MBA Analysis Request

I started this blog to help people who are applying to business school. I think it is important to be well informed on which schools are realistic before applying. Is there something that you would like to know about about business school applications? If you are interested in having me write a new article on a topic not previously discusses, please feel free to leave a comment on this page. If the data is available, I’ll try to complete the analysis in a timely manner, though it will depend on my current workload.

If you are interested in finding out your chance of admission to top business schools, try using my MBA Admission Calculator.

Good luck with your applications!

154 thoughts on “MBA Analysis Request

  1. Matthew

    Hi DataGuru (couldn’t find your name anywhere on the site!)

    My name’s Matthew, and I was wondering if you’d be open to a short correspondence about some career decisions that I’ll have to be making really soon.

    Basically, I wanted some advice on what career to pursue: either consulting related or banking related. I want to maximize my chances of getting into business school, especially because I currently have a handicap when it comes to my grades. Would you be willing to help me out a little bit?

    Respectfully yours,
    Matthew Luis

    Reply
  2. brownman777

    Hi Data Guru,

    I want to know based on rough numbers (GPA and GMAT) what my chances are getting into some of the schools I want to apply to, and advice on how to beef up my application since my GPA is a weakness. I’d love to sync up via email.

    Thank you,
    V

    Reply
  3. AA

    Hi DataGuru,

    I just stumbled upon this website and I must congratulate and thank you for putting together a wonderful analysis of all the top B-schools.

    I would highly appreciate if you could provide some guidance as to which b schools I should be looking at with my profile. Could you please reach out to me on my email?

    Thanks,
    AA

    Reply
  4. NP

    Data Guru,

    Love your posts. I have a couple of Qs:
    1. I’d love to see admissions odds at some of my top picks based on GPA/GMAT!
    2. I’m looking at Stern and would like to hear about your experiences there.

    I take it that you can get my email from this post. I’d be incredibly grateful if you could help me out!

    Regards,

    NP

    Reply
  5. Sakshat

    Hi DataGuru,
    Amazing posts!
    I’m considering NYU Stern for 2015 R1. Can you please help me gather inputs from your experience so far?

    Thanks a ton !

    Reply
  6. gwycliff

    Hi Data Guru,

    I’m beginning my MBA school research and I intend to apply to schools this coming fall. I’d love it if we could trade emails with you giving me some general information and guidance on the likelihood of me getting into my top school choices based on my general profile. Thanks!

    Reply
  7. JZ

    Hey, would you be able to put together an ‘Acceptance Rate Analysis’ post for Yale SOM? I’m curious how it balances GPA/GMAT. Those posts are pretty informative.

    Thanks!

    Reply
  8. Nicholas Maldonado

    Hi DG

    Thanks for all the info you have provided. I began compiling stats for my target schools and quickly hit many snags. Its nice having all this info in one spot.

    I’m sure you are very busy but I was hoping to chat with you about likelihood of acceptance to some of my target school if you have the time; I’m most interested in seeing which schools I have a better chance of gaining admittance.

    Thanks
    nm

    Reply
  9. Colin

    Data Guru,

    Thanks for all the great info. I’m on your site a few times a week.

    Curious, were there any quantitative differences in the 50% of military profiles that were denied at Fuqua vs the admitted?

    Reply
    1. Data Guru Post author

      Hi Colin,

      The sample size for Duke military applicants is only 25, so take this with a grain of salt. The difference is about what you would expect. Average GMAT is 25 points higher for those accepted and GPA is .1 higher. Accepted military applicants are slightly more likely to apply round 1. The accepted applicants are slightly younger but have slightly more work experience.

      Good luck!

      Reply
  10. VP

    Hey!

    Been reading through your blog. It’s brilliant! Well done!

    I wanted your thoughts on non-traditional applicants to business schools from India; the ones who’re not engineers and don’t work in technology. Would love to have a discussion about this with you.

    Regards,
    VP

    Reply
  11. Cagkan

    Hi DataGuru,

    If possible, it would be great to see analysis for top MBA schools in Europe such as INSEAD, IMD, IESE and HEC…

    Reply
    1. Data Guru Post author

      Hi Cagkan,

      There is not as much data available for the European schools. After I finish with the top 20 American schools, I will look into whether there is enough clean data to build a model for the European schools. Thanks for the suggestion.

      Good luck!
      Wayne

      Reply
  12. MJ

    Hi Data Guru,

    Just wanted to say this blog has been an extremely helpful resource as I’ve been researching programs to apply to. I was wondering if I might be able to feed my stats into your algorithms and see your predicted odds for the schools on my list?

    Thanks,
    MJ

    Reply
  13. FG

    Hi Data Guru,

    I’m currently applying to some schools this fall for round 1. Could you help me with an acceptance rate analysis given my profile? Thanks!

    Reply
  14. ST

    Hey there! Any data on Texas schools? I’m currently finishing my undergrad at a large state school in N Texas, and due to my family situation want to stay in TX for my MBA. I’m specifically looking at SMU, UTD, and Baylor, but info on all would be appreciated.

    Thanks again!

    Reply
  15. BK

    Hi Data Guru,
    First of all, Great work here! The analysis is very insightful. Any chance, I could feed my stats into your models and determine predicted odds? That will really help me to decide if it makes sense to apply in Round 1.
    -BK

    Reply
    1. Data Guru Post author

      Sure, I’ll reach out to you my email. I am very close to finishing a beta version of my MBA admission calculator but there are still a few bugs to work out.

