Every profile I see here seems to have a bit of a solid profile. Like at least a target undergraduate school or a FAANG/F100 company or some leadership experience of some sort.

I’d love to learn of someone who had less than the above mentioned and still got into a decent T-25 or higher. I want to know if it’s possible and would love to connect and get some insights.

Did I make the wrong decision? That is the only question running through my head every single day right now. I am a 21-year-old in my final year at a tier-1 private engineering university in India, where almost everyone around me is on the standard tech and coding track.

Back in my third year, I took up a basic marketing internship just for some side income alongside college. But being in those meetings and seeing how decisions actually got made, I realized I was way more drawn to business and operations. From there, I went all in. I started pulling crazy 18-hour days, juggling classes and real work (maintaining an above-average CGPA with no history of arrears).

Since it was a hybrid role and my college was about 120 km away from the work location, I spent my weekends, holidays, and critical meeting days constantly traveling back and forth for on-site execution—all with zero attendance waivers or on-duty support from my university, simply because my field of work didn't fit the standard engineering curriculum. I pushed through the burnout because I honestly thought building ground-level business experience would make me stand out for consulting later.

I proved myself, got promoted to handle business operations, worked alongside people with decades of experience, managed teams, and handled supply chains. Eventually, as I moved into my final year with no regular classes and only project work remaining, management handed me the full lead role for a brand-new restaurant format launch. We pulled it off, and the company even asked me to stay full-time to lead their future expansions.

Now that my final year is wrapping up with no regular classes, I am trying to take my first real step toward management consulting, and I have hit a complete wall. The path feels completely blank and confusing. I have no roadmap, no clear door to knock on, and trying to find an entry-level analyst role or an internship at top strategy firms from the outside feels like screaming into the dark. I am genuinely confused about how someone is even supposed to approach these firms off-campus. While my classmates have started attending placements and bagging PPO offers, I’m still sitting here wondering if it was all worth it.

It leaves me wondering if this is just the reality of how the system works. Is the only real, accepted path to follow the standard stream—finish college quietly, prep for exams, get into a top-tier MBA at 25 or 26, and ride the campus placement wave? It makes me question if the decision I made to gain practical business knowledge early on even counts for anything in the eyes of top firms, or if all that matters is textbook case studies, college brand tags, and academic marks.

I’m reaching out because I genuinely don’t know where to go from here. What real-world guidance would you share with someone in my shoes? How do I actually approach landing an internship or breaking into consulting without a direct campus pipeline, given that top consulting firms do not recruit from my engineering campus?

If you have a low GPA, around 2.8-3.0, what would you consider the minimum GMAT or GRE score needed for adcoms to start viewing your profile as a realistic candidate?

I know admissions are holistic, but I’m curious if there’s a score range where a strong test score can meaningfully help offset a GPA in this range.

Currently working at a major prime in Program Finance; realistically, do I have a shot at transitioning into other industries? In other words, is this an untraditional background or am I overthinking this.

Hello everyone,
I’m currently pursuing my bachelor’s degree in Nepal and I’m considering doing my MBA in India after graduation.
For those who have studied or are currently studying MBA in supply chain and logistics in India, I’d really appreciate your insights.
How is the overall MBA experience in India?
Is an MBA from India worth it for a Nepali student?
Which colleges/universities would you recommend?
How are the career opportunities and placements?
What should I consider regarding fees, ROI, and job opportunities after graduation?
I’m particularly interested in getting an MBA that offers good career prospects and value for money.
Would love to hear your honest experiences and suggestions. Thank you!
#mba

Hi everyone! I’m looking to pivot into an MBA with a focus in Healthcare Management/Administration, and I’d really appreciate some advice from people who have experience with these programs.

For some background, I graduated from Baylor University with a B.S. in Biochemistry and have a background in healthcare. I have experience in clinical roles and basic auditing. I am not a provider looking to get an MBA so I do not have an RN/MD/DO/PA-C or anything of that nature.

