Candidate:

Mr. Free-Spirited Traveler

About Me:

White male from the US with 2 years in IB, accelerated promotion to Associate. Quit in July 2019 for the trip of a lifetime from Siberia to Antarctica – have been to 50+ countries and am a free-spirited travel guy. Burnt 7 COVID months studying for GMAT when I got home and am now applying for FP&A jobs assuming I am dinged at the schools mentioned.

Schools:

Target School: Stanford GSB

Considering: Harvard, Wharton, Columbia, Kellogg SOM, Chicago Booth

Invited to Interview: Kellogg SOM, Chicago Booth

Rejected: Harvard, Wharton, Columbia

See More Profiles For: Stanford GSB

Application Status: Open

Details:

Undergrad School: State School (think Penn State/Indiana)

Undergrad Major: Finance

GPA: 3.8

GMAT: 720

Age: 26, Ethnicity: White

Extracurriculars: Endurance Training - Ironman Triathlon (2.4mi swim / 112mi bike / 26.2mi run), 4 marathons, Travel (50+ countries, lots of hitchhiking, couchsurfing, crazy stories, etc), Charity helping disabled athletes (raised $6k+)

Work History:

Title: 2nd/3rd Tier IB

Industry: Banking & Finance

Company: Global

Length of Employment: 2 yrs, 1 mos

Big Life Wins:

Ironman Triathlon (failed but the effort was a defining journey). Generally solid at work and was nominated to leadership forum but nothing that will truly differentiate. If I apply again in 2 years, I will have run 10+ marathons, done another Ironman, and assume I can boost the GMAT to 750-760+ (from 510 baseline this year).

Post MBA Goal:

Strategic consulting and eventually start a travel-related organization/company. I am especially passionate about creating the TravelCorps (think Teach for America but giving young leaders $50k to travel one-year b/t college graduation and working).

Odds:

Join in! Click here to assess the odds of Mr. Free-Spirited Traveler

The Experts Rate The Odds At: 5%

See what the industry experts have to say:

mbaMission Odds Assessment: 5%

Hi Mr. Free Spirited Traveler, Julie-Anne Heafey here with mbaMission. I’m going to have to agree with my fellow evaluator here – I don’t really see a huge fit here with Stanford’s ethos to “change lives, change organizations, change the world,” so I think you may have an uphill battle here. I’m on board with bold travel experiences, but then coming back to do seven months of GMAT practice and then…FP&A (???) seems….not so bold. I also have some big questions around the purpose of your TravelCorps idea. Are these folks just going to be partying potentially or is there some kind of greater purpose there, and how is this funded? So my feeling is that you might not entirely be ready to launch …

Hi Mr. Free Spirited Traveler, Julie-Anne Heafey here with mbaMission. I’m going to have to agree with my fellow evaluator here – I don’t really see a huge fit here with Stanford’s ethos to “change lives, change organizations, change the world,” so I think you may have an uphill battle here. I’m on board with bold travel experiences, but then coming back to do seven months of GMAT practice and then…FP&A (???) seems….not so bold. I also have some big questions around the purpose of your TravelCorps idea. Are these folks just going to be partying potentially or is there some kind of greater purpose there, and how is this funded? So my feeling is that you might not entirely be ready to launch here…I do think you have some cool ideas and a wild streak that perhaps you can leverage into something interesting if you apply more thought and planning. Good luck!!!

4 years ago Read the full review
Stratus Admissions Counseling Odds Assessment: 5%

Mr. Free-Spirited Traveler – Thanks for posting your profile. Susan Cera here from Stratus.

Congrats on the strong undergrad performance. That combined with a 740+ GMAT will serve as a foundation for strong applications.

My biggest concern is that you have just 2 years of formal work experience which is solidly outside of the 80% range at any top school. While your extensive travel experience will certainly give you a unique perspective to share with your classmates, I suspect that many admissions committees will be scratching their heads wondering if you will be able to land the post-MBA job in strategy consulting.

While your travel, triathlon and marathon background are admirable, at first glance they are self-serving. Adcom will want to know how you have helped others. …

Mr. Free-Spirited Traveler – Thanks for posting your profile. Susan Cera here from Stratus.

Congrats on the strong undergrad performance. That combined with a 740+ GMAT will serve as a foundation for strong applications.

My biggest concern is that you have just 2 years of formal work experience which is solidly outside of the 80% range at any top school. While your extensive travel experience will certainly give you a unique perspective to share with your classmates, I suspect that many admissions committees will be scratching their heads wondering if you will be able to land the post-MBA job in strategy consulting.

While your travel, triathlon and marathon background are admirable, at first glance they are self-serving. Adcom will want to know how you have helped others. The fundraising is admirable but feels like a bit of a one-off and perhaps was required for you to participate in an event. I would like to see you using your talents in service of the greater community in some way.

This year has been super competitive, especially for individuals like yourself who have an obvious weakness in their profile.

Land another job (perhaps in the travel industry if that is of interest) and reapply in another two years when you can be a stronger applicant.

Wishing you all the best!

4 years ago Read the full review