Handicapping My Chances

I recently found this great site called Beat The GMAT.  They are an MBA oriented social network and seem to be a great source of information and they have a great community of folks in the process of or currently pursuing getting their MBA.  I love great resources on all things MBA but Beat The GMAT has something no one else has…and it kind of blew my mind!  

You see, everyone who registers has to put in their GMAT score, their GPA, their work experience and other key MBA stats.  Then they ask folks where they are applying and ask for updates on where they get accepted or not accepted.  You can plot yourself for each school you are targeting and filter your demographic information.  You can see how similar your stats are to people who got accepted into your dream school or, in the less desired scenario, how similar you are to people who were not accepted.  

Here is where I fell.  All results are filtered to only show female applicants.

Harvard (top choice):

Accepted:

Not bad…looks like I am right in the middle of women who got accepted to Harvard.  This leads me to believe that my chances will largely rely on my essays, the quality of my work experience and my extra-curriculars.  Since this is my top choice, I was very happy to see that I have more of a shot than I thought!

Rejected: 

 

 

Okay…so there are some people with very similar stats that got rejected.  This makes me feel a little less confident BUT it just confirms my thought that acceptance will largely depend on essays, work experience and extra-curriculars.  I have had pretty solid extra-curriculars for the past year and a half and hopefully this will help set me apart (1 year as volunteer head of social media marketing ending last February for a small non-profit and the past six months teaching financial literacy to underprivileged communities.  Also, I take intensive fine-arts courses at a highly recognized art academy in the area).  Maybe, I should pursue more volunteer experience?  The importance of essays and work experience to get into my top choice may be the deciding factor in seeking out the expertise of an MBA application consultant.   Hmmmm…..we will see!

Here is how I stacked up for my other 2 top schools:

Wharton (my #2):

Accepted:

Again…not bad.  Feeling okay about my chances here.  

Rejected:

 

Well this is good news!  I look very different than the folks that got rejected.  Either they had a much lower GPA or a much lower GMAT score.  Nice!!

University of Chicago (Booth, tied for #3):

Accepted:

A lot of the people accepted at Booth look A LOT like me in terms of their stats.  In fact, I look like I am on the higher end – a very good sign of my chances.  Is it time to research the warmest winter coat on the market? Time will tell…

Rejected:

This looks pretty good for me!  My stats are way higher than the other women who reported being dinged by Booth this year.  

Stanford (tied for #3):

Accepted:

 

I am on the low end of the females that got accepted to Stanford, not so great news.  I won’t be too disheartened though, since the sample size is pretty small.

Rejected:

A lot of the ladies rejected from Stanford have similar stats.  Sure there are a lot of ladies with lesser stats that got rejected, but there are at least a few with the same, similar or better.  Not feeling so great about my chances of Stanford – but hey, it won’t stop me from going up to bat!

Columbia (#4):

Accepted:

 

This looks pretty good too..although there are three accepts that have a higher GPA than I do by probably .2 points.  That could be a bad sign for my chances.  I think the outlier with the less than 600 GMAT and less than 3.0 GPA is a little suspicious..

Rejected:

Okay.  This makes me feel better.  My stats seem like they are higher than everyone who was rejected by Columbia.  A little more confident for Columbia.  New York here I come?

 Of course, stats are not everything – but they are the piece of the pie that helps someone look at your application with more interest.  They are a filter for the adcoms to take your application seriously.  Sure people get into great schools with under 700 GMATs and not having undergraduate academic honors, but that is an uphill climb.  I would rather have the stats under my belt and look like people who got accepted and have the time to really massage my essays, position my work experience to be as attractive as possible and be able to supplement my extra-curriculars where needed.  Hopefully if make the effort in these areas, my application will be well rounded enough to reach my goal.