Profile Evaluation

[awoldmoe]

Hello,

First and foremost, I would like to thank BEATtheGMAT for this awesome social network. I was constantly on this site throughout my GMAT studies, reading motivational debriefs and going through problems/explanations.

Anyways, I would love some honest feedback on my "profile". I am planning to apply to business school in 1.5 or 2.5 years; therefore, I would be in the class graduating in 2021 or 2022.

Stats
- Age: 24 (keep in mind, I will be 26-27 my first year at school)
- Gender: Male
- Ethnicity: Caucasian
- Undergrad: B.S. in Finance at a top 50 university (private school)
- GPA: 3.8
- GMAT First Attempt: July 18th, 2015 (Quant 47 Verbal 35 - Total Score 680, IR5 AWA5.5)
- GMAT Second Attempt: August 10th, 2016 (Quant 49 Verbal 36 - Total Score 710, IR3 AWA5.5)


Experience
- By the time I apply for business school, I will have had 3-4 years of work experience in Big Pharma (think J&J). Additionally, I will have worked in the Midwest and the Northeast for different roles, both positions as a financial analyst/sr. financial analyst. My company has a corporate sponsorship program in which they sponsor (pay for) analysts to go back to top MBA programs full-time.

Noteworthy College Extracurricular Experience
- I played Division I tennis and was the captain for three years (this was about 20 hours a week)
- I had two internships during college (corporate finance and consulting) my junior and senior year

Noteworthy Post-College Extracurricular Experience
- I am a volunteer assistant coach at a reputable Division I college program out in the Northeast
- I have recently launched an Early Career Professionals (ECP) Network within my company; there are about 30 ECPs a part of this group and that number will continue to grow. The goal of the group is to create a new community and culture within the business in which early career professionals will have a major impact on business operations and business strategy (the business has been very supportive of this).

Target
- HBS
- Stanford
- Wharton
- Booth
- Kellogg
- Fuqua


Post-MBA
- I would like to stay with the company I work for and climb the corporate ladder. Additionally, I have had stretch dreams of working in the business/sports world as a president/commissioner of an organization, an Athletic Director, GM of a professional sports team, etc. Someday, I would like to lead thousands of people and make a major impact in the community and in the lives of those I lead.

Recommendation Comments:
HBS: My first boss was an HBS grad who I have an amazing relationship with who will be writing a recommendation letter for me in the future. Additionally, I worked very closely with other HBS grads who would be more than happy to write recommendations for me.
Kellogg: I have worked very closely (on the same team) with two Kellogg grads that could write recommendations for me.
Stanford/ Booth / Wharton / Fuqua: As of right now, I don't have any immediate connections at work/outside of work for recommendations. We have plenty of Stanford / Booth / Fuqua grads, but I haven't worked with any so far.
Collegiate Coaching: I have a great relationship with the Athletic Director of the University I coach at who would be more than willing to write a recommendation letter for me.


Concerns:
- I somehow scored an abysmal IR3 on my last GMAT attempt which is frustrating, especially because I work in corporate finance and am used to interpreting graphs, etc. I remember the IR section having a couple of questions that seemed very convoluted, which clearly stumped me.
- With the ECP Network I have started at work, we will be involved in Philanthropic work throughout the year, but is this adequate enough for top programs? I am not sure if I have enough time to add something on top of work, coaching, and the ECP Network.

Sorry for all the information! I truly appreciate your time.

Best,
Future MBA Prospect

[MargaretStrother]

Great that you are getting started so early! I wish everyone did.
Now, your data so far:
GPA good, GMAT -- you'll want to retake that. Since you have the time between now and your application, you'll want to do everything you can to be in the 730-740 range. It doesn't make you a shoo-in, it just spares you anxiety about your numbers, freeing you up to focus on everything else.

Your professional overview looks super -- nothing to work on there. But you're right to be looking at the community service aspect: major community leadership is a key component in successful HBS applications, and I'm using HBS as your gold standard here. You've got time to crank that up. I'd recommend one major leadership role, rather than adding a lot of smaller involvements, preferably increasing your involvement with an organization you've already had an affiliation with, but taking it to the next level.

One other question I have is about international exposure: I'm not seeing anything here, and we certainly would want to find that wherever possible in your background or profile. Again, top MBA programs really value whatever international perspective you can bring to your diverse classmates.

I think you would benefit from a one-on-one consultation -- you've got a lot of material to review, and it's by no means to early to craft a game plan. If you're interested, you can sign up here: https://www.stacyblackman.com/contact/

Good luck!
Margaret Strother

[awoldmoe]

Hi Margaret,

Thank you so much for taking the time to review my profile. To be honest, I am not sure if scoring a 730-740 is doable for me. It's not that I don't believe in myself, but I am not sure if I have the time capacity and mental capacity to achieve those extra 20-30 points. Although it's "only 20-30 points", those are the hardest 20-30 points to earn. It was "tough" to raise my score from a 680 to a 710 and would be multiple x's more difficult to make that jump again. I realize a 710 is still under my targeted schools' averages; however, I was hoping I achieved a score that would keep my application from being tossed in the trash. What are your thoughts on this? I understand that a 730-740 would help my chances immensely, but what if that's not possible for me? Could I still get into an HBS or GSB? Could I have other areas of my application offset my lower GMAT score (i.e. company sponsorship, undergraduate GPA, college athlete experience, leadership experiences)?

I definitely need to crank up my community involvement. Recently, I have signed up to be a leader of a 15-20 person team for a reputable non-profit organization. I am going to work on finding other opportunities in this area.

As far as international experience goes, I really don't have any experience outside of the U.S. On my collegiate team, I had teammates from India, Mexico, New Zealand, and Australia. On the college team I now coach, I have players from Japan and China. Although this isn't exactly what you're referring to, I have developed amazing connections with individuals from many different countries and learned to understand their backgrounds and mindsets, which has helped me form some life-long, true relationships. I will try to make a push to take a short-term assignment overseas, but that is always up-in-the-air, depending on if there are any open positions/opportunities within my company.

As far as consultations go, I am very interested. I plan on using a "multiple school-package" in which I can have some awesome guidance on my essays, interviews, etc. when the time comes in order to ensure I am giving myself the best chance to get into one of my dream schools.

Thank you for your time!
Future MBA Prospect

[MargaretStrother]

It sounds like you have a good grasp of the admissions criteria for top MBA programs like HBS and Stanford. Remember, they're also somewhat different: HBS casts a much wider net, and I see people every year get into HBS with lower GMATs, when they also bring a powerful leadership profile. Stanford is a tiny incoming class, so numbers end up playing a larger role.

The key word between now and application time is "relentless": you're aiming for some of the narrowest and most competitive targets in the world, and you're already bringing a lot of strengths to the process. The good news is that the rest is all in your hands. I know the GMAT is intimidating, but it's only one component in this holistic process, so try not to over-empower it. Between now and fall of 2018, there is a lot of time to make the most of each of your strengths, and your competition will be using this time well. So again, Relentless!

Hope we see you as a comprehensive applicant soon -- you've got very high potential!

Good luck,
Margaret