Simon, 26, Italy

 The Challenge

Simon was from Italy and was still in his final year of an engineering management degree. He did not have much full-time work experience and a low GRE but had some strong extracurricular activities.

Client Hesitation

In our first free consulting session, Simon expressed that he wanted to target schools in the US, but he was not sure whether he should apply in the final year or take up full-time work experience and then apply 1 year later.

He was also skeptical about retaking his GRE.

 Our Strategy

Simon was clearly a smart guy but on an overall level, he looked like just another technology candidate.

We decided early on that we would get very personal with the Adcom, show his human side and paint him as an initiative taker. We understood that we needed to find the hidden gems, things in his profile that would bring out something unique enough to get him an interview. We focused on his traditional technology background and painted him as more of an innovator, the type of candidate that could really create something from nothing, in an operational strategy role.

 How we Implemented it

Our analysis of his profile showed that he had invested considerable time in several part-time work opportunities and extra curricular’s. Though this had an impact on his academics, the skills he gained in return made his profile really interesting. We highlighted this proactive nature of his, which had helped him land some international stints as well. 

Further, these activities had put him in charge of several people and had given him exposure to immense leadership and team skills. This was a key point that we knew schools would be interested in and we made sure to base a major part of the essays around the skills he had developed via these experiences.

Additionally, we found he had gained quite international experiences due to his family’s business and had been a part of it for some time. Highlighting these experiences and skills gained via these pursuits made his profile interesting and more than compensated for his low grade.