Chances at HBS

Question

Profile:

Age: Will be 28 when I apply (in 3 years time)
GRE: Q169 V160
Work Experience:
PwC Audit (Internship - first and second year undergrad summer)
CIBC Corporate Banking (Internship - third year summer)
Deloitte Consulting: Full Time (2 years)

Education:
BBA, Accounting and Finance, University of Toronto, High Distinction (Top 10%)
MSc, Financial Economics, Oxford - currently pursing

Hoping to land MBB post Oxford MFE - working at MBB for 2 years - then applying to HBS MBA at 27 - 28 years of age.

Thoughts on chances at HBS or GSB?

Thank you!

Admissionado · Answer

There are a lot of strong attributes about your candidacy but without knowing more about your background (e.g., what do you hope to do long term after MBB, what are your extracurriculars, your geographic demo, etc.) it's hard to fully address your chances. Still, I wanted to provide your feedback to the extent it is doable with the information provided. Given what you've shared, your GRE score translates to roughly a ~740 GMAT, which is slightly higher than HBS' average. The standardized test score averages for certain over-represented professional and ethnic demographics (for instance, Indian male financial/accounting/IT professionals) are higher than the overall average, however. I probably don't need to tell you that if you are an international applicant, and an international applicant from an over-represented demo like India, China or Pakistan, the odds are fierce. HBS consistently apportions less than 40% of it's class to non-US students. You have some marquis names on your resume which is great, but you'll need a good story for why you are seeking business school and why business school at that particular time in 3 years. The Deloitte -> MMB may make sense to you (upgrading institution within the consulting world) but it won't necessarily resonate with the AdCom, especially when you will be competing with people who are sponsored MMB candidates (of which there will be many applying to HBS). Strategic positioning will be really important to you in establishing your personal brand. Consulting post-MBA is one of the most commonly espoused career interests. If you want to stand out, you'll need to have a carefully and thoughtfully crafted plan about how MMB will help you achieve your long-term goals, round out any gaps, and how your prior experience plus an MBA imminently qualifies you to achieve these ambitions. It may make sense to evaluate other career interests besides MMB at this stage to decide which strategic positioning will be be most differentiating. You did not provide your undergraduate institution but that of course also matters. HBS and similar schools want to see that you have already excelled in a rigorous environment. The HBS AdCom is familiar with the best schools in every country and will expect you to have gone to one of the top schools and have done well there (it appears that you already check that box given your high distinction top 10% ranking for your BBA). Extracurriculars are super important, especially to top schools like HBS and GSB. These AdComs will expect you to be a leader and contributor civically outside of your workplace, even if you work long hours. Since you are likely not applying for several years, you have time to get involved in some unique ECs that you can write about in your essays and hopefully talk about in your interviews. You are smart to get started about thinking about your MBA early. As you can probably tell from reading these message boards, nobody ever wishes that they had started this process later. If talking to an MBA admissions consultant about school choice and strategic positioning may be helpful to you, feel free to reach out for a free consultation here: https://admissionado.com/free-consultat ... sultation/

Gokul20 · Answer

Hi can anyone help me review my profile for HBS class of 2023

GMAT: 760
Age:25, Indian, Male
Bachelor's: Electrical Engineering ( Anna University)
Gpa:8.7/10(University top 51 rank)
Work experience: 4 years as Software Engineer from fortune 500 - PayPal, world's largest Payments platform. Promoted once to Senior Software Developer.

Co-curricular:
1. Attended various workshops and events related to Product Management.
2. Active member of the community where we host and attend various conferences, meetups , workshops related to Product Management. 
3. Part of an elite community of young innovators who are selected( through interviews from a pool of 4.5k people) to pursue creative ideas and bring them to action at workplace in a way that would benefit the employees.

Extra curricular:
1. Worked with an Non-profit to collect funds for small scale entrepreneurs and lead the campaign.
2. Leading the wellness initiatives of Employees at the company. Devise plans, consult with the leadership team and implement them.
3. Leading the Social activities of the company. Have lead, organized and volunteered numerous such campaigns with various other Non-profit organizations
4. Voluntered and mentored Children from rural backgrounds and help them with their careers, provide career guidance.
5. Was the Secretary of the college during undergrad. Responsible for voicing out student issues, coordinating with the management and organising various student events at college. 
6 Was the Student Placement Coordinator and worked with the College Placement cell preparing the students for Placement drives and aided them in bringing-in various companies for campus placements and smooth conduct of Campus Placements.

Hobbies: Play cricket- represented the company in tournaments
Avid marathon runner. Participated in numerous charity marathons conducted around my neighbourhood.
Part-time teaching at Orphanages

Goals - To get into Product Management at a Tech giant and design innovative products that will change the way we live in this modern era of technology. Want to create an impact with Innovative technology.

I am looking to apply for the class of 2023. Do you think I can stand a chance or are there any areas that I can improve and try for class of 2024? 
Any help would be greatly appreciated!! 
Thanks !

Posted from my mobile device

bb · Answer

Chances at HBS

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