The 2015-2016 Zero Admit Club

Question

Continuing the time-honored tradition,

Let's share our profiles and thoughts about what we have done and what we can improve for the next application season.

Please provide information only in the suggested template:

Age/Gender:
GMAT Score/GPA :
Work Experience: [industry/years]
Location:
Schools applied to:
Any consulting services used: [Yes/NO, Who?]
#Interviews:
#WL:

Optional:
Which ding hurt the most and why?
Why the lack of success?
What next?

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The 2013-2014 Zero Admit Club
The 2012-2013 Zero Admit Club
The 2011-2012 Zero Admit Club
The 2009 Zero Admit Club
The 2008 Zero Admit Club
2008 Zero Admits - Where Are They Now?

Dealing with a Ding - Webinar Recording

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=echqdCOW7cM[/youtube]

Attachment:

Dealing with a Ding.pdf [4.21 MiB]
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MV23 · Answer

I'll start...
Age/Gender: 25 Brown Male
GMAT Score/GPA : 730, 3.9 at a top 5 engineering school (Grad), 8/10(Undergrad)
Work Experience:   : Data Engineer at a HighTech company, Not the big five but a well known brand; 2.5 years
Location: Bay Area
Schools applied to: GSB, HBS, Sloan, Wharton, Booth, Kellogg - All dings
Any consulting services used:   Nope
#Interviews: Kellogg(They interview everyone)
#WL: None

Optional:
Which ding hurt the most and why? 
Sloan and Kellogg : I thought I had a good chance at both schools
Why the lack of success? 
Essays maybe? or maybe I am just not good enough
What next?
Will try again in 2017. Try to get a new job

Any thoughts?

patodrums89 · Answer

So far I got 4 dings without interview and I am still waiting to hear news from NYU but let’s face it, it will be a ding.

Age/Gender:  26/Male
 GMAT Score/GPA:  680 (Q:49/V:33) / 85.7% Economics in a Top 5 Mexican Private College (not well known outside Mexico). TOEFL 114/120.
 Work Experience:  Renewable Energy Startup/1.5 years & Food Industry (Entrepreneur)/3 years. 
 Location:  Mexico.
 Schools applied to:  GSB, HBS, Sloan, CBS and NYU.
 Any consulting services used:  No
 #Interviews:  0
 #WL:  0

Optional:
 Which ding hurt the most and why?  
MIT because I feel a complete fit with the institution and the program, and CBS because I think I did a great application.
 Why the lack of success? 
According to my mentor, my lack of pedigree and professional experience in the US (tons of Mexicans studying in Ivy leagues and working in the US) could have hurt me. Also I think my GMAT score didn’t help at all.
 What next? 
1. Re-take the GMAT.
2. Diversify my target schools. I think I aimed too high so I might apply this year to Sloan, CBS, Yale, Babson, HEC Paris, Oxford and ESADE.
3. Start working on my post-MBA goals right now.

If it helps I can share you my whole applications. Any comment will be welcomed no matter how harsh it is. Thank you!

greenzie · Answer

MV23 , your little work experience also hurts your applications. It's not that you're not good enough. Your good grades in good schools and your GMAT showed a lot of potential but let's face it, you're still young and only have 2.5 years WE. Most others would have around 5 years WE.

bobcat2016 · Answer

Guess i will join this prestigious group
Age/Gender: 28 white male
GMAT Score/GPA : GMAT:690 / GPA:3.3 ivy league 
Work Experience:   7 years out of college. 1 year in public finance in philly / 4 years in tech investment banking in SF / 2 years in strategy & corp dev in boston at tech company
Location: Boston
Schools applied to: Wharton / Haas / Tuck / Columbia / Booth / MIT
Any consulting services used:   No
#Interviews: 1
#WL:0
# Dings: 6

Optional:
Which ding hurt the most and why?: Haas. Really wanted to go back out west and thought it was the best fit for me (entrepreneurship). Also only school i got an interview at which i thought went pretty well. guess not... Tuck also stung pretty bad. put a lot of effort into that app, did the whole trip up to Hanover for the interview which i thought was pretty good. damnit.
Why the lack of success? Low GMAT. All of the schools i applied to were reaches. MIT and Booth were sort of hail marys that i threw back in Nov/Dec because i panicked and thought only applying to 4 schools wasn't enough (i was right...). Probably could of put more effort into them. I thought my essays were pretty good, had a bunch of people read them but i guess i am questioning that now. my recommendations were good, i read both of them. 
What next? I guess reapply next year. try to boost my extracurriculars. I do have a couple questions that id love input on:
1. Am i getting to the age where i am too old to apply and schools will look at that as a negative? If i apply again this fall, i will be 29 then, turning 30 in Q2 of 2017.
2. How do schools view re-applicants? Am i screwed at the schools i applied/got dinged at?
3. I am going to try to take a math course online to supplement my GMAT / show i am taking the initiative. Any recommendations?

PersonalMBACoach · Answer

I am sorry to hear things did not work out for you. Based on what I see here, additional work experience will help you. Additionally, while your GMAT is certainly strong enough for many of these programs, you come from a competitive set so increasing that could help you. If you would like a further analysis or to discuss how I can help you with your apps this year, let me know. The biggest wild card is your essays, which I can't comment on without doing a ding review. Good luck and reach out so we can strategize for next time! scott@personalmbacoach.com Best, Scott

PersonalMBACoach · Answer

The GMAT definitely killed you this time around. It is simply not high enough for the schools you are targeting. Are you interested in tutoring? I also recommend diversifying your target schools. If you would like to talk about strategies for improving your profile, send me a note. We can chat about what to do to get you in this time around! scott@personalmbacoach.com Best, Scott

PersonalMBACoach · Answer

I'm sorry to hear things did not work out for you. I agree that with a 3.3, you really need to do better on the GMAT to have a good chance at any of these schools. I'm happy to talk about tutoring options if you would like. If you are under the average on one (GPA or GMAT) it can work, but to be under on both is really tough. On the essay front, I can't comment on the specific essays until I review, but having too many cooks in the kitchen can hurt. I would be happy to talk with you about how I could help you this time around with a focused effort. 1. Am i getting to the age where i am too old to apply and schools will look at that as a negative? If i apply again this fall, i will be 29 then, turning 30 in Q2 of 2017. You are still fine to apply this year. You are above the average age, but not that much above. I wouldn't wait any longer though. 2. How do schools view re-applicants? Am i screwed at the schools i applied/got dinged at? You will be fine. Schools accept re-applicants all the time. HBS put out a stat that 10% of their class this year were re-applicants. As long as you improve your profile, you will be in good shape. 3. I am going to try to take a math course online to supplement my GMAT / show i am taking the initiative. Any recommendations? I strongly recommend focusing on the GMAT first. Courses are good to take, but only when you have done as well as possible on the GMAT. A bump in the GMAT score will go much further than any online course. Send me a note to discuss further: scott@personalmbacoach.com Best, Scott

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