Harvard Profile Evaluation - Tools for B-School Profile Evaluation

Two questions:

1. Do you have any idea what your GMAT score will be? How are you doing on practice exams?
2. Was your 80% above average for you program?

Thanks,

The most important thing you can do is convince them your family business is a big, serious enterprise and when you go back you are going to end up being a serious player in Mexico’s economy.

HBS uses your employer as a screen. They like selective forms because the candidate has been validated by Goldman Sachs or whoever.

Joining a family business is not selective, so you you need to sell them on this being a big player. Tell them how many employees, revenue, big projects, etc.

Retake the GMAT by all means if you think you can get a 710, but you need to execute the application to make them think you are gonna be a big somebody in Mexico.

Posted from my mobile device

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You are a competitive applicant at HBS. It sounds like you have an amazing story, in additional to competitive qualifications. If you tell that story well, I'm optimistic about your chances at HBS. You may be interested in:

How to Leverage an HBS Education: The Story of LeverEdge
Ida Valentine: Investment Banker, Inspirational Speaker, HBS 2021
HBS essay tips.

Best,
Linda

Hi guys,

Could you please review my chances of getting into HBS

Here comes my profile:


Origin: East Europe
Age: 27
Gender: male
GMAT score: 690 (Q49, V35, IR8, AWA 5) going to retake in October.
Undergrad: BBA in top university in my country. (GPA 3.54/4) Major in Finance.
Work experience: Big 4 for 2.5 years promotions with excellent reviews (5/5) covered different industries including: energy,
construction, retail and manufacturing. Was assigned as Senior in charge on project, while being
associate.
Biggest industrial holding in energy for 1 year as senior financial analyst.
After that moved to another big company in energy and utilities, as senior analyst. In less than 1 year was
promoted to head of analytical department managing team of 8 employees. Lead processes that had
impact not only on company but also on industry and country investment outlook. Been on this position
for two years.
Short term goal: work for one of the big consultancy firms
Long term goal: go back to my homeland and use my knowledge and experience to support country's development in
private or public sector.
Hobby: Trivia games (participated in two TV shows); Captain of high school trivia team (won country competition among private schools); photography; cinema
(used to be co-president of university cinema club)
Other: Finished high school with honors (silver medal); Got scholarship from government for university.

Other background: born in very small town, which was severely effected during one of the conflicts with neighboring country and my family had to flee our hometown, so I've been a refugee for some period.

It will be very helpful to got any idea, if I am suitable candidate for HBS.

Thank you in advance!

With a higher GMAT and well written application that reveals your leadership and impact as well as your personal story and aspirations. you have a competitive profile for HBS and programs that will prepare you well for the top consulting firms. In other words, yes, apply to HBS, but don't apply only to HBS.

In your app, don't just talk about your performance reviews or responsibilities; write about what caused you to get those excellent reviews and the difference you made.

Best,
Linda

What's the minimum required GMAT score to be considered ??

There is no official minimum. The student with the lowest GMAT in this year's entering class had a 590. The median, however, is a 730. Be assured that anyone who gets into HBS with a 590 (or low score period) is stellar in all other ways.

You might be interested in Applying to Bschool with Low Stats: What You Need to Know

Best,
Linda

You will never get a straight answer on this from admissions. The GMAT required has a lot to do with how underrepresented you are (below the class profile average) vs. overrepresented (above the class profile). https://www.hbs.edu/mba/admissions/class-profile/Pages/default.aspx

If there are a ton of people with your profile the GMAT is "bid" upwards. So it's important to work hard to separate yourself, however much of this is out of your control (citizenship.) They are seeking diversity because it relates to the value proposition they are offering.

Hello, am curious as to what my chances of getting into HBS are. Thank you in advance for any and all insight.


1. GMAT: 740 (Q48/44V)
2. Undergrad: mid-tier US private university 3.6 GPA, business major
3. Additional coursework: 1 HBS Online course
4. Experience:
3 years Active Duty US Army (will be 4 when class starts)
-1 deployment to the Middle East
-2 roles leading ~ 20 people each time and responsible for $2M/$15M worth of equipment
-by name selected for a third role to deploy in position above rank
5. 26-year-old white male
6. Additional experience/extracurricular:
Student Class Representative while in college
Army ROTC
7. Post MBA Goal
Work in some kind of startup

Hi,

Planning to apply for Harvard/Wharton MBA next year sometime. Was wondering if anyone could chance me?

