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Profile Eval for HBS -- Interesting Situation

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GMAT Score:720

Profile Eval for HBS -- Interesting Situation

by jmsells » Tue Jul 21, 2009 1:59 pm
Hello, I applied for the 2+2 program, but apparently I am "too old" and have "too much real-world experience".

That being said, I wonder if anyone could offer an appraisal of my profile for the regular HBS MBA admissions.

What is unique about my situation is that I took a 2 year leave to focus full-time on a perfume manufacturing business I started. I was bought out in 2008 and returned to school. Overall, I had the business for a total of 5 years and managed 7 employees.

Undergrad: #1 University in Ohio : B.S. Management (Finance) with Minor in Entrepreneurial Studies and Chemistry
GPA: 3.63 (Top 25%)
GMAT: 720 (Q70%/V98%)

F/T Employment:
1)My Perfume Company (5 Years)-->Lead 7 employees/Was successfully bought out
2)FedEx Global Supply Chain Services(1 Year)-->Senior Procurement Coordinator

P/T Employment:
1) Great Lakes Science Center-->Educational Facilitator
2)Cleveland Dept. of Public Health-->Intern
3) HR/Finance Internship with Health Benefits Consulting Firm

ExtraCurriculars:
1) UnPaid Non-Profit Management Internship at Rape Crisis Center
2) Church Board of Trustees
3) Director of Church Transportation Ministry
4) Board Member of United Way Funds Committee
5)Vice President of University Health Advocacy Group
6) 2 Years of Service in AmeriCorps (domestic version of PeaceCorps)
7) Big Brother/Big Sister
8) Catholic Charities Refugee and Migration Services Volunteer

Awards:
1) FedEx Employee Excellence Award
2) Ohio Leadership Award
3) Dean's High Honors
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by Graham » Thu Jul 23, 2009 5:13 am
Dear JMSells,

Thanks for your post. Can you please clarify on a couple of points:

1) Is FedEx your current employer - or was that something you did prior to launching the perfume company?

2) When did you graduate from ugrad? 2009?

3) Are you presently employed?

4) How many times have you taken the GMAT?

5) How were your grades in quantitative classes (stats, calculus, accounting) as an undergrad?

6) How old are you?

Sorry to pepper you with questions, but these are pretty important in terms of assessing your chances.

Regards,

Graham
Graham Richmond
Clear Admit, LLC
[email protected]
215 568 2590

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Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts
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by jmsells » Thu Jul 23, 2009 5:25 am
Hi, thanks for helping me evaluate my chances. Here are the answers to the questions:


1) Is FedEx your current employer - or was that something you did prior to launching the perfume company?

I took a leave of absense from school in 2006 to focus fulltime on my business. I also took a full time position with FedEx during that time to help augment my income until my business becamse self-sustaining. I was there for a year, and was able to resign and focus solely on my business and even had 7 employees working for me.

2) When did you graduate from ugrad? 2009?
I will graduate from ugrad May of 2010. That is, I am going into my last year of it right now.

3) Are you presently employed?
I am still in ugrad, but I am doing another side business to support myself right now.

4) How many times have you taken the GMAT?
I took the GMAT one time.

5) How were your grades in quantitative classes (stats, calculus, accounting) as an undergrad?
I have received an A in everysingle quant class I have ever taken, including Calc 1&2, Stats, Econometrics, Accounting

6) How old are you?
I just turned 24 years old.
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Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts
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by jmsells » Fri Jul 24, 2009 12:51 pm
Allright, let me know what you think!

Thanks so much for your help guys!
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by Graham » Sat Jul 25, 2009 1:43 am
Dear JMSells,

Before I offer my thoughts on your chances in HBS's regular admissions cycle, I want to shed some light on the factors that may have kept you out of HBS 2+2:

1) Given that you dropped out of college to run a business and will be nearly 25 upon completion of school, it's clear that you presented an unorthodox candidacy for 2+2 (if you had been admitted, your 2+2 peers would have all been substantially younger, and less experienced than you).

2) HBS expects truly stellar academics for 2+2. While a 720 and a 3.63 are clearly solid (right around the averages for admits to the regular program), the fact is that you ended up with a 70th percentile on quant. portion of the GMAT and that you are graduating from a non-Ivy, non-top-10 type school. In short your academic stats may not quite have been "2+2" level. [The good news is that they are likely strong enough for the regular admissions cycle - although the GMAT quant. is a bit disconcerting.]

3) You were a business ugrad major, and HBS 2+2 is really designed to draw in the hard sciences, engineering and non-traditional disciplines (although I understand from some of your other posts in the forum that you tried to play up your chemistry minor?).

As far as HBS regular admissions goes, I think that you are certainly going to be more competitive than you were for 2+2. You will still face some challenges in describing your unorthodox path through school, your work experience, etc - but I think it can be done. I also think that HBS will appreciate your entrepreneurial leadership experience and view it as an asset in the classroom (provided you can tie it all together with a coherent career vision, etc). Finally, it seems that you have several items to work with from an XCs standpoint.

I can recall reading one of your essays in this forum some time ago, and as you saw from my brief feedback on that draft at the time, there was substantial work to do from a strategic standpoint. As such, before you submit the HBS application, I would recommend that you spend a lot of time working on your positioning strategy and essay topic selection - ideally with someone who has a strong understanding of MBA admissions and is not biased about your background (as a family member might be).

I should also point out that it would be wise to look at a range of MBA programs if your goal is to earn the degree and be enrolled in business school in the fall of 2010. The reason for this is that even the best of the pack (the 770, 4.0, stellar career types) usually target several programs, as there are never any guarantees with HBS, Stanford, Wharton, etc.

Feel free to contact Clear Admit for a free phone session with one of our counselors ([email protected]) and to inquire about our special rates for clients who sign up before July 31st.

Best of luck with your applications,

Graham
Graham Richmond
Clear Admit, LLC
[email protected]
215 568 2590

Stay Informed with Clear Admit!
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Follow us on Twitter for breaking b-school news.
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