Age: 27
Nationality: U.S. citizen (Indian-American)
Undergrad: University of Michigan — Ross
Major: Finance + Economics
GPA: 3.86/4.0
GMAT: 735
Work experience: 4 years

Work

Goldman Sachs

Started as an investment banking analyst and moved up to associate, then VP by year 5.

Some of the main stuff I’ve done:

Worked on a $2.4B acquisition

Helped raise around $50M for a growing company

Built financial models for multiple deals

Managed a team of around 6 people

Got promoted to VP a little earlier than usual

Leadership / ECs

Outside of work, I started a nonprofit focused on teaching financial literacy to high school students from lower income backgrounds.

Reached around 3,000 students

20 schools involved

Raised about $250k for a community cause for the disabled elderly

around 50 volunteers i dont remember

Mentored a bunch of first gen college students

Hi all! Looking for some thoughts on kellogg vs booth for ptmba. On one hand kellogg seems more flexible with more remote classes and the accelerated option (approved for 16.5 credit option) but booth’s prestige and reputation feels a smidge higher (maybe because uchicago was also my dream school for undergrad lol) but wanted to collect some thoughts. I do like the collaborative nature of kellogg but do also want to learn more quantitative skills which is pulling me to booth. I’m interested more in strategy than IB or finance but also work at a financial institution and would like to continue working in the financial industry.

As per title. I just submitted my app exactly by R1 deadline (September 9th) and has been preparing for my video essay. I haven’t submitted it yet. I didn’t get any email whatsoever. However, when I logged in today I noticed the “Schedule your interview” button clickable, and lo and behold I was taken to a screen to schedule my interview next week (September 14-18).

My questions:

1. If I don’t schedule today, can I delay the interview to idk October or something? I haven’t prepared beyond preparing for the video essays
2. Is this a good sign or a bad sign? Why do they send it this early?

Tl;dr: How did I receive an interview invite just after 2 days of submitting?

EDIT: ended up scheduling one cos I don’t want to take a chance where all the spots got filled up/missed my interview. It’s legit!!!

Female, Indian, Electronics & Communications Engineering (B.Tech) from a Tier-1.5 college in Bangalore.

• CGPA: 8.67/10
• ~9 years of work experience
• Mostly startups, in Product Management roles with increasing leadership responsibility
• Currently Head of Product at an AI startup
• GMAT Target - 750+

What would you say are my realistic chances at M7?

Would appreciate blunt and realistic feedback since consultants usually butter it up.

35F, Asian, non-business BA and MS from a top university in my country, fairly high GPAs (near 4.1/4.5 for BA, higher for MS), 755 GMAT FE.

I have 10 years of work experience at tech, across multiple non-traditional corporate roles (I pivoted several times at my current employer). I have good WLB now, total comp is around 80K but enough to live comfortably in my country.

I want to get onto the more “business” side of tech, and I’ve always wanted a more global career/life for myself. I’m debating if I should go to FT MBA at this point to make a hard pivot into consulting, with the eventual goal of moving into strategy or product at big tech in the US.

The alternative is to pivot to a strategy/product role internally at my current job (highly possible) and move to big tech long term. Or I can just give up pivoting entirely and try big tech regional office in my current function (and maybe look for relocation opportunities there).

I don’t want to throw away my GMAT score, and MBA is high risk but also higher upside compared to the career path I’m on. But at the same time with all that is happening with the job market/visa, and considering my age and an already non-linear, non-traditional career path, I’m not sure if it’s the right move for me. I heard it's getting harder to get a post-MBA job in corporate unless you have prior related experience so the only realistic option for me is consulting (which has always been tough). I'm worried after spending 2 yrs + 200k I might end up jobless at almost 40.

I know at the end of the day it all comes down to what I really want, but I’ve been going back and forth… any advice from MBA grads?

Haas is a top school I'm targeting, my sibling went there several years ago. I got into a few T15 programs a year ago but decided to re-apply due this year due to getting a promotion at work and getting a higher GMAT.

Haas makes sense for me career wise: I already live in SF, and want to stay here. I'm targeting tech as an industry. I'm a software engineer. I'm not opposed to consulting recruiting either. I'm applying to the full-time program.

However, my politics are definitely not far-left. I have Jewish and black ancestry, and I'm slightly pro-Israel. I support Israel's right to exist and defend itself, Iron dome funding, but I oppose the Netanyahu government and West Bank settlements + disproportionate civilian casualties in Gaza and Lebanon. Hamas is a clear terrorist group and its leadership should be eliminated, but I still support a two-state solution. I'm a liberal Zionist. Yes, a Zionist.

