Harvard Business School - 07-31-2024

July 31, 2024 12:43pm ET

Applying: Harvard Business School, Stanford GSB, Yale SOM

Intake Year: 2025

Pre-MBA Career: Nonprofit Climate Change

Post-MBA Target Industry: Consulting Companies: Accenture , AT Kearney , Bain , Booz Allen Hamilton , BCG , Deloitte , Ernst & Young , PWC

GMAT: 760

GPA: 2.81

Years of Work Experience: 6

Location: West Europe

Post MBA Location: US

Notes:

Have work experience in two continents (Asia, Europe), with experience working with a lot of African governments to raise finance for climate change projects. Want to pivot to consulting and use the generalist exposure to pivot back to work in the climate finance/private sector overlaps. Mainly looking for the network and exposure to broader interpersonal skill set to make the impact at global level.

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Show Comments (8) Last: August 19, 2024

alexbr4 Verified User. Likes Earned: 1645 Sounds like very interesting and relevant work experience. It will be important to show growth and impact, backed up by strong recs. Are you also involved in activities outside of work, any additional hobbies and interests.

Super GMAT. Be good to know more about your undergraduate record. A 2.81 will raise concerns. Any mitigating circumstances?

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anon28080 Likes Earned: 3 Thanks Alex. I was struggling with mental health issues during undergrad which went undiagnosed until my senior year. To mitigate this I already have an MBA (from South Asia) where I actually was ranked #1 in the class. It was very local and immediately after my undergrad, hence I am applying for 2nd MBA. I can show impact both within my organization and outside but my current manager won't be my recommender for obvious reasons. Outside work, I served as board member of alumni association and also was involved in different club leaderships during school. Though I am disconnected from most of them since I moved to Europe 1.5 years ago. Currently, I mentor a few young professionals both inside and outside work. Regarding hobbies and interests. I have interest in music and do know a few things but nothing worth mentioning. (0)

alexbr4 Verified User. Likes Earned: 1645 Include an optional essay that explains why you already completed an MBA, assuming related to your undergrad record, and wanting to show outstanding results, post diagnosis, etc. You will also need to add why you think you now need the second MBA. This is very explainable, but it will be necessary to explain. (1)

grichmond Verified User. Likes Earned: 1185 Thanks for sharing the context of your ugrad GPA. What kind of school was it? Super well known? Also, the solid results in your MBA, coupled with the very high GMAT result should help mitigate things a bit (even if having an MBA already does open up another can of worms, requiring your to very effectively justify your need for the second MBA, etc.).

Not sure if these schools comprise your final list, but in light of the GPA issue (and risks that come when applying with an MBA already earned), I would cast a wider net - especially given how selective these three programs are...

Best of luck and thanks for your post!
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anon28080 Likes Earned: 3 Thanks Graham. My undergrad was from the highest ranked and most well known school in the country. I am considering casting a wider net. But I can only manage time for 3 applications at R1. Let me revisit the school list. One of the my main concern is climate finance sector does not require an MBA, so the ROI of MBA and pivoting to consulting in short term might even be negative compared to not doing an MBA. (0)

grichmond Verified User. Likes Earned: 1185 Glad to hear that your undergraduate is well regarded. Ideally this means that your GPA (was it on a 4.0 scale?) can be taken with some context and that there isn't a lot of grade inflation, etc.

As to your second point, if you earn an MBA from one of your targets and end up in strategy consulting as planned for the short-term, I suspect your career trajectory will look very different in the long-term - even in climate finance where the degree may not be a prerequisite. And this is without even taking into account the knowledge and network of peers you will gain. Don't underestimate the transformational nature of studying intensively for two years with a peer group of the best and brightest...
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tanim Likes Earned: 3 Thanks. That's a good point. I will definitely come back with something positive for the decisionwire (2)

alexbr4 Verified User. Likes Earned: 1645 More details on this candidacy in this episode of Wire Taps: https://www.clearadmit.com/2024/08/mba-wire-taps-378/ (0)