Candidate:

Mr. Low GPA Ex-MBB

About Me:

I joined a US MBB out of undergrad, and was promoted to Manager in 3 years, and left for a mid-tier VC firm as an associate shortly after. I’m most excited about using the industry-specific knowledge from MBB and business-building knowledge from VC to scale fast-growing businesses. Although I am sure if my low GPA will auto ding me at top-choice schools.

Details:

Undergrad School: HYP

Undergrad Major: Math

GPA: 3.0

GMAT: 750

Age: 26, Ethnicity: Asian or Indian

Extracurriculars: President of an academic organization in undergrad; Volunteer teacher (infrequent) after graduation and helped with MBB recruiting.

Work History:

Title: MBB

Industry: Consulting

Company: Top Firm

Length of Employment: 3 yrs

Title: VC

Industry: Banking & Finance

Company: Boutique Firm

Length of Employment: 1 yr

Big Life Wins:

– Promoted to MBB Manager from undergrad in 3 years
– Only Pre-MBA hire at VC firm

Post MBA Goal:

Short term: Pursue product owner roles at high-growth tech companies.
Long term: Build and scale a self-run startup in an area of industry expertise.

Schools:

Target School: Harvard

Status: Open

Considering: Stanford GSB, Wharton

John A. Byrne, P&Q Founder & Editor-In-Chief | Odds Assessment: 35%

I very much doubt your GPA will make that much of a difference due to your successful stint at an MBB firm and your transition into venture capital. If anything, that 750 GMAT score will assure admissions staff that you can do the work. And perhaps you have an explanation for your lowish grades at HYP. If you were at Princeton, it is well known that Princeton was the lone ivy that attempted a war on grade inflation before giving it up. So if you went to Princeton, it’s worth reminding the admissions staff of that fact. If not, perhaps there is another reason to push this aside so it does not become a red flag. But as Sandy always says, admissions will blink once …

I very much doubt your GPA will make that much of a difference due to your successful stint at an MBB firm and your transition into venture capital. If anything, that 750 GMAT score will assure admissions staff that you can do the work. And perhaps you have an explanation for your lowish grades at HYP. If you were at Princeton, it is well known that Princeton was the lone ivy that attempted a war on grade inflation before giving it up. So if you went to Princeton, it’s worth reminding the admissions staff of that fact. If not, perhaps there is another reason to push this aside so it does not become a red flag. But as Sandy always says, admissions will blink once but not twice. And the rest of your profile is super strong. Besides, there is nothing much you can do about your undergraduate GPA except to say that this is not indicative of your academic performance due to X, Y and Z. You are a solid candidate and will definitely be interviewed at HBS.

2 months ago Read the full review