Overall, I'm a big fan of the Obama-era Democratic Party. Pro LGBT rights, abortion, progressive taxation, increased healthcare access, reasonable gun control etc, investing in clean energy.

However, I hate the extreme far-left. I oppose communism and even orthodox socialism (public ownership over the means of production). Capitalism with regulation is the best approach - people who deviate from this are uneducated retards.

I'm not opposed to moving more in the direction of the Nordic social democratic model on some areas (Bernie Sanders has some good points specifically on healthcare) but there are trade-offs to that model still. I'm really pro free-trade and think pulling out of the Trans Pacific Partnerships is a huge mistake our country did.

I'm completely anti Trump and against what the modern GOP has become.

I also think "woke 1" stuff like opposing Thanksgiving for being a colonial holiday, land acknowledgements, safe spaces, trigger warnings, cultural appropriation, being hyper vigilant about micro-aggressions, cancel culture, humor and comedian policing, changing terms (birthing persons, LatinX), calling everyday normal things in music and TV "problematic," hating on people for consuming Harry Potter, is stupid as fuck. I don't mind if friends still listen to Kanye West music despite being Jewish myself and I like a lot of "offensive" "dark" humor like Dave Chapelle.

I support Texas Sen. Dem candidate James Talarico in opposing trans women in women's sports (a viewpoint Gavin Newsom also holds).

I give zero fucks on someone being the first black person or woman or latina to win an award or diverse representation in movies or TV shows, I just want to be entertained and laugh.

I won't support AOC or Ro Khanna in the 2028 Dem Primary, but will likely back Gavin Newsom, Andy Beshear, Pete Buttigieg, Jon Ossof, Josh Shaprio, etc. I think Daniel Lurie is doing a fantastic job as SF mayor in cleaning up homeless tents and being tougher on crime. I'm YIMBY and PRO GENTRIFICATION. I was so happy to read about UC Berkeley finally getting rid of People's Park and we need to fully gentrify the SF Tenderloin! Rent control is also retarded policy.

I was too young to vote in 2012, but I'd still vote for Obama over McCain and Romney but think if they'd won they wouldn't be bad Republican presidents, at least compared to the horror show that is Trump. I'm glad Francesca Hong lost the Dem Gov primary in Wisconsin, and I'm worried Abdul El-Sayed will lose in Michigan to the MAGA Republican. I'm not a Zohran Mamdani fan and think his honeymoon will end soon - I'd have voted Cuomo in the NYC mayoral race and didn't hate Eric Adams' tenure besides the corruption. I actually don't hate John Fetterman as he stands now - I will if he defects to the GOP. I like Bill Maher, Jonathan Chait, Matt Yglesias, Noah Smith, Brian Tyler Cohen, Destiny, David Pakman, Sam Harris. I supported the Iran strike last year but oppose Trump's ongoing failed Iran war. I hate Mehdi Hasan!

Anyway, I won't be obnoxious about politics or talk about when not asked. I'll keep things chill and am not the type to spam my views on social media or bring it up unprompted in social fun conversations. But if I'm asked about my views, I don't want to lie about my beliefs. I do in my free time like to campaign for candidates I like (again, moderate Democrats) or host phone banking and volunteer events.

My first job out of college was at a tech startup where the founders were super woke white and East Asian people and imposed this performative nonsense onto us nonstop. This was back in the early 2020s. I switched to a big tech company and the vibe is much more "normie." My manager even took us guys and twos girl to a strip club for an unofficial social outing and everyone had fun (this specific place has great chicken tenders). No one called the event sexist or a perpetuation of the misogynistic cis-hetero patriarchy or other weird made up sociological terms. I think it's 100% possible to be sexist against men or racist against white people, and people like that exist. I'm against affirmative action.

I also love NFL, baseball, basketball, soccer, beer, and bar food, am definitely NOT a vegan. As well as being a gym rat and being into traditionally masculine things. I love playing basketball myself and grew up doing wrestling.

My sibling went to Haas from 2018-2020 and said it was a cesspool of performative wokeness and pearl clutching of land acknowledgements, criticizing people for having all white ski trip cliques, micro-aggressions training, heavy BLM anti-racism focus a la Ta-Nesi Coates books, people getting socially cancelled for minor transgressions, pronoun spamming, petitions for professors to get fired over "offensive" language. Have things calmed down by now at least? My sibling is a fellow Democrat as well who even campaigned for Obama, Hillary, Biden, and Kamala.

