peruvian wrote:GMAT : 720

Msc. Software Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University - GPA: 3.89 - Graduated 2013
Bsc. Software Engineering from peruvian school - GPA - 3.2 (my grade was 16 out of the maximum 20, i was the top student) - Graduated 2007

Goal: CEO my own company.

Hi , i graduated from Peru in december 2007 and got a job at Microsoft in 2008 in the USA, i worked in a software product where my code impacted millions of people. In 2011 i decided to do a Masters degree from the best software engineering school in the US . I did it part-time while i was working and moved to the silicon valley. Then i changed jobs to amazon and led an engineering team that delivered a product used by millions of customers. At the moment, i'm experimenting with delivering an application that will revolutionize how people write software.

My only target is Stanford GSB. I am afraid that, as an engineer, i don't really have the amazing accomplishments that other Stanford applicants. Also, i'm getting old, i just turned 28 years old . What makes me unique is that i accomplished what i dreamed to accomplish, worked in the top software company in the world and attended the best school for software engineering in the world, and live in the city i once dreamed of living at. I feel that i need an MBA from GSb to expand my horizons and opportunities to reach my new goal.

Please advice me if my probabilities of being accepted at GSB are too low.

Thank you very much for your help, its much appreciated.

Is there a personal reason (spouse, family, etc) why you are limiting yourself to just Stanford?

The odds of getting into Stanford are low for anyone, simply because it's a top school with a tiny class.

If there isn't any personal reasons for you to limit yourself to Stanford (and frankly, if it's a location issue due to personal reasons, you should also look at Haas as well), then you're being naive to think that just one b-school can meet your needs (or that you're putting too much stock in one school being the panacea for whatever it is you feel you're missing in your career or life).

Again, if you're looking to start your own tech company, there are plenty of b-schools that will give you the resources to get there aside from Stanford: Haas and Sloan both come to mind. Stanford is a great school, but it's not some magic place that other top b-schools don't have (i.e. if you really think it's the only school that's worth it for you, then it's purely an emotional thing on your part). Here's another way to put it: going to Stanford isn't going to put you in any better of a position than going to any other top b-school when it comes to the realities of getting a startup off the ground, whether it's securing VC funding, hiring employees, and so forth. It still comes down to you, the individual, the idea, and your ability to execute. It's like race cars: beyond a certain threshold of specs, it still comes down to the driver, not the badge on the car.

You have a solid profile overall, but you should look at a range of b-schools. With your profile, schools in the top 16 (Haas, UCLA Stern, Cornell, Yale, Ross, Duke, Darden) are sweet spots where you have a reasonable shot of getting into (choose 2-3 from this list). Schools in the top 8 (Stanford, Sloan, HBS, Wharton, Kellogg, Booth, Tuck) are stretches where you have enough of a shot that it's worth applying to 2-3 schools, but where you'll also need a bit of luck as well (don't be surprised if you don't get into any of them; have realistic expectations).

Thanks a lot Alex. I really appreciate your response. Sorry for getting back at you late.

I will definitely not limit myself to Stanford, i also have started to consider HAAS and Sloan.

All best,
Bruno

peruvian wrote:Thanks a lot Alex. I really appreciate your response. Sorry for getting back at you late.

I will definitely not limit myself to Stanford, i also have started to consider HAAS and Sloan.

All best,
Bruno

Great - you'll have an absolutely amazing time at any of these schools, where you'll be surrounded by a lot of like-minded souls who have a strong conviction for starting their own (mostly tech) businesses.