      Reply
      1. Nikunj

        Hi Data guru,

        I would like a rough analysis of which top b schools I should be applying to basis on my profile. Could you reach out to me on email.

        Reply
  16. Gautam

    Hey,

    I was wondering if you can evaluate my profile for a couple of schools I am re-applying to. I will be happy to send you my resume and essays if you have time.

    Amazing stats btw and I appreciate it a lot since much of my work life is related to data analysis. I like your clean, no clutter blog.

    –Cheers,
    G

    Reply
  17. Gautam

    Hey,

    I have one more request – do you happen to have the data analysis breakdown for Kenan-Flagler?

    Hope to hear a response to my previous request via email.

    There is a picture but no mention of your name anywhere, the mystery that you are ;).

    –Cheers,
    G

    Reply
    1. Data Guru Post author

      I haven’t done Kenan-Flagler yet, it is on my list to-do but I just haven’t had time yet. I am trying to finish the MBA Admissions Calculator so everyone can compute their own chance of admission.

      I have been meaning to update the “About” page, thanks for the reminder. My name is Wayne Atwell and I’m a second year MBA student at NYU.

      Reply
  18. Kunal

    Hi Data Guru,

    Great work!

    I was just wondering if you could cover few canadian b-schools such as Rotman and Schulich. I’ll be applying to them in next couple of months and data (GMAT vs. GPA comparison) for them will be extremely helpful.

    Many thanks!

    Reply
    1. Data Guru Post author

      Hi Kunal,

      Thanks for commenting. I looked and there may be enough data for Rotman but Schulich does not have enough. Once I finish with the US schools, I’ll give Rotman a try.

      Good luck with applications!

      Reply
  19. S

    Hi Data Guru,

    First of all, I would like to congratulate you on this website! I am sure that it’s insightful to many MBA aspirants like myself.

    I was wondering if you could reach me out through email to discuss my potential candidacy to Columbia.

    Thanks a ton!

    Reply
  20. David

    Hi Data Guru –

    I have enjoyed your site – and appreciate that you are letting the numbers tell the story.

    I’m an applicant to the hsw cbs, sloan, tuck, ysom, and booth

    It would be great to get your data-driven opinion on my candidacy! Thanks a lot!

    Reply
    1. Data Guru Post author

      Hi Kevin,

      Anderson is on my list of schools to analyze. I have been busy with school and trying to finish the admissions calculator. I am almost finished with UNC but I will tackle Anderson after that.

      Reply
  21. Rohit

    Hello Wayne , myself Rohit from India. You have a wonderful website. I really love your analysis. I have a query in this regard. I have been working on my round 1 applications to , Tuck, Darden, Ross, Duke, McCombs, UNC and Emory. I suppose my GPA should be somewhere close to 3 (61%). GMAT – 690. WE – 5 years manufacturing, social entrepreneur.

    After going through your analysis, i really feel its a bad idea for me to apply to most of the schools in my list with my current GMAT, especially being an Indian. On the other hand, i also worry that Round 2 would not be in my best interest. I am currently preparing for the gmat, hoping to take it by mid October. My essays and everything else would be ready for R1 (except my gmat score).

    I just wanted your opinion, should i apply in round 1 trying to improve my GMAT in around 5-10 days after submitting my R1 applications or should i postpone the whole thing to R2 and make sure i get apply with a 720-760 score ?

    Which one do you think makes more sense?
    Please let me know. Thanks in advance.

    Reply
    1. Data Guru Post author

      Hi Rohit, I responded in more detail via email. Given none of the schools you are applying to have a bias against round 2, I think it makes sense to apply round 2.

      Reply
  22. Siddharth

    Hello MBA Data Guru,

    Thank you very much for taking the time and effort for this wonderful service that you are providing to all prospective MBA applicants. I am from India and I was wondering if you could comment on my profile.

    Undergraduate GPA: 69 % (Engineering)
    Graduate GPA : 3.55 MS Finance Mid-Level US University
    GMAT: 740
    Experience: 5 years in Non-Profit Finance/Higher Education, Level 2 CFA

    A recurring theme that I noticed in all your analysis is that Indian applicants are a huge disadvantage and I no longer know what schools I should target. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

    Cheers,
    A very grateful prospective MBA candidate

    Reply
  23. William Knight

    Hi Data Guru,

    Thank you providing a great resource of all MBA candidates to review. It has been incredibly insightful and beneficial to myself as well as others.

    I was wondering if you could reach out to me through email to discuss my potential candidacy to Georgetown, Babson, as well as UC Berkeley.

    Thanks and I look forward to hearing back from you!

    Reply
  24. ST

    Hello! Just came across your website, extremely helpful. Thank you so much!

    I have a Duke ED interview coming up and wondering if you have resources on Duke specifically?
    Otherwise, which other school would you recommend I use to get some ideas on the interview questions?

    Thank you!

    Reply
  25. Josh

    Hi DG,

    Your analyses on this website is of incredible help. Thanks for sharing your expertise!

    As with others, I was wondering if you could share a bit of your time to discuss my chances at top 10 schools. I assume your approach would be more number driven, which I hope to see with a bit more clarity.

    Thanks again – hope to hear from you soon.

