What takes to get into Harvard, Wharton and Stanford ?

[maac]

Just took my GMAT (690 Q:84/V:78) today, and now this BIG ? ... hope you can advise.

Questions:
· With the profile below, what’s the likelihood of getting into both top tier: Harvard, Wharton and Stanford and 2nd tier: Columbia, Chicago, Kellogg, MIT?
· Would a GMAT retake help if I can improve another 20 points?


Profile:
· GMAT: 690 (Q: 48 / V: 36) (Percentiles- Q: 84 / V: 78)
· Profession: Mortgage Trading/Analytics at a top tier Wall St. Investment Bank
· Experience: 5 years
· Age: 29 (male)
· Nationality: Pakistani
· MS: Cornell University, Master of Engineering in Computer Science (GPA - 3.92)
· BS: National University / FAST (Lahore), Bachelor of Computer Science (GPA - 3.88)

Positives:
· Joined analytics/programming role at a top investment bank after MS at Cornell - Took initiative and moved to front office trading role on mortgage trading desk (Insider perspective of the mortgage mess that brought down the economy)
· No job switch for four years, however a switch to a better role within the firm
· Ranked 1st in academics in undergraduate class of 150
· Strong interest in politics - involvement/work in politics at some levels both in US and Pakistan
· Diverse background as there aren’t many Pakistani citizens applying

Negatives:
· Relatively low GMAT score as far as top b-schools are concerned
· One of the many Wall Street applicants this year
· Already missed round one application deadlines



Thanks in advance
maac

[MBAApply]

If you don't have strong non-academic or non-technical achievements, your chances will be slim at HBS, Wharton or Stanford. From what you wrote, your profile seems to be heavily analytical - I don't see any substantive leadership oriented achievements. These schools really aren't looking for quant folks; they're focused on leadership and non-academic talents (of course all top schools want this, but these three schools can simply be more picky because there's far more analytically-oriented applicants than there are folks with substantive non-analytical accomplishments).

Schools like Columbia, Chicago and Kellogg are more in your range. As for GMAT score, it will help a little if your score was 40+ points higher, but even then it's incremental. Your challenge is to show the adcoms at these schools that you are just as good with people as you are with numbers.

As for MIT, your chances will be slim simply because you missed their R1 deadline - they only have 2 rounds. As for the other schools, there's really no difference between Rounds 1 and 2.

Keep in mind that MBA programs aren't technical degrees - they are general management degrees at its core (even at schools that have a reputation for certain functions like finance). In other words, the "B average jock" has a better shot compared to the "A average math whiz".

Alex Chu
alex@mbaapply.com
www.mbaapply.com
http://mbaapply.blogspot.com

[maac]

Hey Alex,

Thanks for the evaluation - do you think waiting a year and improving on both GMAT (to 730) and non-academic experience (esp. if I continue to expand on the political worker role that I have been involved in for last few years) would help getting into both 'Harvard/Wharton/Stanford' and 'Columbia/Kellogg/Chicago' ?

I am 29 right now, I have heard Wharton is more relaxed on the age front, what do you think about other schools, isn't the trend tilting more towards younger candidates?

[MBAApply]

If an extra year is only going to mean an incremental improvement in your profile (I'm a little skeptical that you can ramp up significantly and accomplish something exceptional in one year -- most things in life take years of commitment and investment; there's no "instant achievements"), then don't bother to wait - apply this year. Keep in mind that there's a difference between involvement and achievement. Anyone can get "more" involved, but far fewer are able to stick around long enough or commit deeply enough to achieve. Anyhow, schools are going younger so if you're ready mentally to go this year, apply this year.

Alex Chu
alex@mbaapply.com
www.mbaapply.com
http://mbaapply.blogspot.com