Harvard Business School - 09-07-2020

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September 7, 2020 6:15am ET

Applying: Harvard Business School, Stanford GSB

Intake Year: 2021

Pre-MBA Career: Consulting (Big 4) & Family Business

Post-MBA Target Industry: Technology, Family Business Companies: Other

GMAT: 710

GPA: 3.7

Years of Work Experience: 4

Notes:

I work for my family business in the technology space. Post-MBA, I want to rejoin at a higher level. Do I have retake the GMAT for a better score? Or if I have good reasons for applying to b-school, is a 710 good enough?

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Show Comments (9) Last: September 14, 2020

anon22776 Likes Earned: 155 I think you are done with a 710 because you risk profile is low being that you plan on learning to return to your family business. With that said, if you can retake to push it up 20 or 30 points, then that is good. I will say applying to HBS or GSB only is such a risky game because nobody can guarantee entry into those schools no matter how great or low risk your profile is. It may help to add other M7s like Wharton, Booth, Kellogg or another Top 10 like Haas. (1)

grichmond Verified User. Likes Earned: 1151 Where are you based? USA? Are you a US citizen? Do you fall into an over-represented portion of the applicant pool? I'm asking these questions because they relate to what you may need to do about the GMAT result and how your profile stacks up. Also, per the earlier comment, I tend to agree that an HBS/Stanford-or-bust strategy is never a great idea, even for those with 3.8/780 type stats. As such, you may want to cast a wider net.
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alexbr4 Verified User. Likes Earned: 1579 Consider also your impact at work, to date. Any activities outside of work? (0)

anon92393 Likes Earned: 3 I'm a female US citizen, but the family business is based in an Asian country. It's fairly large. What would be an over-represented portion of the applicant pool? Post MBA, as I mentioned, I want to rejoin my family business, but this would be after I get a couple years of external experience at a tech company. Also, I am applying to other M7 schools, but just wanted to focus this post on HBS/Stanford GSB. (2)

anon92393 Likes Earned: 3 Considerable impact at work, but not many activities outside of work (1)

alexbr4 Verified User. Likes Earned: 1579 Great. Makes sense to target H/S, Wharton & Sloan also come to mind. Impact at work is really important. Re your GMAT, is 710 your best score? Only you4 best score should be good enough when targeting the best programs. If you think that with more preparation you can increase the score, without taking time away from the rest of your applications, then consider it. (0)

anon92393 Likes Earned: 3 710 would be the best score for Stanford if I'm applying round 1, but I hope to retake it before applying to HBS round 2. Just not sure if it is worth delaying my Stanford application to Round 2 only for an improved GMAT score. I think I can get a 730/740 on the GMAT with more preparation. (0)

alexbr4 Verified User. Likes Earned: 1579 It might be worth waiting, if you feel good about boosting the score. You could apply to a couple of other M7 in Round 1? Although time is getting close. I assume your Stanford app is ready? (0)

alexbr4 Verified User. Likes Earned: 1579 More details on this candidacy in this episode of Wire Taps: https://www.clearadmit.com/2020/09/episode-120-wire-taps/ (1)