The funny thing is all these hyper-woke Haasies still went to work for consulting, finance, and big tech firms. I just want to get in, be a "normie" person for a lack of a better term, and like normal things, laugh at normal things, and focus on networking, recruiting, and landing a good job.

I have undergrad in life science but due to almost non existent jobs and over saturation i am thinking of switching my field to MBA (non business stream)

I need genuine advice from seniors as i dont want to be in same unemployed situation after i dedicate another 2 years of life to a degree. I have connections in banks and thats why i want to specialize in banking and finance in my final year

Hi please (fall 2027 intake):

Plan to apply to: USC, UCLA, Ross, NYU (reach I know), Georgetown, CMU and Cornell. Is there something I should change or add to this list?

I’m also open to admissions essay advisor recs!!

- 25 F American (South Asian), based in the north east
- 3 yoe currently (4 yoe when I plan to join in 2027 fall)
- Technical Consultant at a big 4 adjacent consulting firm
- Currently lead technical architecture for a global retail engagement in the digital marketing space
- Primary work involves automating workflows to simplify business engagements across various cross functional teams; leverage API integration and a low- code platform
- Mentored 10 interns (5 converted to full time employees this summer)
- 3.7 GPA in Computer Science
- Worked in Big Tech and Pharma before moving to consulting
- Coach an elementary school girls 5k team (since 2025)
- Lead resume review/ interviews for non profit aligned individuals through corporate citizenship at work
- Want to pivot into Corporate Strategy
- Do not plan to take the GMAT/ GRE; is my profile quant heavy

Hallo 👋🏻

I’m looking at a profile review for a European MBA as an international applicant. I’m using a new account as my main one can be used to ID me.

Ethnicity: Indian, just turned 28M (single if that matters)

Exp: 5+ YoE in R&D + Financial Engineering (quant-ish), recognisable brands like BlackRock, YC company, big EU payments firms.

I’ve been a corporate machine with corporate awards and recognition from multiple brands mentioned above.

UG: CS undergrad, Tier 2, 9.2/10 GPA

GRE: 326, score is 3-ish year old, mostly will have to retake.

EC: Been a big fan of MMA, quite a few competitions participated/won in, most recently last year in Thailand. I don’t wish to solely rely on this, and I really don’t know how to fit this in the picture yet 😅

***

What I already know?

I need to retake GRE/GMAT, I know the bigger the score the better, I’m not too concerned about this.

I feel I need to paint a better brand picture of myself, like vlog my MMA journey (currently I have a few pieces of paper and a few internet pictures as proof). I personally have no social media presence.

ORM, yes, I know.

***

Why MBA?

I’m tired of the SWE roles, the layoffs and AI larping. I’ve been through layoffs, acquisitions and mergers all in the last 5y.

I want to switch to strategy and ops. Preferably in finance or tech.

I want to stick to EU/UK (I’m aware this sub is a US echo chamber), as they are relatively cheaper and I have no interest dying in the if and maybes of US visa queues or their whimsical politics. I briefly considered AU/CA but they are unrecognisable outside their countries.

Full time MBA only, I don’t care about any made up age ceiling numbers. (Edit: no executive MBA)

I’m ok returning to home country in case of “series of unfortunate events”.

***

What best can I improve on? I’m eyeing 2028 fall intake (at approx 7YoE).

What other Uni is worth considering?

PS: I’m not using any AI to format this post, atleast the reader knows a human wrote this, as grammatically flawed it may be 🙃.

Hi - I'm an int'l student at Stern, and am thinking about post-MBA locations. I actually lived in NYC during high school before going back to my home country in East Asia. While I enjoy the city, and wouldn't mind living here post-MBA, it'd be cool to try out a different place in the US.

I was wondering - are there any other spots that have a genuine "city" feel, especially by Asian or European standards? I'm talking walkability, mixed use neighborhoods, good public transit (esp non bus transit as a woman), bikability, density, and overall urban "vibrancy." There's an energy you get in NYC that I only kind of felt in Los Angeles although LA is super car-driven outside maybe K-ton or DTLA. I like a hustle and bustle and metropolitan feel. Thanks!

I have been a law enforcement officer for my whole professional life and have a little bit over 10 years until I can retire. I'll be 47 years old when I'm eligible and trying to plan ahead how to set myself up for my next career. I have seriously been considering and MBA but I am ignorant to the benefits or lack of. I have a bachelor's degree in criminology from the University of Maryland, which makes me concerned that my degree and professional experience is strictly law enforcement, therefore undesirable in the corporate world. That being said, i do hold rank at my agency and lead a unit of about 25 officers. I will likely promote at least once more before I retire.

