Mr. STEM Field Experience

Hi, it’s Nisha with mbaMission. It sounds like you’ve built a very successful, leadership-driven career in sales. Great to see that you’ve been so involved in the community as well, especially at an exceptionally challenging time like this.

I am curious about why you’d like to switch from sales to consulting – what drives you to make this change? Schools will also want to understand the “why” behind your goals, so I would do some reflection on the reasons that you want to transition to this role based on your professional experiences to date.

While your academic stats are in line with Tepper, a couple of concerns I have 1. at nearly 10 years of work experience, you’re above the average for admitted students (who have about 4-6 years on average) and 2. Spots generally are always limited in Round 3, and this round is especially competitive for Indian candidates, a heavily represented demographic.

Since I think any U.S. top 25 schools (which tend to have the best consulting placement) will be challenging in Round 3, I’d hold off and apply in Round 1 2021, for 2022 entry. In the meantime, I’d focus on crafting a compelling story that explains why consulting is the right path for you, what you’d bring to the table, and how Tepper (and any other schools you are targeting) will help you achieve this goal based on its resources within and outside of the classroom.

Hope that helps – best of luck!

Hi Mr. STEM Field Experience, this is Donna Bauman with Stratus Admissions to weigh in on your profile. You may not like this answer—but I do think you are somewhat shooting yourself in the foot to go R3 as an international student. However, I did have a client last year who was accepted to Tepper in the last round but last year was different for many reasons so it is hard to say if you will be successful. However, you certainly won’t get in if you don’t apply—so if you do want to go for R3 (despite the fact that you will have more options in R1 for next year), then I would look at some schools like Kelley, Owen, Olin and SMU Cox. I also think if you do opt for consulting you may want to look beyond just McKinsey as that is going to limit your options if you just look there. In terms of Tepper, your stats are not going to help you too much so be sure you get an A+ in reaching out to students and admissions staff in attending webinars and chatting with students. Let them know you will come as soon as the offer comes in so they know you will help the yield. I agree that you should give some insight in your essays to explain why you want to move from sales to consulting. Best wishes!