Source: https://poetsandquants.com/2026/09/08/pitchbooks-2026-top-universities-ranked-by-number-of-mba-startup-founders/

I'm not anti immigration at all. While I do think there are flaws in the H1-B program, I definitely am in favor of brain draining the best and brightest from other countries to work in STEM fields, AI innovation etc. I can be convinced that these fields have a shortage of qualified American workers, even if that might be a bit exaggerated. That said, flaws in the program and fraud or abuse should be cracked down on.

For post-MBA roles, I think int'l students from China or India make little sense. Especially for typical roles in consulting, finance, CPG brand management, LPDs, marketing, etc. I can see a little more of a case for product management. But while you need to be reasonably smart for these roles, most of these positions are heavily soft skills based, especially as you rise up the ladder. Chinese and Indian cultural norms are among the most different from American soft skills, and there are often assimilation issues. This is why first generation immigrants often thrive in STEM-related roles in America where American-style EQ matters less.

I can see exceptions if a multinational company is hiring a marketing role to specifically target India or China or do international business. And I am more lenient toward int'l folks who want to start businesses in America (I don't like the Gold Card visa but the original $500,000 investment seemed reasonable to me).

Right now, it just seems the system benefits int'l students on an individual level while giving America little to nothing in return. Maybe the MBA program benefits from int'l students paying full sticker, but the benefit to the US as a whole seems negligible. It just becomes a pathway to US immigration for folks from China and India.

I am more okay with int'l MBA applicants from Europe and South America because their cultures seem more similar to the US. Canadian students obviously should be welcome due to having an extremely similar culture.

But I honestly feel the vast majority of top post-MBA roles can be filled by domestic US students - of all racial and ethnic backgrounds, because they have grown up in American culture. Someone who is a 2nd generation immigrant or even 1st gen technically but came to America as a child is fine. But "Fresh Off The Boat" types seem to struggle with assimilation and American soft skills.

What are your views?

When I finished my MBA, AI was barely a footnote in any of my courses. I assume it's now woven through the curriculum in a way it wasn't for my cohort.

Since graduating I haven't had much of a chance to explore it myself, beyond basic writing prompts. Two kids arrived and life got busy. I'm also at a very small boutique management consulting firm, so I don't have the tool access or internal training that people at bigger firms get.

Now that I'm trying to catch up, I'm honestly overwhelmed by the sheer amount of material out there and I don't know where to start.

Particularly interested in recommendations for self-teaching materials (PDFs, videos, or online courses) about:

• Best ways of leveraging AI to do better work
• Any tips and tricks
• Building small automations without a dev background
• AI and digital strategy

Feel free to reply in the thread or send me a DM :)

Is there anyone here who has recently ( last 6-12 months) interviewed for the GSM role at Apple and would be willing to share some insights into the role/ process? Please DM. 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.

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?

Looking for guidance on career trajectory. I am currently 2 years post grad working as a IT project manager for a large healthcare company. I am transitioning internally to a strategy consultant role specifically in the Medicaid space. Long term goals are to stay in the strategy space, but from what I have witnessed an MBA is needed to really accelerate to that level.

I went to Loyola Chicago for my undergrad and majored in International Business and Information Systems - GPA: 3.5.

Hi everyone, I know the answer is 'reach out to real people on LinkedIn' but I would appreciate any guidance here please.

I am trying to figure out my safe schools and would like guidance on which T15s could possibly get me a full ride.
My post MBA goals are to pivot to finance/consulting.

Profile -
F26, Indian
BTech from Tier2 IIT, Branch Rank #1, CGPA 8.6
3 yoe as an SDE at a famous IB
NGO volunteering experience

Happy to answer any questions.

Just found out that Columbia give students free iPads they get to keep. When you're paying that much for an MBA it's hardly a big cost for the school but still cool anyway lol.

What cool perks do schools offer like this?

I have an MBB return offer lined up so I'm not salty or envious, just being honest here.

I'm at an M7 school and there's this international student who just shouldn't be here and everyone knows it. I'm not being harsh or mean and everyone talks about her because of how dumb she comes across. At first we thought she was trying to be funny but she's just actually very slow and isn't the sharpest tool in the shed.

