<p>I'm interested in going to business school directly after undergrad. I'm specifically looking at a few top schools (HBS, Wharton, Stanford, Columbia).</p>
<p>I currently go to a top 10 school (think Dartmouth, Columbia, etc). Econ major, math minor, GPA: 3.8. I also have taken the GMAT (score 770). I have one sales and trading summer internship under my belt. </p>
<p>Anyways, do business schools only rarely take people straight from undergrad? What kind of applicant usually gets admitted directly?</p>
<p>B-schools like the top ones you mentioned tend to take only total rockstars straight out of college. For instance, people who have started million dollar companies while in school, Olympic athletes, etc etc. It doesn’t sound like you fit into those categories though you certainly sound like you’ll be a strong applicant in the future.</p>
<p>Why do you want an MBA straight out of undergrad? That’s important to consider. If it is really important to you to get one, moving a tier or two down in terms of selectivity gives you a much stronger chance, since obviously, your stats are great. Yale has the Silver Scholars program that you could look into, and Simon School of Business has the early leader program. If you aren’t currently a senior, you could also look into the Harvard 2+2 program.</p>
<p>However, it is rare to get into schools of the caliber you mentioned through the regular application cycle with no stun-gun “only one person in the world could have done this” things in your profile. You should consider what it is about an MBA that makes you want to do it early. The great thing about the work experience pre-MBA is that it gives you a unique real world perspective on your coursework that you won’t have straight out of undergrad.</p>
<p>In addition, top firms hate to hire people without real world work experience. They want someone who have have an excellent track record, both in academics and career.</p>
<p>Is there any harm in applying right now? If I do get rejected I could then work for 2 or so years. Would the fact that I’m rejected now hurt my chances when I reapply?</p>
<p>Sending out a good application to business schools takes a lot of time and effort and I think for you at this stage, it is best to use the time to seek out good employment opportunities.</p>
<p>Certain business schools limit the total number of times you can apply in your lifetime. So if you apply right out of college and don’t get in, you just exhausted one of your shots.</p>