BREAKING: Target Test Prep releases Brand New 2026 On Demand GMAT prep course

Redeem

Dinged Analysis

Free advice from the world's top MBA consultants
This topic has expert replies
Post new topic Post Reply
Previous Topic Next Topic
Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts
Posts: 21
Joined: Sat Jul 16, 2016 5:07 pm
Thanked: 7 times
Followed by:1 members

Dinged Analysis

by hwang327 » Sat Jan 13, 2018 2:49 pm
Dinged by Wharton (R1; No interview), Booth (R1; Interviewed), CBS (Rolling; No interview)

Stats
- 3.65 GPA in Undergrad Finance (Western University, Canada)
- 760 GMAT
- 2 years experience in sell-side investment/equity research
- 2 current years of experience at a hedge fund doing investment analysis
- Chartered Financial Analyst
- Extracurriculars in University... fairly sparse post-graduation.
- Solely looking to get into investment management (basically continue on the same career track in the states)


Now, before you default to my Extracurricular as the sole reason for my rejection. Let me just say that I know others who have gone to CBS without Extracurriculars, not that I didn't have any extracurriculars since I started working... I was just a little less involved than I had been when I was in school.

I figured that I would at least be able to get an interview at CBS... but that turned out to be some wishful thinking on my part...
Top
Source: — Ask an MBA Admissions Consultant |

GMAT/MBA Expert

User avatar
Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts
Posts: 298
Joined: Mon Jun 20, 2016 11:37 am
Thanked: 26 times
Followed by:11 members

by Donna@Stratus » Sun Jan 21, 2018 5:15 pm
hwang327 wrote:Dinged by Wharton (R1; No interview), Booth (R1; Interviewed), CBS (Rolling; No interview)

Stats
- 3.65 GPA in Undergrad Finance (Western University, Canada)
- 760 GMAT
- 2 years experience in sell-side investment/equity research
- 2 current years of experience at a hedge fund doing investment analysis
- Chartered Financial Analyst
- Extracurriculars in University... fairly sparse post-graduation.
- Solely looking to get into investment management (basically continue on the same career track in the states)


Now, before you default to my Extracurricular as the sole reason for my rejection. Let me just say that I know others who have gone to CBS without Extracurriculars, not that I didn't have any extracurriculars since I started working... I was just a little less involved than I had been when I was in school.

I figured that I would at least be able to get an interview at CBS... but that turned out to be some wishful thinking on my part...
To be honest... something seems fishy here.... I don't think it is necessarily the extracurriculars--
but I do think it might be something in your application that you could have possibly done better -- as those stats certainly would give you a good shot at an interview-- and if you were not successful-- the first place I'd review are the essays and the overall short answers and application itself. It may not be that-- as one cannot know from just this information. We do offer a package called the Ding analysis-- where we have a counselor with deep knowledge in a school or in the admissions process do a thorough review of your overall application and help suggest where you could improve. Since most programs will not offer that kind of review-- I do think it might be wise to look at something like this before applying again just to make sure you address any potential weaknesses before you reapply. To set up a Ding Analysis with us-- reach out at this link: https://stratusadmissionscounseling.com/free-consult/
Top

GMAT/MBA Expert

User avatar
GMAT Instructor
Posts: 2095
Joined: Tue Dec 04, 2012 3:22 pm
Thanked: 1443 times
Followed by:247 members

by ceilidh.erickson » Mon Jan 22, 2018 12:58 pm
hwang327 wrote:Dinged by Wharton (R1; No interview), Booth (R1; Interviewed), CBS (Rolling; No interview)

Stats
- 3.65 GPA in Undergrad Finance (Western University, Canada)
- 760 GMAT
- 2 years experience in sell-side investment/equity research
- 2 current years of experience at a hedge fund doing investment analysis
- Chartered Financial Analyst
- Extracurriculars in University... fairly sparse post-graduation.
- Solely looking to get into investment management (basically continue on the same career track in the states)


Now, before you default to my Extracurricular as the sole reason for my rejection. Let me just say that I know others who have gone to CBS without Extracurriculars, not that I didn't have any extracurriculars since I started working... I was just a little less involved than I had been when I was in school.

I figured that I would at least be able to get an interview at CBS... but that turned out to be some wishful thinking on my part...
The application is more than just your resume. Don't discount the importance of the essays. Schools want to see applicants who are passionate and have vision, and who will be an asset to their class. If your essay sounded perfunctory, or gave off the impression of "I want to keep doing exactly what I've been doing, and business school is just a box I want to check off on the way," they're not going to be very excited about your candidacy.