    Reply
  26. RRB89

    Hi Wayne,

    I have just finished my interview with Fuqua for EA round. Can you please provide me some data or analysis around the conversion rate from Interview to Final Admit at Fuqua. I am an Indian applicant with a GMAT score of 710 and an amazing social entrepreneurial experience. Looking forward to see some data-driven analysis from you.

    Reply
  27. Ajay Sreekanth

    Hi Wayne,

    First off, wow! Thanks for creating and maintaining this website 🙂 I really appreciate it.

    I was wondering if I could describe my profile to you and you could provide your thoughts, advice, or direction.

    Thank you,
    Ajay Sreekanth

    Reply
  28. Ana

    Hi Data Guru,

    Very well put together website and info, congratulations and thank you! I live in India and found your article on background of applicants very informative and helpful. You mention you got the data from GMATClub, did you download the applicants data for each school and then compiled it? Separating by year so as to get the most uptodate “relations”? Many thanks, Ana

    Reply
    1. Data Guru Post author

      Hi Ana,

      I did download the application data for each school and I do have the data labeled by year. There are trade-offs between looking at the most recent data vs. including more data from previous years. If I look at only the most recent years then I might pick up small changes in the schools approval strategy. However, with less data, the model will be less statistically significant. With only more recent data it would also make it more difficult to gain insight into how factors such as major and round impact acceptance rate.

      I do monitor to see how acceptance rates change over time. As long as I don’t see a major shift in acceptance rate at a school, I think it is valid to use the older years.

      Reply
  29. Ambika Roos

    Hi DG,

    I’ve currently applied to 3 schools for Round 1. If I could share key stats from my application to give you a sense of my profile, might you be able to help me with an acceptance rate analysis/prediction?

    Thank you so much!

    Reply
  30. Matt

    DG,
    I recently took the GMAT and intend to apply next year. I am working on school selection, and your website has been an invaluable tool!

    Would it possible to please get an acceptance rate analysis?

    I appreciate all of you excellent work.

    Thanks!

    Reply
  31. lippy92

    Hello,

    I have a GMAT score of 710 and am an Indian female engineer.Would you look at my resume and provide your analysis ,especially regarding my chances to get into NYU Stern and Michigan Ross?
    Thank you

    Reply
  32. leb1990

    Hey,

    I would really appreciate if you could take a look at my profile and give me your thoughts on my areas to improve upon and realistic odds at top 10 programs. I got a 750 on the GMAT and had a 3.6 from UT.

    Thanks!

    Reply
  33. Robert

    Hi Data Guru,

    I’m loving this blog — super helpful! I have a low GPA to deal with, but a decent GMAT. Any chance you could do an acceptance rate analysis for me?

    Best,

    Reply
  34. roger

    Hi Data Guru,

    I have finished the 1st round but the result is not good. Any chance you could do an acceptance rate analysis for me and see what are the problems with my application?

    Best
    R

    Reply
  35. Chris

    Hi Roger,

    I’m at an Ivy with a 3.4 GPA, strong/elite military background, and am currently a consultant at a second tier consulting company (Accenture, Deloitte, etc). 720 GMAT score.

    What are my chances at the top 5 B-Schools?

    Thanks!
    Chris

    Reply
  36. Christina

    Hi Wayne,
    Like many, I have a low GPA and decent GMAT score. I’m debating on which schools to apply to that will be a better fit for my situation. it’ll be great if you can help me out based on the acceptance rate data you have.
    Thanks!
    C.C

    Reply
  37. Trevor

    Trying to decide where to apply and would love some data-driven analysis. H, S, W, Col, Tuck, Duke. Wondering where else to apply/what my chances really are. This site is fantastic.

    Reply
  38. AliR

    Hi Data Guru,

    This blog is exceptional. I’ve been surfing to find exactly what I’m finding here! Thank you so much for taking the time in putting together this blog and all the analyses.

    I wonder if you could help me better understand my MBA prospects at an M7 (Wharton in particular). I am from the Middle East, I did my undergrad at local university in the Middle East, GPA was 2.85/4 (last 2 semesters GPA was 3.7-3.8). I then went to grad school for Business Law in a top 10 UK university achieved a high merit 67 (GPA equivalent of 3.33-3.67) and a distinction for my thesis. I currently work as a Tax consultant at a Big Four (3 years work experience) and working towards a very high GMAT score in the 740-750 range.

    Thank you again so much!

    Reply
  39. Kyle

    Hi Data Guru,

    I have applied and been rejected by my dream school. Would you have time to look over some data and see where my best chances of success are located?

    Reply
  40. jmikery

    Hi Data Guru,

    Can I ask for an acceptance rate analysis for top 15 schools? I’m from a developing country (with a corresponding developing country salary) and would like to narrow down my list of applications to 5 or 6 while obviously trying to get into the best schools possible.

    Reply
  41. Jinny

    Hi DataGuru – first this website is amazing. I wanted to see if you have any information on which schools provide the most amount of scholarships to international students. Thanks in advance!

    Will looking to hearing back from you

    Reply
  42. Ravishankar Nagarajan

    Hi Data Guru,

    Iam an Indian IT Male candidate, with a below average GPA and haven’t given GMAT(I expect a max 650-700).

    Having around 2 years of IT experience.

