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CJH2015

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Schools: Stanford '19 (D) Wharton '19 (A$) Booth '19 (WD) CBS '19 (WL) HBS '19 (M)

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31 Mar 2016, 16:26

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I'm gearing up for the Class of '19 cycle preparing to apply for Round 1 in September. Based on what I see here in this forum, I see people applying to 4-6 schools. What are everyone's thoughts on only applying to 3 - HBS / GSB / Wharton?

Quick profile -
GPA - 3.9+ from non-HYP Ivy (think... Columbia / Penn)
GMAT - 770 (8IR, 6 AWA)
Bulge bracket investment banking (GS/MS/JPM), upper middle-market PE, signifcant experience working broad
Extra-curriculars - okay, not great
Recommendations will include seniors who are alums for each of the schools
Over-represented minority
Post-MBA - stay in finance

In your guys' experience, how many (and which) schools would you apply to in this situation?

Thanks!

PaulBodine

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31 Mar 2016, 16:33

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CJH2015,
I don't see anything in your profile that would make H/S/W unrealistic for you, though the "okay" extracurriculars may be a problem when all your competition has leadership roles. At the same time, I don't the special sauce that will make you stand out from the thousands of other applicants that you'll be competing against. For that reason, I would recommend considering a few other M7 schools to optimize your odds. If I saw your resume, I could get a better sense of whether you have the right stuff for H/S/W.
--Paul Bodine, Great Applications for Business School, www.admitify.com/outcomes

CJH2015

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31 Mar 2016, 16:39

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You have great stats and clearly you're very accomplished, but the question is,how differentiated are you from other people with your profile? That's your competition. Do you have any community service? What would be the unique contribution you will be bringing to GSB? I think it's a risky strategy and you should only do it if you're open to the possibility of being shut out for first round. I think I would recommend five or six schools if that's not an option. I always recommend that candidates apply to the lowest ranked school that they would still be excited about getting into and it would still be worthwhile for them to attend.

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CJH2015

Joined: 28 Nov 2010

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Location: United States

Schools: Stanford '19 (D) Wharton '19 (A$) Booth '19 (WD) CBS '19 (WL) HBS '19 (M)

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Updated on: 31 Mar 2016, 16:50

Originally posted by CJH2015 on 31 Mar 2016, 16:40.
Last edited by CJH2015 on 31 Mar 2016, 16:50, edited 1 time in total.

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Thanks for the quick response! Yes, the leadership / extra-curricular part is going to be a significant factor and frankly not one I can do much about at this point. My counter-balance to that will be the international exposure side of my story - in my case, it wasn't a case of "I'm going on a rotation for 1 year" type deal - it was (and sincerely is) reflective of a deep passion, interest and commitment to work on an international scale (has been a common theme throughout undergrad and professional work experience).

Two questions:

1) How much do extra-curriculars actually matter for MBA admissions? How does it rank against other factors (GPA, GMAT, Work Experience, International Experience, etc.)?

2) Is Round 1 a significant advantage for all of HBS / GSB / or Wharton? Would it make sense to potentially delay one of those schools to R2 in order to build up a better leadership / extra-curricular profile?

I don't mean to be controversial here but my impression for seeing a few cohorts of my friends go through the process is that while GSB and HBS will very much scrutinize an application to tease out the most interesting individuals, Wharton has a bit more "check the box" feel to it (although those standards are very high). Is there any truth to that?

In any case, thanks for the feed-back. I may add one of Chicago or Columbia to my school list (or maybe both...)

PaulBodine

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31 Mar 2016, 16:48

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I agree that it's sufficient to be 'just' a very strong applicant (without secret sauce) to get admitted to Wharton, whereas GSB and HBS do favor the applicant with something special (besides a strong resume and numbers). If spun well, your international dimension could be your secret sauce. If you want to send me your resume ([email protected]), I could give you deeper feedback.
--Paul Bodine, Great Applications for Business School, www.admitify.com/outcomes

CJH2015

Thanks for the quick response! Yes, the leadership / extra-curricular part is going to be a significant factor and frankly not one I can do much about at this point. My counter-balance to that will be the international exposure side of my story - in my case, it wasn't a case of "I'm going on a rotation for 1 year" type deal - it was (and sincerely is) reflective of a deep passion, interest and commitment to work on an international scale (has been a common theme throughout undergrad and professional work experience). On another note, I've seen incredibly passionate and talented people gain admissions to GSB / HBS - but I've also seen quite a number of folks that market themselves extraordinarily well.

I don't mean to be controversial here but my impression for seeing a few cohorts of my friends go through the process is that while GSB and HBS will very much scrutinize an application to tease out the most interesting individuals, Wharton has a bit more "check the box" feel to it (although those standards are very high). Is there any truth to that?

In any case, thanks for the feed-back. I may add one of Chicago or Columbia to my school list (or maybe both...)

VeritasPrepDozie

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31 Mar 2016, 18:34

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Great profile on paper so you will be competitive for all of the programs listed but being competitive and being admitted are two different things. I would really double down on identifying areas of your profile/background that could potentially differentiate you. If you can knock your essays out fo the park and complement those with strong reccs you should be in play here especially at Wharton

PersonalMBACoach

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01 Apr 2016, 19:44

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CJH2015

Answering your two questions:

1) How much do extra-curriculars actually matter for MBA admissions? How does it rank against other factors (GPA, GMAT, Work Experience, International Experience, etc.)?

ECs are pretty important. That said, I like to think outside the box with clients. I have yet to have someone who I wasn't able to work with and be creative about their involvement. While it would be ideal if you started something earlier, we could brainstorm how you can do something now that connects with a past interest/passion. ECs are not as important as GMAT/GPA (one item) or work experience. They are more important than international experience. Take all of this with a grain of salt as it all depends on the overall profile.

2) Is Round 1 a significant advantage for all of HBS / GSB / or Wharton? Would it make sense to potentially delay one of those schools to R2 in order to build up a better leadership / extra-curricular profile?
Great question, and one I help folks think through very often. Round one is certainly better, but it is not terribly different from round two. Send me an email and we can discuss a strategy for you. [email protected]

You have a great profile and should be applying to the top programs. In terms of whether I would advise you to add more than H/S/W, I would like to explore your profile more. If you execute everything to perfection, you should have success at one of those schools. As a Wharton MBA grad myself, I can say you would have the best shot there, but I have gotten folks with worse stats than yours into H/S as well.

Best,
Scott