Harvard Business School - 07-10-2022

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July 10, 2022 1:02pm ET

Applying: Harvard Business School, MIT Sloan, Oxford / Saïd, Stanford GSB

Intake Year: 2023

Pre-MBA Career: Consulting & Government

Post-MBA Target Industry: Consulting, Technology Companies: Bain , BCG , McKinsey , Amazon , Apple , Google , Microsoft , Tesla , Twitter

GMAT: 700

GPA: 3.0

Years of Work Experience: 5

Notes:

Attended a Top 20 US Public School for my Undergraduate (3.0 GPA). Attended a Top 10 US Public School after Undergrad and got an MS in International Affairs (3.3 GPA). Started work as a Big 4 consulting on policy strategy / international affair matters (3 years). Now work as a Policy Advisor / Staffer to a well known Republican US Senator. I help with policy advisement, any legislative aide and organization of events different events (re-election events or meetings with other congress members on legislation).
Want to switch to business, want to join MBB to learn how it is done before starting my own consulting practice. Don't know what I want to consult on yet, but hoping I get clarity in business school or at MBB. I can definitely get a letter of rec from the US Senator I serve under. I want to leave politics / government and get into business world. Aiming for Stanford and Harvard, but would consider MIT or Oxford.

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Show Comments (8) Last: July 25, 2022

alexbr4 Verified User. Likes Earned: 1676 Do you have any geographic preference, post MBA? Your numbers (3.0/3.3 700) will be below average for the very best programs. Be good to know more about your quant profile, in this case? Have you considered retaking the GMAT? Are you involved in activities outside of work? (0)

politics2biz Likes Earned: 0 1) Austin 2) Atlanta 3) Tampa / St. Petersburg would be the 3 I am eyeballing. I have considered retaking the GMAT, but to be quite frank I am not the best test taker and was thrilled with the 700. I really don't have any time to volunteer in my current role. But when I was at Big 4 I volunteered quite a bit with BestBuddies. (0)

grichmond Verified User. Likes Earned: 1237 Thanks for posting! Your work experience looks rather unorthodox and interesting (or at least the most recent role is certainly less common in the pool). I like that you attended good schools, and have a masters with decent marks. The main issue, however, is that both your ugrad and grad GPAs are going to be a good bit below the average GPAs for admitted students at the programs you are targeting. This is especially true for your undergraduate, where the likes of Stanford, HBS, and MIT often see 3.6+ averages. To make matters more concerning, your GMAT score of 700 is also well south of the averages (often 730+). The best way to combat a low GPA is to hit the GMAT out of the ballpark and soar above the average at target schools; this allows you to then make the "that was then, this is now" argument vis-a-vis your GPA and GMAT... In any event, couple your GPA/GMAT tandem with a potential lack of current ECs, and I'm just nervous that things aren't quite adding up to HBS/MIT/Stanford. This is not to say that it/s not worth a shot, and I do think that it's possible that Oxford will have more flexibility on the numbers...but if your goal is to remain in the USA post-MBA, I'm not sure their program makes the most sense. Is there a reason you aren't casting a wider net Stateside? Best of luck and thanks again for sharing.
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politics2biz Likes Earned: 0 thanks for the response! I am not against casting a wider net, but the opportunity cost goes up for me in my mind once you venture out of those top 5ish schools (will probably be taking out some hefty loans to attend). Not trying to throw shade at people, but for me I don't know that it is worth it. Open to any ideas / critiques though. (0)

grichmond Verified User. Likes Earned: 1237 Thanks for your reply. I hear you in terms of the top schools, and I agree that you should never apply to any program you wouldn't be perfectly happy to attend. With that said, there are more than four business schools in the US and Europe that can land you at MBB or with a major tech firm, and once you get to one of those firms, paying off your debt shouldn't be a major issue (especially when you take into account the signing bonuses and tuition reimbursement that have become increasingly common in a hot MBA job market). In short, I am confident that you could find some great ROI even in casting a net beyond Harvard, Stanford, MIT, and Oxford - but I'd still consider taking steps to bolster the weakest areas of your candidacy (ECs, GMAT) as well as looking at outside coursework with MBA Math/HBS CORe, since I would argue that even schools which lie beyond your current targets might expect to see some of these steps. Best of luck.
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politics2biz Likes Earned: 0 What score do y'all think I should shoot for if I decide to retake the GMAT? Do you think hiring an admissions coach / consultant could push me over the ledge? (0)

alexbr4 Verified User. Likes Earned: 1676 Might push you over the edge, but not ledge, I hope! I’d target 730+ which I know is very tough, I’d also seriously consider either MBA Math or HBS CORe? (0)

alexbr4 Verified User. Likes Earned: 1676 More details on this candidacy in this episode of Wire Taps: https://www.clearadmit.com/2022/07/wire-taps-243/ (1)