Unique story for generic applicant?

[dew2229]

Hi!

Sorry in advance for the long post. I was just wondering how to make a pretty generic applicant stand out a little more for top b-schools? It seems difficult to make my story unique when there are thousands of other applicants just like me.

A little background:
I am a recent college grad currently in an analyst program at a major investment bank. My stats are all good, but nothing steller.
GPA: 3.65 from a good undergraduate b-school (e.g. Wash U/UVA/Emory/Michigan... Not Harvard or Wharton, but not bad)
GMAT: 720 (48Q/40V, both over the 80 percentile benchmark)
Work: I plan to apply either after my 2 year analyst program (I noticed many schools were actually targeting younger applicants) or after 4 years if I get some private equity experience after i-banking.
EC: I plan to participate in a few activities that interest me, but honestly with these work hours it's fairly difficult to find free time to do much else. Do b-schools acknowledge this fact with regards to i-banking analysts?

In the next 2-4 years I plan to build as unique a story as possible, but it seems inevitable that much of my application will be fairly generic (I'd imagine adcoms see a thousand i-banking analyst apps like mine a day!). So what do you suggest to make my story more interesting, especially since I have a little time until I apply?

And for reference, I am aiming for most of the top finance schools, such as U Penn, Chicago, Columbia, MIT and Harvard (my biggest reach). I don't necessarily plan on applying to safety schools as the direct costs and opportunity costs associated with grad school would be too great for me to justify. I can gain better experience at work as opposed to business school (personally, not necessarily the same for everyone, especially since I already have a strong foundation from my undergrad business program), but the career development opportunities of the top schools are beneficial to me.

Again, sorry for the long post, but thanks in advance for the advice!

~Dew

[mbamission]

Hi Dew,

Thanks for writing in. It's great that you are already thinking about your applications so far in advance and that you've taken the GMATs and secured a 720.

Since you recognize that there will be many candidates with a similar profile when you apply, you can take this time to get an in-depth understanding of what each of these top schools offer and how you can best position your application to appeal to the subtle differences between these programs.

The programs may understand that an early-career banker has limited time for extracurriculars, but there are still applicants who do have that background and demonstrate non-work leadership, so I suggest you look for opportunities as they come up, even if you can't dedicate a significant amount of time to them.

You can also focus on your leadership experience at work. It can help to keep a running log of times where you have had to influence people, manage conflict, work in teams, etc., as these are always popular MBA essay topics. By having a great set of anecdotes to draw on, you are on your way to writing a solid essay that can help differentiate yourself.

Best of luck,

Daniel Richards
http://www.mbamission.com

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[mbamission]

Hi dew,

I thought about this some more and had some additional input. It is not so much what you've done, but what you learned along the way, how you improved from your early mistakes, and how these experiences have shaped your vision for your future. Also, the story of your personal journey can be a good essay topic.

Daniel Richards
http://www.mbamission.com

Read the mbaMission Insider's Guides (14 individual school titles)

Visit the mbaMission Blog

Follow mbaMission on Twitter

[dew2229]

thanks so much for all the input!

sorry, ive been travelling abroad a lot for work recently, but i do appreciate the help youve provided me. actually, if there are any other readers who have a similar situation to me, i actually just found this link on the mgmat website:

http://www.manhattangmat.com/application-ibankers.cfm

it discusses way investment banking analysts can get ahead in the admissions process (it actually even says "With a 3.6 GPA from Top University and a 720 GMAT, you certainly are a qualified applicant. But are you a competitive applicant?" which describes me exactly).

again, thanks for everything, and i hope any readers similar to me get the same kind of help i was fortunate to receive!

Dew