CJH2015 wrote:
Thanks for the quick response! Yes, the leadership / extra-curricular part is going to be a significant factor and frankly not one I can do much about at this point. My counter-balance to that will be the international exposure side of my story - in my case, it wasn't a case of "I'm going on a rotation for 1 year" type deal - it was (and sincerely is) reflective of a deep passion, interest and commitment to work on an international scale (has been a common theme throughout undergrad and professional work experience).
Two questions:
1) How much do extra-curriculars actually matter for MBA admissions? How does it rank against other factors (GPA, GMAT, Work Experience, International Experience, etc.)?
2) Is Round 1 a significant advantage for all of HBS / GSB / or Wharton? Would it make sense to potentially delay one of those schools to R2 in order to build up a better leadership / extra-curricular profile?
I don't mean to be controversial here but my impression for seeing a few cohorts of my friends go through the process is that while GSB and HBS will very much scrutinize an application to tease out the most interesting individuals, Wharton has a bit more "check the box" feel to it (although those standards are very high). Is there any truth to that?
In any case, thanks for the feed-back. I may add one of Chicago or Columbia to my school list (or maybe both...)
Answering your two questions:
1) How much do extra-curriculars actually matter for MBA admissions? How does it rank against other factors (GPA, GMAT, Work Experience, International Experience, etc.)?
ECs are pretty important. That said, I like to think outside the box with clients. I have yet to have someone who I wasn't able to work with and be creative about their involvement. While it would be ideal if you started something earlier, we could brainstorm how you can do something now that connects with a past interest/passion. ECs are not as important as GMAT/GPA (one item) or work experience. They are more important than international experience. Take all of this with a grain of salt as it all depends on the overall profile.
2) Is Round 1 a significant advantage for all of HBS / GSB / or Wharton? Would it make sense to potentially delay one of those schools to R2 in order to build up a better leadership / extra-curricular profile? Great question, and one I help folks think through very often. Round one is certainly better, but it is not terribly different from round two. Send me an email and we can discuss a strategy for you.
scott@personalmbacoach.comYou have a great profile and should be applying to the top programs. In terms of whether I would advise you to add more than H/S/W, I would like to explore your profile more. If you execute everything to perfection, you should have success at one of those schools. As a Wharton MBA grad myself, I can say you would have the best shot there, but I have gotten folks with worse stats than yours into H/S as well.
Best,
Scott
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31 Mar 2016, 16:26
