R3 Profile Evaluation

Hey there, the information that you've read up to this point is mostly correct. Round 3s are usually a bit harder for students to get admitted to only because most "typical" applicants have already accounted for in round 1 and 2. What does that mean? Well, that means for a "typical", or "normal" applicant it'll be much harder to gain entry in round 3 because why should the school take in an additional consultant when it already has 50 in its class? This basically goes back to the law of diminishing returns that the first Goldman Sachs analyst is great for Duke Fuqua, but when you have 75 Goldman Sachs/Merrill Lynch analysts from round 1 and 2 already, why take in another ibanking guy in round 3? I hope you see what I'm saying. So typically speaking, adcoms are looking more at "rounding" out its remaining class with some "atypical" backgrounds, such as firefighters, pilots, priests, sumo-wrestlers, etc. These "atypical" applicants bring in a whole new perspective on a field that most don't know about, in which then benefits the entire class because you just might read up a case about how ring sizes are determined in wrestling and that very sumo-wrestler can bring some great insights.

Now, going back to your profile: to me, you have a great shot at getting admitted to these top schools that you pointed out. But, what's going to play against you is your background and your area of interest. You come from a pretty typical finance background, who wishes to pursue finance post-MBA. Again, referring back to what I said, chances are most of "finance" quota has most likely been filled with round 1, 2, or even ED/EA (Columbia/Tuck, respectively). Do you have a chance to be admitted? Sure, but it's going to be much slimmer. You have a killer GMAT score and a good GPA. This combination will pretty much get you into any top b-school you'd like, as long as you execute an excellent application. If you want to apply, by all means go for it. However, keep one thing in mind - you can always "reapply" come September, but all schools (that you've applied to) will require you to write a reapplicant essay. This reapplicant essay may or may not come easy for you, but schools will ask you to talk about how you've 'strengthened' yourself since you last applied. Let's say that you apply by end of March and you, unfortunately, get ding when decisions come out in May, it will be exponentially harder for you to come up how you've strengthened yourself between May and September, when you reapply. So sure, one can easily say "I'll reapply", but the opportunity cost does exist here. I understand how you may not want to wait another year, but you're only 25, so your age will not be a factor here whether you apply this year or next year.

Again, as I've mentioned, I think you have great shots at getting admitted to at least one of these schools, but it will just all come down to how much chance you're willing to take.

Last, but not least, if you're gearing up for finance, exactly how did you come up with Tuck? I wholeheartedly agree that Booth and CBS are awesome in finance, but Tuck has traditionally been seen as a finance school. Why not put Wharton and NYU Stern in there to maximize your finance opportunities?