Ms. Vietnamese Fintech Girl

Hi Ms. Vietnamese Fintech Girl,
What an impressive journey going from the countryside of Vietnam to Russia and now working at a top Fintech startup! This is Debbie Choy from mbaMission and GSB alum. Your work background is robust – AdCom likes that you’re making an impact to help the company gain traction. Be sure you support that with strong recommendation letters that describe how you perform at work. I also like that you’re engaged with extracurriculars with the SMEs Club. That said, top b-schools like GSB are typically looking for candidates with a few years of work experience under their belt. This helps students bring real-world insights into classroom discussions. Also, although your GPA is strong, the GMAT score is soft, in fact, significantly below the average GMAT score of the incoming class at GSB (730). I encourage you to take the next couple years to retake the GMAT if possible. Also consider looking into the GRE test which is widely accepted by schools. Some candidates find the GRE format to be more compatible with their learning/testing style. My estimate of your odds are based on your current GMAT score and years of work experience. If you can boost the standardized test score and accumulate more years of experience, I think you’d have a strong shot at GSB. Wishing you the best in your MBA journey!

Hi Ms. Vietnamese Fintech Girl, Melisa here from Stratus Admissions. Sounds like you’ve had some very interesting start-up experience, not to mention growing up in Vietnam and educating in Russia. I also notice you mention the UK – so maybe you have experiences there as well? I’m wondering if you have some additional experience that is not in your profile because your <2 years of experience feels light for your age. If you truly have less than two years of experience, I’d consider waiting a year or two to apply. Other things to think about as you are assessing your profile are your goals. I love that you are shooting for COO/CPM, shows ambition and that you want to lead. I also love that you highlighted the type of leader you want to be – this is something that schools will value and can really help you grow here. I’d love to see more about what you mean by a ‘transformation’. I’m sure you know that Stanford wants you to make a big impact – and ‘transformation’ surely fits this – but based on the limited info here, it is unclear what type of transformation you mean here. Try and be more specific about the impact you want to make. Do you want to make lending more accessible? Financial planning? Investing? What gets you excited about fintech? On top of this, your GMAT score puts you at a disadvantage. Not knowing your testing journey, I’d encourage you to take it again and/or consider the GRE as was previously mentioned. And finally, I never like to see a 1 school strategy – especially with Stanford which has the lowest acceptance rate of 7%. Looking at Fintech I would encourage you to look at Haas, Columbia, Stern, Booth, Kellogg, Ross and Duke. My assessment is based on your current profile – enhancements in your test score and years of experience would increase this. Best of luck and reach out if I can answer any questions.