School Selection

[shah395]

Hi,

Could you please help me decide stretch/realistic/safety...

[u]Background:[/u]
Nationality: Indian
GMAT: Male
Age: 26

[u]Undergraduate:[/u]
OSU/Fisher School of Business
Major: Accounting and Finance
GPA: Cumulative - 3.71 (Magna Cum Laude)
Dean's List - All quarters

[u]Work Experience :[/u]
Deloitte & Touche (3.5 years - Present)
Senior Auditor
Duties: Standard Big 4 Senior Auditor role.
Structured Progression.

Certified Public Accountant, State of Ohio

Community Involvement - Nothing Stellar, but have been involved with Deloitte/United Way Campaign and other Community groups.

GMAT: 660 (Q 47, V 34)

1) Harvard
2) Stanford
3) Wharton
4) Northwestern
5) University of Chicago
6) University of California -Berkeley
7) Darthmouth
8) Columbia
9) Yale
10) NYU
11) UCLA
12) Carnegie Mellon
13) Cornell
14) U.T. Austin
15) Indiana
16) London Business School
[u]Personal Assessment:[/u]
Potential Weakness: I understand my GMAT is bit low for the above mentioned schools.

Potential Edge: Certified Public Accountant (CPA).

[u]Question:[/u]
With good recommendation and essays can you please help me decide -

1. Stretch Schools
2. Realistic Schools
3. Safety Schools

Thanks,

[mbaMissionJessica]

Hi, thank you for your inquiry. The CPA is a nice differentiator your GPA is quite solid and your career progression shows growth. But with a lower GMAT, adequate but not stellar community activities and being part of an over-represented demographic (albeit with the edge of not being in IT), I think many schools on your list are stretches. Numbers 1 through 10, on this initial assessment, seem quite challenging for you to get into. The others seem reasonable, but I don't think any are safeties.

Good luck.