So are there buckets or not?

I keep hearing how your b-school app is assessed versus your occupational peers. Many believe this forces bankers/PE dudes to score higher on the GMAT in order to have the same acceptance rate as an average non-banker. 

Conversely, I also hear that adcoms favor banking -> PE over your typical FDLP for example. If these banking -> PE guys need higher GMAT scores, then wouldn't it be a disadvantage to do the banking path? 

I'm confused as to how these buckets are proportioned, if at all.

2 Comments
 

People on forums are obsessed with GMATs and GPAs because it is observable and they feel they can influence it. The buckets are real to some extent, but they are more related to work accomplishments, recommendations, and extracurriculars. You will be assessed in terms of how your experiences stack up to those from similar paths as you - i.e. full time bankers aren't generally doing extensive hourly volunteer work. Recommendations for military folks are probably a lot less flowery than for business people. What makes you stand out as an amazing teach for america teacher is not going to look the same on a resume as someone who is an amazing strategy consultant.

 
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