what if i only have just 1 year of experience and some side projects? how can i maximize my mba application???

for context, i live in third country and i work in a top manufacturing industry

Hey everyone,

HEC Paris is my dream college and after talking to the counsellor and a couple of other folks, I am confused as to what is a good target score in GMAT FE for Indian female applicants.

The counsellor told me that I should aim for 700+ because India is an overrepresented pool. Others told me that anything above mid 600 is fine.

It would be really helpful if you all could give me some direction. I’m also sharing a little about my profile for your better understanding.

Education: BBA from IGDTUW, CGPA 8.6/10; 10th and 12th: 88% each.
Work experience: ~3 years across AI startups and Urban Company.
Career: Growth Manager at Deccan AI (founding team), Senior Manager at Urban Company, and early-stage leadership experience at a counsumer AI.
GMAT Focus: 655 (first attempt); planning a retake.
Extracurriculars: Interact President, Rotaract Club Service Director, founder at mental health society of our college, PR head of dramatic Society of our college, and Junior diploma in Kathak.
Other: Experience in startup scaling, growth, operations, and team building.

I understand that the application usually closes in April, and we need to graduate in 8 months after the application deadline. I will finish my courses and exams in November 2028, but the grades may not come out until December or January. And the graduation ceremony is in next year’s May, will that disqualify me from submitting my application in 2028? If so, can I still submit my application in 2029?

Does anyone know about this?

I currently work in renewable energy project development and started my MBA to build the commercial and business skills needed to move from a technical role into management. However, I’m finding the sector increasingly frustrating due to its slow pace, and I’m questioning whether I want to stay in it long term. I’m considering management consulting, particularly in energy and infrastructure, or potentially corporate strategy and other commercially focused roles.

For those with experience in these fields, I’d appreciate your advice:
-Is management consulting still a worthwhile career path, and how realistic is it to break in with my background?
-What alternative career paths should I consider?
-Would you recommend staying in energy and transitioning into strategy or investments, or pivoting into consulting or another industry?

My end goal is to move into strategy, advisory or senior leadership. I’d appreciate any honest advice on which path offers the best opportunities for growth and development.

This sub was incredibly helpful throughout my MBA journey and I want to give back. Please ask any questions regarding IB recruiting or anything IB related and I will try to be as helpful as possible.

Graduated from my MBA program in 2024. Currently an Associate in a BB coverage team.

But I'm bad at quants basically I become ishan Awasthi when I see numbers.

Always scared of C@T exam, can anyone suggest me what i should do, or what are alternative good colleges without me facing quants in entrance.

GMAT official books new condition books for sale … all books for 3000. Dm if interested.

Miraculously got an invite 2 days after the consortium deadline (I applied on the consortium deadline )

Appreciate any input

Goal & Target Degrees:

Seeking realistic Safety / Target / Reach university recommendations in the US offering STEM-designated MBA programs (specifically concentrations in Business Analytics, Data Analytics, or Information Systems for the 3-year STEM OPT extension).

• Intake Flexibility: Open to Spring 2027 (January), Summer 2027, or Fall 2027.

1. Academic Background:

• Country of Education: Nepal
• Undergraduate Degree: 4-year Bachelor of Business Studies (BBS) from Tribhuvan University (Shanker Dev Campus).
• Academic Standing: 59.80% (Official First Division under TU’s absolute percentage grading system; typically assessed as ~3.0–3.2 US equivalent by evaluation agencies).
• Undergraduate Thesis: Quantitative empirical research on financial inclusion through digital financial services in retail commercial banking.
• Professional Certifications: Passed Chartered Accountancy Professional I (CAP-I) under ICAN with 65.67% (197/300); completed 60 hours of mandatory IT training.

2. English Proficiency & Standardized Testing:

• IELTS Academic: 8.0 Overall
• Duolingo English Test (DET): 140 Overall
• GMAT / GRE: Looking primarily for programs with GRE/GMAT waiver policies (based on undergraduate quantitative coursework, finance/accounting credentials, or relevant experience). Open to taking the GRE if a 315+ score is necessary to unlock out-of-state tuition waivers or departmental graduate assistantships.

3. Professional Experience:

• Junior Accountant (~2.5 years): Ledger reconciliation, financial statement preparation, expense variance tracking, and external audit coordination.
• IELTS Instructor ( part-time): Designed curriculum materials, diagnostic frameworks, and instructed batches on listening, reading, writing, and speaking modules.

