Please evaluate my chances at HBS

b

I'm looking for both a profile evaluation and suggestions on how to improve in the next 4-5 years.

Basic stats:
Age: 21
GPA: 3.6 from a top-25, non-Ivy school
GMAT: 750

Work Experience:
1 internship with Merrill Lynch in Investment Banking Division in NY
1 internship with JPMorgan in Investment Banking Division in Singapore
1 internship with local bank in Mongolia
1 internship with Standard and Poor's economic consulting arm

Extracurriculars:
-Volunteered at a Mongolian orphanage - helped establish a primary school for orphaned children.
-Committee leader for my school's chapter of Junior Achievement - a program where I organized a number of college students to teach primary, secondary, and high school inner-city youth basic courses in business and economics
-Volunteer tutor at an underachieving high school in Chinatown
-Graduate school research assistant and teaching assistant

Examples of leadership:
-Hired as an Associate Intern at the Mongolian bank (as opposed to the entry level position of analyst). As I was hired in a more senior level, I had the chance to manage a team of 5 analysts and interns during my tenure, and acted as the lead project manager for 2 of the company's largest deals.
-"Led" 2 of my peers to assist with the Mongolian orphanage project; arranged a field trip for the children that required careful planning and coordination by setting up transportation, arranging the site visit, etc.
-Had the chance to TA for a graduate level class, where I was teaching 25-35 year old students while I was still an undergraduate student. Also graded exams from MBA students at a top Paris-based business school.

My plan:
Work as an investment banking analyst for Merrill Lynch for 2 years, apply for private equity pre-MBA associate positions, and apply for HBS after completing 1 year in PE.

Would appreciate if you would answer the following:
1.) If I applied to HBS right now (instead of going through with my IB->PE->MBA plan), what are my chances for immediate acceptance to HBS with 0 or 1 year of full-time work experience?
2.) If I go through with my plan, I'm afraid of coming off too vanilla - same as every other banker out there. I feel that my current distinguishing factors are impressive only for someone my age, but the impact from these unique factors will exponentially diminish as time goes on. I'm sure that when I apply for bschool, the adcom won't care about what I did 5 years ago. Is there anything you can suggest that I do in order to maximize and distinguish my candidacy?

Thanks!

Lisa Anderson · Posted: Tue May 13, 2008 9:04 am Post subject:

Dear b,

I think you have a competitive profile for HBS, both now and if you follow through on your plan. You are correct in that your profile 5 years from now will be similar to many other applicants, but your current profile may also be quite similar. I do think your experience to date is interesting and an advantage for you, especially with the strong ties to your community service. HBS has always admitted strong candidates with 0-2 years experience with profiles similar to yours. Perhaps apply now and see what happens? If you do not get in now, then you will have a better idea of what to do on a future application. Ultimately, it is what you feel comfortable with and having the resources to go to school set up.

Good luck,
Lisa