How to Sell Myself

Question

Hi everyone. I went to a small liberal arts school, where I majored in Economics and graduated with a 3.4 with several Cs on my transcript. I spent a year doing back office accounting work at a media company, moved to a new company where I did more back office work, was laid off and spent a few months at a temporary position at a major media agency. In this role, I sat on the global controller's team. I was responsible for designing new automated reports (mostly Excel VBA work) among other tasks.

In the fall of 2018, I took a new role as a business analyst at a major telecom company. I mainly work on capex, again a back office role. I work heavily in Excel, and I also use SQL and Python from time-to-time. (My boss has an MBA from a T15 school and knows me well.) In order to get this point, I took about 150 hours of courses in financial accounting and financial modeling.

This summer, I completed a 4-course non-credit diploma program in Python. I also took the GMAT last week, receiving a 760 (49 Q, 44 V, 8 IR, 6 AWA). I plan to apply to programs next year for the class of 2022, and I would like to make the pivot to consulting.

Right now, I feel that the only thing that stands out is my GMAT score. Obviously, work experience is a big part of the application.  Can I plausibly sell mine in a way that turns it into an asset on the application, as opposed to an area of weakness?  I am mainly looking to attend top 20 programs, although I also like McDonough and would appreciate insights from alumni and current students.

Also, I am a white male from NY, so "average representation."

Thanks!

bb · Answer

Hi and welcome to GMAT Club!

Congrats on your awesome score! That's 99th percentile and basically the highest percentile anyone could get... You should feel good about the work you put into it. We are not measured or ranked very often and so many tests (including GMAT, frankly are so flawed) but it is awesome to get a 99th percentile in something, esp something as competitive as GMAT. You should give yourself a lot of credit! This covers your undergrad "C"s showing that you are not stupid but were just disinterested or perhaps not clicking or distracted.

You can get started by checking out the WAMC tool and seeing what it suggests for you (it makes some general assumptions but you can fill out as much as you can to get a sense of your chances) but I feel you can aim and shoot higher than Georgetown. Worst case, you can a sizeable scholarship at Georgetown.

By the way the class of 2022 has already started this Sept (it is based on the graduation, not intake year), so my guess you are saying you are applying for the R1 2021? is that right?

My suggestion for selling yourself would be to work with someone who has done this - current student or an alum. I am not sure your boss is a great candidate for this (they can definitely be a good sounding board and people love to give advice, so it is always a good idea to ask for advice) but in general I would suggest leveraging someone you know who has done an MBA. If you don't know anyone, you can hire an admissions consultant. That's kind of the same thing but you are paying them to be your "friend". Another option is to brainstorm and go through the ApplicantLab. It may be a decent idea to get it anyway even if you are working with someone or have a friend since it works well to organize your thoughts and splits the elephant into bite-size pieces, though the next year's applications are not read yet, obviously. Anyway, it is $350 but not a must have. Many have applied by networking with current students and alums.

As to your story, the key is to demonstrate initiative and resourcefulness. Everyone has different resources. Some have gone to a private prep shcool, Stanford, and got a job at Goldman Sachs but that does not mean they worked hard or overcame adversity. What you want to show is that you have done more with the resources you had than others in your position. You could have gone to a small school (a bit of a weak point) but have managed all these other things at work or on the side. Sometimes you get stuck in your job/career because of your boss or you work for an org that has no room to grow but did you just give up or did you keep trying?

There are many ways to show progress, initiative, and passion. These are important for the admission process. Schools love people with a plan/vision/goals who are working towards something they believe. The overall "selling" process is not just 3 bullet points but rather a cohesive story that goes through your essays, short answers, LOR's possibly and definitely your resume. Resume has become super important in the admissions process so don't ignore it and make sure you create the MBA version (lots of videos about it on our YouTube channel - it is diff from the job resume).

P.S. It is good you are planning way ahead - that's awesome. Starting now will allow you to do some corrections possibly options to fix some of the blemishes or deficiencies in your profile.

mc93 · Answer

Thank you for your insights--I really appreciate them and they are very helpful. Yes, I meant to say apply fall 2021 for the class of 2024. I would matriculate in 2022. And thank you for the tip on building an MBA resume--I will make sure to check out the videos!

Admissionado · Answer

m93 : Thanks for sharing such tremendous details about your background. Without knowing all the specifics of your profile, you should have ample material to make yourself competitive for a T20 school. Your GMAT score is fantastic but it is not a magic wand. GPA does matter so you need to offer a legitimate explanation as to why you underperformed, by your own standard. Having a boss with an MBA who supports you is golden. Former MBAs often write great recommendation letters because they know all about the MBA experience and the qualities for successful candidates. For what it's worth, I don't think coming from a small liberal arts college will hurt your chances. The representation is fairly wide at many of the T25 schools. Also, I would like to know more about your extracurricular/leadership accomplishments. That is a big component of your application. I realize that's not central to your question here, but it is part of how you "sell yourself" as part of your umbrella question. If you are to overcome some issues with professional experience and GPA, you have to illustrate a track record impact outside of work and school. Lastly, another important part of any successful application is the career vision. It should be both aspiration and attainable. Crafting one that leverages your background and the MBA experience will be critical. You are smart to already be thinking about how to position yourself for the 2021 application season - which by early indications - is going to be competitive again. Believe it or not, I start working with people as early as March/April for R1 applications. If you are interested in our Advanced Planning Program (mentoring, pre-application pre) and/or application support services, please reach out and schedule a free consultation. We'd be happy to get to know you and walk you through the process and our various services. https://admissionado.com/free-consultation/ Best of luck, Admissionado

mc93 · Answer

Thank you for the tips! During college, I was the founder and president of the chess club, a club that continues to exist today. Would my Python certificate count as an extracurricular? I took four courses over two years and took my knowledge of python from none to very competent for a person who is not an SE by profession. I also took a standup comedy class, and I performed in two amateur shows at established clubs in front of 100+ people.

Admissionado · Answer

mc93 : Yes, those would all count. I'm not seeing huge accomplishments outside of the chess club, and that's assuming you're still actively involved in it to this day as perhaps an adviser of some sort. If you want to crack the T20 schools, you will need to beef these up or find another whereby you can have a big impact, even in a covid environment. Other candidates are being extra resourceful and scrappy to show they can be a positive leader outside of the work environment. This is one area that you still have an opportunity to make improvements to take pressure off of your GPA/academic performance. Now that the GMAT is in the books, think about ways to differentiate yourself from the pack. We really do a good job of putting together long-term action plans for folks such as yourself. I strongly encouraged you to explore this opportunity with us during a free consultation! Best of luck, Seth https://admissionado.com

mc93 · Answer

bb

Based on the info provided, should I answer the optional essay to explain my bad grades in quant courses? Ty.

Posted from my mobile device

bb · Answer

You want all parts of your applications to fit together. If your biggest weakness is the poor grades and quant, and you have a good explanation then sure. At the same time if you have other things to handle or it’s not really a concern, you may use the optional essay for another purpose.

I am a fan of preemptively addressing things so I would say yes. Usually optional essays are very short by the way. You don’t need 1000 words more like three or five sentences.

Posted from my mobile device

mc93 · Answer

Thanks bb! This is what I have. Is this what they're looking for? Thank you!

Optional essay:

I have a handful of bad grades on my undergraduate transcript that I received due to my lax approach to quantitative coursework. I have matured since then, and I have dramatically improved my math skills as evidenced by my completion of a Python diploma program, my strong test performance, and my success in a numbers-intensive job.

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