How to stand out?

Question

Hi -

I'm currently at a top 3 consulting firm, with 3 years of experience, and am looking to make the move to bschool. However, so is everyone I know. I did well on the GMAT (730) and have a strong undergrad GPA (3.6 - Ivy), but as a resulting of working all the time I have nothing going on outside of work. I'm also a guy, and I'm also white. Put another way - there seem to be a lot of me with similar backgrounds. Given that there's potentially a path forward for me at my current firm even if I skip bschool I'm really only interested in going to a top 5 school (I get how arrogant that sounds).

Any advice on how to stand out during R1 applications from the rest of the bankers/consultants applying to the handful of top schools?

Thanks in advance

VantagePointMBA · Answer

Hi there - So, firstly I think it's great that you're recognizing that having the brand on your resume isn't your golden ticket anymore (this is coming from adcom at the top schools btw - not solely my opinion). Your experience is amazing and very impressive; however, as you clearly recognize, there are hundreds of people in a similar position. The top 5 schools can't be comprised solely of consultants and bankers (...or any single particular industry or company); so if you do the math, you're right to assume that you need to really think about differentiation. That can mean different things, but what I typically guide people towards is thinking through what interesting stories or angles you have around a) your life outside of work (sounds like you haven't had a ton of time for extracurriculars); b) your personal experiences and/or family background; c) your unique vision and/or idea for an industry, company, etc (eg. your career goals); and/or d) some combination of above. It will be extremely important for you to demonstrate "passion." They know you have quant and problem solving skills; and they can assume you have decent teamwork and leadership skills if you've progressed and have good recs. But what's harder to assess, yet very important and potentially differentiating, is your passion. Maybe there's a particular industry you've worked with a lot that you have a killer idea for? Or maybe there was a particular event in your life that has made you who you are and in part guides your future goals? Think along those lines as you start considering your application strategy. Please do not write exclusively about projects you worked on, presentations you made to c-suite executives, or models you've created. Although those may be cool, they are not unique (...and a common pitfall of consultants, bankers and people from top companies who let their company names dictate what they're all about and get dinged when the adcom can't figure out how they are different / what unique value they provide). For the top schools, think a little deeper, and I think you'll see much better results! Best of luck!

- Meredith ([email protected])

SFlife11 · Answer

So no golden ticket. Makes a ton of sense. Thanks for the depth. I'll grab time to follow up.

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