Asian Australian (ethnically japanese, but grew up in Australia)

Undergrad- graduated LSE (UK uni) with first class honours- don't know what the equiv in gpa terms is

Postgrad- graduated oxford masters (pretty average marks tbh)

Work exp- currently work as a trader for a large American bulge bracket investment bank (have been told this is a disadvantage for harvard). Internships at big 4 (consulting) as well as other banks.

Extracurriculars: community service work for disadvantaged youth (once a week kind of thing, doing it for over a year now).

GMAT: achieved 730 (strong quant mostly)

Can you give us a bit more qualitative information? Does your current job allow for initiative, do you have what HBS calls "a habit of leadership" that you can substantiate inside/outside the classroom/office. Is there a good diversity story here that you could share - where your perspective as a Japanese Aussie might add value to the class? Which citizenship would you be going with? Did you receive negative feedback about the role or the company, just curious. What was your area of concentration at LSE? Any ECs from LSE? Hobbies?

Hi bd428,

The information you provided above is competitive at HBS with one exception, and I'll get to that in a minute. However, many of the rejected applicants at HBS also have competitive stats. Your military experience and leadership in the military combined with good academics are going to be a big plus for you. The way you present your qualifications are going to determine whether you are accepted or not. Both the essay and the boxes are critical.

A few suggestions:

1. Clarify your goals and your reasons for wanting to go to HBS. "Work in some kind of startup" is very vague,and this is the weakness I mentioned above. Be prepared to answer the following questions: What appeals to you about a start up? What industry is most attractive and why? How have you prepared yourself for this path? What will you take advantage of at HBS to further your goals? You probably won't have to answer all these questions in your app, but you may in your interview.

2. While I do think you have a reasonable shot at HBS, if you clarify your goals, also apply to other programs that support your goals. If you are entrepreneurial and like the case method, consider Darden, but there are lots of other programs that prepare grads to work in start-ups.

A few HBS resources for you.

* HBS Essay Tips
* Get Accepted to Harvard Business School, a recorded webinar
* Sample HBS Essay

And one for people coming from the military: Academic De-Greening, Part 2: Applying to Graduate School After Military Service

Best,
Linda

What qualifies as low for a white male in PE/VC? 730? 740? 750?

730, 740, and 750 are not low for any group.

As a very general, fuzzy guideline 30+ points below a school's average is "low." For HBS, that would be 700. However there are mitigating and exacerbating factors:

1. Grades and grade trend. Grades in the part of the GMAT where you were weak if the score isn't balanced.
2. Reputation for rigor of your undergrad program.
3. The breakdown of your GMAT. Was it balanced or really low in one area and high in the others.
4. Competition from people "like" you who have higher GMAT scores.
5. Competitiveness of your overall profile -- Work experience, leadership, community service, impact .

All that counts, and that's why one shouldn't just look at a GMAT score total and label, like "white male in PE/VC" and say score X is low.

Best,
Linda Abraham

Hey everyone, just took my GMAT recently so I’m currently looking at my odds for admission in R1 2020.

White male American, 25 years old

Undergrad GPA: 3.85, graduated summa cum laude with dual degrees: BBA Finance and BA Chinese
Attended a Big 12 state school on the cusp of the top 100 in the rankings, was a National Merit Scholarship recipient

GMAT: 730 (48Q 42V)

Work experience: Just over 3 years in sell-side equity research covering tech (will be over 5 years at matriculation). I was promoted from analyst to associate this year, and now as the second-in-command on a three person team, my boss treats my position as the day to day “project manager” with one analyst working under me

Extracurriculars: Actively involved in our department recruiting team, served as team captain for a number of fundraising drives (United Way, United Performing Arts Fund). Part of my state’s top ranked club rugby team, with the team I’ve participated in quite a few community outreach activities, also helped plan and set up the nation’s largest summer rugby tournament.

Goals: Still working on crafting the best impact statement here, since I realize as a white guy in finance I’ll need something that makes me stand out from the pack. My goal is to remain focused on tech investing. Venture capital would be my dream, also open to public equity investing at a hedge fund/mutual fund, potential backup plan is corp dev at a tech company.

Other: Passed CFA Level 2, hoping to pass Level 3 next June and be a CFA charterholder at the time of application

Hi trillclinton414,

Thank you for your post and for sharing your profile. Besides currently being on the lower end of the candidate age spectrum, you have a solid profile and competitive stats. Ineed, the narrative will be an important component in ensuring a successful application cycle. I would love for us to have a conversation offline, and see how we can help you think about the next year as you prepare your profile. If interested in taking advantage of the free consultation, please reach out.

Good luck!

Susan