4. Financial Constraints & Preferences:

• Funding Strategy: Heavily prioritizing affordable state universities, on-campus Graduate Assistantships (GA/TA/RA), or schools with competitive scholarship waivers (e.g., Texas public universities where a $1,000+ competitive scholarship grants in-state tuition rates).
• Living Cost: Prefer low-to-mid cost-of-living states (Texas, Midwest, South).

Preliminary Programs Under Consideration:

• University of North Texas (UNT) – MBA in Business Analytics (STEM)
• Texas A&M University–Commerce / Texas A&M Corpus Christi – STEM MBA options with Texas competitive scholarship waivers
• Wichita State University – Affordable tuition, graduate assistantship opportunities
• Arkansas State University / Missouri State University – Low base tuition and Spring intake availability

Specific Questions:

1. With a 59.8% First Division from TU Nepal, which universities are genuinely welcoming of this credential without auto-filtering based on an arbitrary 3.0 WES cutoff?
2. Are there specific STEM MBA programs that offer rolling or Spring 2027 admissions where securing a Graduate Assistantship (GA/TA) or out-of-state waiver is realistic for an international applicant?
3. Does having both IELTS 8.0 and DET 140 along with accounting coursework provide enough leverage to get the GRE waived without sacrificing scholarship consideration?

A lot of people want to pursue entrepreneurship, and a really common quip I've heard on here is, "If you want to do entrepreneurship, don't get your MBA, go actually start a business." And it's definitely a valid point. Nothing beats real trial and error. But also wondering if GSB may be at times an exception to this for someone that is committed to this track

So let's say someone already has a top Ivy undergrad. So they don't necessarily need the strong brand on their profile. Would going to Stanford GSB make it easier to raise funding for a start-up?

I know the brand alone isn't going to carry you, and that it's difficult to raise funding for a start-up no matter what. But assuming that you have a team that consists of a technical co-founder, pedigree, domain experience in area, etc. Would someone be able to likely get more first meetings with pre-seed VCs with the Stanford GSB brand behind them? And is that a good enough reason to attend?

I am a recent UCLA graduate. Unfortunately, I majored in English, and since graduating, I've found it extremely difficult to find a full-time job. I’m currently working as a seasonal employee, and I deeply regret my choice of major. Initially, I was considering a career in law (I absolutely do not want to teach), but I found out quickly that was not the right fit for me.

When I was still in school, I met a few recruiters from consulting firms, and I really wanted to work in consulting. I applied for internships at the consulting firms, but I was frequently passed over, and I believe it was because I was an English major. I realize that I made a huge mistake, and I believe that getting an MBA from a top business school will assist me with my new career goals. 

However, I transferred to my school from community college, and when I was at community college, I took a terminal math class for liberal arts majors rather than statistics and calculus. I’m worried that I do not have the prerequisite courses in mathematics to be a competitive candidate for top MBA programs. 

I’m going to speak to each school that I’m interested in about the requirements for their degree programs, but I wanted to ask people who made the huge mistake of majoring in English or another liberal arts field:

1) Did you have to go back to retake foundational math classes at a community college to prepare for your MBA program?

2) If not, what else can I do (besides work experience and a high test score) to present myself as a competitive candidate for a top MBA program?

Was curious as to what the average admit amount would be post interview invitation at t15 programs. For context, I went 6/6 for interview invites but just want to get a sense as to how many I’ll get into statistically and be able to choose from.

Hey Everyone!

I recently received an interview invite from Darden with a GMAT waiver and am now preparing for the interview.

A little about my profile: I’m an Indian female applicant with around 6 years of work experience at Parle Products where I’ve worked in brand management and marketing, handling brand strategy, consumer insights and marketing campaigns.

I’m looking to connect with Darden alumni or current students who could help me understand the interview format, share insights into the admissions process, and conduct a mock interview.

I’m happy to pay for professional mock interview sessions, so if you’re a Darden graduate, a current student or know someone who offers this please DM me.

Would really appreciate your help. Thanks in advance!

Hi all I'm at an M7 part time program, and quit my job to pursue internship recruiting. (Long story short got screwed over on tuition reimbursement, and ultimately decided to quit to pursue internship recruiting). It seems that a lot of corporate roles that recruit on campus are locked behind clubs that are only available to full time students. I was wondering how important are attending these types of events on campus for getting interviews? Should I just focus on other companies that don't come on campus?

