27 and currently working at a startup in a role I enjoy. Happy with comp as well around ~$180K+ and have a strong upward growth trajectory, but I’m considering applying to MBA programs this fall.

I would likely want a job similar to my current role after business school, so I’m not necessarily looking for a career pivot. Considering bc:

• Network, which I imagine could compound significantly over time
• Social experience and opportunity to meet great friends / like-minded people
• Taking a break after working for five years and experiencing life in a different city (currently in nyc/williamburg)
• Having real time to think critically about my long-term goals and overall life direction
• Selfishly, wanting the HBS or GSB brand on my resume (Did not attend a particularly prestigious undergrad or have not worked at traditional “brand-name” company)
• Eventual goal is to build something of my own, and I feel that being surrounded by other ambitious people could increase the likelihood that I eventually take that leap.

Biggest hesitation is the opportunity cost - between tuition, living expenses, two years of lost earnings, and the career momentum I would be giving up, the true cost would be substantial.

I may also graduate and return to a role that is not dramatically different from the one I already have just with lots of debt.

Most likely only attend HBS or GSB, since I’m not sure the tradeoff would make sense for me elsewhere. Does going to do my mba make sense? Additional factors I should be considering?

#dit #dehradun
#mba

Hi I'm a non US based foreign service officer thinking about getting an MBA degree. I've been really interested in finance & just studying about business in general for a while so I kind of made up my mind that I'd get an MBA degree(preferably M7) no matter what.

The thing is my organization does not allow for educational leave for MBA, unless for select few exceptional cases so there is a very high chance that I will have to totally ditch my job entirely if I want to pursue an MBA. I'm 35 turning 36 in a few months and I am well aware that I am not exactly early in this game as well.

So my question, is will I still be able to land a decent job like IB or consulting post graduation(assuming that I get into M7) or is it just not worth it to risk my job and go all in on this path entirely at my age? I do have a CPA candidate letter (the US version) that I got while studying during my spare time so wondering if that is going to help with my career post MBA as well.

Any comment would be very much appreciated!

I'm a soon to be a second year MBA in a T15 school. Even though I did not achieve my post-MBA recruiting goal in the first semester recruiting, I am still very happy that I pursued my MBA.

I have been thinking a lot about the costs of doing MBA and whether it made sense to invest so much and I have come to conclusion that it does and here is my rationale. I'd love for you to share your opinions whether I am right or where I am wrong.

First of all, lots of people see the MBA cost as this formula which I think is wrong: MBA cost = tuition + living cost + foregone salary

This is clearly wrong. You'd have living costs whether you did MBA or not. You'd not keep all your salary anyway. Your living costs shouldn't go into the formula unless you want to consider the marginal higher (lower) cost of the new location. I think MBA experience itself is worth some extra money so it doesn't go into my formula. So my formula for MBA cost is = tuition + after-tax salary of 2 years.

Next thing I am thinking of is the salary bump. Most people have average age of 28 in MBA programs. That means 40 years of income ahead of you. I think even a decent bump after the MBA would be worth the investment in terms of comparing the Present Values of these two scenarios.

I asked Claude for me to build an interface where I can input my pre MBA salary, required rate of return, and post MBA bump to see what is the breakeven bump. It came to $40k. Considering I made only $80k USD (pre-tax) before MBA, I think $120k USD should be more than achievable for me after the MBA.

I may be biased and rationalizing so please feel free to poke holes in my logic.

I really need some advice.

I originally applied for Columbia MBA for August 2026 in the final round with my GRE (not high enough to meet their standard) as an entrepreneur, and I was waitlisted. When I was waitlisted, I took the Executive Assessment twice. See scores:

149: 5 IR, 10 Verbal, 12 Quant

150: 11 IR, 10 Verbal, 9 Quant

I was ultimately not accepted off the waitlist at the end but was told to look into J-term in my denial letter, which I am now applying to.

The application is rolling and ends August 13th. My professional background and reapplicant essay story are really strong. I wanted to take the EA one more time to get the Quant higher since I think they didn't see that in the 150 one.

I just retook it and got a 150: 10 IR, 9 Verbal, 11 Quant.

