High GMAT, Low GPA, Realistic Schools for IB?
I have a lower GPA from a generic public school. Gmat above median everywhere.Currently working in Consulting with over 3 YoE. I'm not in Strategy, but have done operations and tech oriented.Long story short, I wanted to do IB coming out of undergrad but was a major switcher very late on and missed the recruiting boat. Background was good enough to get into consulting, so I just did what was practical and went that route.I know there's a lot of work ahead of me for switching careers, so I am aiming for stronger finance schools like CBS and Stern. Might try Yale as well due to location. Just looking for some feedback - where do people think I'm competitive?
I think you should be set for a T15 and I'd target those with strong IB placement (definitely Cornell, Stern, and then maybe 1-2 of Yale/Fuqua/Tuck). Beyond those, throw in 2 apps for maybe Booth and CBS.
I'm in a very similar spot to you but a year or two ahead. I had a "low" GPA (3.5-3.6, people were telling me that was low for a white male despite a STEM major) but from a T10 UG (Columbia/UChicago tier). GMAT was 770, and I thought my target schools were Wharton, CBS, and Kellogg/Booth/Sloan. I got into one of those and applied to all. Applied to two in T15 and got a full scholarship to one, and the other I got into but with no $ (they might have given me something if I committed there and pushed for money).
I've also been pretty shocked by it but realize it's tougher getting in as a white male with no hook. I have a colleague who went to my undergrad, works in a less prestigious role in my firm (more BO with mine more FO and harder job to get/do), stats are 3.4/720, and got near full/full scholarships to Booth, Kellogg, Haas, and Yale, into Wharton with no money, and waitlisted at GSB. The only difference is she is female. Have another female friend from UG who had 3.6/740 and got into HBS/Wharton/CBS with what I'd argue is less solid work experience than I have. All this is just to say it's sometimes hard to stand out at the top programs even with solid stats, and especially hard if you're male and not URM.
For better or for worse, the game has changed, and rather than looking at necessarily how competitive your work experience is, there has been a shift to looking at how different or how unique it is.
So the candidate who goes from JPM IBD into a corp dev. role at Disney or Nike or another "interesting" corporate, would likely be a stronger and more stand-out candidate at the likes of HBS and GSB vs. the JPM IBD analyst who takes a PE Associate offer at Crestview or Lindsay Goldberg. The latter is probably a more competitive and certainly a much higher paying profile, but it has become mainstream. Similarly, you used to see all of the MBB as sure thing feeders into HBS. While many of them still do get in, you increasingly see Bain and BCG profiles (possibly from 'lower ranked offices') scattered across the other MBA business schools">M7.
The top of the top (Warburg, KKR, etc) are still able to place into HBS/GSB, but it's the MM and UMM funds which increasingly see placement into Wharton (and to a lesser extent Booth and CBS).
When you take what I've said above and combine it with a general increased push for diversity, it has become more challenging for the standard IB / MBB + PE candidate, in general, and certainly for a White/Asian/Indian male candidate.
For the OP - all top 15 schools place well into IB, so I think you should be fine. I think Wharton, Booth, etc would be a reach, but Columbia, Duke, Tuck, UVA all seem possible. 760 is a good score, but doubt any MBA business schools">M7 will throw scholarship money at it, with average GMATs between 725-740. I've heard ver good things about Kellogg from an IB recruiting perspective, since there is less competition, and placement is quite good.