Help - School selection, profile eval

Question

Hello everyone,

I am an Indian applicant aiming for R2. Currently, I am taking some corrective steps with respect to the application after rejects from Fuqua & Johnson in R1.

Here is a quick outline of my application:

I have a 710 on GMAT (V48, 40) 
 UG in Business Administration (yes, not engineering) - GPA ~3.4 (on a 4 pt scale) 
 5.5+ years of consulting / advisory experience (1.5 with a big 4) - my CV is really on point and I consider my work-ex very strong. My experience includes leading engagement teams of 2 - 15+ members. 
 Decent list of activities outside high school / UG / work

My short-list for R2 is Darden, Kenan-Flagler, Kelley   and NUS, NTU  . Does this seem like the right short-list? I am looking to get into a high-performance consulting firm (would prefer a boutique firm but I don't know if they hire internationals in the smaller firms) but am open to exploring other options. Brand name is definitely important to me.

Would appreciate any and all inputs on this.

VantagePointMBA · Answer

Hi there,

I’m sorry to hear about your R1 outcomes. You’re doing the right thing, though, by recalibrating your strategy and carefully selecting your R2 programs. Your list of schools seems reasonable at a high level, with a nice range of admissions stats.

Before you start on your applications, I suggest taking an objective look at your Fuqua and Cornell apps and assessing what you could have done better. Did your apps tell a cohesive and straight-forward story about your past experience and how that led you to pursue an MBA. For you specifically, if you plan to stay in consulting post-MBA, did you convincingly explain your need for an MBA in light of that? Fuqua and Johnson are two schools that are highly focused on fit and assessing your knowledge of / commitment to the program. Did you engage enough prior to submitting your apps? These are just a few questions to ask yourself to help you strengthen your applications for R2. (Our firm offers a detailed ding analysis service, if you’d like a professional assessment: https://www.vantagepointadmissions.com/the-re-pack)

Either way, best of luck to you!

Kindly,
Melody

gmat7m · Answer

Thanks Melody, appreciate your reply.

I went back to my applications and identified a common thread of weakness. I think I focussed too much on the main essays. The main essays were really on-point and specifically brought out my deep engagement with the communities at both the schools - current students across a variety of clubs (consulting, international biz, net impact and business technology), alumni at b-school events, alumni who work for my employer in different offices, exchange students as well as reference to professors' research that was in line with my goals.

The bad part about this - the goals essay was not a 'main essay' in either of this. It was an application component not presented as an essay. I improved on this a lot between Fuqua EA and Johnson R1 but from the result, it seems the Johnson outcome was more of being in the wrong place at the wrong time (received the decision a couple of hours before the close of business hours on decision date, so I assume I was one of the last ones at a time when the ad-com had to get through a lot of applications).

Nevertheless, I understand that I need to focus evenly on application components as much as the essays (already working on a strategy).

VantagePointMBA · Answer

That's great! It sounds like you're doing all of the right things and are taking the time to honestly self-reflect. You're absolutely right that every application component counts and so you want to maximize each one. Materials like your resume and letters of recommendation are sometimes overlooked - so be sure to consider those as well. (In my experience working with pre-MBA consultants, the resume is often full of industry jargon and technical details from cases, so be sure to eliminate those and keep it high level + focused on accomplishments)

Wish you the best!

Wish you the best!

gmat7m · Answer

Thank you.

A bit of an add-on question. Do you think it makes sense to add UCLA Anderson to the list? From the combined wisdom of this forum, does it makes sense to target about 5 schools in 40 days? (excluding NUS which is later)

mbamsay · Answer

No offense meant but I don't think it being close to the end of the day is a good explanation for your rejection at both Fuqua & Johnson. If you were that close you would have been waitlisted at Johnson or at least offered an interview (after all 30-50% of all interviewees at these schools do not receive an offer). Both Fuqua & Johnson are tough nuts to crack though with the non-standard application essays (TOC & 25 random things), it could be that these might not have been as good as others?

For what it's worth from a fellow applicant I think you have a decent profile and you should get in somewhere in the same realm as Fuqua & Johnson given the right application. I would target a couple of schools at that level (i.e. Darden, Ross, Anderson, Stern), a couple slightly below (Kenan-Flagler, Tepper, Marshall, Goizueta, McCombs) and maybe a safer school such as Kelley. I wouldn't do more than 5 (I did 6 but it was v. stressful and fitting interviews in put some stress on my work). Why are you thinking of applying to NTU & NUS?

Obviously I'm not an admissions consultant but happy to share my thoughts with you if you'd like.

99Colleges · Answer

Hi gmat7m,

While selecting schools, I think, one of the most important criteria should be post-MBA recruitment. Given your career goals, you would want to attend a program where reputed consulting firms recruit in good numbers, and yes H1B sponsorship can be an issue with smaller firms.

Second, for your R1 applications, you should also look for possible ‘gap in rationale’, which means is any assertion/ goal (maybe career) lacks credibility from the evidence/ logic you’ve provided. I’ve seen this happening. A good answer also solidly   articulates rationales  .

And as pointed, recommendations play an important role, and it’s important for the recommender to provide  pertinent examples  and support rest of the application.

VantagePointMBA · Answer

Hello,

I agree with the other feedback here - recruiting power / track records should be an important factor in school selection. You don't mention why you're considering UCLA in addition to you prior list but I would put it at par with Duke and Darden in terms of your chances. With that said, UCLA probably isn't the strongest choice for consulting, which is something to consider in terms of why you want to go there.

Round 2 deadlines are less than 2 months away now so you have your work cut out for you as it is. I would try to be as focused as you can in your school list and hedge your bets. 5 schools is a lot but not impossible

Best,
Melody

Best, Melody

gmat7m · Answer

Thanks everyone.

This gives me a direction for course-correction.

mbamsay : The end of the deadline thing happened only with Johnson and I felt it may have been a factor based on peer-benchmarking my essays. In either case, my thought is that had my essays been even better / goals more precise, maybe I wouldn't have to blame luck! But, thanks, your opinion adds perspective to my approach. I am thinking NUS/NTU because they're M7 equivalents (with Insead being the HSW) in Singapore/South Asia - a geography I don't mind working in at all.

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