    What are my chances to top 25 b-schools?
    Which are the b schools I should target?

    Reply
  43. Ross

    Hi Data Guru,

    I love the site, great info! I’ll be applying Fall ’16 and I’m putting together a list and would appreciate some advice. Low GPA, decent GMAT, great work experience. Thinking of Darden, Kellogg, McCombs, Emory, Ross

    Thanks!
    Ross

    Reply
  44. Hugh

    Hey Data Guru,

    Many thanks for all the info. I began compiling stats for my target schools and quickly hit many snags on my own.

    I’m sure you are very busy but I was hoping to chat with you about the likelihood of acceptance to some of my targeted schools if you have the time. I’d like to know if I am being realistic and where else I should consider. Appreciate your time.

    Best,

    Hugh

    Reply
  45. Mike

    Hi MBA Data Guru,
    Thanks for the great work. Really interesting analysis–you’re helping a lot of people! Wanted to ask if you have the Stanford % of interview questions asked? If that’s possible to create, I personally would very much appreciate it. If you mentioned elsewhere in your blog why you can’t do Stanford, apologies for the oversight.

    Thanks again!
    Mike

    Reply
  46. Kevin

    Hi MBA Data Guru,

    I’m applying very last minute for fall 2016 and would like your feedback on schools. I’m finishing my second year in a finance leadership development program at a F500, with a 3.2 GPA and 720 GMAT.

    Thanks,
    Kevin

    Reply
  47. Megan Wilson

    Hi,

    I’m looking to see A) what score on the GMAT I should be targeting to overcome my low GPA of 2.97 B) If I achieve that score, based on the below information, what are the chances of gaining access to Yale, LBS, Ross, Darden, or Berkeley? The main reason I’ve selected these schools is that I want to work in strategy and sustainability for a consulting firm after school. Long-term vision is to be Director or VP of Sustainability at a retail company such as Nike, Patagonia, etc.

    Here is my background:

    College GPA: 2.97

    Career: Began my career at Altria Group (Marlboro — Big Tobacco) as a Territory Sales Manager and received two promotions. I ended my career there as a Unit Manager, managing a team of 6.

    I then shifted industries to a pharmaceutical company where I began as a sales rep, however I was promoted to Regional Sales Director within a year. I am currently in discussions about another promotion to Product Manager.

    Extracurricular: I have moved around for each promotion so it has been a challenge to stay in the same organization. I have been a part of various organizations and raised significant money (personally, over 10k and our team over 100k) for St. Jude Children’s Hospital. However, now that I’ve been in Chicago for two years I have been involved with Younger Women’s Task Force as the Chapter Event Coordinator and now as Chapter Director. Most recently, I’ve been volunteering for Sierra Club (an environmental org).

    GMAT Practice Test: 650 — obviously aiming for 700+

    Reply
  48. ray

    Hi Data Guru,

    I am about 34 now. I will try to apply MBA for 2017. I know my age is much older than MBA average. I still want to try. Do you have analysis for MBA age distribution for different schools. Thanks

    Reply
  49. J

    I would be curious to see if average undergraduate GPA for students accepted to top business schools differed by tier of undergraduate school, or if even certain schools are outliers (if your sample size is large enough to do this)

    Reply
  50. John

    Hi Data Guru,

    Thanks for the detailed insight you’ve provided on this site.

    In one of your posts about HBS, you parse admission rates by work background. (E.g., venture capital = 16%, military = 17%). I’m a military officer and I’m interested in how the military admission rates differ across M7 schools. Do you have any additional military admission data? Also, would you be willing to assess my chances if I provide my stats/background via email?

    Thanks,
    John

    Reply
  51. Frank Alasentino

    Hi MBA Data Guru, I am trying to identify how strong and realistic my chances are at what I believe to be my target schools. Any help is much appreciated!

    Reply
  52. Baptiste

    Hi DG,

    Thanks for all the good work here, this is very helpful.
    I am currently trying to determine where to apply, but I am a bit more inclined towards the European ones.
    I was wondering if you could replicate for some of them, in particular HEC, IMD, LBS?

    Sincerely,

    Reply
    1. Wayne Atwell Post author

      Hi Bapiste, I actually just posted an article for Insead yesterday to see how much demand there is for non-US schools. This summer I plan to collect the most recent year of data. I’ll investigate if there is enough data for HEC, IMD and LBS to build a model. Unfortunately, collecting, cleaning and analyzing the data take a very long time, so I wouldn’t expect anything for a few months. Good luck with applications!

      Reply
  53. baptiste

    Hi Wayne, thanks for the reply.
    The INSEAD article actually triggered my comment – your results are very helpful, especially the first chart.
    Cheers,

    Reply
  54. Sam

    Hi Wayne,

    Just discovered your website during a GMAT study break. 7 days to go! First of all, thank you! My practice exams are trending in a range between 680-720 and your calculator really gave me some insight into what I should be thinking about if my score comes up as a 680 (or, ugh, lower) on test day in regards to cancellation. As a military applicant from a liberal arts background, I still feel like a 700 is a must for admission to the top schools, but your website really gave me some empirical back up to that inclination. Secondly, to what extent do you think individual admission probabilities are independent events? Again, great website and thank you so much!

