Four past SBC clients share insights about their MBA admissions process and working with the SBC team. As you review our case studies, you may have the feeling that all of these clients had a better story or more material than you do. Keep in mind that each one of these clients came to us with a significant challenge and they were completely stumped as to how to present themselves. It was through brainstorming and coaching that together we came up with a seamless, workable story that proved successful. Get ready to be inspired!
Hear from Ed Redden about how he got admitted to HBS and the GSB after being dinged the first time:
Successful Reapplicant to Harvard Business School, Stanford GSB
Hear from Ed Luggen about how he turned rejections into opportunities:
MBA Reapplicant Success Story: From 24 Apps, 19 Dings to 1st in Class
Hear from Camilla Lucas about how she earned a full scholarship along with five MBA program admits:
MBA Success Story: Diligence and Planning Pay Off with 5 Admits
Hear from Karen Desai about why she pursued the Kellogg MBA to advance her passions:
An MBA in Entrepreneurship: How and Why to Use the MBA
Request a free consultation with a Principal
on our team to assess school fit
and learn about your MBA potential.
Additional Case Studies:
Age of Applicants
Harvard Business School 2+2 Success
Adding an EMBA to Your Options
Career
Early career with limited leadership experience
Laid off four times in four years
Crafting Credibility For A Family Business Applicant
Big 4 Public Accounting Career Goals
Making the Family Business Work for You
Demographics
Not Applying is a Guaranteed Rejection
From Active Service to MBA Application
Entrepreneurship
Essays
Why Was This Applicant Rejected The First Time
Homosexuality In The Application
Dyslexia And The MBA Application
Making the Business Case for Admission
Balancing Realism and Optimism
Handling an Academic Probation
Extra-Curriculars
Leadership And Extracurricular Activities
Leveraging Extracurriculars for Leadership
Planning Ahead for Community Impact
Low Quant
Building A Quant Profile From Scratch
Recommendations
Lacking a Current Supervisor Recommendation
Re-applicant, Re-Recommendation
School Selection
Finding The Right School For You
Selecting The Right Set Of Schools
When An MBA Isn’t The Next Step
Request a free consultation with a Principal
on our team to assess school fit
and learn about your MBA potential.
Testing
How One Client Approached A Low GMAT
When Are Great GMAT Scores Not Quite Good Enough?
Timing
MBA Application Round 1 or Round 2
Setting an MBA Application Timeline
Transcript
Suspended from undergrad for plagiarism
Request a free consultation with a Principal
on our team to assess school fit
and learn about your MBA potential.
LAID OFF FOUR TIMES IN FOUR YEARS+
GPA: 3.1
GMAT: 680
Undergrad: Psychology Major at Stanford
Activities: Competitive swimmer in high school, volunteer swim coach
Personal: Family originally from Mexico
Overview: Our client was laid off four times in four years after graduating from college. The fourth time occurred just two months before submitting his application. He was terrified of revealing the layoffs and wanted to detail his various jobs without explaining the reason behind his transitions.
Result: Admitted to Wharton with scholarship.
Strategy: We advised our client to detail his layoffs and in doing so he told a story that highlighted several very positive qualities. He was able to demonstrate resilience in his ability to successfully bounce back and grow from each disappointment. He showed maturity and self-awareness through reflection upon mistakes he had made, and through his ability to incorporate learnings. He also illustrated resourcefulness and drive, by finally creating his own entrepreneurial opportunity that became a true platform for reaching his future goals. Ultimately, his career roller coaster became a great launching pad to showcase many very positive qualities.
INDIAN ENGINEER NEEDING TO DIFFERENTIATE+
GPA: 3.4
GMAT: 730
Undergrad: University of Delaware
Activities: Tennis, marathons, sporadic involvement with various Indian non-profit organizations
Personal: Originally from India
Overview: Our client was born and raised in India, and came to the US to earn his undergraduate degree in Engineering. He then went to work for a large corporation where he progressed for the next five years. Although he had solid work experience, and numbers, his demographics placed him in a highly competitive pool, where he really needed to find a way to differentiate.
Result: Admitted to Columbia, Tuck, and MIT.
Strategy: Many Indian applicants pursue engineering careers and their resumes all begin to look the same. In working with this client we removed the focus from the nitty-gritty technical details of his everyday job and emphasized his management and leadership experiences, which set him apart from many of his peers.
Specifically, he had spearheaded a non-profit initiative and garnered a great deal of support within his office, ultimately raising significant funds, but also setting the stage for future office initiatives of this kind. He had also taken on a training role, mentoring new hires and helping to develop the blueprint for a training program. Neither of these roles was part of his formal job description but they highlighted his leadership abilities and added color to his resume.
SUSPENDED FROM UNDERGRAD FOR PLAGIARISM+
GPA: 3.2
GMAT: 720
Undergrad: Economics major at mid-tier east coast college
Activities: Involved in student government as an undergrad
Personal: Our client’s entire family moved from Asia a year before he started college
Overview: Our client was suspended from his college for plagiarism and although very ready to go to business school, he had delayed his MBA application for two seasons out of fear that he could never overcome this blemish.
Result: Admitted to Wharton and Kellogg.
Strategy: Our client needed to approach the plagiarism issue head-on, explain what happened, make no excuses, and concretely demonstrate how he learned and grew from the experience. Initially tempted to ignore the incident or discuss it in an additional information essay, we convinced him to tackle it in a full essay, as it was a pivotal event in his development.
He took full responsibility for his actions but did discuss cultural differences and the fact that he did not fully understand American views on plagiarism. He discussed the emotional impact of his suspension, which really humanized him so the adcomm could understand his remorse and embarrassment, the impact on his relationship with his family and his self-image. He then discussed how he was elected to the school’s student government under the platform of revamping the school’s honor code, and the actions he then took to ensure that what he experienced would not happen again.
Thus his story came full circle, and this very large blemish was leveraged to highlight positives: his personality, self-awareness, and a significant accomplishment.
Request a free consultation with a Principal
on our team to assess school fit
and learn about your MBA potential.