Ms. Mission Driven

Hey Ms. Mission Driven. Well with a strong mission, you do sound like a great fit for SOM, and your strong promotion trajectory and leadership roles speak volumes about your potential. I like your odds, though your GPA is low for Yale, and I wish your GMAT were higher. Can you retake the GMAT or try the GRE? I would love to see a higher test score counterbalancing your lower than average GPA if at all possible. Make sure to describe context (not excuses) if there are mitigating circumstances around the 3.2…and highlight your CFA (that seems unusual for a consultant – kudos on this extra work). Also, if your 3.2 includes a lower grade course in something business-related/quantitative that might raise an eyebrow with the adcom, and wouldn’t overlap with the CFA, you might look into retaking it now to provide an “alternative transcript” – but I’d need to know more to confirm. I assume too that you are applying with the Consortium? If not, look it up – some great scholarship opportunities might be a possibility! Good luck! Warmly, Julie-Anne Heafey, mbaMission

Hi Ms. Mission Driven, Melisa here from Stratus Admissions. You have definitely chosen a mission driven target with Yale. Congratulations on your promotions at work – Yale will definitely value the fast paced career trajectory. While your stats are a below that average of Yale, it sounds like you have a story that schools would find extremely compelling. Any MBA program will be interested in how you have done quantitatively both at Cornell and in the GMAT to assess your ability to handle the quantitative rigor of the program. If you got solid grades in your quant business classes at Cornell – this can help tell this story. Also, take a look at your transcript – is there an upward trajectory over the years? Were you working while at school? If there are circumstances that impacted your grades, then you want to explain those circumstances in an optional essay. I’d also encourage you to be more specific on your goals. Obviously an MBA is a time for exploration, but Yale and most other programs are going to expect that you have a career plan. That plan can change in school, but then you have shown you have the skills to make a new plan when your plan changes. Think about where you want to be 10-20 years from now – and what is going to be the best post MBA goal to get there. Do you have the option to be sponsored by your company? If so, then you can talk about what you will learn from consulting post-MBA to help you get to your long term goal. And how do you see DEI fitting into your future? As a part of consulting? Or would you like to focus on DEI? Yale will want to help you achieve your goals – so take the time now to reflect on those goals. I worked with many applicants this past year who started the process thinking they had one set of goals, but when giving themselves the time and space to truly think about where they want to be – another goal came across more clearly. Also, while Yale is a great mission driven target for you – I never like to see a 1 school strategy. I would consider opening your list a bit and to consider: Tuck, Duke, Ross, Haas (if you are open to the WC). Best of luck!