Ask an MBA Admissions Consultant

College: Princeton University
Graduated 2005
Major: History
Minor: American Studies
GPA: 3.31


GMAT: 710 (92%)
Q: 48 (84%)
V: 39 (87%)

Work:

2006-Present:
Founded a specialty food business.
Annual revenue: six figures.
Product available in Whole Foods and other high profile retailers.
In the process of selling the business.

2005-2006:
Retail Analyst for Vista Research, a division of Standard & Poor's. Vista Research is a financial services firm.

Career Goals:

Interested in pursuing consumer products through venture capitalism, consulting, entrepreneurism or a major global consumer products company.

Personal:

Running in the 2009 NYC Marathon and donating the money to charity.
Entertainment Chair of my 5th Reunion. Year long post with a command of a sizable budget.

Questions:

Should I take the GMAT again?
What weaknesses are indicated by the resume?
How do I bolster the weaknesses?
What schools are reasonable?

Thanks!

Matt

mfitzger wrote:College: Princeton University
Graduated 2005
Major: History
Minor: American Studies
GPA: 3.31


GMAT: 710 (92%)
Q: 48 (84%)
V: 39 (87%)

Work:

2006-Present:
Founded a specialty food business.
Annual revenue: six figures.
Product available in Whole Foods and other high profile retailers.
In the process of selling the business.

2005-2006:
Retail Analyst for Vista Research, a division of Standard & Poor's. Vista Research is a financial services firm.

Career Goals:

Interested in pursuing consumer products through venture capitalism, consulting, entrepreneurism or a major global consumer products company.

Personal:

Running in the 2009 NYC Marathon and donating the money to charity.
Entertainment Chair of my 5th Reunion. Year long post with a command of a sizable budget.

Questions:

Should I take the GMAT again?
What weaknesses are indicated by the resume?
How do I bolster the weaknesses?
What schools are reasonable?

Thanks!

Matt

I'm assuming you are applying to the top programs. To answer your questions:

1) I wouldn't.
2) I don't have a sense of leadership or unusual achievement from what you wrote above. Details could change that. There is also a lot of difference between a business grossing $105K per year or $950K per year. Also, your goal seems vague.
3) Use specifics and details to increase awareness of and give context to your achievements. Clarify your goals.
4) Look into Duke, Ross, Cornell, Kelley. Kellogg would be a stretch but worth a try.

Best,
Linda

Hi Linda,

Thanks for the swift reply.

I really have not put together a hard and fast list of schools. I want to be realistic with my applications.

I feel a little uncomfortable discussing specifics of the business in a public forum, but the yearly revenue is mid-six figures. The business has been featured in a number of high profile publications and won a number of prestigious industry awards.

How do business schools assess the GMAT? Do incremental gains have any impact?

Are Top 5 a pipe dream?

I know I am being vague right now. I definitely need to zero in on career goals and demonstrate personal and business achievements, highlighting leadership.

Thanks again for the response!

Matt

Linda Abraham wrote:

mfitzger wrote:College: Princeton University
Graduated 2005
Major: History
Minor: American Studies
GPA: 3.31


GMAT: 710 (92%)
Q: 48 (84%)
V: 39 (87%)

Work:

2006-Present:
Founded a specialty food business.
Annual revenue: six figures.
Product available in Whole Foods and other high profile retailers.
In the process of selling the business.

2005-2006:
Retail Analyst for Vista Research, a division of Standard & Poor's. Vista Research is a financial services firm.

Career Goals:

Interested in pursuing consumer products through venture capitalism, consulting, entrepreneurism or a major global consumer products company.

Personal:

Running in the 2009 NYC Marathon and donating the money to charity.
Entertainment Chair of my 5th Reunion. Year long post with a command of a sizable budget.

Questions:

Should I take the GMAT again?
What weaknesses are indicated by the resume?
How do I bolster the weaknesses?
What schools are reasonable?

Thanks!

Matt

I'm assuming you are applying to the top programs. To answer your questions:

1) I wouldn't.
2) I don't have a sense of leadership or unusual achievement from what you wrote above. Details could change that. There is also a lot of difference between a business grossing $105K per year or $950K per year. Also, your goal seems vague.
3) Use specifics and details to increase awareness of and give context to your achievements. Clarify your goals.
4) Look into Duke, Ross, Cornell, Kelley. Kellogg would be a stretch but worth a try.

Best,
Linda

Ok I don't get this. This profile seems stellar to me. An Ivy League graduate who started his/her own company that is doing fantastically well.
But the admissions consultant says "I don't have a sense of leadership or unusual achievment..."

Are you kidding me? The person is probably 25 yrs old? Founded and running a succesful company. And you don't have a sense of leadership??