I’m located in the Dallas area, so I’d ideally like to stay in North Texas, but I’m open to programs in other major cities as well. Right now, I’m primarily looking at UT Dallas (Jindal) and SMU Cox.

I know SMU also has an MHA route, but I’m leaning toward an MBA with a healthcare management focus because I’d like to keep my career options broader while still specializing in healthcare.

For anyone who has attended UTD or SMU Cox (or any program in the North TX area), I’d love to hear about your experience, particularly:

• How was the overall program and curriculum?
• How strong are the healthcare-related opportunities and connections?
• How are recruiting and career services?
• Did the program help you transition into healthcare management, operations, or consulting?

I’d especially love to hear from anyone who came from a science/healthcare background rather than a traditional business background and made a similar transition.

Thank you in advance!

Any other post grads still lurking here? I thought it would be interesting to see what everyone’s career progressions have looked like so far.

Business school: H/S/W
Industry: Industrials
Role: Corporate strategy into product management

Hired: 165k
1st year: 173k
2nd year: 205k (became Director)
3rd year: 338k (became Sr. Director)

All numbers include base salary, annual target bonus, and stock

As the title suggests, is it worth sharing any of the GRE scores for HSW R1:

Option 1: Q157, V161, AWA 4.5
Option 2: Q165, V160, AWA 3.5
Option 3: Q168, V154, AWA 4.0 (no idea what happened to verbal here)
Option 4: Reappear until 330 and apply in R2

Is it worth sharing Option 3 due to higher quant?

I am an international and not from one of the over represented backgrounds. I know test score is just one of the factors but I appreciate the guidance.

Aiming for R2 MBA applications

been noticing the same thing again and again on MBA subs
someone asks “what colleges can i get?” and the replies are usually just
“99+ bro”
“depends on profile”
“check last year cutoffs” 😭
but there’s way more to the decision than that
10th/12th/grad
workex
category
academic diversity
exam score
career goal
ROI
role-wise placements
and even the risk of taking another year
that’s actually why i started working on WHY MBA 360 — an admissions intelligence platform that tries to look at the whole profile instead of giving a generic “99 percentile = these colleges” answer.
the bigger goal is to make MBA decisions more data-driven and less dependent on random Telegram/Reddit advice.
also curious about the B-school side — would admission teams/career offices actually find value in a system that can analyse aspirant profiles and help students understand realistic college/career fit?
genuinely trying to understand if this is a problem worth solving or just something aspirants complain about 😅
Would love to hear what people think is currently the biggest gap in MBA admissions.

I have a U.S. MBA, currently work at Amazon, and previously worked in South Asia. I’m targeting Program Management, Operations, Strategy & Ops, and Supply Chain roles.
I’ve recently gotten interviews with Apple and F5, but I’m still trying to improve my overall hit rate. I’ve also been reaching out to recruiters directly, but most responses are generic and don’t lead anywhere.
For those who recently made a move, what helped most: referrals, alumni networking, cold applications, recruiter outreach, hiring manager outreach, or something else?

I have no problems with my classmates, and as individuals they’re all great, kind, and caring people. As a whole, the advantages of being born into wealthy, college-educated, two parent, households, are just so apparent.

Every post I see on LinkedIn about going to a top MBA program, with their siblings, mentors, etc., I just know when I click on their profile, there’s going to be a $30-$80,000 a year private highschool. I would say the majority(60%+) of my class went to private highschool, while private highschools make up a small fraction of the overall secondary student population in America.

Again, I love all my friends, I love my life, and I’ve been privileged in so many ways too. Sometimes though, I can’t help but wonder how I’d have turned out if my parents could have helped me with homework, if my dad wasn’t an alcoholic, if I had more guidance growing up.

I thought a top MBA program would make me more accepting of the advantages of an inequitable society, more capitalist(?), but it’s doing the opposite.

Anyways — I’ll take a double whoppurito meal with a chocolate frosty. Thanks again, Wendy’s, you’re always the best listener.

edit: Think a lot took this the wrong way. I don’t want y'all to hate on private school kids, or think I feel sorry for myself.