    Best,

    Sam

    Reply
    1. Wayne Atwell Post author

      I have seen evidence that applications are not fully independent from one another.
      https://www.mbadataguru.com/blog/admissions/optimal-mba-application-number/
      A quote from the article:
      “For those applying to 5 schools, we expect 75% to get at least one acceptance(with a 24% acceptance rate per school) but only 58% are admitted. I expect that this is because there is a major flaw in their application and they repeat it with every school.”

      That said, different schools look for different traits. You may not fit in well at one school but be perfect at another school. I got an interview from Wharton but no interview from MIT or Columbia.

      Good luck taking the GMAT and applying to business schools.

      Reply
  55. Sid

    Hi
    I have 5.5 years of Experience (3 years as Assistant Manager in largest lender among Indian Banks : State Bank of India and 2.5 years as System Engineer in Infosys Technology Ltd). I secured 65% marks in BTech (ECE). I have gmat score of 680(Q 47 V 36) and 107 in TOEFL. I have been a part of NGO Child Rights and You(CRY) for three months and have been a member of Infosys CSR club. Apart from that, I mentor couple of kids in my community : one of the kids is focussing on digital marketing and other is focusing on Android Application Development. What are my chances of admission in the top 30 b-schools in USA?

    Reply
    1. Wayne Atwell Post author

      My data is mostly related to the hard stats, such as GMAT and GPA. You should check out my admission calculator and put in your stats to get a rough idea of your chances.

      Reply
  56. Ilana Rosen

    Hi MBAGuru,

    Very impressed with what you have done with your site and the power of predictive modeling! I would love to get your thoughts on the process and your general feelings about applying/attending an MBA program in today’s competitive climate, as well as crafting a compelling narrative!

    Some background, I am a US citizen who has been living and working in Hong Kong for the past 3 years and working in Data Science/Advanced Analytics Executive search. I received a 700 (low quant). As a non-traditional application (BS Psychology, 2nd Major Comms, minor Economics), I would love to hear your thoughts/opinions!

    Have a great rest of the week and congratulations again!

    Reply
  57. CPT Matthew D. Childers

    I am preparing myself for applications for Fall ’18 MBA. I am an active duty Army Field Artillery Officer and will be 37 upon matriculation. I will have 8 years of pertinent military experience and I would assess my performance to be in the top 25% of my peers. I have the following concerns and with your assistance I will be able to determine my target schools. My education is fully funded by the Army. I will not separate from service during my education and continue to receive full pay and benefits. Upon completion, I will immediately return to normal active service. See the following for pertinent details regarding my application stats:

    1. Will be 37 at the time of matriculation. I have read in some of your articles that Military applicants trend older. How far north of that am I?

    2. My undergraduate GPA was a 2.9; last 60 hours ~3.4. Degree was in Psychology/History from a regional public university of little note. During the second half of my undergraduate education, I worked 50+ hours/week and participated in ROTC which accounted for an additional 10+ hours/week.

    3. Currently enrolled in a Master of Science in Operations Management from the University of Arkansas. This is online, though they have a campus version of the program. Will this assist me in negating the effects of my poor undergraduate GPA? Would I be better served taking on campus courses from UTEP (I am currently deployed, but stationed at Ft Bliss, TX).

    4. Target GMAT is a 720+. Currently utilizing Manhattan GMAT prep, but will purchase a program along the lines of Veritas Prep, as I expect a stronger GMAT will be my major poing of entry into a top MBA program.

    With these stats, what programs would you identify my demographics/stats to best align with? I do have some programs that are dream programs, however it is in my best interest to focus my efforts on programs that I will have an easier time passing the admissions gauntlet. I would like to see your suggestions apart from any knowledge of where I’d like to go.

    Thank you for your time.

    v/r

    A concerned Captain

    Reply
    1. Wayne Atwell Post author

      1. You are definitely at the high end. 27 is average age for most schools. There are certainly people in their 30s who are at business school, but there are very few students who are 35+ in a full time program. Have you considered an executive MBA?

      2. Nothing you can do about a low GPA other than get a high GMAT. There is hope though: https://www.mbadataguru.com/blog/admissions/low-gpa-mba-acceptance-rate-analysis/

      3. I don’t think the masters will make much of a difference but I have no data to back that up.

      I have heard that Duke likes military applicants. Unfortunately I am swamped at work and don’t have time for more extensive analysis. Executive MBA may be the way to go. They probably won’t care nearly as much about GPA.

      Reply
  58. Abdul Ahad

    Hi,

    You mentioned in the Yale analysis that the acceptance rate is three times more for candidates with consumer packaged goods background. Do you have sufficient data to establish the claim?

    Reply
  59. gdtucker

    Hello, I couldn’t find a way to message you privately, but I had a question about the admissions calculator. For my profile (female, 25, 690 gmat, 3.2 GPA, psych major, doing marketing) I got a 52% rating at Booth, 60% at ross, and generally pretty good percentages. Which made me feel great!

    But I’m a bit confused about the algorithm. I tried entering a friend’s information (she is a super high achiever. 3.8 GPA, 740 GMAT, doing I-Banking) and she had much LOWER percentages at all these schools.

    So even though I had much lower stats, it looked like I had a better chance at top schools than she did. How can this be possible? The only difference I can see between us is our majors and industries (me in humanities, sales/marketing. Her is finance, I-banking). Does industry really make that much of a difference?

    Also, would it be possible to include UCLA Anderson in the comparison? Thanks!

