Profile evaluation request

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Profile evaluation request

by golden99 » Thu Apr 27, 2017 7:48 am
Target schools:
HBS or Stanford
Wharton
Kellogg (MMM)
Columbia / Booth / Haas / Tuck

Undergrad at one of the Big 10 schools (think Illinois / Wisco / Indiana). Double major in undergrad b-school, 3.9+ GPA, 4.0 major GPA.
GMAT: 710 (Q50 V36), IR8, AWA 5.5
Experience: 4-5 years of IB experience at a European BB at matriculation. Spent times in both US and Asia (now in Asia). Built out a new coverage team. Strong involvement in those junior banker management committees and firm-wide volunteering campaigns
Extracurriculars / Other: High school / college mentorship program. Volunteering at a tech for girls organization. Leadership role in an international student organization back in school.
Recommendation: assume will be good, both from my managers who know me well
Asian male, international student, 1st generation college grad, lgbt (no leadership involvement in lgbt though)
Also I have a green card - so assuming this will make me more competitive than "an international student from Asia"?

Post MBA graduation goals: 1) Product management / strategy at big tech company, or an edtech company 2) Growth equity.

1) Any other schools I should consider? How many schools would be too many to handle? What are the best ways to "narrow down" the list?
2) How to boost my profile? Rather not retake GMAT - I studied for 3-4 months and max practice score is ~730/740
3) Best way to know about the school is obviously to visit the campus in person. I can only be in the US during late summer though - would this be too late? Any tips on "networking strategies"? I don't personally know anyone from HBS for example. Should I just cold email someone from a student org and speak on the phone?

Thank you!

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by MargaretStrother » Fri May 05, 2017 9:49 am
Hi Golden99!
Lots of good stuff here: top business schools will definitely be attracted to your awesome GPA and the diversity-component of your LGBT profile. Given your demographic, however, I'd love to see a stronger GMAT - your quant is super, but the verbal should be a bit higher. Much as you don't want to do this again, 730 and above would make you significantly more competitive for the schools you're attracted to (but you knew that...)
International focus is great! Leadership is hard for me to identify, but it looks like you have material to draw on there.

Now, how many schools to handle? Depending on whether you're doing Early Decision, I'd say four or five in the first round, and save a couple for Round 2. Which four? Pick a couple of reach, and at least one safe school. With a 710 GMAT, for example, a safe school would be one where the average/median incoming class GMAT is at or below 710, and the acceptance rate is above 20%.

Post-MBA goals are important, but that's something we would discuss in a private meeting; too complicated for this public forum. Top MBA programs do ask you to pick a lane, at least for the purposes of your research and application, and that lane should have some ties, however tangential, with what you've done before. If you haven't had experience in tech or edtech, for example, you might be at a competitive disadvantage in the hiring market. But you might find a career path that builds on your IB experience while moving you in the direction you hope to go longer-term. It's important to use research and outreach to build out that path in depth, based on what other alumni have been doing.

Campus visits/getting to know people: this stuff is important. I don't know how you'd feel about this, but I can envision you applying in Round 2 instead of Round 1, and using the fall to visit campuses when classes are in session to get to know some students. It's a lot harder at this stage in the semester, when everyone is preoccupied with finals and summer internships. That would also give you more time to retake the GMAT (hint, hint...)

If you choose to do Round 1, pick schools whose essays are less dependent on research, such as HBS, and use the fall to do networking/outreach for your second round schools. It's perfectly valid to cold-email school clubs, but it will be necessary for you to really nail down your post-MBA industry so that you outreach to the RIGHT clubs. See what I mean?

Given the complexity of your questions and your high success potential, I think you could really benefit from a one-on-one with one of our experts. You can register for a free consultation here: https://www.stacyblackman.com/contact/

Good luck!
Margaret Strother
Margaret Strother
Senior Consultant
Stacy Blackman Consulting

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