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xelk
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4.0 GPA / Undergrad and grad in CS / GMAT 760 / ~2 yrs WE 29 May 2011, 15:40
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Hey everyone, great forum!

Here's a profile I'd like to hear some feedback on (trying to follow the guidelines in the sticky thread):
1. Age/Gender/Nationality: 22/Male/Small ex-communist country
2. BS and MS in Applied Math / Comp Sci, #1 uni in the country, perfect 4.0 GPA (converted from local scale) / GMAT 760(99%) from first try
3. WE: About 2 years, internet startup doing local websites/apps, also on and off doing other projects (including some family biz)
4. EC: Volunteering (including international projects), lots of local community work, organizing cultural events, etc.
5. Goals: Tech. Entrepreneurship / lead a business in the near future, also exposure to the US business world, networking, etc
6. Schools: Aiming for the Top 5 (top choices MIT, Harvard and Stanford)
7. Other goodies: Speaks 3 languages fluently

Here's what I'm thinking. The candidate (not me) is very strong and well-rounded, very passionate about being a business leader, and has done a lot in this short period of time since he got into college. OTOH, he's young and has little work experience (compared to some profiles I read of Stanford and Harvard students who were e.g. assistants to presidents and central bank managers, etc). Being from an obscure country/university is a mixed blessing from what I gather: it increases diversity which schools look for, but decreases name recognition and prestige.

So what do you guys think? Anything urgent to work on before the Round 1?
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bakfed
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4.0 GPA / Undergrad and grad in CS / GMAT 760 / ~2 yrs WE 29 May 2011, 16:59
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There's really nothing "urgent" to work on before round 1 and even if there was, it'll be pretty hard to work on it since round 1 is now almost starting. Obviously, given a 4.0 (not sure what you meant when you converted...for a 4.0, the person has received all A's in every single class) and a 760, the academic part is more than stellar. The only thing I see that may be of a bit hindrance is the work experience. Had the 4.0/760 couple with a McKinsey name, aim for simply the top 3 should do it. But the work experience here is a bit ambiguous. Now, the person could still spin the story right and be able to make it. Overally, I say that this person has a fairly strong profile, but will need to work hard to convince the adcoms on the type of skills and talents that he/she can bring to the school. Focus on Harvard and Stanford as these two schools are skewing toward a younger generation. Sloan is still a very traditional school with most of the class in the upper 20's.
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xelk
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4.0 GPA / Undergrad and grad in CS / GMAT 760 / ~2 yrs WE 29 May 2011, 17:29
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Hi bakfed, thanks for the reply. Yeah, I did mean all A's by 4.0.
I'm getting the same impression about Harvard and Stanford as well. Generally, many schools say "work experience is not required, just prove that you have great potential", but I don't know how much we can trust this official message.
Any thoughts about the ECs, how much weight they bring to the table? He's done many humanitarian and cultural projects, which show a completely different dimension from his strong quant/math/tech background. I think this could make for good essay material.
Also, any advice on paying for admissions consulting? Is it worth it? Have many people used such services before?
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bakfed
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4.0 GPA / Undergrad and grad in CS / GMAT 760 / ~2 yrs WE 29 May 2011, 17:58
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One thing that anyone has to keep in mind when schools say WE is not required. Well, how does one go about proving themselves to the adcoms? Most of the time, the only true way is to show it in a work environment because that's when you get a chance to do projects, manage people, and initiate stuff. That's potential. But yes, you can certainly show "potentials" through extracurricular activities and in this case, for a person with limited work experience, extracurriculars come into play then. So yes, I'd say it's fairly important. At last, you have to keep in mind that schools are looking for people who will be able to get jobs afterwards. With great quant skills, that's all great, but how does that transfer those book skills to real life. That's something that the applicant will have to figure out.
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4.0 GPA / Undergrad and grad in CS / GMAT 760 / ~2 yrs WE 08 Jun 2011, 04:33
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Xelk,

Leading institutes like Harvard and Stanford do take young students. You need to ensure that academically you are in a good position. However it is not just the academics but beyond the academics that will help you in determining your candidature. Start thinking what makes you unique and what’s that ‘hook’ that will be key to your application.

Also make sure in your work what you did there like-what were your achievements, what initiative you took, what changes you drove in your workplace etc are exhibited well in your application. Generally most of the applicants have good 4-5 years of work experience. Although it is not just the work experience that counts but also what you did there like-what were your achievements, what initiative you took, what changes you drove in your workplace etc. So if you can show that in 2 years you have demonstrated the skills business schools are looking for you could still put in a strong set of essays.
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xelk
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4.0 GPA / Undergrad and grad in CS / GMAT 760 / ~2 yrs WE 10 Jun 2011, 05:38
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Thanks for the feedback guys.