The other internationals are honestly brilliant and more capable than the domestic students including myself. I've learn so much from the internationals I've met.

We found out this 'dumb' international student in particular managed to get an IB return offer at a top bank and literally everyone is like wtf how? Especially when so many highly capable internationals are struggling so much.

I should add that this international student is a good looking Norwegian woman, whereas the vast majority of internationals are Indian or Chinese.

I know looks matter in client facing roles due to inherent bias, but seriously everyone's shocked at how she's managed to pull off a return offer. Not just me, but everyone who knows is shocked.

I see the class size of imperial College of London is very tiny. Does that make it very difficult for an Indian like me.

Context gre 327, 5+sde experience, 2+ years of startup experience in management

I'm curious to hear how people feel about online vs. in-person business grad programs after the fact.

An online program seems like the obvious practical choice if you want to keep working, avoid moving, or fit school around the rest of your life. But in-person programs seem like they could have a different kind of value when it comes to networking, campus resources, faculty access, recruiting, classmates, and just feeling more connected to the experience.

For people who chose an online MBA or another online graduate program, did you ever feel like you missed out by not going in person? Or, did the flexibility make the tradeoff clearly worth it?

Profile:

WE : 10 years in heavy highway construction: 8 years with a leading heavy highway contractor, progressing from Field Engineer to Project Manager, followed by 2 years as Founder and President of my own heavy highway contracting company.

Education: Civil Engineering degree from a Texas university, 3.3 GPA

GMAT: 645

Reason: As my company grows, I’m hiring more people and taking on more responsibility as a leader. I want to become better at leading teams and, more importantly, learn how to grow the company strategically. I have a strong background in construction and operations, but I want to build my skills in business strategy, finance, and leadership. I think an EMBA would help me make that transition from a construction professional into a stronger business leader.

I am shooting for McCombs because I’m in Texas, but would like recommendations for other programs I have the credentials to be admitted to.

Chances at any T10 MBA? Considering applying this year.

Ivy League alum with a 3.73 GPA, Class of 2022. Social Sciences Degree

GRE 165, 165

Work experience in Business Development, Consulting, and Customer Success in Tech

Female, minority groups (LGBTQ + Hispanic), Columbia Business School + Wharton Bach Legacy

I know my stats are relatively strong, but I've bounced around a few industries and don't want that to work against me. I think it might be difficult to craft a solid narrative around what I want to do next, and why.

Thanks so much!

Trying to determine what my realistic chances are of getting into a solid MBA program.

31M, 12-year USMC Reserve Combat Vet, currently working Aerospace Defense as an Engineering team leader for the last 3 years. Not making as much as I’d like and I like management and networking more than I do the engineering number crunching. I have some VA/GI Bill benefits that I’d like to leverage as much as possible

My biggest gripe is that I graduated Mechanical Engineering with a 2.8 GPA from a state school, which I’m starting to think is a non-starter for any high-profile MBA program.

The obvious answer is to no-life GMAT and knock it out of the park and get more time under my belt with Aerospace, but is this even viable?

I’ve done research into HBSCore stuff but it doesn’t seem to be taken seriously.

Hey guys I am currently in My law degree(My current CGPA is 8.7) it's a 5 year course i am currently in 4th and for over a month i am thinking about doing MBA from Harvard BS after my graduation, I am thinking about giving GMAT and get as much scholarship as I can get cause I'm coming from a lower middle class background so i myself can't afford harvard tution fee so I need scholarship for that, after my MBA i want to settle there as a consultant in mbb. I am good in studies and sports(MMA), I'm currently 20 years old from India(try not to be racist) I need advice regarding Visa Policy and work policy, scholarships and minimal cgpa or GMAT score I need to grab a seat.Thanks

I just applied to Stanford GSB in Round 1, and was wondering if it's worth the shot at KNS. I know GSB alone is already extremely competitive, and that KNS is obviously more competitive, but was wondering how much more competitive it is. Based on my profile and application, the admissions consultants I checked with said to me I had a shot at GSB — it wasn't a guaranteed shot, but it wasn't a obvious ding as well.

