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stevieg · Sun Oct 25, 2009 5:58 pm

Hi,

I trust that you are well.

Please could you perhaps give some advice on my evaluation.

I am planning to apply to the top 5 schools.

HBS is my number 1 choice.

Background
Born and raised in the UK.

BA in History from University College London (GPA:3.0)

Journalist for the The Times Group of Newspapers (1 year)

Derivatives analyst (UBS) - 3 years.

I have 6-7 year track record of strong extra-curricular activities, volunteering with several organisations (mentoring,education etc).

I am looking for a career change however and want to move into the non-profit sector with a long term target to set up a charitable foundation.

I am yet to take a GMAT but I'm assuming with my low GPA I would possibly need a 700+?

I know that Harvard may seem a long shot but I think
I can do it. I just wandered what your thoughts were and if you think my optimism is misguided!

Many Thanks for your time.

Regards,

Steve

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Bryant@VeritasPrep · Mon Oct 26, 2009 4:53 am

Steve while a cursory glance at your posted qualifications appear impressive, it is not possible to make a guess on whether you are HBS material without a more throrough examination of your profile. Applying to HBS is almost like buying a lottery ticket--there are so many applicants, even some very good ones get rejected in any given year that may have been accepted in other years. The stars truly have to align when it comes to finding your way through a process like theirs which receives so many applications. I do know that they highly value diversity and academic excellence, so right off the bat, you seem to offer something being from the UK (since most of their finance applicants come from the US), yet you come up short on GPA--potentially an issue. The longer you are out of school, the less GPA matters, but getting a 7-handle on your GMAT would really help innoculate any concerns they may have about your ability to handle the program. Also, Harvard is really big on leadership, so demonstrating a mature and seasoned leadership potential is critical. Also make sure your career vision is solid and that it ties into or at least builds on what you have accomplished so far--and don't forget to quantify your accomplishments, another big factor for the Harvard committee. Good luck. Short answer for HBS is, you just never know...which is why it is always good to have a backup plan. HAve you considered Yale SOM? They have a strong tradition of turning out non-profit carrer folks. Just a thought.

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Eliot · Thu Oct 29, 2009 9:37 am

Stevieg,

Thanks for your message. HBS really values applicants with strong leadership abilities. They want to see that you have a track record of leadership in college, on the job and outside of work. While you seem to have some leadership in your extracurricular activities, I would need to know more about your leadership in college at at work. So, did you lead any activities at college? Did you lead any projects at work?

Your low (3.0) college gpa will also be an issue. In addition to gaining a 700+ on the GMAT, you might need to take build an alternate transcript to offset your college gpa. In addition, I would want more information about why you are switching career paths.

Thus, HBS is likely to be a reach school for you. While you are welcome to apply to HBS if you have the leadership track record, you should probably expand your search to other top 10-top 15 schools.

Let me know if you have any further questions.

Sincerely,

Eliot Ingram
Clear Admit LLC

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