Settle a Bet

So my friend and I are arguing how much work experience matters when applying to BS, so let me throw out a hypothetical:

Kid graduates from (Harvard, Princeton, Wharton) with a 3.5, 3.9 departmental and magna cun laude honors.

Works two years at an IB

Works two years at a top PE shop (TPG, KKR, Carlyle, Apollo)

Then applies to HBS and Stanford.

Gimme a GMAT estimate to get in?

I say anything 700+ and you should be ok, he says higher. Who is the winner?

10 Comments
 

All depends on essays...

Assuming decent essays, 700 would be enough to get you in, although (given the rest of your CV) you would probably want a 750+ to seal it.

 

If you throw in a career change in your essay, I'd say 700+ would do it for sure.

This is just from the b-school students I knew when I was in undergrad (Harvard/Stanford/Wharton).

 

Ugh a bschool app to HBS cant be described in 3 lines. There is no way to say if said candidate gets a 700 he wont get accepted but a 750 and hes a guarantee.

How come noone talks about interviews here? Almost all of successful apps went through an interview. And you cant just point to your 100hr a week job and your 3 digit number and expect an admit.

 

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