Ms. Latin Diplomat

Ms. Latin Diplomat: Emily here from The MBA Exchange. Having served as an Associate Director of Admissions at Columbia Business School and application evaluator at Wharton, I know top schools will value your professional experience in various parts of the world and with a social enterprise focus. Your 3.2 will hurt you so you want to aim for a GRE higher than 320 to try to offset the GPA that top schools will see as below their average accepted student. Your diverse background will add much to any MBA class. I recommend fully fleshing out your goals in social enterprise: what kind of social enterprise would you look to join post MBA? If you’re currently doing this work, why is an MBA crucial for you? If admissions officers feel you could reach your goals without the MBA, that can set you behind others who make a strong case for why the MBA is vital. You also want to be as specific as possible about what kind of venture you would start in the long term. Due to your experiences, you should be able to write and speak clearly to what needs there are in Latin America that currently are not being met and how your venture could serve that need. You have much to offer an MBA class so I hope you reach beyond the very top schools so some others that might be more forgiving about the numbers. Good luck!

Hi Ms. Latin Diplomat! This is Kate Richardson, Senior Admissions Consultant. Your work sounds super impressive and very important. I think you have a powerful story to tell about your own journey and it’s admirable how you’re using that success you’ve had to help others during times of massive upheaval. I can see the makings of some great MBA essays! On top of that, your experience in both Latin America and Africa will be very attractive to your target schools. My previous clients with experience in those markets have done well, because they are still not as represented as other regions. I encourage you to get more specific on your goals – how will you work with social enterprises, as a consultant, or some other way? Your GPA gives me slight pause for a school like Wharton, but hopefully they’ll consider that in the context of your background and adapting to a new country. That said, a high GRE is important for you, so I hope you can get as close to Wharton’s 324 average as possible. Wharton will be the toughest of the schools on your list – followed by Booth, Tuck, Fuqua – but I think you have a shot at all and they will love your profile. Good luck!

Wow, Ms. Latin Diplomat, I can imagine you have been very busy these days given what’s going on in the world these days. I am Lisa Cummings of Stratus Admissions, formerly a Sloan Adcomm member. I agree with my peers about your stats. Given your dual major I just want to make sure you have taken calc and/or stats. If you haven’t already applied and haven’t taken those classes, you might want to consider it.

Your experience bootstrapping your way out of poverty will certainly resonate with admissions officers and rightly so. I love your work experience and definitely would want to know more specifics on your role, especially the rebuilding of the African villages. Were you a planner/strategist? How were you able to get others on board and execute? Think about your post degree goal – what roles and functions will you be targeting? This will help you answer the Why MBA question if you can clearly articulate the gaps you are looking for an MBA to fill. Hopefully you will get lot of interview invites. Prepare well because I imagine in person you will be able to knock the socks off any interviewer and that will definitely help mitigate some of the shortfall in your stats. Good luck!