Which MBA Program?

[Wayward-Bound]

Trying to get an overall evaluation of how my application will be received at the universities I am aiming to attend. Going to list out my statistics below:

Work Experience : 28 months - work for fortune 10 company with three promotions in last two years as a finance coordinator

Undergrad: Small private school in NY. GPA - 3.93 on 4.0 scale

Mentor at my company and aiming to get two letters of recommendation from executives at my company

GMAT Score: This is work-in-progress as I'm in Manhattan GMAT course right now. My first practice test was 620 with lots of room to improve so hoping to get in the 700-720 range.

With that being said, can I get a realistic idea of how I would fair at the following schools:

Harvard
Cornell
Columbia
NYU
UPenn

[essaysnark]

Wayward-Bound

Several schools on that list are super focused on career goals, so without knowing what you want to do with an MBA, it's tough to evaluate which are the best schools.

The GPA is very impressive. Columbia and Wharton definitely like to see a high GPA. Other schools will appreciate this too. The thing with these two schools though is that they also prefer older students. You probably have enough work experience to give it a shot at any of these schools, but you may be seen as a little "young" for some of them. You'll need to really emphasize your leadership experiences and how you're now ready for bschool/why this is the right time. We're not sure who you're being a "mentor" to with so little work experience (no offense, just usually that term is reserved for more senior folks) however that might be a starting point to explore for essay topics.

HBS traditionally has been much more open to younger candidates though this may be changing.

The GMAT will matter a lot, as you know. A 620 is not going to be high enough for these schools. We know that was just a practice test and you're not done preparing, however we often see people score worse on the real deal than in the practice, so make sure you do everything you can to crack that puppy.

Cornell is the "easy" school on this list; they're sinking in the rankings somewhat of late and are scrambling in recent years to get higher-quality candidates. Compared to the other schools you've got here, they have the highest admit rate (and the lowest yield).

Again, which schools are right for you really depends on what you want to do with it.

Good luck with it!
EssaySnark

[Wayward-Bound]

I am trying to undergo a career change moving from finance into consulting. Ideally would be one of the big 3 in terms of firms I would look to join post-mba. As a side note, I mentor new hires entering the company and co-ops. I help them understand the transition into the workforce and help them with their acclimation period.

Thanks.

[essaysnark]

Hi Wayward-Bound,

Moving from finance to consulting should be quite do-able through an MBA program. Cracking the Big 3 will be much easier if you're coming from a name-brand finance firm, and of course getting into the right program will be a big facilitator of this transition, too, as you know. How easy it is may also depend on what type of finance you've been doing and how much client interaction you've had. It's generally more straightforward to move to consulting from finance than from other functions or industries; by contrast, IT to consulting is also common and do-able but it's not nearly as easy. these are just thoughts for you as you look at your career goals; none of this is all that important in the context of getting into the MBA program. We're just throwing it out there for ya.

So back to the "which schools" question.

Looking at your original list, Harvard and Wharton stand out for being the best (of that list, and this career transition) in terms of feeders for the major consulting firms. All the schools you named send a lot of grads to consulting, but HBS and Wharton send big chunks of each graduating class that direction. Columbia maybe next best (on that particular list).

The schools missing from the list for a guy wanting to go into Big 3 consulting are Kellogg and Tuck. Both prefer older candidates, similar to our previous comments on Columbia/Wharton/NYU, but Kellogg in particular might be worth a shot for you. Theirs is a top notch general management program, and that's what you should be looking for if you want to go into consulting. Any of these schools could be viable targets but it's quite a random list that you've started with; it didn't scream "want to go into consulting" on its face.

Hope this helps!
EssaySnark

[Wayward-Bound]

I'm in New York and would prefer to stay around the northeast. Tuck is an option I did not immediately consider and appreciate the feedback. Ideally I'm aiming for HBS but looking for some contigency if I fall short of that goal.

[leo24]

I'd like to contribute something to the discussion and also ask for advice.
I'm considering applying to Wharton, and recently I found out that they put special emphasize on community involvement and volunteering. Luckily, that's one of my strong points since I've been volunteering for different community projects for a while.

Now I'm trying to understand if it's true and how much weight should I put on this in my application. I heard it from 2-3 students and alumni I spoke to, and also read it here:
https://aringo.com/Wharton_MBA.htm

"Key points in an application: Your professional development; your personal development; your way of using the blend of the former two in order to give back to the community. "
There is also a list of traits and their importance to the Wharton MBA program, where "community/society" is ranked 3 out of 4.

What do you guys think? Does Wharton really prefer applicants who are giving back to the community? Anyone heard anything about it?
Thanks!

[essaysnark]

Hi leo24,

Wharton -- and many other US schools -- care about community involvement, but it's pretty far down the list. An otherwise-strong candidate who doesn't have much community service to report will not be turned away. Conversely, if community service is the only place an applicant is strong, there's little chance of gaining an offer at Wharton or anywhere else.

It's always nice to have community service to offer a point of differentiation, particularly if it's long-standing involvement with an organization that demonstrates your passions or otherwise reinforces your profile. For example, someone saying they want to start a new social venture after bschool, who has never volunteered ever in their life, will probably be seen with a skeptical eye by the adcom. If you've got interesting, impactful leadership stories to report from your volunteer work, that's great, as it can add diversity to your profile and provide additional material to mine for your essays. This is true for an application to any bschool.

Hope this helps!
EssaySnark