Can someone please let me know if you think I have a chance at one of these schools: Harvard, Stanford, MIT, or Tuck?

Male, White, 2.97 GPA, 710 on GMAT (48 Q, 40 V). age 32

Work exp: 10 yrs in Computer Networking IT. Started successful IT company and sold to VC, Started Restaurant and have provided coaching for the start-ups.

Others: interesting life story - blue-collar family with money issues. pursuing MBA to find like-minded entrepreneurs to build socially focused company, ultimately start Angel investment company

Thanks for your input!!!

MIT and Tuck - if you put in a stellar application, you should have a fighting chance

Stanford - you'd be a wild card candidate; even if you put in a stellar application that shows you to be a real maverick/vagabond (if you aren't blue chip, they like the mavericks), you still need a lot of luck on your side.

HBS - slim to none; Stanford is more willing to take a flier on outliers/mavericks like you than HBS will

Good luck

Alex
alex@mbaapply.com
www.mbaapply.com
http://mbaapply.blogspot.com

MIT and Tuck - if you put in a stellar application, you should have a fighting chance

Stanford - you'd be a wild card candidate; even if you put in a stellar application that shows you to be a real maverick/vagabond (if you aren't blue chip, they like the mavericks), you still need a lot of luck on your side.

HBS - slim to none; Stanford is more willing to take a flier on outliers/mavericks like you than HBS will

Good luck

Alex
alex@mbaapply.com
www.mbaapply.com
http://mbaapply.blogspot.com

Alex,

Thank you for the reply. Concerning HBS, is it the GPA or the age or both? I thought they were looking for leaders and risk takers? FWIW, my average for my junior and senior years was over 3.5.

Heck, if HBS is just looking for conformity, I think you convinced me not to apply... ;) On the other hand, slim is better than the probability of most of my ventures.

Thanks again for taking the time.

Cheers,

JB

Your GPA, age and industry (IT) collectively work against you. Each one in isolation won't kill you, but you simply have too many strikes against you. I recognize that your IT experience may have been entrepreneurial, but HBS and Stanford simply aren't jazzed about IT.

Although schools claim they like risk-takers, in reality they really don't. They really prefer blue chip types but will "encourage anyone to apply". There is a token diversity at play here -- you'll hear about the Buddhist monk, the pottery maker, and the Uzbekistani sheep herder in school, but the bread-and-butter kids are those who come from good schools, and who have spent some time at a well-established firm that is "hard to get hired into". Schools like HBS aren't full of superstars, but a large chunk of the class are from a very specific and dare I say narrow segment.

I'm not going to tell you not to apply - but just know that your chances at some schools are better than others. If you apply to HBS, just know that it's a hail mary (but like any football hail mary, it *can* happen).

Alex
alex@mbaapply.com
www.mbaapply.com
http://mbaapply.blogspot.com