    Reply
    1. Data Guru Post author

      So the most important piece of data I am missing is gender. More women major in liberal arts and schools are trying to get more women. The chance of admission for people with a liberal arts degree is higher based on my model because of the gender factor. However in reality, a female engineer has a way better chance of getting into business school than a male liberal arts grad. Bun unfortunately I don’t have that the data available to improve my model. I’m working on that for the long term.

      Reply
  60. Irene

    Hello,

    I am a career changer but unfortunately with low GRE. I do think I have an interesting application package though. Would you look at my resume and goal statement and provide your analysis ,especially regarding my chances to get into NYU Stern ?
    Thank you

    Reply
    1. Data Guru Post author

      I would love to help but I’m swamped at work with 80 hour weeks, so unfortunately I don’t have much time to help people through this website. I would recommend you talk with my friend Lawrence Linker at MBALink. He is actually helping my brother with his application right now and he is very talented at getting people into school.

      Best of luck!

      Reply
  61. Shaurya Rastogi

    Hi,

    I am a senior at one of the Big 10 universities majoring in Computer Engineering and graduating in May, 2017. I am an international student from India. I have exceptional extracurriculars and leadership. My aim is to get into H/S/W 5 years down the line.

    Would like to connect with you to take your advice to significantly improve my chances at H/S/W.

    Will be really grateful for your advice. You can connect with me on my email.

    Best,
    SR

    Reply
    1. Data Guru Post author

      If you are trying to get into a top business school then you should try to get a job at a large well known and respected company and score as high as you can on the GMAT. Make sure you have leadership on your resume both in undergrad and in extracurriculars on the side.

      Reply
      1. SR

        Thanks DG, appreciate that advice.

        I am going to be working with a Major Tech company in a Biz+Tech role. (think of Prod.Management/Marketing)

        Reply
  62. Marion

    Hi DataGuru

    Thanks for making a wonderful predictor. It works really well and keeps the parameters in consideration. Kudos for that. I really want your advice for my profile. If you could please help me out with it.

    Regards
    Marion

    Reply
    1. Data Guru Post author

      Hi Mario, I’m glad you find the site helpful. These days I don’t have time to work with people one on one anymore but Lawrence at MBA Link is awesome. You should reach out to him. We chat pretty often and he is really sharp and knows the MBA landscape well.

      Reply
  63. Raghav Saboo

    Hi mbaDataGuru,

    Really appreciate your time in doing this and hopefully you find my profile interesting enough to evaluate.

    Background

    Work experience: 2 years at an F500 chemicals company in UK. (controls/automation engineer -> project engineer) 1 year as an Analytics Consultant at Deloitte Advisory USA in risk analytics.

    Internship: With one of the major international orgs (WB, IMF etc).

    Publications: 3, not amazing work but in the analytics space.

    Extra curriculars: Many leadership roles in school, college and post-university including: school government, marketing head for large university clubs, promoting STEM education in local community, currently leading the deployment of solar power in rural India through a start up I started in graduate school (finalists in two major international social enterprise competitions).

    Undergrad school/major: Top 3 UK University, Chemical Engineering

    Undergrad GPA: First Class Honours (UK System) ~ 3.8 GPA

    Other education/coursework: Grad School, Masters in Econometrics (3.82 GPA), Duke University

    Race/nationality: Indian, Indian

    International experience: Born in India, grew up in Thailand, 6 years in UK and 3 years in USA. Worked in all three countries.

    Sex: Male

    Age: 28 at matriculation

    GMAT Score: 720

    MBA Info

    Goal of MBA: I want to be a leader in data science consulting. Post-MBA, join MBB and become a key part of their growing big data/analytics practice.

    Target schools: H/S/W. MIT Sloan (Top choice), Columbia, Booth, Kellog, Fuqua, Yale, Tuck, Michigan, LBS, & INSEAD.

    Reply
    1. Data Guru Post author

      Best of luck with applications but I don’t have enough time to help people 1 on 1. You should reach out to Lawrence from MBA Link. He is a really talented admissions consultant that could help you.

      Reply
    2. Data Guru Post author

      If you are interested in data science / data analytics then MBB is probably not the place to go. I can tell you first hand that there is less work that is analytics heavy then you would think.

      Reply
  64. Roberto

    Hi Data Guru,

    I am a consultant from the big 3 (MBB), undegrad from Ind. Engineering (92/100 GPA = 3.7) with a 710 on the GMAT. I am trying to decide for a safety school here. Can you please reach out to me to help me on this?

    Thanks!

    Reply
  65. Hallie

    Hey MBA data guru. Thank you so much for putting this site together. Would you mind doing an analysis for veteran applicants? I’m specifically interested in acceptance rates by GPA/GMAT for Tuck, Ross, Darden and Johnson, as well as acceptance rates after the interview. Thanks again.

    Reply
  66. T.R.

    Hi Data Guru,

    I’m looking at applying to business school at the top programs. I was hoping to you could both assess the chances of admission (the MBA admission calculator doesn’t let me put in all relevant information), as well as offer some thoughts on when to apply. As a bit of background, coming out of college I reached the interview round at both HBS (for 2+2) and Stanford GSB (again for a 2-year deferred admission), but did not get accepted at either school.

