Hi, I decided to apply to Round 2 for my top schools and do not regret gaining the experience of going through the entire process. Unfortunately, I did not have any luck in the application process. I applied to HBS, Stanford, MIT Sloan, Wharton, and Kellogg; outside of my required interview with Kellogg, I was denied without interview for all. I understand that I am shooting for extremely selective schools, but I am determined to attend a school at that level if I go to business school, and these schools had academic aspects that interested me.
For each school, I provided a great (and true) story of my strong passion for the automotive industry and desire to pursue a career in marketing within it (story was slightly tailored to each school). Since it is such a significant change from my current job, the transition I explained may have been a potential missed area. In addition, I did not feel like I had that unique experience/characteristic that would provide a “wow” factor to admissions.
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- Academics and GMAT: I believe I have solid statistics (not really something I can change). I am not assuming my GMAT score alone will get me in anywhere.
- Work Experience: I had about 2.7 years of work experience as a consultant, and am 24 years old. Compared to other applicants, this made me feel like an outlier slightly. I have received excellent reviews and was promoted; however, even though I was confident and satisfied with each application I submitted, the quality of the experience seemed inferior to other applicants.
- Essays: I was extremely happy with my essays, especially those for Kellogg, Wharton, and Stanford. I had others review them numerous times. My 2.7 years of work experience at the time may have provided me with less material than other applicants.
- Recommendations: Both my recommenders were previous supervisors that claimed to have written excellent letters. One was from a mid-tier b-school; the other did not have an MBA. I provided them with background information with my resume and gave some advice on b-school letters. I did not guide them further than that. One of my recommenders provided letters a day or two after the deadline for Wharton, Sloan, and HBS. My third recommender for HBS and Stanford was a longtime coworker with excellent writing skills that I have no doubt wrote an amazing letter.
- Interview: My only interview was with Kellogg. The interview went really well, I would give it an 8.5/10. Kellogg seemed like an amazing fit. My short career may have lessened the number of stories I could provide in my answers.
- Extracurriculars: My extracurriculars during college were excellent with multiple leadership roles. After graduating, I have done volunteering and other activities here and there, but nothing with a consistent time commitment.
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Now I need to figure out where to go from here. Is there any reason at all to try again in Round 1 of this fall? If not, I would be aggressively seeking a new challenge for myself in a different field, as I do not feel I am growing nor have a strong passion for my current job. Is there a minimum number of years I should stay at this position if I still want to pursue an MBA? If was in a non-automotive or non-marketing field, or if my goals changed, would those negatively impact my reapplication? I am also considering applying to new programs (perhaps Haas, Booth, Columbia) if it is worth it.
Apologies for the long post, I just wanted to be as detailed as possible! Thank you again.![]()
For each school, I provided a great (and true) story of my strong passion for the automotive industry and desire to pursue a career in marketing within it (story was slightly tailored to each school). Since it is such a significant change from my current job, the transition I explained may have been a potential missed area. In addition, I did not feel like I had that unique experience/characteristic that would provide a “wow” factor to admissions.
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- Academics and GMAT: I believe I have solid statistics (not really something I can change). I am not assuming my GMAT score alone will get me in anywhere.
- Work Experience: I had about 2.7 years of work experience as a consultant, and am 24 years old. Compared to other applicants, this made me feel like an outlier slightly. I have received excellent reviews and was promoted; however, even though I was confident and satisfied with each application I submitted, the quality of the experience seemed inferior to other applicants.
- Essays: I was extremely happy with my essays, especially those for Kellogg, Wharton, and Stanford. I had others review them numerous times. My 2.7 years of work experience at the time may have provided me with less material than other applicants.
- Recommendations: Both my recommenders were previous supervisors that claimed to have written excellent letters. One was from a mid-tier b-school; the other did not have an MBA. I provided them with background information with my resume and gave some advice on b-school letters. I did not guide them further than that. One of my recommenders provided letters a day or two after the deadline for Wharton, Sloan, and HBS. My third recommender for HBS and Stanford was a longtime coworker with excellent writing skills that I have no doubt wrote an amazing letter.
- Interview: My only interview was with Kellogg. The interview went really well, I would give it an 8.5/10. Kellogg seemed like an amazing fit. My short career may have lessened the number of stories I could provide in my answers.
- Extracurriculars: My extracurriculars during college were excellent with multiple leadership roles. After graduating, I have done volunteering and other activities here and there, but nothing with a consistent time commitment.
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Now I need to figure out where to go from here. Is there any reason at all to try again in Round 1 of this fall? If not, I would be aggressively seeking a new challenge for myself in a different field, as I do not feel I am growing nor have a strong passion for my current job. Is there a minimum number of years I should stay at this position if I still want to pursue an MBA? If was in a non-automotive or non-marketing field, or if my goals changed, would those negatively impact my reapplication? I am also considering applying to new programs (perhaps Haas, Booth, Columbia) if it is worth it.
Apologies for the long post, I just wanted to be as detailed as possible! Thank you again.