Mr. U.S. Senate Policy Advisor To Business Mogul

So, the good – I like that your proactive approach to your Congressman got you a shift out of your Big 4 role to a really interesting and relevant role in cybersecurity and international affairs. That’s not a job title that crosses admissions desks every day, especially as you’re working for the U.S. Senate. I’m unsurprised by your debating and diplomacy skills and it sounds like you’re a pro at selling yourself and would do well at interview. The question is whether or not you can get there. You’re targeting some of the toughest M7 schools and your target GPA is substantially lower than their averages – Stanford’s, for example, is a high 3.8. Do you have a good reason for that lower grade? Some high level of extra-curricular involvement or similar? There is not a lot provided about these in your profile. You say you’re not a good student but realistically, to give yourself the best shot possible, you are going to want to at least aim for a GMAT score at or around their average of 738. MBB roles are highly competitive and they initially filter partly on academics and test scores. You are also going to need to use that interesting professional experience to best advantage, showcasing some strong and concrete examples of professional achievements that lift you out of an administrative and organizational capacity. So continue to aim high, but my advice is get studying and think about widening your net of schools a bit more.

I place odds relatively low with the current application strategy – 5% – mostly because of poor strategic positioning given the raw stats associated with your candidacy. Your MBB goals are going to be difficult given your stats. For an over-represented minority, MBB recruiting at GSB is going to be looking for GMATs >730 and they are also going to be looking at GPAs. MBBs are even known to look at SATs (even asking for the breakout). Simply put, test scores matter to them, and you are going to have a hard time outrunning poor testing results with MBB recruiting. Given that your undergraduate GPA is low, you may also have a lower MBA GPA given these factors (that matters less at schools with grade non-disclosure, but it still does matter, and even with GND, there are signals at top employers look for like presidents list, honor roll, etc. that you won’t be able to signal with a lower GPA).

Transitioning from Big 4 consulting to MBB consulting represents a “leveling up” that any top B-school AdCom can recognize and appreciate. They know the candidates that MBB want and the ones that they passed up (and the reasons why they were passed up) in undergrad/other grad school recruiting. You may indeed be successful transitioning to MBB consulting in b-school, but to espouse this career change in your essays, given your stats, would be a mistake in my view. Keep in mind that this exercise is about GETTING INTO BUSINESS SCHOOL, not achieving your professional objectives, which are two separate but related considerations.

Once you are into business school, nobody is going to hold you to your stated essay goals, least of all the Admissions Committee, whom you’ll probably never see or hear from after matriculation. If transitioning to MBB from Big 4 consulting is what you want, you should go hard for that goal once you are an MBA, but you’d be wise not to talk about that in your essays. For these reasons, I think your alternative/midterm interest in cybersecurity consulting is a better strategic positioning for you.

You’ll need to be more specific than just “product manager at some cyber security company,” though. And given that you don’t have any entrepreneurship in your background presently (unless there is some here that I can’t see), it wouldn’t be wise to talk about starting a company in business school or immediately afterward. Talk about the specific industry vertical you are interested in, the specific title, and have some good idea of career progression in medium and long term (e.g., “Product Manager at tech security firm XYZ, which provides public sector data security services, to play upon my IT security background in consulting and the public sector, academic training in computer science. This will help me achieve my medium-term goal of X, and ultimately achieve my long-term dream of Y).

In terms of what you should flex about your candidacy, I’d focus on the intersection of policy and management consulting. While there will be many consultants applying, and a decent amount of federal government people applying (specially from higher echelon placements like Senate and Federal Reserve), very few candidates will have both of these distinctions. Your ability to thrive in both environments will be an effective way to symbolize your ability to lead in very different situations and your adaptability.
Given your lower GMAT score, I’d focus on niche-y programs that adjust GMAT standards to obtain the work experience/passions they want. For HBS, I think something like a combo masters in Policy with the Kennedy school may be helpful. GSB and MIT likely have a similar dual degree program that they offer. Chicago Booth – a school you didn’t name in your vignette but on par with MIT so perhaps acceptable for you – definitely has a dual policy/MBA masters, also. If you play this strategy, you’ll need to be careful since since you already have a masters. You’ll need a crisp and concise rationale why you need two more masters, but that’s doable, and this dual application strategy might help you distance yourself from a lower GMAT score, especially relative to your demographic.