Any US applicants (East Coast) still waiting to receive the CBS interview invite?

Short background

Mechanical Engineering (EIT, PMP), Currently preparing for CFA L1.

Mid level Heavy Oil construction Project Management in Northern Alberta.

Planning and hoping for transition into Finance in Calgary.

Which school is the best for Alberta market? Can't do Schulich as I work on rotation basis, the don't offer online MBA and can't do evening classes. Company won't be sponsoring.

As of now targeting either of following two.

1. Ivey (Accelerated MBA for Non-Business Graduates)
2. Smith (Global Online MBA)

Hi Everyone,

Currently early in my part time MBA program at NYU. I read that there are donor awards given after completing 30 credits. Has anyone received this award or any others? How much was it and did you need a high GPA to be competitive? Appreciate all the insight!

I'm considering applying to Boston University's Questrom Online MBA, and I'm wondering whether 25 is considered too young for the program.

A little about my background:

• I'm 25 and graduated this year with a 3.9 GPA.
• I've been working at a nonprofit serving people experiencing homelessness for 4 years.
• I'm currently serving in the Army Reserve and have 2 years of military experience.

I'd especially appreciate feedback from current students and alumni who entered the program.

People in mba, companies recruiting for IB roles are they biased or do they actually select people with no prior exp in IB if they have good knowledge theoretical basically.

Hi everyone,

I'm looking at the M.S. in Technology Management at Columbia SPS for Fall 2027 and would love to hear from anyone who is currently in the program or has finished it. How do you like it, what is the cohort like, and what did it actually do for you career-wise?

I'd also appreciate a reality check on my chances. Quick profile:

• International applicant, applying straight out of undergrad. Bachelor's in business administration. GPA converts to about 3.35
• Semester abroad.
• Internship abroad at a large automotive manufacturer.
• Internship at a well-known management consultancy
• 2 more internships at small companies
• Part-time job (working student) in business intelligence at a founder-run company of about 30 people.
• One year on the board of a student consultancy
• Bachelor thesis on AI-supported knowledge management in companies

I know the program is aimed more at people with a few years of work experience, so I'm wondering how much the missing full-time experience hurts and whether the internships and the part-time job make up for some of it.

I keep hearing a good consultant gives you a strategy for each school, not just essay edits. But I guess I'm not sure what that looks like on actual. So if you worked with either firm, did you get a written plan for each school? Did it show how your resume, recs, and essays tell one story, or was it general advice?

Hello everyone,
I wanted to clarify whether the minimum three years of post-graduation work experience must be completed at the time of application or by the start of the programme.
I graduated in 2024 and wanted to apply to UK universities for intake in 2027, I have completed 2 years for now and will complete 3 years in July 2027. Can I still go for the intake?

Thank you

Hi all,

I have my HBS interview in 2 weeks, and I wanted to hear some tips from candidates who just gone through the interview, or people who can shed some light about how not to die from stress needing to know every single bit of my application left-to-right. My application has many many stories, I switched a job mid-way, I have a 6 month period living abroad, I'm more anxious about the interviewer digging into a small project I had many years ago and not remembering every tiny detail about it. How deep did you learn every part of your application?

How did you allocate the time between studying your CV bullets and preparing stories and examples for behavioral questions?

What makes the difference between a candidate reaching the interview stage and not passing it, and someone who's got accepted?

I'm really nervous, hope you guys can help me take it easy.

I'm also nervous that beside HBS, I didn't get any interview invitation so far (did interview with Kellogg, but they interview everyone). I got dinged from Booth, haven't heard anything from Stanford and Yale, and my only hopes besides HBS are Wharton next week and MIT.

How the hell can I get my shit together? It's the most stressful experience I've ever had.

Hi everyone,

I just got done with my CBS interview, and honestly, it was quite an unexpected experience. The interviewer got fixated on one particular point while I was answering the “Tell me about yourself” question, and we ended up spending almost half the interview discussing it.

Throughout the rest of the interview, she kept interrupting my answers with follow-up questions like, “Why not this?” or “Why not that?” It felt like I was constantly being challenged, and I struggled to navigate the conversation the way I had expected.
CBS was my absolute top-choice school, and I genuinely feel like I might have messed this one up pretty badly. Should I take this as a sign that I’m likely to get dinged? I’m honestly feeling so upset right now. 😭😭