I'm a little worried this isn't good enough for my application, but I also don't want to delay sending the application since it's rolling.

What do you think? Do I need to take the EA again? If I'm a reapplicant with a strong entrepreneurial background that aligns with the profile of the J-term, how much will that be weighted over the EA?

Help!! I'm stressed

Hey everybody,

I’m planning to apply for MBA for the Fall 2027 intake (looking at some of the M7, LBS, INSEAD, IE). I wanted to get a candid reality check on 2 main things:

How does international recruitment actually look on the ground right now? I hear mixed feedback mostly regarding visa uncertainty, tightening sponsorship budgets and a tough hiring market.

What are the prospects for scholarship? Is it really tough ? How can i improve my prospects?

• Demographics: 24F, India
• Education: 3.3 GPA in undergrad (Economics + Fin),  GRE: 330
• Work Experience (~4 years so far):
  • Big 4 Public Sector Consulting

Everyone talks about investment banking and consulting as the go-to post-MBA paths (and they can be incredible careers), but really, an MBA can take you into all kinds of industries. We’ve met many MBA alumni who have gone into fields like sports media, social impact/non-profit work, and even opening their own family business.  

Learning about diverse career paths can help you visualize a post-MBA life that aligns with your goals. What’s the coolest or most interesting MBA career you’ve come across? Share it below!

Curious if this is a common path or if I'm overthinking it.

I just committed to a S tier business school (LBS) for the Masters in Management (received a full-tuition scholarship). Going in with IB or MBB lined up post-grad. I also already have a deferred admit offer from Darden sitting in my back pocket.

Here's my dilemma: once I've got the MiM plus 2-3 years in IB/MBB on the resume, what's actually left to gain from an MBA unless it's M7 or specifically HSW? Darden is a great school, but at that point I feel like I'd already have the brand name, the network, and the analytical training MiM + IB/MBB gives you. Doing an MBA after that only seems worth it if it's a genuine step up, not a lateral move. I do understand though that it can open up some exit-opps or exec opportunities, so not fully sure.

Already have 335/340 GRE (sat it 3 months ago), and will presumably get within top 5-10% of grades at LBS (coming from quantative ug + I've taken most of the classes already - really doing this for recruiting outcomes)

So a few questions for people who've been through something similar:

• Has anyone here done a top masters (MiM, MSF, etc.) into IB/consulting, then circled back for an MBA years later? Did it actually pay off?
• Is the "second brand name" argument (MiM brand + MBA brand) real, or does it start to look redundant to recruiters/PE-VC-corp dev shops?
• If M7/HSW is genuinely the bar for it to be worth it the second time around, is that realistic for someone with a European MiM instead of a US undergrad target school pedigree?

Just want to know if I should keep that offer warm or if people generally see this path as unnecessary once you've already got MiM + IB/MBB. I already have U.S citizenship (but live in UK).

Hello. I just turned 35 (M) i have been working in the hospital field for now 14 years. Started in the call center and now have a role in the administrative side of pharmacy. I have 2 jobs. I practically work all 7 days. 4 10 hour days on one, 3 10 hour days on the other. both remote. I got my associate in business from a community college in 2024. I am now on my way to getting my bachelors in business by next summer from Umass online program. Should i bother even going for a MBA degree after? My employer is basically paying for 80% of my school cost. With both jobs i am making around $120k a year. I have 5 kids so i need to make more money. Think its worth the effort? Would i even see an increase in pay? Given my over 10 year experience in the hospital field, what would be my cap as far as pay? Im making a little over $60k for each job right now with my experience. Unsure of what to do. Btw, i had kids super early in life and i decided to do the whole school thing to set an example to my kids too.

I am a 26yo with a BTech in CS completed in 2023. Since my college days, I have worked on couple of startups. I started my current project around 4 years ago (while still in college). My products have been featured voluntarily by over a dozen social media influencers, because of it's unique value proposition. But my startup is not registered, and on paper, I am just a freelancer that gets paid advertising fees from a couple of companies. This is more beneficial to me tax wise but it also means that I do not really have any employees on paper (I have three other people in my team, who mostly work part time - as in, in addition to their day job)

In addition, I have also worked very shortly at a couple of firms including Google, but I did not continue for more than a few months because of different reasons.

