Mr. Pharma Man

Mr. Pharma Man: Emily here from The MBA Exchange. As a former Associate Director of Admission for Columbia Business School and an application assessor for Wharton, I’d say the top MBA programs will see you as a solid though not exceptional candidate. Your 3.4 and 740 are in range but not at the top for those schools and while it sounds like you’ve had success professionally moving into more senior roles, it is always tough to stand out in those top tier applicant pools. INSEAD could be a great choice and you might want to consider a few other U.S. schools that are just slightly below that top tier but still have excellent programs in healthcare like Anderson, Darden or Fuqua. I also recommend focusing on consulting in the short term post MBA, at least for the MBA application process. It would be very tough to move into an IB role even after an MBA with your professional background but they will certainly see consulting as a strong possibility. For your long term goal, talk about where you would lead the pharma/healthcare industry in the future. They are looking for visionary leaders and you want them to get excited about your ideas. Good luck!

Hi, it’s Nisha from mbaMission! I appreciate your honesty about your academic path – props to you for having a progressively higher GPA and for a decent finish, along with a solid GMAT score.

You’ve had a progressive career in pharma, and I can sense your passion for the industry. The post-MBA path you’ve laid out is very thoughtful. It’s also wonderful that you’re an LGBTQ+ counselor, as schools greatly value this type of community impact. All of the factors I’ve mentioned so far point to a well-rounded profile. That said, schools like Wharton, HBS, and CBS are looking for the exceptional. They’re not entirely out of reach but they’ll be challenging – to maximize your chances there, you’d want to fully communicate your professional and personal impact, tell a very compelling story about what’s shaped you into who you are today, and get recommendations that attest to your exceptional performance, growth, and potential vs. your peers.

Some schools that I think would be more in reach (in order from most to less competitive), for consulting: Kellogg, Ross, Fuqua. For banking: Kellogg, Booth, Stern. Darden is somewhat safer and makes sense for both paths, and I think INSEAD is a great choice as well. If you do apply to CBS, I strongly recommend Early Decision (and, applying as early as possible after the application comes out since it is rolling admission) as I’ve seen how much that can help.

Best of luck!

Mr. Pharma Man – Thanks for posting your profile. Susan Cera from Stratus here.
Over the years I’ve worked with numerous clients who come from every area of the healthcare landscape – from MDs and pharmacists to research scientists, healthcare consultants and insurance providers. I really like Wharton for you because of their specialized healthcare program. A few suggestions as you consider next steps:
1) Build out your extracurriculars – while there may be more than what I’m seeing in this profile, I’m curious as to the impact that you have had in your role as an LGBTQ+ counselor. Is this role related to your work in the pharma space? Consider tying your knowledge of the healthcare to the work you do with LGBTQ+ folks and immigrants. It could make for a very compelling story.
2) Nurture your recommender relationships – you want these folks to go to bat for you and highlight the impact that you have had in your work/extracurriculars. This may draw attention away from your softer UG GPA.
3) Use your optional essay to address your UG GPA – don’t make excuses. Just explain what was happening and convince adcom that you are a different student now than you were in your first year or two of undergrad.
4) Broaden your program list – if you want to be in business school in the summer/fall of 2021, you may want to put some more ‘target’ schools on your list. For someone interested in consulting and healthcare I would suggest Ross, Fuqua and UCLA. If CBS is your top choice, apply as early as possible. We’ve had clients who were accepted to CBS in mid-August so knew a year in advance where they were heading.

All the best!