Never Trust a Smiling MBA Admissions Consultant, Part 2
We recently came across a very interesting story about a gentleman and his (relatively desperate) attempts to get into a top-10 MBA program. It really drove home the problem with MBA admissions consulting: some of them will gleefully take your money even if your odds of admission are basically zero.
Is it harsh to say that his odds of admission were basically zero? We’ll let you be the judge of that.
How Strong is This MBA Profile?
Do you think the following MBA candidate profile is worthy of admission to a top-10 MBA program?
Roughly 5 years of experience in finance, mostly at solid, well-known companies
Mediocre undergraduate GPA from a regional university you’ve probably never heard of
Underrepresented minority
Charismatic, likable guy
He has potential, right? His undergraduate experience is a problem, but his work experience is good, and underrepresented minority applicants ALWAYS have a leg up on the competition. Maybe his low GPA will keep him out of Harvard, Stanford, or Wharton, but so far, this is a legit contender for other top MBA programs, right?
But then there’s this:
Sub-500 GMAT score
Round 2 MBA deadlines are just a few weeks away
And now this poor fellow is toast. Realistically, no elite – or even moderately selective – MBA program will accept an applicant with a sub-500 GMAT score. And there really isn’t time to improve that GMAT score enough before the MBA application deadlines.
Low GMAT Scores and Top-10 MBA Programs Don’t Mix
If this guy were to ask us for MBA admissions consulting services under these circumstances, we would politely say no.
He’s screwed without a higher GMAT score. End of story. GMAT tutoring (or a switch to the GRE) might be worth the investment in this scenario, but it would be supremely scummy to steal this guy’s money and pretend that we could help him get into a good MBA program with his GMAT score in its current form.
We often refer potential MBA admissions consulting clients to other firms that we trust, and I can promise that all of the best MBA admissions consultants would say the same thing: raise your GMAT score, and THEN we can discuss MBA admissions coaching.
But this poor guy – with his sub-500 GMAT score! – paid “five figures” to an MBA admissions consultant for help applying to several top-10 MBA programs. The outcome was 100% predictable: of course he got rejected from all of them.
You’ve heard us say this before in our MBA admissions articles, but every time I hear another story like this, I get pretty cranky and feel the need to say it again: if your profile objectively sucks – sub-500 GMAT score! – and an MBA admissions consultant tells you that it’s going to be fine, then you need to run screaming in the opposite direction.
WHAT THE BEST MBA ADMISSIONS CONSULTANTS ACTUALLY DO
Fortunately, there are a handful of good, honest people in the MBA admissions consulting industry. And I think I just met another one.
We recently referred one of our GMAT students to an MBA admissions consultant at the last minute. Our GMAT student is a mess: his profile isn’t bad at all, but when it comes to MBA applications, the guy has absolutely no idea what he’s doing. By mid-December – just three weeks before R2 MBA application deadlines -- he’d done absolutely nothing besides taking the GMAT: no MBA essay drafts, no campus visits, no resume-polishing. Nothing.
After his GMAT tutor generously ripped him a new [expletive deleted] for ignoring his MBA applications until the last possible second, the student (with an assist from that same GMAT tutor) finally tracked down an MBA admissions consultant with some spare time on her hands.
Here’s (basically) what she said: “Hey, you’re not going to write great MBA applications at this point. You have three weeks, and you clearly have no idea what you’re doing. If you’re lucky, you’ll write an MBA application that’s about 70% of your best. Let’s shoot for 80%, and see if we can get anywhere close to it in less than three weeks.”
Now THAT is what you want to hear from your MBA admissions consultant. Brutal honesty: “hey buddy, you screwed up, and your MBA application isn’t going to be great. I can’t do that much for you, but I’ll do my best. Your call.” No empty promises, no BS.
So now our recently-humbled MBA applicant is applying to a relatively humble batch of MBA programs, mostly on the fringes of the top 15, but with a few “reach schools” in the mix. And that’s how it should be: a good MBA admissions consultant told him that he’s missed the boat on maximizing his MBA applications, and he’s (finally!) adjusting his MBA applications accordingly.
I’m not big on guarantees when it comes to GMAT scores or MBA applications, but I can promise this: one of these two MBA applicants will land on his feet before the other one. And it’ll be the guy with the honest MBA admissions consultant who made very reasonable promises.