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I'm a South Asian applicant who graduated from the top business school in my country with a 3.44 GPA. My GPA was dragged down by some weaker semesters early on, but I was above 3.6 throughout my last two years and showed a pretty strong upward trend academically. A lot of the early struggles were related to ADHD, which wasn't diagnosed until later during university.

I also have a 334 GRE (169Q, 165V).

Career wise, I spent 2 years at a research agency where I was fast-tracked to a leadership role, and the last 4 years at a Fortune 500 FMCG in consumer insights. My current company relocated me from my home country to their Tokyo office, where I've been working for the past 2 years, so I do have international experience and exposure to global stakeholders.

Outside of work, I volunteer as a freelance consultant for an NGO back home, helping them secure international grants and design vocational tech courses.

My post MBA goal is to pivot into strategy consulting in the US.

One thing I'm unsure about: I was diagnosed with ADHD during university and have been on medication since. Is this something worth mentioning in the optional essay to explain the GPA, or would it be better not to bring it up at all?

Would appreciate any thoughts on:

Whether M7 is a realistic target

How much my GPA hurts relative to the GRE

Whether the international transfer to Japan adds meaningful value

Whether mentioning ADHD is advisable

August 11, 2026 3:59pm ET

Applying: Columbia Business School, Harvard Business School, MIT Sloan, Penn / Wharton

Intake Year: 2027

Pre-MBA Career: SWE

Post MBA Career: Finance, Asset Management, Private Equity

GRE: 330

GPA: 3.4

Years of Work Experience: 7

Location: NYC

Post MBA Location: CA or East Coast

Notes:

7 years of SWE at Big Tech
US undergrad with CS & Math major at Top 10 schools
330 (162 V, 168 Q)

Asian Female. Worked and lived in Asia, US, and London. I have various startup experiences (from internship and my side project).

Short-term: I want to pivot into PE or Infrastructure funds on tech/energy.

Long-term: I have family business on energy and power plants in Asia, which I want to expand into investment and operating platform on energy with technology.

Questions:
- I am thinking these 4 schools as round 1 (or maybe 1 more) and thinking part-time as round 2. Any change of programs/additional school recommendation?
- I know this is rather a hard career pivot and because I don't have previous experience on my family business nor finance, it is hard to weave in or show adcoms that I am serious. Thinking about previous startup experiences as the way to connect the dots. Any preference or advices on candidates for family business but without the family business background?

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MBA Livewire

August 14, 2026 12:56pm ET

Applied to Michigan / Ross

Round: Round 1

Received via portal

Standardized Test: GRE

GPA: 3.39

GRE: 327

Program Type: Traditional Two-Year

Post MBA Career: Consulting

Application Location: United States, Chicago

Juno Member: Not yet

August 14, 2026 12:55pm ET

Applied to Northwestern / Kellogg

Round: Round 1

Received via portal

Standardized Test: GRE

GPA: 3.39

GRE: 327

Program Type: Traditional Two-Year

Post MBA Career: Consulting, Bain, BCG, Deloitte, EY Parthenon, Kearney, Oliver Wyman, PWC Strategy&

Application Location: United States, Chicago

Juno Member: Not yet

August 14, 2026 12:53pm ET

Applied to Chicago Booth

Round: Round 1

Received via portal

Standardized Test: GRE

GPA: 3.39

GRE: 327

Program Type: Traditional Two-Year

Post MBA Career: Deloitte, Oliver Wyman, McKinsey, Kearney, EY Parthenon, BCG, Bain, Consulting

Application Location: United States, Chicago

Juno Member: Not yet

August 14, 2026 12:49pm ET

Applied to Michigan / Ross

Round: Round 1

Received via portal

Standardized Test: GRE

GPA: 3.39

GRE: 324

Program Type: Traditional Two-Year

Post MBA Career: Consulting, Bain, BCG, Deloitte, Kearney, LEK Consulting, McKinsey, Oliver Wyman, PWC Strategy&

Application Location: United States, Chicago

Juno Member: Not yet

August 8, 2026 11:54am ET

Rejected at MIT Sloan

Round: Round 2

Received via portal on February 23, 2026

Standardized Test: GMAT

GPA: 3.2

GMAT: 645

Program Type: Traditional Two-Year

Post MBA Career: Technology

Application Location: South Africa

Juno Member: Not yet

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MBA DecisionWire

June 28, 2026 7:54pm ET

Enrolled: UT Austin / McCombs

Admitted: UT Austin / McCombs $

$10,000

Applied: UT Austin / McCombs

GPA: 3.05

Location: Dallas, Tx

Juno Member: Yes

NYU

June 27, 2026 5:05am ET

Enrolled: NYU Stern

Admitted: Cornell / Johnson $

$70000

, Michigan / Ross , NYU Stern , Rochester / Simon $

$130000

, UVA / Darden $

$30000

Applied: Cornell / Johnson, Michigan / Ross, NYU Stern, Rochester / Simon, UVA / Darden

GPA: 3.6

Juno Member: Yes

UVA

June 25, 2026 7:04am ET

Enrolled: UVA / Darden

Admitted: Carnegie Mellon / Tepper $

$40000

, Cornell / Johnson , Georgetown / McDonough , UCLA Anderson , UVA / Darden $

$40000

Applied: Harvard Business School, UVA / Darden, UCLA Anderson, Stanford GSB, Penn / Wharton, Northwestern / Kellogg, MIT Sloan, Georgetown / McDonough, Cornell / Johnson, Columbia Business School, Chicago Booth, Carnegie Mellon / Tepper, Berkeley / Haas

Entering Year: Other

GMAT: 675

GPA: 3.75

Location: USA

Juno Member: Not yet

Notes:

Deferred Enrollment. Kind of rushed the application process, curious if that could have contributed to my M7 results or if it was test score or my overrepresented profile.

June 17, 2026 10:49am ET

Enrolled: Emory / Goizueta

Admitted: Carnegie Mellon / Tepper $

$65,000

, Emory / Goizueta $

$125,000

Applied: Carnegie Mellon / Tepper, Emory / Goizueta, Michigan / Ross, Northwestern / Kellogg, UT Austin / McCombs, Berkeley / Haas

GMAT: 705

GPA: 3.1

Location: India

Juno Member: Yes

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