Profile Review Request - Chinese Male

Hi ywp033402,

Thanks for sharing your profile with us! We're happy to take a crack at your questions for you.

It's very difficult to estimate any applicant's chances of admission, particularly to the top programs that you named. What we can do, however, is evaluate the application components that you mentioned. In terms of academic credentials, it sounds like you come from top schools where you performed well. The GMAT is a bit of a concern if you're targeting the schools that you listed. Over the course of the 3 times that you took the exam, did you change anything about your test prep (i.e. did you work with a tutor, take prep classes, or change your prep materials)? If your score is below a school's average, then you'll have to work extra hard to compensate elsewhere in your application. Based on the info that you provided, I think you're a competitive candidate in all aspects besides the GMAT, but I don't see anything really extraordinary (such as having founded a company, or having overcome significant adversity in your life) that would definitely catapult you past other Chinese male candidates with 750+ GMAT scores. If you truly believe that you've maxed out your GMAT potential at 710, then your best strategy is to turn your attention to your letters of recommendation and your essays; but if you think there's anything else that you can change about your test prep methods, then it might be worth one last shot.

In terms of your work experience, of course the fact that you're coming from an MBB firm is definitely compelling. Ideally you'll have been promoted by the time you apply, because admissions committees (AdComs) like to see evidence of career growth. I also recommend that you begin keeping notes of leadership anecdotes within your case teams -- even if you don't have an official leadership role or title, what stories can you (and your recommenders) tell about how you behaved like a leader with your team members or your clients?

Finally, I urge you to give a good deal of thought to your short-term (up to 5 years after MBA) and long-term (15+ years after MBA) goals after business school. AdComs want to see candidates who have clearly thought carefully about why they need a business degree and how they'll use that degree and their network to launch their careers to a new level -- they want to pick "winners" for their future alumni classes. Even if you end up changing your mind during or after business school, it's critical that in your application essays you can articulate what your post-MBA career goals are and how you'll use your MBA to get there.

I hope that helps -- if you'd like to chat further with us, feel free to contact us at www.admissionado.com!

Best,

Doris