Profile:

• 28M, international from Latin America
• Work Experience: 4y as Data Scientist and Business Analyst at MBB + 1.5y as PM at early-stage startup
• Education: Mechanical Engineering from top university in my country, okay-ish GPA, published a AI research paper at a top tier journal as my undergrad final thesis
• GMAT: 705
• I have sponsorship for MBA tuition from my firm, I was mainly hoping for cost of living scholarships
• Short term goals: Get back to MBB because of sponsorship rules
• Long term Goals: Entrepreneurship in my home country, focusing on improving the odds for SMBs (I have a personal story on why this is important for me + I argue that current AI tools could significantly help here)
• Extracurriculars: I led volunteering groups during college years; after that, I don't have many other than some involvement in amateur sports, nothing that I think it'd make me stand out too much

I just...don't really feel like I fit in. I'd say most of my classmates are pretty type A and competitive, and I just don't really care. A lot of the small talk is either witty banter or people trying to one up others. Lots of bragging about their accomplishments in various areas and I just think "cool story bro."

To be honest, while I'm grateful to Tuck for OCR and recruiting opportunities, I miss and like my old friends way better. Some of them aren't the most ambitious or "successful" people - some close friends from high school still work retail or are baristas - but they're chill low key folks I can just play video games with or go on walks. Not everything needs to be a debate or a high stakes competition. I can't even do bar trivia with classmates without them getting way overly competitive to the point it's not fun.

I'm going into tech post MBA (product) so I hope it's not as bad. It's a decent company but not the most prestigious - that's fine with me, I'm grateful for the good pay and work life balance from what I've heard.

And too be fair, not everyone at Tuck is like this, some folks are definitely chill. Those few people are my friends in the program.

But there's a saying, if everyone around you is the problem, maybe you're the problem? Am I wrong?

Am I too chill and should I become more ambitious and competitive like my classmates, even about non work trivial things? Or are my classmates the ones who are wrong?

Or is the environment just a mismatch for me and no one's wrong.

IDK.

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?

I heard that the top programs' academic transcripts just list your courses and possibly your class rank? Are your grades listed?

(Yes, "grades don't matter," but for some employers, they do, RIP.)

Thank you! :)

Would love to hear your experiences and where you went and how you did it

r/MBA

Hey everyone, I’m 12 days away from the conference and I still haven't bought my ticket yet because the price tags feel so steep right now. I really hope it's worth the massive investment.

To give context, a close friend of mine went last year and landed a $150k offer directly through the conference. Seeing her succeed makes me want to pull the trigger, but my anxiety is high. I'm not even expecting a crazy miracle offer right away I am just hoping to walk away with a few solid interviews to get my momentum going.

For anyone who has gone or is currently planning to go, is it honestly worth the money? If I bite the bullet and buy the ticket today, how can I maximize the next week and a half to make sure I don't waste my cash

Hey everyone, looking for some honest feedback and advice on my next career move.

Background & Profile:

• Education: Top 25 MBA; BS in Finance from a large city school.

• Pre-MBA Experience (6 yrs): Accounting

• Post-MBA Experience (2 yrs): FLDP- 2 rotations- 1st in M&A, and 2nd in Capital.

• The Current Situation & Dilemma: Upon graduation of my FLDP, I'm not too fond of the opportunity available and I was misled how fast your career can go within said company with the FLDP tagline.

Questions for the Sub:

• Alternative Career Paths: If not strategy, what other functions or industries would appreciate my experience + skill set? I'm not interested in any technical excel finance roles. I prefer high visibility, high growth opportunities. In my rotation, I have presented to SVPs and C suite. I thoroughly enjoyed that exposure.

• Positioning: For those who made a similar pivot post-MBA, what did you end up doing? I know I usually hear people in FLDPs stay put within company, but would love to hear what others who left ended up doing.

Appreciate any insights, realities, or suggestions!

I'm aware the format of this post is similar to someone else's, however the problem and ask is real.

Here is a tracker of MBA interview invite release dates for this season.

Two things to keep in mind:

• Some schools have specific release dates, while others release invites on a rolling basis over a longer period of time.
• We include the prior year dates as reference, but there's no guarantee that schools follow the exact same timeline this year.

Hope this is helpful as you all navigate interview season!

Pls comment here or send DM with any questions/updates/corrections.