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May 2110:00 AM EDT
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Most candidates submit a resume built for a recruiter. Admissions committees are reading for something else entirely. This session covers what adcoms actually evaluate, where strong candidates lose ground before a single essay is written, and why...
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20 Jan 2011, 11:20
Kudos
Bookmarks
Hi Everyone,
I just finished my GMATs and wanted to get a jump start on Applications (still in the research phase) so excuse the lack of professionalism and silly hopes and dreams I may have. Could you help me evaluate my profile and see if my target schools are within target? I would also appreciate any advice you may have.
Profile:
Gender: Female
Nationality: Asian American (US Citizen)
Education: BSE in Industrial and Operations Engineering at the University of Michigan
GPA: 3.35 - I foolishly let my grades slip late junior and senior year
GMAT: 770, 6.0
Work experience at time of Entrance: 4 years Tech-Strategy Consultant for a well known firm, entered straight out of undergrad. I have a wide range of interesting experiences that should be good for crafting essays.
Age at time of Entrance: 26
Languages: English (fluent), Chinese - Mandarin (fluent), Spanish - Conversational/was semi-fluent but have forgotten much of it
Extra curricular: In undergrad I was VERY active in leadership and community service - it's probably what landed my job despite my slipping GPA. I lived/volunteered in Mexico for 2 months before starting work but post undergrad work has kept me so busy I haven't been active at all - should I pick something up?
Goal - I want to work in something challenging involving American businesses expanding into China (hence my California school selections) or settle for a cushy job in Southern California - marketing and the entertainment industry sounds interesting.
Hobbies - Snow and water sports, dance, drinking, etc
Target Program: FullTime MBA
Target Schools:
Harvard
Stanford
Northwestern
Berkley
UCLA - Mixed feelings, I want to go but the rankings seem to be slipping
Michigan - almost a safety school because of company connections and it was my undergrad
List is growing as I research..
My biggest concerns are my poor GPA (I'm very mad at myself for letting it fall through the cracks), lack of volunteering and leadership after undergrad (I suppose I could play up my Mexico volunteering, but there is nothing else), approach to getting recommendation letters (I have one solid person but not sure who else to approach - it seems very imposing), and how well I can craft my essays (Should I hire an application consultant?).
Thanks
I just finished my GMATs and wanted to get a jump start on Applications (still in the research phase) so excuse the lack of professionalism and silly hopes and dreams I may have. Could you help me evaluate my profile and see if my target schools are within target? I would also appreciate any advice you may have.
Profile:
Gender: Female
Nationality: Asian American (US Citizen)
Education: BSE in Industrial and Operations Engineering at the University of Michigan
GPA: 3.35 - I foolishly let my grades slip late junior and senior year
GMAT: 770, 6.0
Work experience at time of Entrance: 4 years Tech-Strategy Consultant for a well known firm, entered straight out of undergrad. I have a wide range of interesting experiences that should be good for crafting essays.
Age at time of Entrance: 26
Languages: English (fluent), Chinese - Mandarin (fluent), Spanish - Conversational/was semi-fluent but have forgotten much of it
Extra curricular: In undergrad I was VERY active in leadership and community service - it's probably what landed my job despite my slipping GPA. I lived/volunteered in Mexico for 2 months before starting work but post undergrad work has kept me so busy I haven't been active at all - should I pick something up?
Goal - I want to work in something challenging involving American businesses expanding into China (hence my California school selections) or settle for a cushy job in Southern California - marketing and the entertainment industry sounds interesting.
Hobbies - Snow and water sports, dance, drinking, etc
Target Program: FullTime MBA
Target Schools:
Harvard
Stanford
Northwestern
Berkley
UCLA - Mixed feelings, I want to go but the rankings seem to be slipping
Michigan - almost a safety school because of company connections and it was my undergrad
List is growing as I research..
My biggest concerns are my poor GPA (I'm very mad at myself for letting it fall through the cracks), lack of volunteering and leadership after undergrad (I suppose I could play up my Mexico volunteering, but there is nothing else), approach to getting recommendation letters (I have one solid person but not sure who else to approach - it seems very imposing), and how well I can craft my essays (Should I hire an application consultant?).
