Admission to HBS, Wharton, or Stanford
Hi all - first time poster. A little background - I am an incoming analyst at a BB bank. Kind of floated into IB and am currently prepping for the GMAT because I already miss college and think that B-school would be a nice vacation from 'the real world.'
I'm aiming for the top 3 or top 7 or whatever. I think I am a pretty good applicant at this point. I have a ~4.0 from a top 5 undergrad business school. If I get a 750 at the GMAT, do I have a >50% chance of admission at a top 3 business school program?
Again, the stats are - top 5 undergrad bschool, 4.0
- "tier 2" BB i-banking analyst
- GMAT 750
is this really all you need to go to stanford?
obviously not you also have to adjust for race (yes it matters), essay, reference letters, your 'story' (very bullshit concept but essential), and all that other shit
you're going to have to work on coming up with a good story fyi, because at a glance yours doesn't seem super interesting
you're going to need to explain why you feel an MBA would really help you, since you should know everything the curriculum has to offer- you studied business already for 4 years, so how would this be academically challenging and no, being in a "more competitive environment" isn't going to cut it as a response as long as you can convince them you're more diverse than you appear, you should be set
Thanks for the response. I don't think any undergrad business students really go to get an MBA to learn the curriculum. The real reason is because of the network and people you meet - is that an acceptable answer? I probably won't want to go back into the same industry/role which I'm sure is another generic reason that people give.
I imagine stanford business school would be a great place to launch a startup, which might be something that I am interested in down the line. Have you heard of anyone pulling out that type of answer in essays/interviews?
Also, how important is volunteering or non work-related "leadership experience.." I don't understand how bankers make time to check the box on this portion of their MBA applications.
Thanks again
Very quick answer, but I think the differentiator is that the top top schools are looking for people who get outside themselves, and really want to impact the community around them. Simply having a good GPA and GMAT is certainly notable, but it is a mere eyeblink of a consideration compared to the rest of who you are. Really look at what the schools are saying about themselves: they want to bring in leaders who will shake things up. It looks like (and I may be wrong because of the limited information we know about you) you are asking a school to do more for you than for you to do for the school and its community.
Sadly, I worked with a client who was just like this. No matter how hard I tried to coach him talk about what he could give to those around him, he always brought it back to, "what's in it for me?" And he was rejected because he didn't understand the schools' philosophy.
Read carefully what schools are telling you about their definition of leadership. If you fit with those characteristics and more so, then you are a good bet. Otherwise, good stats are just numbers on a page.
No.
In Finance, at HBS and GSB you are competing against HYP -> GS/JPM -> KKR, etc.And they have found time to do interesting and impactful work outside of the bank. Best advice is look around your bank, have others in the class above you applied to b-school? How many are at the schools you are interested.
You will be in the mix for other top 10 schools - but you still need to differentiate from the other bankers applying.
what's the rush? i think using bschool as a "vacation from the real world" is a legitimate and valuable consideration, and had lots of classmates that viewed it this way. I just don't understand why you'd want to go straight into an MBA program after what, 1 year of work experience? These guys had almost nothing of value to add to the discussion, and I was always much more interested in teaming up with the ex-military, or 34 year-old Indian guy who ran a 50 person business, or a person that did marketing at P&G for 6 years. I just don't know what you hope to get out of the program with such limited experience. There's no rush... those programs aren't going anywhere and given your track record & success so far you're likely to be a MUCH more interesting candidate in 4-5 years.
I'm hoping this is a troll or is actually someone with a 4.0 without the common sense to search the forum
Unfortunately, pretty sure there are plenty of 4.0's from good schools without the common sense to use the search function. The inability of people to use "Search" is something that baffles me everyday on this site.
Sed illo veritatis consequatur nemo beatae accusamus ea. Illum minus in dolorem similique et rerum rem. Iste et laboriosam reiciendis a autem quisquam rerum.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...