Ivy League Chances?

Hey everyone,

Just some quick stats. I am a senior and have a 3.3 GPA in final two years of Honours Bachelor of Commerce degree from semi-target in Canada (top 10 undergrad).

I was accepted to GE's Financial Management Program, which is very prestigious and well-known around top b-schools. Plan is after the two years, I will be entering the Corporate Audit Staff for approx. 3 years which essentially consists of travelling the world auditing many of GE's businesses and progressing through the ranks pretty quick.

I have heard that some universities give more weight to Canadian GPA's (i.e. 3.3 in Canada is more of a 3.6 in USA) - any opinions?

If GMAT results come in at sub-700 range, with great leadership experience from GE, what do you think my chances would be for Harvard, Stanford, Wharton, etc?

My goal would be to land an executive position at GE but heard FMP and CAS at GE could lead to top 10 B-schools. Anybody with experience, please offer opinions.

 
Best Response

What are your chances? You have a below average stats in both GPA (maybe far below if your first two years were really bad) and GMAT, and an average job (at best) for those programs. I'm sure GE management places pretty well at all three schools, but they aren't going to have 20 spots for GE people, so the real question is how well you compare to the other applicants from GE. My guess is you are below average.

Sorry to break it to you, but the people that get into H / S / W tend to be strong all around or very unique. They are not quite as godly as some people on this forum make them out to be, but most successful candidates don't have any glaring weaknesses.

 

Chicago Booth is also up there with H/S/W (depending on which ranking they're either #1, #3, or #5) and they absolutely love stories about kids who can play well with a difficult hand. Especially if you put in a few years at GE and get strong recs.

The longer you have been working in industry, the less college GPA matters and the more important your experience and recs become. Five years out, Wharton undergrad vs. Queen's does not matter as much as reporting directly to GE's CFO vs. more typical investment banking experiences.

I think you really need to try and aim for an 800 on your GMATs, though. If you get a score that starts with 7, it makes admission a MUCH easier decision for these schools. A 650 makes it a lot tougher to let you in.

Take a prep class before you take the exam. I have a crazy testimonial about Kaplan that involves my score going up 300 points.

 

Ok good to know! Sometimes you hear about these candidates that have average GPA's, ec's and what not and still get into top 10 schools. This is just what I am thinking I am going to do, trying to be as realistic as possible. I know, in fact, that GE's FMP is a top management program to be in, and that some schools do look for international experience which I think could help my case.

 

Hi ItalStallion13,

If you score a sub-700 on the GMAT, then I recommend you take the test again. Remember that your score is self-reported on your application, so admissions teams will focus on your highest score. Top admissions teams like to see applicants hit a 700 on the exam.

Regarding your application, nothing about your story makes me think there is any reason why you cannot be admitted into a strong program, but nothing stands out telling me why you should be admitted. All of the reasons why a top program would admit him are in the details of your work experience, personal experiences, personality, values and overall story.

Cheers,

Conrad and the Stacy Blackman Team

www.StacyBlackman.com
 

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