Profile Evaluation (for Harvard MBA)

Thank you for the detailed profile information. This is absolutely not too early to begin so it's great to be posting here.

I will compare you to other applicants I have worked with both in London (I just held an event there recently actually so I'll have to invite you next time) and from Australia.

Your stats are pretty good overall. What was your raw quant score?

The reality is sales and trading is not the best pre-MBA experience and even less so at HBS, not to burst your bubble. I still work with a lot of traders and place them into top M7 schools every year, but HBS would require your story to have something else to beat out the others applying. The average GMAT is 730 after all and for an Asian male trader that number is higher.

I would love to explore it further and give you straightforward feedback. Email your resume and test score breakdown to scott@personalmbacoach.com and we can schedule time to chat.

www.personalmbacoach.com

Best,
Scott

By no means is it too early to post here, there's a great deal that can be done at this stage. Sales and trading is not optimal preparation, but think about maybe how you have demonstrated leadership within that context. The way I have approached it in the past is think about what you have led in terms of process improvement, training, etc. What is the medium sized society that you were president of? Would be good to know what else you have going in terms of leadership. But I think the most important thing you need to dial in on is what your *unique contribution* would be. What makes you irreplaceable? Could be the unique perspective that you bring as a Korean Australian, or something else about your background or perspective. Would be even better if this unique contribution was something that has helped you add value in previous group settings.

https://MBAPrepCoach.COM

Now's actually the perfect time to get started with the application process! It's a marathon, not a sprint! So there's a lot to like about your profile - international experience, great undergrad stats, solid GMAT, etc. - but I think that HBS may be tough for you, based on the information you provided, for many of the same reasons echoed above. Are you a trader or sales guy or do you have another function within the sales & trading division at your bank? What your actual role and experience have been could move the needle quite a bit.

All that's not to say that you shouldn't apply to HBS (it's a reach for most applicants after all), but it shouldn't be the only school you apply to if you're committed to getting an MBA. Above all else, HBS looks for a track record of leadership, both at work and outside of work. That can come in many shapes and sizes but it needs to be a consistent theme throughout your application. So as you continue to evaluate your application strategy, I would encourage you to think about what that narrative is for you (i.e. what drives you, how have you led teams/projects/initiatives in the past, etc.) In my experience, applicants with those compelling stories are the ones who break through the clutter of 9,000+ applications that the HBS adcom reviews every year.

So for you, my advice would be to re-take the GMAT and see if you can eek another 20 points or so out of it (it sounds like you have upside in your verbal anyways), see what you can do to build out your extra-curricular profile with some tangible leadership experience, and then start looking into some other great MBA programs that could help you hedge your bets on HBS.

I'm happy to chat further about all of this if you'd like! You can sign up for a free consultation here. I know the application process can seem daunting but starting early is a great way to make it all more manageable. Best of luck to you!

Kindly,
Melody

You have a nice profile with a few standouts, so you will be in play at HBS. But to get over the top you will probably need to really come correct in your application. Think of ways in your profile you can stand out particularly those that revolve around leadership, which is always a major key for admissions at HBS