Am I competitive for R2?

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Am I competitive for R2?

by Consultant2010 » Sat Dec 19, 2009 8:51 pm
I just beat the GMAT and I am preparing R2 apps. I would like to share my admissions strategy and profile and get some feedback.

White American Male - Age 25 at time of matriculation
GMAT: 720
GPA: 3.2 from up and coming small private university
3 years of experience including completed leadership development program and a sales/marketing position with major financial services instituition
Post MBA - Strategy or Sales and Marketing Consulting

Target Schools:
Darden
Fuqua
UNC Kenan-Flagler
Harvard
Georgetown

What are my odds at these schools?

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by Lisa Anderson » Mon Dec 21, 2009 9:03 am
Dear Consultant2010,

It is impossible to give odds, but this year is highly competitive and most schools have seen an increase in applications. Thus your essays, interview, and recommendations will be even more critical as a means to distinguish you from the competition. You certainly have the GMAT/GPA to be competitive at these schools and have a mix of reach and reasonable programs. It all comes down to the rest of the application and how you look relative to the rest of the applicant pool.

Best of luck,
Lisa
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by Consultant2010 » Mon Dec 21, 2009 9:21 am
Thank you Lisa.

Do you see 3 years of work experience as a red flag? I understand most of the schools I am applying to have an average of 5 years of post undergraduate work experience, with the exception of Harvard at 3.5.

I have been highlighting maturity and undergraduate internships in essays to combat this area of concern. Do you think this is worth addressing and do you think I will face questions in interviews about my relative lack of experience?

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by Lisa Anderson » Wed Dec 23, 2009 8:46 am
Your three years of experience puts you in the mix with a large number of applicants. As long as your resume and essays demonstrate you have three years of quality experience, solid contributions and increased responsibility, then you will start to separate (in a good way) from the scores of others with 2-4 years of experience. What all applicants must be prepared to address, both in essays and interviews, is the "why now?" question. So, just know that you should have a reasonable answer for why you want to go to business school now--as long as you do, then you will be fine.

Good luck,
Lisa
Lisa Anderson
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Stacy Blackman Consulting

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