    I’m now 27, a male, caucasian, working for one of the largest oil and gas companies in the world. I’ve managed projects for us on the order of hundreds of millions of dollars, and lived overseas during some of this experience. I will have 4 years full time experience (plus 2 years via a co-op during undergrad) at matriculation if I apply round 3 this year, or 5 years full time if I apply round 1 next year. I’ve also regularly supervised teams of engineers and operations personnel as part of my work duties.

    For undergrad, I received 2 degrees while in school, Chemical Engineering and International Affairs, and a minor in accounting. The ChemE program is ranked #4 by US News and World Reports, the ranking for the international affairs degree aren’t that great. My GPA was 3.86.

    My GMAT score is 760. I also recently graduated in December with a masters in Petroleum Engineering from the #2 program in the country with a 4.0 GPA, that I completed part time while working.

    My two questions are:

    1) Given the multiple degrees in undergrad as well as graduate engineering degree (I can’t put this or the masters GPA into the calculator), how would this affect the admissions chances at the top schools?

    2) I completed my Masters degree in December (graduated on the 17th). The requirements for the final independent research paper (basically a thesis, but only 30 pages vs over 100), as well as work requirements and finishing another course for the masters at the same time, prevented me from giving a Round 1 or Round 2 application the necessary time. I suppose Round 2 would have been possible, but I didn’t want to try and rush everything into 2 weeks over the holidays.

    Based on this info, and my background above, would Round 3 be a good idea, since I do have a reason for the later application, or should I just wait for Round 1 next year? Do you think there would be a downside to applying in R3, and if I get dinged, applying R1 next year? Happy to communicate via email and provide additional info if needed (resume, transcript, etc.). Appreciate any help and insights you can provide!

    -T.R.

    Reply
    1. Data Guru Post author

      Hi TR, Thanks for visiting my site. I think you need an admission consultant not me. I enjoy playing with data but I don’t tend to work one on one with people. I would recommend you reach out to Lawrence at MBA Link. He is a really talented guy and could probably help you.

      Reply
  67. Ashley

    Hi,
    I’m curious if you have data around the number of women who interview at HBS and are admitted. I understand there are fewer female applicants than male applicants and they make up ~40% of the class. If HBS accepts around 50% of those they interview, then what’s the acceptance rate for female interviewees?

    Reply
    1. Data Guru Post author

      Hi Ashley, I really really wish that GMAT club tracked / shared gender data. That is probably the single most important piece of information that I am missing for my analysis. Longer term I would like to try to start collecting that data on my own but I just don’t have it now. I suspect that the acceptance rate for women interviewing would be higher but I don’t have data to back it up. Sorry.

      Reply
    1. Data Guru Post author

      Good news, I just posted a few new articles and I am working on an update to my most popular article to date. Now that I have updated and cleaned data, and I am staffed on a good work-life balance project, I Will be posting a lot more now.

      Reply
  68. pourhabits

    Hi! Really interesting blog. I finally got around to taking the GMAT today, and scored 750. Slightly disappointed because I was doing 760 on the practice exams. I imagine it isn’t worth retaking, correct? I would probably look neurotic or something.

    Reply
    1. Data Guru Post author

      I don’t think that the schools care if you retake it, I just don’t think it is a good use of time. You are better off getting to know the schools by networking with students/alum and writing killer essays than studying for stupid test like the GMAT when you are already well above average. Maybe if you are white male with a low undergrad GPA it could help to get a higher GMAT but if not then move on to the next stage.

      Reply
  69. RPS

    Hi DataGuru,

    Really valued your blog very much, my sincere gratitude to you for putting together a wonderful analysis of all the top MBA program.

    I would really appreciate if you could have a brief look on my profile and provide some input as to which MBA program I should be looking at to achieve my goals. If you may, could you please kindly reach out to my email?

    Many Thanks,
    RPS

    Reply
  70. Bradley

    Data Guru,

    Love the site! Your data has provided a lot of insight into which schools are within reach.

    I found the Booth admission rate analysis article particularly interesting. I received a 710 GMAT score, 3.35 undergrad GPA, and will be entering B school through the insurance industry (brokerage/consulting side). I never thought Booth would be a school that is within reach, but the admissions calculator is putting it at a 60% chance. I gather that this is likely due to my undergrad degree selection of “Liberal Arts and Humanities”.

    – The “60% chance” is the same regardless of if I enter male or female (I’m a male). Since B schools seem to want to attract more female students, do you think the admission rate is truly the same for both genders given my stats?
    – For UG degree, I put “Liberal Arts and Humanities”. I went to a liberal arts university and my actual major was in Christian Studies. Going to a liberal arts university I did have to take a great deal of classes in other subject areas (79 out of 131 credit hours were in areas other than my degree). In your opinion, if there is specific value to “Liberal Arts and Humanities”, do you think my degree would satisfy that? Or does a religious studies degree fall outside of Liberal Arts and Humanities?

    At the end of the day, it’s the adcoms opinion that matters, but your insight will likely effect if I consider Booth (5 other target R1 schools at the moment)!

    Thank you so much for your time,

    B

    Reply
    1. Data Guru Post author

      As Wayne Gretzky said, “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” If you want to attend Booth then you should absolutely apply. That said, your chance is likely not actually 60% if you are male. The data I am currently using to model the calculator does not include gender. In the future I hope to include gender in my model which is why I capture it in the calculator. For now, if you want to have a better idea of your chances then select a major other than liberal arts.

