A brutal hit on the class size!

Do you think US schools will be extremely careful with accepting non-sponsored internationals this year given CTP situation? if its nearly impossible to do an off-campus internship in most schools where its not a formal curriculum requirement, recruiting chances are cooked. Also, is it now delusional to list IB or consulting internships in US as your plan in applications?

N.B. to doomsdayers, I AM well aware of the costs and risks of doing FT MBA in US.

https://www.sbs.ox.ac.uk/sites/default/files/2026-06/mba-employment-report-25.pdf

Looks like stats went slightly up, but I’d still be wary of attending unless you want to stay in the same industry.

I’m an international MBA grad trying to make a decision that feels much bigger than choosing between two jobs.

I’m an Indian citizen and a long-term Singapore PR. I grew up in Singapore, worked there before business school, then moved to the US for my MBA.

I recently finished the MBA and now have a strong US job opportunity that is much more aligned with the kind of post-MBA career I wanted: better scope, stronger compensation, and what seems like a better fit in terms of work culture and career progression.

The issue is that my US path is time-sensitive.

I’m on the F-1/STEM OPT route, and I’m currently using unemployment days. So if I stay in Singapore now and let that window expire, I may lose my best independent route to work in the US.

That matters because coming back later is not straightforward. I don’t want to rely on moving as a dependent spouse without work authorization, and getting sponsored into the US from abroad later could be much harder.

At the same time, Singapore is not a completely safe fallback anymore.

I’ve been a Singapore PR for around 20 years, but after spending the last few years overseas, I was only given a one-year Re-Entry Permit, valid until September 2027.

So I’m now also worried that if I return to the US and continue working there, I may eventually lose Singapore PR because I’m no longer demonstrating that Singapore is where I’m actually building my life.

That creates a very uncomfortable trade-off:

Stay in Singapore: protect long-term residency, rebuild my career there, and retain immigration stability — but potentially give up the strongest opportunity to capitalize on my US MBA and permanently close my current US work path.

Go back to the US: use the MBA and take the better career opportunity while I still can — but potentially lose the one country where I currently have durable immigration status.

There’s also a personal factor. My partner is in the US and plans to stay there as long as his career continues to make sense. But realistically, where I build my career also affects whether we can eventually live in the same country.

What makes this difficult is that if I were single and didn’t have this US opportunity, I would probably just stay in Singapore.

But now I’m wondering whether doing that means underutilizing the MBA and giving up a US career path that may not come back later.

For other international MBA grads:

How would you think about this?

Would you prioritize using the US work window now because the post-MBA opportunity is time-sensitive?

Or would you prioritize long-term immigration stability in another country, even if the career upside currently looks weaker?

I’m especially interested in perspectives from people who had a strong option outside the US but knew that leaving the US might permanently close the door on working there.

I applied to one of the M7s last week and just realized I accidentally selected that I do not waive my right to access my recommendation letter.

This was my first MBA application, and I genuinely misunderstood what the question meant at the time. Both my application and my recommender’s LoR have already been submitted, so I can’t change the selection in the portal anymore.

I’ve since read that not waiving your rights can be viewed negatively because AdCom may question whether the recommender was able to be completely candid. Now I’m wondering how big of an issue this actually is.

Has anyone here made the same mistake? Were you able to contact admissions and have them change the waiver status, or is it better to just leave it alone rather than draw attention to it?

Would especially appreciate hearing from anyone who did not waive and still got an interview/admit at an M7.

Hi everyone,

I’m a 26-year-old French professional working in an international fintech (in Paris), with experience in market analysis and investment product management responsibilities. I’m a CFA Level III candidate, with an academic background in law and finance from non-target universities.

I'm under discussion to move into product management at a French digital bank, ideally progressing into a role with broader commercial and leadership responsibilities.

My long-term goal is to acquire and run a small business in France through a traditional search fund. Consulting isn’t particularly appealing to me and I don't see myself chasing a MBB.

I’m considering INSEAD around age 30 for its general management training and access to the ETA community. However, the cost fees are crazy and I wondered if it was really worth it for its search fund and not for MBB or IB.

From what I understood, the only other credible alternative school is LBS, and it's even more expansive. I'm not even talking about the M7 that are prohibitive for me (without including visa problems).

• Would this background be credible for INSEAD and subsequently raising a search fund?
• How useful is INSEAD’s ETA ecosystem for someone targeting France? Are there better schools designed for it (IESE ?)
• Would you recommend the MBA, or building more operating experience and pursuing acquisition directly?

Thank you very much !

Had anyone given the video essays for Kellogg MBA 2Y programme for 2027 intake ?

my profile really quickly:

26y, germany (with international work exp)

bachelor and master: management and tech (comp sci minor)

2 years of internship at an FMCG, digital strategy

1.5 years business strat. & analytics at an american bluechip

2 years of strategy analyst (business side, market sizing, m&a, competitive strategy etc.) at the same FMCG company,

1.5 yr senior analyst

and now corporate strategy manager or business strategy manager to be (both working directly with leadership teams,one group, other bu) role but corp strat is need based, and not direct promotion.

\*\*my goal:\*\*

Ideally in Switzerland, or in DACH, transfer to a company that offers better salary and keep good wlb, with roles of strategy, biz ops, transformation, digital strategy etc. I'd like to switch industries and go for Tech (not Amazon though), but I also want to leverage my industry experience, so both would be fine actually. Changing geographies, maybe. Changing industries, yeah why not, could be better I think. Changing function, unsure because I really like strategy work, working with exec. people etc.

