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Question

Hello,

I am a biracial female (black and asian), scored a 690 (46Q/38V) on the GMAT and have a 3.40 from a state university (it's recognizable, but certainly not name brand)

I do however have two degrees, Econ and Business (Business w/ honors).

I have 5 years of work experience for a well known investment firm and am looking to go into consulting for nonprofits and start ups.

I also founded a nonprofit several years ago to help first generation students from low income backgrounds attend college... but we haven't sent anyone yet to be honest.

My question is- I'm looking at Cornell, Harvard (a huge reach, I know), Yale (for their nonprofit program), Tepper (for their quant background) and Duke (great for consulting)

You all sound like you're much more experienced than I am in what a good profile, so with all honesty, can you please tell me what my chances are?

Thank you very much

jordanhendrix · Answer

I pretty much agree with your own assessment, you hit it on the head. I think you have a reasonable shot at all the schools except Harvard, which is a stretch for almost everyone. WHy not be a little more ambitions what about Booth/Kellogg level too? Its worth it to be a little more ambitious. It seems like you have some medium hard schools and then super hard Harvard, there's room in the middle there.

sparkles279 · Answer

I'm not a huge fan of either Kellogg or Booth to be honest- great schools, just not for me....but I do really like Wharton and Tuck- would these be in the category you're referring to?

jordanhendrix · Answer

Yea

bakfed · Answer

hi sparkles, I think you've done your research (can definitely tell by the way you describe what you'd like). I just have a side question - why do you think Kellogg or Booth are not for you? You mentioned Wharton and Tuck in your very last reply to compare Kellogg/Booth; however, Wharton and Tuck are two b-schools that are pretty different in many aspects. I'm just curious, that's all

sparkles279 · Answer

Its not that they don't have great programs, I guess I just haven't been drawn to them the way I have with the other schools. Kellogg is great for marketing and Booth is more analytical- I guess I just connected with the atmosphere at the other schools better. I originally wasn't going to apply to Tepper (due to its analytical quant nature) until I visited their campus and saw portions of their program first hand. I think visiting is incredibly important...I also think it's important to remember that most great companies visit the top tiered schools- and if they don't, you'll still have a brand name program to back you up if you reach out to those firms. So after a certain point, genuine fit is most important.

I know its sacrilegious to say- but I know people at HBS who got into comparable schools that are miserable, but went for HBS' name- and of course, just having Harvard on your resume will write your ticket for you, but if you go to an almost equally comparable school in terms of stats, I'm sure you'd have access to a lot of the same opportunities- and you'd be happier. Of course, I still love HBS

If you love Kellogg and/or Booth, please don't take my not liking them seriously- they're just not for me, but as their application numbers show- thousands of other people like them just fine

bakfed · Answer

trust me, I'm in no way offended. I was really just curious :-D

best of luck!!

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