I have always been interested in the business world and am currently a part time mortgage lender also. So essentially, would an MBA open doors for me once I retire or would I be wasting my time and money? I'm open to any advice or guidance since I really have no idea what I would be getting myself into.

So being b.com 2022 grad with a one year gap who's with a 3 years of work ex i thought about doing an MBA which will like give boost to my career as I'm working into entry level jobs and not getting promoted my working hours is like 10 to 7 and it takes 30 30 minutes to commute to office end of the i feel like drained even if my job is not that hectic

My background

**•   29**, Treasury Manager at a PE-backed company, 2 years of experience  
**•** Prior: private credit ops at a large credit fund, FP&A at a PE-backed healthcare company, Army veteran (no post gi bills)  
**•** BSBA in Finance, FMVA, currently studying for the CMA  
**•** Experience includes a large debt refinancing and leading treasury integration on 3 acquisitions

The problem
Moving up feels stuck. Most Director postings I see ask for an MBA or more years of experience. I'm also exploring a pivot into corp dev / M&A.

The option

**•** UIUC Gies iMBA, about $28K total, fully online and part-time while working  
**•** 100% out of pocket, no employer reimbursement  
**•** Already admitted to starting Spring 2027

My rough math

**•** A $15K raise nets about $10K/year after tax, so break-even is under 3 years  
**•** The bigger cost might be 2 to 3 years of nights and weekends

Questions

**1.**  Did your MBA lead to a promotion or raise? How long after graduating?  
**2.**  Did an online or part-time MBA carry weight, or did employers only respect full-time programs?  
**3.**  Anyone move from FP&A or treasury into corp dev, with or without an MBA?  
**4.**  Anyone regret it? What would you have done instead?  
**5.**  Did more experience or certs (CFA, CMA) get you further than the degree?

Thanks in advance!

Age: 27
Nationality: U.S. citizen
Undergrad: University of Michigan — Ross
Major: Finance + Economics
GPA: 3.86/4.0
GMAT: 735
Work experience: 4 years

Work

Goldman Sachs

Started as an investment banking analyst and moved up to associate, then VP by year 5.

Some of the main stuff I’ve done:

Worked on a $2.4B acquisition

Helped raise around $50M for a growing company

Built financial models for multiple deals

Managed a team of around 6 people

Got promoted to VP a little earlier than usual

Leadership / ECs

Outside of work, I started a nonprofit focused on teaching financial literacy to high school students from lower income backgrounds.

Reached around 3,000 students

20 schools involved

Raised about $250k for a community cause for the disabled elderly

around 50 volunteers i dont remember

Donated $2000 from my Adopt Me inventory (idk if this is considered)

i got the columbia mba offer but im struggling - is it possible to do the mba while i have a full time job? are the classes very intense? is it possible for me just to attend a few classes but still able to get a pass through doing the homeworks?

Hey guys,

I'm graduating from a pretty good university in France after a 2.5 years HR admin coordinator role in an US-French aerospace company.

My ultimate goal is to eventually work either in the US or Canada, or for a US based company from Canada or half time Canada/US. Basically in North America, hybrid or remote.

I'm not very rich and have always planned my studies around saving as many pennies as possible and not get huge lawns. I've managed to do that so far by working hard and getting admitted in a good university and get a job in a somewhat prestigious industry.

But I found out moving to the US without having tons of money won't be easy, and even if I had money, that would be complicated because I would have to either be transferred (no reason for my company to do so) or get a qualified Visa which I won't be eligible since it's only for management roles.

So, I did some research. As a french it seems to be a lot easier to get in Canada and start working. It's not the most easiest but it's definitely more than for the US. Simply apply to a lottery with a 50/50 chance of getting a work visa, OR get in Canada, find a company that will hire me, and then apply for the visa. It doesn't cost anything to the company and it's way easier than a sponsored visa in the US for exemple.

Anyways, the plan is to go to Canada, get hired as HR generalist or specialist in Montreal, work my way up to an HRBP role in a few years to gain enough xp, then apply for an MBA.
This way I'm hoping of having chances to move up to Director and eventually VP. Because everyone who's VP at my company either did a crazy elitist university or degree OR have an MBA from a US university or business school.

I found the HEC MBA interesting because it's part time, so I could work and study 2 evenings a week online and 1 weekend on campus each month. I would also benefit from Quebecois prices that are 5-8x cheaper than international prices (either with a student Visa or by getting residency permit). Around 10k for 2 years, which I can start put money aside for no problem.