Thanks
03 Feb 2011, 12:13
Kudos
Bookmarks
Hi, sorry for the delayed response. We were taking some much needed time off after Round 2 was over and are now getting back up to speed.
Let me start by saying we just helped a client with a similar profile (in terms of ethnicity, gender, elite college, GPA, career goals of working in China, etc.) land admission at Columbia. She has a slightly lower GMAT score even, but we were able to dispatch of the GPA issue very easily by crafting a narrative of focus, discipline, and maturity post college. For starters, your GPA is not *bad* at all (unless maybe you were applying to top 10 law schools), but yes it is a little lower than you might have hoped and what you want to do is just make sure you that all that maturity is on the page, filling up every corner of the application. I have no doubt a vetted, smart consultant could help you get into multiple schools on that list.
As for volunteer experiences, as long as that was a big part of your life in college (when people have more time to do that and it is a bigger cultural expectation), I wouldn't sweat it. The biggest thing is have you displayed the themes that b-schools want to see: leadership, teamwork, maturity, motivation, innovation, intellect. Where those come from can and should be from all over the spectrum - work, personal life, community. You don't have to present a laundry list of volunteer activities to come across as a person with real convictions, values, and passions. In fact, many schools are starting to diminish or even eliminate these types of lists. It's too hard to normalize between cultures and it is too hard to validate that its accurate in the first place. If you look at Michigan's application, you will see that they ditched it entirely. So it's about the stories and the essays and not a list of things you've done.
Obviously, it will be critical to craft your career goals in the best way possible - that goes without saying!
For those programs specifically -
HBS - It's all about early acceleration and rapid achievement at HBS. It's also about a desire to dive in and meet the challenge academically. Your GPA hurts you the most here, not only because HBS has the highest average GPA, but also because they put such a premium on "our students show up every day and tackle the most challenging MBA work on the planet." Still, I would definitely encourage you to apply. Big fan of HBS.
Stanford - With GSB they are "class building." Every school says they building a class, but that's just the way admissions officers talk ... except Stanford means it. They are like admissions alchemists, trying to cook up the most interesting, dynamic group they can. This means drawing heavily upon your background, values, lessons learned, unique ways of seeing the world, and so on. I say this with as much as much modesty as I can: I believe I am better at helping candidates with the What Matters most to You Essay #1 than any consultant out there. And it's the game changer at GSB.
Northwestern - Can you navigate a rather tough set of essays to showcase "teamwork, teamwork, teamwork!" throughout? That's the key here. Essay #3 is particularly difficult for people and they want to veer into role playing and other ineffectual methods. There are simple ways to tackle Kellogg that make all the difference. With proper essays and great interview prep, Kellogg can be close to a slam dunk.
Haas - Show Haas the love, for starters. Make sure there is a lot of passion for Why Haas. Make sure that you hammer innovation. Make sure to use the four Haas pillars throughout the entire application and not just on the question where they specifically ask about it. Haas is one of the applications that has the biggest variance between "write it on your own" and "have a great consultant help you." In other words, yes, you should hire a vetted consultant, especially for Haas.
UCLA - This is where I went! Anderson is a great school, especially if you want to pursue entertainment (as is NYU Stern). In fact, if entertainment is where you want to focus, it goes to the top of the list with HBS and Stanford. If not, then I think some of these other programs (even programs not yet discussed like Columbia, Wharton, and Chicago) might be better aims. If you do apply to UCLA, it's similar to Stanford in that "who you are" matters as much or more as what you've done. Get into your background, family, and passions here. It's also a bit of Kellogg in that teamwork is paramount.
Michigan - Huge fan of Michigan, your GPA is actually higher than the average, they don't even ask about volunteer activities ... I'd say that you are on the right track with this being a key target school. (I never use the word safety school with top MBA programs, but yeah, this one is a good bet.)
Anyway, I hope this helps. Hopefully the detail makes up for the tardiness. We would love to work with you and I could get you in touch with the consultant who worked with the aforementioned student (we could probably also get you in touch with her if you are interested). Email us at [email protected] or PM me and we can start a dialogue and get you set up with a free initial consultation. It's great you are starting early as that not only has a big impact on success rates (submitting early can be a silver bullet), but we can also cut great promotions.
Hope to work with you. Certainly appreciate you reaching out to us via the forums.