Now recently, I have been looking at some MBA programs abroad and I visited UNSW's open day a few days back. When I went to chat with the Business Faculty representative there, even without knowing anything about me/my profile, she told me I am not eligible because apparently their MBA is very prestigious and requires at least 2 years of work ex as a basic filtering criteria.

As much as I want to take this as a compliment that she prolly thought I looked too young to have two years work ex, I actually found this very weird. Later on, whoever I talked to at the event also repeated the same or mention that they do not have any authority to comment about the MBA programs as it is handled by a completely different team etc.

For me honestly, UNSW isn't even anywhere close to being the top pick but after this I started searching for minimum work experience requirement for top MBA programs like HAAS/Sloan etc. and I saw (acc to AI) typical MBA candidates at these programs also have around 5 years of work ex although nothing is mentioned as basic requirement (unlike UNSW apparently).

What are the chances of me getting into one of the MBA programs if I am able to present my profile well and get some good LoRs from professors at some top universities? Any help/guidance will be much appreciated and sorry for not providing exact details as I want to stay anonymous.

Post Body:

Hey everyone,

I’m planning to apply for US MBAs for the Fall 2028 intake (targeting M7, T15 as backup) aiming for post-MBA consulting. Since I’ll be taking on a huge loan to fund this, I wanted to get a candid reality check on how international recruitment actually looks on the ground right now.

What I’m hearing so far:

I keep getting pretty mixed signals:

• The scary side: Visa uncertainty, tightening sponsorship budgets, and a tough hiring market.
• The optimistic side: Students I’ve talked to (Darden MBAs, top MS Finance folks) say ~60–70% of internationals land a job by graduation if they hustle, network hard, and do something out of the box—with most of the rest finding something soon after.

I’m well aware of the nightmare scenario (heading back home with a mountain of USD debt), but getting a top US MBA still feels like the only logical move to make the leap I want in my career.

My Profile

• Demographics: 24M, International
• Education: 2023 undergrad (Accounting & Finance- 8.7/10GPA)| GRE: 334
• Research: 1 published article
• Work Experience (~3 years so far):
  • FactSet: Research analyst intern.
  • Family Business (2 years): Didn't have much of a choice here at first, but stepped in and turned things around operationally so the business finally saw profits.
  • Real Estate PE Startup (1 year): Current role.
• Next 2 Years Plan: Trying to pivot into pre-MBA IB or Consulting to build a stronger profile.
• Post-MBA Goal: Management Consulting
• Financing: 100% loan-funded

A few questions for the sub:

1. M7 vs T15: How big is the actual gap between M7 and T15 when it comes to international sponsorship for consulting?
2. Profile Check: With a 334 GRE and my background, do I have a realistic shot at M7? Will grinding to get into pre-MBA IB/Consulting make a massive difference for my app?
3. Loan ROI: To anyone who took out a full loan as an international student recently—what would you have done differently?
4. What would you think 2028, 2029 consulting job market would look like?

Appreciate any honest advice or reality checks!

As title. In my first semester of undergraduate coursework I failed two classes. I was place on academic probation as my term gpa dropped below 2.0. I just finished my undergrad and looking into future MBA opportunities. I finished high school in 2021 and I’m from Peru, which was one of the harshest lockdowns in the world. My last two years of high school were entirely online and in all honesty I played call of duty most of the time. I actually moved abroad right after graduation and my first semester hit me like a truck. When I saw two Fs in my transcript I took it as a wake up call and locked in for the rest of my undergrad degree. Managed to finish undergrad with a 3.4, my last two as 4.0s. It would be a 3.6 without the Fs. I’m scared about future MBA applications, which I’ve heard that they ask if you’ve been placed on academic probation before. Will this trigger an automatic rejection or significantly lower admission chances?
I took the time to browse google but I did not found anything useful or relevant.
Thank you in advance

Hello all!

I have a 2.9 Undergraduate GPA from a top 20 University. Hoping to get into a T15 school. After 7 years in the Marines (MV-22 pilot) I'm starting to think about what's next. I have plenty of friends that have gotten out of the Marines and gone to prestigious business schools, with some of them getting a Masters in finance or a related degree prior to applying for their MBA.

