Mr. Latin America

Hi Mr Latin America, Kristen from MBA Prep School here. You definitely check a lot of boxes for a top school like HBS. Not only have you had great experiences at McKinsey (love the chief of staff role) but you have excellent social impact involvement and it sounds like you’ve really made some strides in impact investing. Two things that might jump out to me initially as an Admissions officer are your GRE and your age in relation to your job title/experience. Because you made a career change, it looks like you might have had to start back at the bottom in a new industry. It’s clear you haven’t let that get in your way, but you will want to connect the dots for the Admissions Committee so they understand why you made those decisions and how you’ve accelerated your growth since then. Getting your message across clearly and bringing all of your experiences together cohesively will go a long way in getting your application noticed amongst the competition!

Hi Mr. Latin America, this is Julie-Anne Heafey with mbaMission. Wow, I love your profile — your natural leadership skills, excellent work experience and passion for solving big problems all definitely align with HBS, and your goals sound well-reasoned. I’m not sure of the nature of your family business, but that particular long-term goal is often a positive, too. In the end, I’m also on board with about 3x the normal chances as it stands now. Raising those odds will likely come down to execution and a bit of luck, particularly since this year is expected to be more competitive than it’s been in a long time with an expected rise in applications and loss of seats to deferred candidates. I’m rooting for you!

Hi Mr. Latin America, it’s Jennifer Jackson from Stratus Admissions. You have super impressive experience and are coming from an under-represented demographic. You’ve got some well-articulated goals, work at the premier consulting firm and have a great GPA from a top school. Your GRE is on the softer side but I think not in red-flag territory since so much of your profile looks very strong to me. As an HBS alum, I know they need and want people like you. I’m putting odds at 30% only because their average is 10% and I think you have at least 3 times that chance to be admitted. This year and next will be even tougher than normal because of the deferrals they’ve offered, which will hold 100 slots per year open for previously admitted students. If you can craft a cohesive and compelling narrative telling the story of what you’ve done in Latin America and what you want to do to improve communities with the help of an MBA plus more consulting experience, I think you have a real shot. Good luck!