Schools want to see that you have ambitious but realistic goals, and that *their* school in particular is the bridge you need to get from where you are to where you want to be.

I would take Donna up on the offer of a ding analysis, and reach out to other admissions consultants who offer free consultations (there are several on this forum) to ask whether your essays might have been underwhelming.
Ceilidh Erickson
EdM in Mind, Brain, and Education
Harvard Graduate School of Education
Top

GMAT/MBA Expert

User avatar
Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts
Posts: 351
Joined: Fri May 01, 2015 9:10 am
Location: Brooklyn, NY
Thanked: 44 times
Followed by:9 members

by MargaretStrother » Tue Mar 13, 2018 5:44 am
Your numbers are great, so we are looking for other factors that might have caused these dings. Some of that information is not available here, so I am just going to make some educated guesses, and see if any of it resonates for you:

First, essays: Columbia and Wharton both have research-heavy essays; Booth not so much. But my guess just from the information you presented here, and forgive me if I guess wrong, is that you didn't show evidence of deep knowledge of the schools. That could have come up in your Booth interview, if you stumbled on Why Booth questions, and if you wrote generic or similar essays for Columbia and Wharton. Wharton's essays in particular are subtly research-focused, but you wouldn't necessarily have realized that. Columbia's first essay was also especially tough this year. So if your essays for Wharton and Columbia were similar, that's your problem right there. Again, I have no way of knowing this, it's just something for you to self-assess.

Second, leadership: Leadership is the #1 driver of b-school admissions, but you don't mention it here. Extracurriculars are valuable as a place for you to practice team leadership if you don't have that opportunity in the workplace, and undergraduate leadership is also an excellent marker of future success. Ignore the people you know who got in despite lacking extracurriculars; that's the equivalent of running a race while looking over your shoulder. Instead, treat your application holistically and identify all the areas where it could be better. Then, fix those things. If the weakness wasyin your leadership profile and/or essays, the good news is that this is entirely in your hands: unlike a poor undergraduate GPA, you can fix these weaknesses and reapply!

This is an area where an experienced MBA consultant can add real value: many companies, including Stacy Blackman, offer in-depth ding analyses, and we can help you come up with a game plan for your reapplication in the fall. (https://www.stacyblackman.com/hourly/) On a personal level, helping reapplicants succeed is one of the parts of this job that I enjoy the most.

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

Learn more about me
Top
User avatar
Newbie | Next Rank: 10 Posts
Posts: 1
Joined: Sat Aug 05, 2017 6:43 am
Location: New York, NY

TTT

by SIA_Admissions » Tue Apr 24, 2018 11:21 am
Hi @hwang327,

You, indeed, have very strong credentials and find odd that your application did not yield favorable results. I would welcome the opportunity to look at your essays, resume, and the supplementary essay (if you have submitted one) to try and pinpoint the misstep. If interested, please email to coordinate a free consultation. My contact details are listed in signature.

Good luck!
hwang327 wrote:Dinged by Wharton (R1; No interview), Booth (R1; Interviewed), CBS (Rolling; No interview)

Stats
- 3.65 GPA in Undergrad Finance (Western University, Canada)
- 760 GMAT
- 2 years experience in sell-side investment/equity research
- 2 current years of experience at a hedge fund doing investment analysis
- Chartered Financial Analyst
- Extracurriculars in University... fairly sparse post-graduation.
- Solely looking to get into investment management (basically continue on the same career track in the states)


Now, before you default to my Extracurricular as the sole reason for my rejection. Let me just say that I know others who have gone to CBS without Extracurriculars, not that I didn't have any extracurriculars since I started working... I was just a little less involved than I had been when I was in school.

I figured that I would at least be able to get an interview at CBS... but that turned out to be some wishful thinking on my part...
Sia Admissions
[email protected]
+1 (646) 690 - 6696
website: https://www.SiaAdmissions.com
Top
Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts
Posts: 308
Joined: Sat Nov 13, 2010 8:29 pm
Thanked: 43 times
Followed by:5 members

by mcbMcK » Wed Apr 25, 2018 5:35 am
hwang327,

While for reasons mentioned here, we do not provide a formal ding analysis, we'd be happy to have a look at your application to assess if there are red flags and whether a team like ours (aka admissions consultants can really add value). The objective data you've shared seems about right but a lot more than that as already shared here.
MG (Manish Gupta)|The MBA Crystal Ball Team

Website: https://www.mbacrystalball.com
Email: mcb at mbacrystalball dot com
Top
Post new topic Post Reply
• Page 1 of 1