommendations that attest to your exceptional performance/potential/growth), and make a strong case for why each program is a good fit for you.

For Stanford specifically, the “What Matters Most” essay (which they’ve had for years and I assume they’ll continue to have) dig deep to discover what that is and make sure you can articulate compelling reasons for the “why”. You can find more tips on mbaMission’s website, including a guide to this essay and the main HBS essay. Best of luck!

Hi, it’s Jennifer Jackson from Stratus Admissions. You have a very impressive set of work experiences and your GPA is solid from a great undergrad institution. I’ll assume you can get around the average of GSB. It’s great to have that IPO experience so early in your career — you will have a valuable perspective to share with your peers in an MBA program. I’d like to learn more about what you’ve done in your extracurriculars that might bolster your leadership profile. GSB wants to see people who have a passion for something and ideally a pattern of involvement in something over time, especially when it can be connected to your career goals in some way. Be sure to explain why you have the ST and LT goals you have and why the MBA is necessary to get you there. What impact do you want to make on the world? Think big with your GSB essays — they really are looking for people who will change the world. If you can show you’ve changed your organization/community already, that’s a great start!