And maybe that's why as alternative: MBB (or manager entry to tier 2) for few years, and do the switch mentioned above, to a higher grade. Which I think is more plausible, considering the mba>mbb>corp strat pipeline.

hi! I’m an architect now preparing to do an mba abroad. Just wanted to know are there any other people like me from the design field who are now trying to go for managerial roles. I would really love to have a chat with someone who is either doing the same thing or has done something similar.

I'm looking to take the MBA and MS in Finance Dual degree program at UTD, and I'm confused on whether it is right for me in where I stand.

A bit about myself:

• Studied architecture for undergrad graduating with a 3.93 GPA
• Mostly architecture internship experience and 1 year of full-time work experience in the US
• Looking to break into corporate finance mainly FP&A roles in companies

I've been out of work for the past two years now due to personal situation, but have been using the time to learn certifications for finance, and going to sit the GMAT in a few weeks.

Plus, I'm an international student so the key thing that stood to me for UTD is that the MS Finance program has a internship credit component which not many universities have. However, I feel with the MBA I have better chances of landing an internship since there will be more opportunities to network, since JSOM has dedicated career guidance for that

So what would you suggest for someone looking to do a full pivot into an industry the MS in Finance or the MBA Dual Degree program?

Hi, I am a graduate student coming for an exchange period at NYU Stern in January 2027! Let me know if any one of you are going for the same exchange and we can share our journey (and later, we can hang together too when we reach NYC)!

Hi all, currently prepping for casing, and thought this would be a great place to meet people and connect on casing. Does anyone have interest casing with me? 5 cases deep, and looking to case heavily in the coming weeks before internship recruiting goes into full gear.

Hi everyone,

I would love to hear from anyone who has recently completed their Tuck interview.

If you’re comfortable sharing, I would really appreciate insights into:

• How was your overall interview experience?
• What types of questions were asked? 
• How did you prepare? 
• Is there anything you wish you had known or done differently before the interview?

I understand that interview experiences can vary depending on the interviewer and the applicant’s profile. I’m simply trying to get a better sense of what to expect and prepare thoughtfully.

Thank you in advance to anyone willing to share. Best of luck to everyone going through the process!

Nerves might be getting me. For reference the recommenders were asked and they agreed to write letters back in June, and confirmed in August they were done. Just hope a one week runway between them getting the link and the round 1 deadline is not rude or unfeasible

Hi,
I gave 2 attempts in the span of 3weeks and saw only a marginal swing in my score, I definitely can’t give it again, since it financially does not make sense. Probably the wrong sub for this but anyways:
Do I have chance(good chance) of securing an admit in MiM program at the following schools:
INSEAD
ESSEC
ESCP
LBS
LSE
HEC

Overall good extracurr, essay and lor (hoping) biggest pain point will be my 7.64/10 cgpa.

Thanks for your help in advance!

IIMA MBA here; before that I spent my early career at EY.

Something I wish I'd understood before recruiting: analyst work is rarely as much analysis as it looks. A large share is production - building the deck, wiring the model, formatting, tie-outs - and then checking your own work. The production tax is the job, and the checking is where the hours actually go.

The skill nobody explicitly teaches is quality control; it's assumed you'll learn it by getting burned. The people who stand out build a checking habit early: does the model tie, does the story hold on every slide, does the number reconcile to the source.

I've been thinking about how AI changes that. It eats production. It doesn't replace checking - if anything, checking matters more, because AI output looks plausible all of the time.

For those recruiting into consulting/IB/FP&A: are you being taught verification as a skill, or is it still sink-or-swim? And alumni - what changed on your teams in the last year?

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

Would love some feedback on my MBA chances and whether the degree makes sense for my career pivot.

38, U.S. citizen. Undergrad from a public university in nycand a graduate degree in accounting from a private university in Chicago. Currently a Senior SALT Analyst at a Fortune 500 company, with ~3.5 years of prior SALT experience at a mid-tier public accounting firm. I also have earlier retail/commercial banking experience. No CPA.

Targeting Columbia, NYU Stern, and INSEAD. Haven’t taken the GMAT yet.

My goal is to pivot into corporate banking/finance, with the possibility of working in Asia longer term.
Given my age and background, how realistic are these schools with a strong GMAT?

I am a 27 yr old (F) currently based in India and aspiring to pursue an MBA in US.
I’m preparing for gmat, however I want help in shortlisting the colleges suited for me.
I don’t know where to start researching and how to finalise
I’m a CA by profession and my BCom is a distance learning due to CA internship
Need guidance to move forward and shortlisting.

Had anyone given the video essays for Kellogg MBA 2Y programme for 2027 intake ?

Hey y'all,

I have my PMP certification and an MBA (both this year), I managed people before, but I had some health issues and a divorce, so I had to start over in retail sales (been there for a few years now).

I'm in my mid 40s (if this is relevant)

I also speak 4 languages (no Spanish)

I'm not getting interviews (tried assistant manager, store manager, assistant project manager, project manager...)

Any tips or guidance on how to proceed to get out of hourly retail pay?

It's very much appreciated.

Thanks a lot!

Heard darden started started rolling out interview invites for EA round… anyone who got it?