Ms. S & H

This is a solid profile for a Stanford admit. Your clearly have the stats: Your 750 gets immediate attention and exceeds the latest 732 class average. Your 3.47 is only a tad lower than the 3.73 class average. Big deal. It won’t hurt your candidacy as much as the fact that you went to British Columbia. In Stanford’s Class of 2020, there is only one MBA with a degree from BC and that person majored in chemical and biological engineering. Your other pluses are obvious, including your international work experience in Asia and Europe; the fact that you are the diversity lead in a mentorship program; your work in a global, well-known company, and the fact that you are a woman in finance. As I have said here before, however, Stanford is always tough, given the smaller class size and the less than 7% acceptance rate. That’s why your odds at Harvard, with its 930 intake, as well as Wharton and Yale are much better. Even so, I’m betting on you for a Stanford admit with odds that are five times higher than the overall 6.7% admit rate.

Assuming you work at Moelis, a solid but not feeder company/bank to Stanford, what we got is a solid GPA/GMAT –3.47/750–a work history of 6.5 years which is long-ish, a current title of associate (is that par for 6.5 years, or are you behind your class?), and diversity lead at work, which is silver but not gold extra currics (unless you have real powerful evidence of shaking things up etc.
” Lived and worked in Beijing, Calgary, London; – Was president of university finance faculty student association (500+ members)” –well, sort of a double but not a home run, unless there is more.
You are a white woman in finance with OK but not gonzo stats and extras (as I read them) and that usually means dingsville at Stanford. If there is some X factor lurking here that was not presented in your write-up, or exists in write-up in undeveloped form, well, you need to nurture that story into a monster. Remember, business rules apply: you cannot lie, but you can plant both feet really close to that line. Your GSB app needs to be very pointed about the classic things Stanford loves: helping underdogs, personal growth, overcoming adversity, do-gooder goals that relate to past experiences.

Hi Ms. S&H! This is Talon Rindels, Sr. Admissions Consultant at The MBA Exchange. I like your profile and think you have a decent shot at Stanford and the schools on your “considering” list. The biggest strengths I see are your GMAT score and your vast global experience. I like the mentorship piece too. Your GPA is OK and nothing stands out to me with your major/industry/goal, except I am wondering about your top accomplishments at work given you have a bit more experience than many other candidates you’d be up against and still not a super sexy title. Bottom line, you have great stats, so the key for you is in how you tell your story through your essays, recommendations, and interview. You are a prime candidate for potential admissions consulting support, as I am confident you will get into at least one of your chosen schools if you package yourself up in the right way. I’d encourage you to really consider whether that may be right for you… through our firm or any other. We/they can help you at any stage in the process. Best of luck!

Hi, Ms. S & H! Julie-Anne Heafey here from mbaMission. I work with lots of finance types who apply to Stanford and Harvard, and I actually see a lot to like in your profile. Frankly, I think Moelis has a pretty tough reputation in terms of workload, and so your ability to handle that says a lot to me. I don’t think Stanford is totally out of reach, UBC or not, though of course statistically the odds are always long there for any applicant. Your story and positioning are very important for their famous “What Matters” essay, and I think that a strong effort there can bring you into contention. I’d love to hear more about your entrepreneurship, and what things you’ve done in the past that can point to future success there. They’ll look for clues that you’re serious about that and have a clear vision if entrepreneurship’s your stated goal. I’m also curious about your list of other schools under consideration and how Yale fits in, I think I might have chosen Booth or MIT over Yale for you, depending on your exact plans, but of course I don’t know the full picture from this form. I’m rooting for you, though! Best of luck!