      Reply
  71. Matthew

    Hello MBA Data Guru,

    I have an interesting scenario that you may be able to assist me with. I am a 36 year old Caucasian male, who is a Captain in the US Army and I will remain in the Army while I am pursuing my MBA. I will continue to be paid by the military and immediately return to the operational army afterwards. This is my predicament; I want to go to the best MBA program to which I can gain admission (doesn’t everyone?). However, my gpa is 2.87. I do expect to score between a 720 and 740 on my gmat. With all of the analysis you have done with weighing gpa, gmat, military acceptance rates, and age can you identify my target schools. I think that I have identified a few of them, but you could provide much more insight.

    v/r

    Matthew

    Reply
  72. Mihir Patel

    Hi Dataguru,

    Your number crunching is just on another level.
    Great work budd !!!

    Really appreciate the effort and the information provided on the blog …

    I would like to discuss my case with you …

    I am an Indian Engineer working in Dubai for last 2.5 years (Though a significant international exposure but NOT in US or Europe..) and a total of 6.5 years of experience
    I had a 720 on GMAT and considering the numbers that I saw on this blog and admission calculator I am feeling super confident on few of the schools such as Tuck and UNC (which I am planning to apply in coming season).

    However, my this year’s application experience was pretty discouraging – I applied to Tepper, Emory, Darden and Simon and only got admit from Simon. (all in Round – 2 except for Emory which was in R3 but in January only).

    Any suggestions on what could have gone so wrong that it defies all the number crunching on this blog !!

    Also, recommendations for improvement to achieve better results in next season are welcome.
    (m already re-taking GMAT for score improvement).

    Thank you in advance.

    Reply
  73. Gus Roman

    Hi Data Guru,

    Your website has some great info! Really enjoy your data-driven approach. Have you done any analysis on Affirmative Action in Business School (& maybe compare it to more readily available undergraduate data?)? For my personal ask, do you think a hispanic ivy-league grad with a barely-above average GPA, consulting experience and 700 gmat has a good shot at Columbia? Thanks!

    Reply
  74. ben

    Data Guru,

    I was curious how status as URM affects the odd of acceptance. Even if you don’t have a formal model for this do you any general insights into this particular applicant “pool”?

    Reply
    1. Data Guru Post author

      Hi Ben, I don’t have any data to confirm or deny if URM have an advantage. Having graduated from business school, I do believe that there is an advantage. I know there is some Law school data that has race and gender included that might be a good proxy. Unfortunately it is not easily accessible for download. Maybe I will pay someone to collect it for me for analysis in the future.

      Reply
  75. Alkol

    Hi Dataguru –

    Are your predictive models applicable to the part time MBA admissions as well? Really liked the data-intensive approach taken by you to advising!

    Alkol

    Reply
  76. Anon

    Hello! thanks for taking the time to put something together that’s so useful! Is it possible we could get some more up-to-date figures on these schools? I understand that’s a lot to ask for

    Reply
  77. Muzy

    Hello,
    I have a GMAT of 710, Indian origin but studied in UAE and been working across the Gulf Region for 5 years in Information Security SALES. So not a typical Indian IT Male but rather Indian origin, 10 years in UAE, IT Sales, Male 😛

    I need help with school shortlisting. Can you please help?

    Reply
  78. Bob

    Hi DataGuru – Do you have an analysis that shows the difference between applying late (Sept) to ED for Columbia vs. applying early to RD (Sept)? Thanks!

    Reply
  79. Santosh

    Hey Data Guru,

    Great work! I have a question about the “Indian disadvantage”. Do you think it makes a difference if the Indian male has worked and lived outside of India for a significant period of time or do the adcom people just look at the nationality?

    Reply
    1. Data Guru Post author

      Honestly, I don’t know. I would imagine it would help if you have work authorization in whatever country you want to work after business school. If you are Indian and can’t get a Visa to stay in the US or another high income country then returning to India and potentially accepting a lower salary job could hurt the schools statistics.

      Reply
    1. Data Guru Post author

      I wish that I could, but I don’t have the data. I can tell you that it is a factor for sure. I think prestige in your work experience is more important though. Most schools would rather take someone that went to a low ranked school but worked at Google than someone that went to Harvard and worked at Accenture.

      Reply
  80. Brendan

    Hi Data Guru,

    Interesting site and very insightful. It would be interesting if you could extrapolate your models to projections of GMAT avg, GPA avg, acceptance rate, etc in 3-5 years at these schools. Obviously, there is an arms race at the top for GMAT scores, but it would be interesting to see how different schools are changing their metrics at different rates and making a projection based on historical trends.

    Just an idea!

    Reply
  81. Samuel

    I love the site, and will be using it a lot in the next couple of years. I have an article request if you have time. What do you think the top 5 things someone can do to offset a low undergrad gpa? I did a year at community college, then did 4 years at a decently well ranked military school for 4 years. I ‘m not sure if the community college will hurt, but at my military college, I had a 2.9 gpa. Trending upward the last three semesters (all over 3.0), but really struggled the 3 semesters prior to that. Thanks!

    Reply
    1. Data Guru Post author

      Hi Samuel, a high GMAT is the best thing you can do to offset a low GPA. Excellent work history with leadership and promotions helps a lot. Best of luck!

      Reply

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