Good Questions #3
Here is the last entry (for now) in a recent series of e-mail exchanges I've been having with an applicant.
If you have questions, please let me know.
3. Looking at my profile what do you think my chances are getting into top 5 colleges assuming i get 700+ in GMAT? I understand every college looks for some special characteristic in their prospective students. Do you think i can satisfy the criterias of the top notch colleges? I think you are the most appropriate person to answer this questions as you have so much experience in admission process.
This is a very common question, but unfortunately no one can answer it accurately based on so little information. At a minimum, I would need to discuss your career goals with you, review your resume in-depth, or scan essays you've already written. Even then, the best I could give you is an impression. I had clients who I thought fit a certain school's "profile" perfectly who weren't accepted and others who I thought did not fit at all who were accepted. I've also had clients who were accepted by a top-5 school but rejected by a lower-ranked school. Some years many of my clients were accepted at a particular top-5 school and the next year no one was even invited to an interview. How do you explain these things? There are simply too many variables to predict an outcome with any accuracy. In some ways, the admissions process is a black box and you should run far and fast from anyone claiming they can predict an outcome or that they know how to get you accepted at a certain school.