Dartmouth / Tuck - 02-25-2020 | Clear Admit ApplyWire

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February 25, 2020 12:31am ET

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

Intake Year: 2021

Pre-MBA Career: Google (Senior Manager) Deloitte (Strategy Consultant) TFA

Post-MBA Target Industry: Venture Capital, Private Equity, Entrepreneurship

GRE: 320

GPA: 3.33

Years of Work Experience: 9

Location: Palo Alto

Post MBA Location: SF/ NYC / Singapore / Austin

Notes:

Just a really poor test taker. Senior Manager at Google with Strategy Ops Team. Ex-Deloitte Ex-TFA. Looking to cross into VC / PE space.

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Show Comments (7) Last: March 2, 2020

alexbr4 Verified User. Likes Earned: 1580 Curious, what was your undergrad degree? Like your test score, you GPA seems a little below average. WE sounds really interesting, for sure. Assume you apcan show impact at work, in all three places. I'd think your Google gig will really help you stand out. Hopefully you can get strong recs to back up your experiences. Are you involved in activities outside of work? Curious how you developed your school selection. Especially the mix of Euro and US programs. Crossing over to PE/VC is notoriously hard. Have others achieved this from similar roles at Google? (0)

anon12024 Likes Earned: 24 Thanks for reviewing, Alex! Transition: Friends from Google who have transitioned to PE/VC more frequently jump directly instead of getting an MBA. I have a Liberal Arts undergrad from Vanderbilt (History, Fine Arts, Anthropology). Looking to develop a more robust finance skillet (among other things) through an MBA. WE: I focused on M&A Strategy work at Deloitte and currently work with newly acquired Google companies to understand how to best leverage tools / systems / teams / investments etc. I manage a global team of 5 Managers and roughly 40 IC’s across Boulder, SF, Singapore, Dublin, Austin. TFA were the most transformational years of my career. Schools Selected: (HBS/MIT/GSB) I looked for specific schools who are open to non-traditional candidates, have strong connections to PE/VC, and have a successful partners program. (Oxford / INSEAD) I do a decent amount of work in Europe & APAC and have been impressed by the talent I’ve seen from both programs. (Tuck) My peers from TFA / Deloitte / Google who went to Tuck constantly talk about the 2 years in Hanover. Test Scores: I’ve taken the GRE & GMAT multiple times and I’m just not the strongest test taker. Not sure if the schools will look past or not. Thanks again for your feedback! (1)

alexbr4 Verified User. Likes Earned: 1580 Interesting. Have you completed any additional coursework, since undergrad? If you think raising the test score is not going to happen, it might be worth exploring some coursework to complement your liberal arts undergrad? (0)

anon12024 Likes Earned: 24 Thanks, Alex! I have taken a few courses on Data Manipulation, Systems, M&A, and Finance Strategy. My biggest question is, “as an older candidate, would the admission teams weigh work experience/ leadership experience more than my test scores or do you believe the WE doesn’t really come into factor”? (0)

alexbr4 Verified User. Likes Earned: 1580 WE is really important, that's where your candidacy appears to stand out. That said, your numbers (GRE/GPA combo) are indicative of you being successful academically in the program. WE is more about what you can contribute to the program, and your success after the program. The point is, while there is overlap, WE and numbers assess slightly different things. The reality for you is whether your numbers are good enough, because the WE looks great. Hope that makes sone sense? (2)

alexbr4 Verified User. Likes Earned: 1580 More details on this candidacy in this episode of Wire Taps: https://www.clearadmit.com/2020/03/episode-86-wire-taps/ (0)

anon12024 Likes Earned: 24 A special shout-out to Graham and Alex for discussing over the podcast. Really appreciate your feedback! (2)