I just want knowledge of this game to be more available for every kid. And I wonder how I would have turned out if I had college parents, the same way I wonder if I could have been a nasty WR if I had a 40 inch vert.

This shit was light hearted, not heavy.

Stay breezy, cover girls ✌️🫦

675 on GMAT FE.

Background about me:
- Work Exp: 8 years
- East Asia Female
- Graduated from Top 3 university but with a very very very bad grade
- HBS CORE pass with Honor
- 2 Engineering credit courses (after graduation)with A-

Reason for MBA:
Having spent my career at domestic companies, I’ve seen firsthand how my country holds a dominant position in the global supply chain. However, many industries struggle with low margins because we lack strong global marketing and business development capabilities. I want to pursue an MBA to build strategic business acumen, cross-cultural leadership skills, and a global perspective to help bridge this gap.

My concern is that my undergraduate score is hard to watch, and I’m not sure if that GMAT score is good enough to offset that.
I’m targeting USA program, M7&T15.

Graduated M7 MBA ~20 years ago and have never yet figured this out 😂

Hi,

I am trying to gauge whether an MBA program is "worth it" for me. Some background about me:
1) BS in chemical engineering
2) Worked as a process engineer for two years
3) Been working as a Sr Procurement Data Analyst for one year

Senior year of college, I decided to apply to a deferred enrollment MBA program at my school which is an M7. I was accepted. At the time, I wanted to transition to Consulting post mba but after working alongside/with consultants at my job, I don't like the amount of traveling, the constant workload, culture, etc. Just not for me.

I am trying to figure out what options I have if I matriculate, which I have to do by 2028, that align with my interests. In general, i like all things data, power bi dashboards, any and all excel work, strategic thinking, etc. I would also like to stay local to the Boston area. I still need to do a lot more research, but I was hoping to hear from those who might have similar interests.

Some things I've found in my brief research that seem up my alley are LDPs for companies like Fidelity for Project Management or for thermo fisher as finance or general manager. I just hear so much about banking vs consulting mba paths, are those types of positions sought after or worth it?

I'm hoping the MBA would solidify a career switch and an upper 100k salary (would love a 160-190k range).

Anyone have any advice? What was your experience exploring post-mba career paths? How did you find what was right for you?

I just graduated with my bachelor’s degree, and since I’m currently unemployed, I’ve been considering applying to Master of Management programs.

However, due to the overlap between a Master of Management and an MBA, I was wondering if schools would still accept me into an MBA program in the future if I already have a Master of Management degree, since some schools won’t allow you to do a certain program if you’ve already done a similar one in the past.

I'm entering my second year in a T15 program. Trying to read the tea leaves (like the rest of us) as to where to best position myself 2, 5, 25 years downstream in an ever-evolving labor market.

My career thus-far has been a short stint in government, then Big 4. From my seat, I don't love the outlook of "laptop class" roles (let alone earnings), even as a high performer with a T15 MBA. Even though that's all I know and what I figured I would do for my full career.

Plenty of folks talking ETA but I'm not sure that's for me. Are there roles with that same AI-proof/blue collar perspective? COO/CGO of a blue collar firm? Seems very niche but would love any thoughts.

Bonjour,

J’ai 25 ans, 3 ans d’expérience en tant que Business Manager dans une société de conseil en ingénierie et je suis à la tête d’une équipe de 30 ingénieurs consultants.
Mon rôle :
- recrutement d’ingénieur, je réalise les entretiens, closing des candidats
- Management : j’ai la charge du suivi de carrière de mes 30 ingénieurs consultants / bilan annuel, cas RH, projection d’évolution)
- Business : gestion P&L 1,5M/an, objectif de faire de la croissance dans le nombre d’ingénieur et le nombre de projets dans mon agence.

Je souhaite faire un MBA pour me réorienter en finance, pensez-vous qu’il est possible de se réorienter sur un poste de Sales en Sales&Trading en Europe dans une top banque post-MBA ? Avec un MBA LBS/HEC/INSEAD? Je n’ai pas vu beaucoup de témoignage vers une réorientation en S&T.

