760 GMAT, but epic fail in Round 3 - What Now?

Question

GMAT: 760 (49Q/44V) 
GPA: 3.63 (ivy undergrad - chemistry/econ); 3.40 (top 5 law school)
Age: 32
USA - Living/working in South America for past 4 years

I applied to Harvard, Stanford, Wharton, and Booth in Round 3. I applied Round 3 because I took the GMAT in late December, 2012. I got rejected by Harvard and Stanford and obtained interviews from Wharton and Booth, but got rejected at Wharton and am expecting a rejection from Booth (phone interview that did not go well).

Background: As a result of a poor decision in undergrad, I went directly to law school and worked as a corporate lawyer for several years. I left that life behind 4 years ago to pursue my interests in social enterprise in South America. I the process I became fluent in Spanish and now manage microfinance projects across 6 LatAm countries for a tech-based startup company. In my new career I'm advancing steadily and now oversee one other person and I have 30 months of experience. In my old career (law), I had 34 months of experience.

I'm seeking an MBA because I hope to advance to the next level (manage teams, drive strategy, launch a microfinance bank, etc.) in the social enterprise/international development space. I plan to remain in Latin America long term.

Extracurricularly I've launched 2 startup companies in South America, one of which has annual revenues of about $100k US. I used to be a semi-pro runner while I worked in the law firm.

My main question is, now what? Should I take a shot next year in round 1? I applied aggressively in Round 3 this year because of my age. I'm 32 now and will be 34 if I start in fall 2014. Will schools consider my age in terms of my new career rather than my chronological age? Or am I screwed because of my age?

CobraKai · Answer

Your age doesn't immediately disqualify you - just be able to articulate why an MBA is right for you, and why now is the time. Having a JD gives you an "excuse" to be older as well.

It looks like you only applied to schools based on prestige. Those schools are tough to get into and Round 3 only makes things tougher. I would say Round 1 next year is worth a shot. That 760 GMAT makes you competitive, but you gotta undersand, at HSW and Booth, they see applicants with GMATs north of 750 all the time.

If going to B-school is important to you, I would spend some time doing research on different programs and figure out what you want out of an MBA program other than prestige, and then start preparing essays this summer. Re-applying to HSW and Booth may be a bit tricky because you'll have to show how you became a better applicant in only a few months - it's worth reapplying to one or two, but I wouldn't reapply to all 4. Good luck!

MacFauz · Answer

I've heard Harvard is a bit averse towardsolder applicants... You also did not do yourself a favor by applying R3 to the four (arguably the Big 3 of US b-schools + Booth.. I wanted to say Big 4 but I wouldn't be doing Kellogg Justice if I said that).. Ivy undergrad, Decent GPA, Awesome GMAT, International exposure with entrepreneurship experience (I think this could be gold.. Launching a start-up in a foreign country) plus sports... Yes.. Age might be of a little concern but still seems like a profile good enough for a top 10.. I agree with cobraKai on the re-application strategy.. It was probably the way you presented your profile that got you dinged and so you might have some trouble working on the re-applicant essay...

ErinaApphelp105 · Answer

Hi,

The avg. work experience in these b-schools is 6-7 yrs. So, I believe that you still stand a chance in H/S/W & others. BTW, did you get any feedback from the schools? You need to retrospect that what went wrong in your application. I believe that to be able to apply in M-7 schools you must submit/present strong application essays & work hard on interviews. You must target either R-1 or R-2.

Let me know if you require any assistance in school selection or profile evaluation. You may PM your details for discussion in length.

Regards
Erina

WomeMBA · Answer

Wow....looking at your profile I can clearly see why I got rejected at HBS in R3 8-)

Not sure what went wrong but I'd assume that the essays were not an issue (or were they?) One other opportunity in order to save time --> Columbia for Jan 14 intake...

ManhattanReview · Answer

Sorry for your situation as I see you as a competitive applicant at all of these schools. However, applying last round to the world's most competitive business schools definitely places you at a disadvantage. If you really want to go to business school (and one of this caliber), you need to re-apply. I would recommend that you do not re-apply to HBS as they are tough on re-applicants (they do not like to admit they made a mistake). However, I see you as competitive at all other schools.

If you are going to re-apply to some of the same schools you applied to this time, I would recommend that you take a hard look at your application and see how you can better present yourself. Simply put, what you presented this time did not work so do not assume it will work in earlier rounds the next time. The good news is that I see lots of interesting aspects to your candidacy that if properly presented will make you stand out from the masses of candidates who apply.

Good luck.

Kimberly Plaga
Senior Admissions Consultant
Manhattan Review

Call for a free candidacy assessment.

JLMBancredito · Answer

Hi everyone,

I really appreciate the feedback. In taking the GMAT in December 2012, I started studying in October 2012. As soon as I finished the GMAT, I started writing my essays and worked steadily on them through March 2013. Then interview preparation occupied most of April 2013, followed by responses from the schools. In the end, business school preparations/applications/waiting occupied my thoughts for 8 consecutive months.

For now, I'm taking a break from all business school related activities until mid July.

As an interesting aside, I learned through a contact who works at Wharton that the school admitted  one  (1) person in round three this year.

MBAPrepSchoolChris · Answer

Similar to some of the other respondents, I see your "raw" profile as being competitive for top level schools, however your Round 3 application has likely hurt your chances (especially at HBS) since you don't have much time to build up and improve on your profile before the next application cycle. It is important to be able to show how you've become a more competitive applicant since last time.

Another comment is that you should not assume that your results were *only* because of your Round 3 application timing. A strong GMAT score alone is far from sufficient to be successful at the schools you are targeting. I agree with Kimberly that a fresh look at each element of your application would be important to identify opportunities to better present your leadership and other accomplishments, to clearly articulate your career goals, and coherently explain why you need an MBA from that specific school. You probably know this already, but "generic" answers won't suffice with the schools at this level.

That said, there are a number of interesting aspects to your profile. Please PM or call me if you'd like to schedule a free consultation to explore these issues in more depth.

All the best for success in your MBA campaign and your future career!

Cheers, Chris
chris@mbaprepschool.com
+1 (650) 587-5804

760 GMAT, but epic fail in Round 3 - What Now?

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