Respectfully,
Paul Lanzillotti
Let me start by saying we just helped a client with a similar profile (in terms of ethnicity, gender, elite college, GPA, career goals of working in China, etc.) land admission at Columbia. She has a slightly lower GMAT score even, but we were able to dispatch of the GPA issue very easily by crafting a narrative of focus, discipline, and maturity post college. For starters, your GPA is not *bad* at all (unless maybe you were applying to top 10 law schools), but yes it is a little lower than you might have hoped and what you want to do is just make sure you that all that maturity is on the page, filling up every corner of the application. I have no doubt a vetted, smart consultant could help you get into multiple schools on that list.
As for volunteer experiences, as long as that was a big part of your life in college (when people have more time to do that and it is a bigger cultural expectation), I wouldn't sweat it. The biggest thing is have you displayed the themes that b-schools want to see: leadership, teamwork, maturity, motivation, innovation, intellect. Where those come from can and should be from all over the spectrum - work, personal life, community. You don't have to present a laundry list of volunteer activities to come across as a person with real convictions, values, and passions. In fact, many schools are starting to diminish or even eliminate these types of lists. It's too hard to normalize between cultures and it is too hard to validate that its accurate in the first place. If you look at Michigan's application, you will see that they ditched it entirely. So it's about the stories and the essays and not a list of things you've done.
Obviously, it will be critical to craft your career goals in the best way possible - that goes without saying!
For those programs specifically -
HBS - It's all about early acceleration and rapid achievement at HBS. It's also about a desire to dive in and meet the challenge academically. Your GPA hurts you the most here, not only because HBS has the highest average GPA, but also because they put such a premium on "our students show up every day and tackle the most challenging MBA work on the planet." Still, I would definitely encourage you to apply. Big fan of HBS.
Stanford - With GSB they are "class building." Every school says they building a class, but that's just the way admissions officers talk ... except Stanford means it. They are like admissions alchemists, trying to cook up the most interesting, dynamic group they can. This means drawing heavily upon your background, values, lessons learned, unique ways of seeing the world, and so on. I say this with as much as much modesty as I can: I believe I am better at helping candidates with the What Matters most to You Essay #1 than any consultant out there. And it's the game changer at GSB.
Northwestern - Can you navigate a rather tough set of essays to showcase "teamwork, teamwork, teamwork!" throughout? That's the key here. Essay #3 is particularly difficult for people and they want to veer into role playing and other ineffectual methods. There are simple ways to tackle Kellogg that make all the difference. With proper essays and great interview prep, Kellogg can be close to a slam dunk.
Haas - Show Haas the love, for starters. Make sure there is a lot of passion for Why Haas. Make sure that you hammer innovation. Make sure to use the four Haas pillars throughout the entire application and not just on the question where they specifically ask about it. Haas is one of the applications that has the biggest variance between "write it on your own" and "have a great consultant help you." In other words, yes, you should hire a vetted consultant, especially for Haas.
UCLA - This is where I went! Anderson is a great school, especially if you want to pursue entertainment (as is NYU Stern). In fact, if entertainment is where you want to focus, it goes to the top of the list with HBS and Stanford. If not, then I think some of these other programs (even programs not yet discussed like Columbia, Wharton, and Chicago) might be better aims. If you do apply to UCLA, it's similar to Stanford in that "who you are" matters as much or more as what you've done. Get into your background, family, and passions here. It's also a bit of Kellogg in that teamwork is paramount.
Michigan - Huge fan of Michigan, your GPA is actually higher than the average, they don't even ask about volunteer activities ... I'd say that you are on the right track with this being a key target school. (I never use the word safety school with top MBA programs, but yeah, this one is a good bet.)
Anyway, I hope this helps. Hopefully the detail makes up for the tardiness. We would love to work with you and I could get you in touch with the consultant who worked with the aforementioned student (we could probably also get you in touch with her if you are interested). Email us at [email protected] or PM me and we can start a dialogue and get you set up with a free initial consultation. It's great you are starting early as that not only has a big impact on success rates (submitting early can be a silver bullet), but we can also cut great promotions.
Hope to work with you. Certainly appreciate you reaching out to us via the forums.
Respectfully,
Paul Lanzillotti