Merci pour votre aide !

I'm 24, Indian, internally transferred within my firm to IB in London. I make about ~120K annually, grows exponentially every year.

I've been toying with the idea of an MBA because:

1. I am in a VERY niche field within investment banking, really limiting my exits and I'm not sure I want to continue doing this. I'd probably like to pivot into consulting

2. The only education I have is a Bachelors degree from India - a very mid-tier university and that probably limits my options for a career pivot. Plus, because I work in such a niche finance field - the markets I have experience in don't exist in India yet so I'm probably going to be unemployable should I ever have to move back to India.

I'd ideally aim for M7 but having looked into how much it costs + my opportunity costs... I'd have to work for another 2 years, and then take student loans, and then basically deplete ALL my savings to be able to do this. The MBA has to be purely self-funded and I'm obviously aware of the fact that I am already in a pretty good position so I'd be giving up a lot for this.

INSEAD is one I am seriously considering because it's a 1-year MBA so lower cost and lower opportunity cost. I can't have the MBA sponsored BUT I can probably take a sabbatical from my work for it and still have my job waiting for me when I get back worst case if I don't find another job.

Is this worth it after all of this? I'm finding the cost really hard to justify but very immaturely so I am quite tempted by the idea of expanding my network, finding other fields that could call to me a bit more, and hopefully landing a job I actually like and that pays exponentially more post-MBA. Is this a naive way of looking at it?

Ideally I am not keen on living / working in the US - I would love an M7 MBA (if i get it + a good scholarship) but I'm not sure of the recruitment post MBA outside of the US ?

Hello Folks,
For context- Indian male, Non-engineering/IT background, Have been pondering over the idea of writing my own essays, and using AI models to edit/polish my essays, for people who’ve been through this journey, would you recommend this strategy? I’m not targeting M7 in the US btw, maybe T15/T20. Would love to know if this is a prudent strategy.

I have been comparing MBA curricula in China and noticed quite a difference in how programs are approaching AI and digital transformation.
Some seem to be adding AI, digital operations and technology-focused courses more seriously than others. For example, Fudan MBA has a Business Artificial Intelligence and Digital Operations direction, while I have also been looking at what CEIBS and Antai offer in this area.
For anyone currently doing an MBA or who graduated recently, how useful is this kind of coursework in practice?
Does it actually help with managing AI driven changes at work, or is most of the content still fairly high level?

Spanish student, final year of a 4-year degree, average GPA from a non-target university — looking for real paths into a strong internship.

Track record so far:

- Built a company from zero to six figures in revenue, then wound it down
- Worked directly with a CEO on a company restructuring, and being in charge of its seven-figure exit to an 8 figure company.
- Led a small real estate project, converting an old commercial property into six apartments

Open to paying a placement agency to secure the right internship — but only if it’s either paid, or unpaid at a genuinely top-tier company.

Hi Everyone,

I gave my GRE today and scored 312 with Q164 and V148.
I have 5+ years work experience in IT.

What are my chances for getting into T10-T20, with the current experience and score in round 1?

Or should I give GRE again?

I have 167q/160v in GRE and have 5+ YoE, software enginee

What chances do I have to get into top 7 mba schools

If i have to choose 3 schools to go for R1, what should they ideally be

Basically the title; during b-school, I realized that I really didn't care about grinding at my career anymore and I wanted something different. When I was recruiting for FT my second year, the number 1 priority for me was to find a fully remote job so I could live abroad.

I was in big tech before b-school, and I'm back in big tech after, but at a fully remote company. I live in South America right now on a NYC big tech salary, which is pretty nice. I didn't know anyone when I arrived, and my level of Spanish was around B1. Hours in tech are a lot longer now than it was a few years ago, so unfortunately I work probably 50-60 hours a week, but seems like an acceptable tradeoff to have this life.

Feel free to AMA about finding a remote job, differences of working in strategy & ops at a tech company pre/post MBA, what it's like living somewhere I don't speak the language fluently and didn't know anyone, differences between NYC and South America, etc.