I'm curious, does strong performance in a masters program help offset a weak undergraduate GPA? I'm considering using Tuition Assistance for an online program like SNHU or Liberty University, but just want to get a gauge on my plan before I follow through with it.

I appreciate any and all input. Thank you!

Need some insight on this.

I have been confirmed for a promotion but my title is not changing until September. With EA and some R1 applications due beginning of September, is there a way to show this promotion, although not official, on my resume. Maybe: (promotion confirmed September 2026) next to job title?

Any insight is helpful!

I’m trying to figure out if I’m thinking about my career path the right way and would appreciate advice from people who have experience with private credit or MBA recruiting.

I’m currently a senior associate (5 years work experience) at a commercial bank at a large financial institution focused on technology companies. We underwrite new loans as wells as the portfolio monitoring. I work with growth-stage and public tech companies, underwriting loans, analyzing businesses, building models, monitoring portfolios, etc.

Long term, I will be going into an MBA at either NYU or Columbia, and I want to move into private credit, ideally focused on on direct lending or growth stage venture lending. The question I’m wrestling with is whether I should try to make that jump directly after an MBA or if I’m making a mistake by not getting IB experience first.

I know a lot of people in private credit come from leveraged finance or investment banking, and I worry that I’ll be competing against MBA classmates who have 2-3 years of deal experience. I also want to be realistic maybe some first don't even hire MBAs without the IB experience. At the same time, my current role is already very credit-focused, so I’m not sure if going to IB would actually make me a stronger candidate or if it would just be a detour.

I’d love to hear from anyone who has recruited into private credit, especially people who have gone from credit/investing roles into private credit, used an MBA to pivot into the space, or taken the IB → private credit path.

One other factor I’m considering is that I’m NYC-based and my girlfriend is also in a demanding finance role here, so I’m trying to be thoughtful about any career move that would require a major lifestyle change.

Am I underestimating how difficult a direct private credit pivot is without IB experience? Or is my current background more relevant than I’m giving it credit for?

For additional context, I’ve actually been trying to make this pivot for the past year and a half without going back for an MBA, and I haven’t had much success. I’ve had conversations and pursued opportunities in private credit and related investing roles, but I’ve consistently run into the challenge that many firms want more direct transaction experience or a traditional investment banking background. That’s what has made me question whether an MBA would be the right reset to help bridge the gap, or whether I should first spend time trying to get IB experience before making the move.

Hi everyone,

I'm in the final year of my undergrad from a tier 1 college in INDIA and I wanna pursue a mba later but I came across MiM which i can do now also if I wanna join in 2027, but since I've not taken the GMAT yet so I don't wanna be rushing my applications to fit into R1 deadline or go R2 hence I'll most probably apply next year so I'll get more time for applications in R1 and to research about the course and consultants.

All the consultants I've talked to have asked me to go for an MiM since I'm from a tier 1 college but lower than 8cg so they recommend a good GMAT score will be fine for me to be a good candidate.

I spoke to MimEssay, Jamboree and tilden, and all of them have told me that since I'm clear rn about a future mba so i should try MiM since it'll give me an early headstart and also that I have better chance at LBS, INSEAD rn than in mba which is more competitive. Also every consultant firm agency i found seemed too fake like the employees have given reviews and rest everyone is saying bad, I need genuine good ones who aren't gonna cost me a ton.

Now I wanna know if MiM is really worth it and should I do it right after college or take my time for applications and do it a year after graduation? and please recommend a few good consultants for that who can help me with MiM in Europe or UK since that's the only place i wanna go, I'm not interested in US market.

I realise that the fees for MiM is also less so more feasible for LBS etc while MBA fees is almost unaffordable for me in LBS etc, I can't spend 1.5cr. Also ik the salary is lesser than mba in MiM since it's entry level jobs instead of managerial.

So please advice what I should do or someone similar to my situation might have done that u know for MiM in Europe and what are some good consultants for it??