OTOH the thread right before this has an Indian Engineer with average profile applying to top schools. The admissions consultant doesn't discourage him but tries to sell essay editing. I know hundreds of thousands of people with the same profile!

I'm beginning to think you will not get an honest evaluation here.

I agree. I think this is a strong profile for a top program. Clearly this is a person with the academic horsepower to be successful in Bschool. I think starting a venture shows that this person is innovative and will have a lot to contribute in class discussions. This person is involved in the Pton alumni community and is in charge of a reunion which not only shows leadership but also shows that this person will be an ambassador for the Bschool after graduation.

I bet the essays from this applicant will tell a compelling story. As long as the answer to 'Why an MBA' becomes clear I think this is a strong candidate.

mfitzger wrote:Hi Linda,

Thanks for the swift reply.

I really have not put together a hard and fast list of schools. I want to be realistic with my applications.

I feel a little uncomfortable discussing specifics of the business in a public forum, but the yearly revenue is mid-six figures. The business has been featured in a number of high profile publications and won a number of prestigious industry awards.

How do business schools assess the GMAT? Do incremental gains have any impact?

Are Top 5 a pipe dream?

I know I am being vague right now. I definitely need to zero in on career goals and demonstrate personal and business achievements, highlighting leadership.

Thanks again for the response!

Matt

Matt,

You're welcome.

I completely understand why you want to be vague on a public message board, but I also wanted to alert you so that you won't be vague when you write your essays, resume, and application. Again, details make a difference, which is probably why your business was featured and won awards.

Regarding the GMAT, you might find "The GMAT in MBA Admissions" helpful. It addresses that question. Both your verbal and quant are above 80%. I don't think an incremental improvement in your GMAT is going to make much difference. If you have few quant undergrad classes, you may want to take some quant classes and earn A's in them. Favorites would be calc, accounting, econ, and statistics for business.

Top 5 are a stretch, but not a pipe dream.

Best,
Linda

gmatbschool wrote:

Linda Abraham wrote:

mfitzger wrote:College: Princeton University
Graduated 2005
Major: History
Minor: American Studies
GPA: 3.31


GMAT: 710 (92%)
Q: 48 (84%)
V: 39 (87%)

Work:

2006-Present:
Founded a specialty food business.
Annual revenue: six figures.
Product available in Whole Foods and other high profile retailers.
In the process of selling the business.

2005-2006:
Retail Analyst for Vista Research, a division of Standard & Poor's. Vista Research is a financial services firm.

Career Goals:

Interested in pursuing consumer products through venture capitalism, consulting, entrepreneurism or a major global consumer products company.

Personal:

Running in the 2009 NYC Marathon and donating the money to charity.
Entertainment Chair of my 5th Reunion. Year long post with a command of a sizable budget.

Questions:

Should I take the GMAT again?
What weaknesses are indicated by the resume?
How do I bolster the weaknesses?
What schools are reasonable?

Thanks!

Matt

I'm assuming you are applying to the top programs. To answer your questions:

1) I wouldn't.
2) I don't have a sense of leadership or unusual achievement from what you wrote above. Details could change that. There is also a lot of difference between a business grossing $105K per year or $950K per year. Also, your goal seems vague.
3) Use specifics and details to increase awareness of and give context to your achievements. Clarify your goals.
4) Look into Duke, Ross, Cornell, Kelley. Kellogg would be a stretch but worth a try.

Best,
Linda

Ok I don't get this. This profile seems stellar to me. An Ivy League graduate who started his/her own company that is doing fantastically well.
But the admissions consultant says "I don't have a sense of leadership or unusual achievment..."

Are you kidding me? The person is probably 25 yrs old? Founded and running a succesful company. And you don't have a sense of leadership??

OTOH the thread right before this has an Indian Engineer with average profile applying to top schools. The admissions consultant doesn't discourage him but tries to sell essay editing. I know hundreds of thousands of people with the same profile!

I'm beginning to think you will not get an honest evaluation here.

Matt went to an Ivy league school, but earned a 3.3 there. Princeton is notorious for grade inflation and that is a respectable, but not stellar GPA. His GMAT is very solid, but not remarkable at the top schools. As I noted in my response, the details about his work experience could make a difference, but there is no mention of employees and little leadership in the original post. "Six figure" revenue could be $100K or $900K and the difference as a measure of success is enormous. In addition, I also wanted to make sure he knows that he needs to be more specific in his application. He didn't have a problem with my response. Finally, I have reviewed hundreds, if not thousands of applications to top MBA programs. I see who gets accepted and rejected. So I based my response on the information available and my experience.

I have no problem if you disagree with my assessment or if you question it. You are definitely entitled to your opinion and that can differ from mine. I also acknowledge that these assessments have limited value because they are based on incomplete information. Furthermore , I am acutely aware that I am human and can err. BUT I only give honest evaluations.

Best,
Linda