H/S/W Realistic?

Hey All -

Long-time poster writing from a throwaway account. Looking to gauge by B-school odds based on my stats below. B school is honestly not my first choice but given where I am I do not want to close any doors on myself. That being said, I probably wouldn't go unless it was to H/S/W, so I want to hear thoughts on my chances for those schools primarily, as well as the rest of the M7. I would be applying for fall 2021.

Personal Info: White Male UG: Big 10 state school (think: Ohio State, PSU, IU) Degrees: Double major in finance & econ with honors through my UG's honors college. Graduated PBK GPA: 3.9/4.0 GMAT: Have not taken. I'm honestly not the greatest standardized test taker, but I'm pretty sure with prep I wouldn't have an issue scoring 700+. Work Experience: 2 years as an analyst at a mid-tier BB (BAML/Citi/Barc) in IB in a major product group (M&A/LevFin) with a healthy amount of deals announced. Now an associate in corporate development at a large firm Letters of Rec: Would be very strong from college professors, previous employer, and current employer ECs: Typical volunteer work and a few strong undergrad ECs Other: Will likely have CFA Level 2 completed by the time of matriculation

Am I a realistic candidate for H/S/W? What would I need to score on the GMAT to be truly competitive there given the rest of my profile? What about the rest of the M7? Thanks in advance!

6 Comments
 
Controversial

sorry to be blunt but you pretty much have no chance at H/S. Wharton and other M7 are possible if GMAT is high enough (740+). The finance bucket for H/S goes to kids who went to HYPS then top BB then top PE/VC with 3.9s and 760+

 

I’m also going to agree with Frank on H/S being very slim. There’s already too many white male IB BB applicants that also went to HYP, who also went to PE. Youre in a very competitive pool. Unless you somehow have a very interesting story/post mba goal that makes sense. Other M7 and T10 will be receptive

 

700+ is a fairly broad range. Where in the + matters. However let's assume a 720+,

H/S would be a stretch. We've had clients accepted in the M7 with somewhat similar profiles including yes a banking background but not BB. The higher your GMAT, the more likely your acceptance at schools like Booth and Wharton. You don't say what you want to do post-MBA, although I assume it's in financial services, so I can't really recommend any additional programs for your consideration.

Best, Linda

Linda Abraham President, Accepted | Contact Me | Admissions Consulting
 

Thanks, Linda. Appreciate all the time you take to contribute to this site and for responding to me.

Does a few points of difference on the GMAT really that much of a contributing factor for me? If so, why? I get that all the schools want to raise their median score, so my question is more along the lines of what about my specific profile suggests the need for a higher score?

For post-MBA, it would likely be to a more traditional corp dev role than the one I am in now or a corp strategy role, or potentially to a start-up, all hopefully at a more senior position than I'm at now. It may also be worth noting that my current firm has historically sent people to HSW. Does that make a difference?

Thanks again!

 
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Linda Abraham President, Accepted | Contact Me | Admissions Consulting

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