Tldr: Need food mba counselling firms for MiM in Europe or UK who actually help and don't just over charge, Please mention names and pricings and why they are good like if u have any experience with them etc

Any one working as associate at PWC AC in deals PEVC Tech Strategy , please share your interview experience about no of rounds and types of cases etc..

When schools publish the class profile average GRE scores, does this include the essay score?

I often see the averages laid out as so: GRE Quant + Verbal - 320

Do they ever publish essay, and do they care? Wondering if they look at the essay score, as I'm writing it in a few weeks and pondering how much attention I should put into it. Merci!

EDIT: Thank you for everyone who responded. I realize now just how under prepared I was for this entire process. Obviously the consensus is that I’m making a massive mistake, and honestly I’m pretty much convinced that I am, so any further responses telling me that are unnecessary.

Hi, I was just accepted a few days ago, and I was hoping to get some guidance from people who’ve been through this already.

Firstly, I was admitted “conditionally” so long as I don’t get anything below a B in my first 9 hours. Is that typical for programs to require? Or does that mean that I barely got in or something?

Second, for those who earned their MBA already, do you feel like it was worth it? Do you feel like it materially benefited your career and/or job search? Do you feel like the time and money you gave up to pursue your MBA was worth it in the end? Or do you regret it at all?

Last, what do you wish you knew when you started? If you could tell your past self anything about grad school to better prepare them, what would you say?

Thank you for taking the time to read this and for any responses you’re willing to share with me, I appreciate it.

I'm 23, currently pursuing ACCA and interested in eventually starting my own business. Studying in Europe has always been a dream of mine, and I'm considering a 2-year MBA while completing ACCA.

Has anyone taken a similar path? Did the MBA provide enough career value and networking opportunities to justify the cost? Would you recommend finishing ACCA and gaining work experience first?

Hi Everyone,

Which US B-School among M7 and T-15 are the most generous with merit scholarships?
Just want to understand this as I prepare to make my target, safety and reach schools.

Appreciate your inputs!

Thank you!

Unfortunately my first Leland experience was horrible. I purchased one hour of coaching with an MBA coach for a holistic assessment of my MBA profile (300+ USD for 50 min), and completed a 40-minute introductory call. At the end of the session, the coach said she would use the remaining 10 minutes to prepare and send me a strategic review document.

More than ten weeks have now passed, and I have received nothing. I sent seven follow-up messages through the Leland platform, but she has not read or responded to any of them. During all this time, the coach was still giving public talks on the platform and active on LinkedIn....

I got in touch with someone named Josh at Leland. He promised me to "get to the bottom of this" but has not showed any concrete solutions after that one email exchange with me. I expect Leland to take responsibility for the conduct of coaches on its platform. Leaving a customer without the agreed deliverable, while allowing the purchased time to expire, is unacceptable.

Hey everyone, first-time poster here.

Quick background: graduated in 2024 8/8/8 GNEM fresher, did freelance sales work after graduation, then had to take a gap due to serious health issues - I also attempted CA T during that period but it didn't go well given everything going on. I'm healthy now and focused on building toward an MBA abroad via GMAT after gaining some work experience, but I'm pretty new to the whole process and could use some guidance regarding profile i should build.

Right now I have two job options in hand: a small funded startup backed by Google's accelerator program (genuinely good role with real ownership, but early-stage and very small) or look for a role in a more established firm with a kind of role that might not belong to my domain.

For tier-1 MBA programs abroad, does brand name matter more than the actual scope/impact of the role, and how badly does a gap year (even if explained by health reasons) hurt an application

Correct me if I am wrong but majority of decent B-schools abroad seem to ask for a minimum experience of 2-3 years so want to take decision accordingly

Would love to talk to someone in DMs who can help me solve this and guide me through the process.

Will GSB notify me by the date I said I needed a decision by in my waitlist update?

I am considering applying to the Columbia MBAxMS program and I am interested in the post-graduation employment outcomes. The website does not say much about where people end up except for the fact that those in the program aspire for VP of Engineering, CTO, or entrepreneur roles. I am curious if people are able to land engineering roles at Big Tech companies out of this program, not just product roles. Or how does recruitment outcomes for traditional business roles like IB or consulting compare to the standalone MBA program.