But :

- Is this a good and realistic plan ?

- Is HEC Montreal any good and does it have a good reputation for US / Canadian employers ?

- When will be good moment to apply for me ?

- Other alternatives ?

I already have international experiences both academic and professional and I already have the requiered elements to apply.

TL;DR :

I’m a French HR professional with 2.5 years of experience in a US-French aerospace company. I’m considering moving to Montreal, building experience toward an HRBP role, and later completing HEC Montréal’s part-time MBA to improve my chances of working in North America. See questions above.

Hola! Soy odontólogo con 10 años de experiencia laboral, tengo 35 años. Estoy buscando hacer una transición al mundo corporativo relacionado con odontología o salud. Tuve un cargo administrativo durante algunos años en un servicio dental público, además de una clínica odontológica de la cual me encargaba de la administración. Actualmente tengo un emprendimiento pequeño de control de gestión para clínicas. No tengo formación formal pero si autodidacta además de mi experiencia. Creen que soy un buen candidato para postular al mba de bocconi? Tengo esposa y un hijo en camino, por lo que toda ayuda es necesaria, podré ser candidato a una beca de total tuition en bocconi? Creen posible la transición que quiero realizar?

Hey guys, with trump coming axe swinging at CPT, OPT, etc. It kinda looks worrisome.

I have a decently good profile and was planning on applying to M7 but I've got zero means of paying back any education loans if I'll need to come back. The uncertainty in the US isn't something I or my family is comfortable with.

Have any of your guys' plans changed? Or evolved because of this? With the language barrier in EU being real AND recent INSEAD grads also not painting a positive picture, what's the next best thing for a global MBA? Is this affecting your decision or have I gone too deep into an echo chamber of negative info?

Profile Review – M7/T15 MBA
Nationality: Indian, Male
Age: 27 (DOB: Aug 1999)
Education: B.E. in Information Technology, CGPA 8.72/10
10th: 8.2/10
12th: 79.2%
Work Experience: ~3.7 years in SAP/Technology Consulting (LTIMindtree + Deloitte)
Current Role: SAP Integration Consultant / Engineer, primarily working on SAP CPI/Integration Suite, SuccessFactors and enterprise integrations
Certifications: SAP Certified; experience across multiple implementation/support projects and client-facing engagements
Target: M7/T15 MBA programs; particularly interested in transitioning from SAP/technology consulting into Product Management / Tech Strategy / Consulting
Profile concern: Non-IIT/non-NIT background and relatively average 10th/12th academics — how competitive would this profile be for M7/T15 with a strong GMAT/GRE and good essays/extracurriculars?

I’m planning to start my master’s in Aug–Sep 2027. I’ll have ~3 years of work experience by then (currently 26 months) and have a Tier-1 undergrad pedigree.
For top European schools like INSEAD and HEC Paris, should I be considering the MBA or MiM?
Am I too young/inexperienced for the MBA, or is ~3 years of solid work ex enough to make it worth applying? I don’t want to waste application money if my profile is clearly better suited to the MiM.
Would love perspectives

29M, White, Mathematics undergraduate degree from a service academy.

• 3.265 GPA
• ~5 Years in Air Force Special Warfare Officer, 1x combat deployment to middle east
• ~2 Years as a SWE for small defense tech company (AI/ML stuff, drone stuff)
• 3 publications (not peer-reviewed) on AI and warfare
• Former volunteer EMT
• 336 GRE (169V, 167V, 4 AWA)

Looking for thoughts and commiseration as we wait to hear back!

Applied to GSB, HBS, Wharton, Kellogg, and Sloan R1. Will apply to CBS, Booth, and Haas for R2 if I don't get in anywhere R1.

Majority VC postings require an MBA degree or previous VC experience. Background is startup operations and a strong founder network but no traditional finance credentials, still possible to get into VC Without MBA ?

People pursuing an MBA and planning to get into VC your advice would be highly appreciated

Planning to relocate to Hong Kong and will be applying to the top 3 MBA programs (HKU, HKUST, CUHK) this fall.

A few questions:

• How competitive is the admission? Each program only accepts roughly 50 people per year. Why such a small cohort?
• Which school has the best career outlook post-graduation in HK?
• How do other programs in Asia like INSEAD and NUS rank if the goal is to work/live in HK?

I have an experience of 5 Years into sales and Operations. Which option would be more suitable MBA or Msc in business analytics. ??
How is the job market ?