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MBA Applywire

10
June 10, 2025 6:46pm ET
Applying: Columbia, Dartmouth / Tuck, Duke / Fuqua, Harvard Business School, Michigan / Ross, MIT Sloan, Northwestern / Kellogg, NYU Stern, Stanford GSB, U. Chicago Booth
Intake Year: 2026
Pre-MBA Career: Engineer
Post-MBA Target Industry: Consulting Companies: AT Kearney , Bain , Booz Allen Hamilton , BCG
GRE: 337
GPA: 2.96
Years of Work Experience: 8
Location: Canada
Post MBA Location: USA or Canada
Notes:

Hi all, I’m hoping to get some feedback on my chances at M7 and Top 15 MBA programs. I come from a pretty nontraditional background and would appreciate any advice.

Background:
Male, Canadian citizen, first-generation immigrant (moved from South Asia at a young age)

First in my family to attend college

Engineering undergrad from a Canadian university (not target but solid reputation)

Certificates: Professional Engineer (PE), PMP, Scrum Master, and Certified Energy Manager

Work Experience:

8+ years of experience in municipal government (City level) in progressive engineering roles

Lead teams of engineers and unionized staff; act as liaison between public agencies and private companies

Currently a Senior Engineer leading multimillion infrastructure and sustainability projects (EV-readiness, clean energy deployment, etc.)

Personally selected by leadership to develop and lead a Diversity & Inclusion strategy for operational departments—raised engagement from 2% to 20% through targeted outreach

Extracurriculars:
Mentor junior engineers through Canada’s professional engineering association (help with licensing, goal-setting)

Lead a small team that funds and delivers infrastructure projects (wells, homes, schools) in underserved villages abroad—inspired by family roots and personal stories

Stats:
GRE: 337 (Q168, V169)
GPA: 2.9 overall ( Last 2 years/upper division: 3.5)
Age: 33

Goals:
Short term: Transition into MBB or top-tier strategy consulting

Long term: Focus on sustainable infrastructure investing or advisory—especially in equitable, climate-resilient urban development

Appreciate any honest feedback—especially around GPA and age concerns, how to frame my story, and school fit. I know I come from a nontraditional background (public sector + engineering), but I’m hoping to bring a unique perspective. Thanks in advance.

6
June 9, 2025 2:35pm ET
Applying: Duke / Fuqua, Michigan / Ross, MIT Sloan, NYU Stern, U. Chicago Booth, Yale SOM
Intake Year: 2026
Pre-MBA Career: Data and Analytics Consulting
Post-MBA Target Industry: Technology, Undecided Companies: Apple , Hewlett Packard , Lenova , LinkedIn , Microsoft , Other
GRE: 327
GPA: 3.8
Years of Work Experience: 4.5
Location: South
Post MBA Location: South
Notes:

Demographics: 26F, Asian American, LGBT

Undergrad: BS Info Systems & Stats minor from Top 5 public undergrad program

Work Experience: Pretty standard data and analytics consulting experience. One promotion. Engagements have spanned the entirety of data and analytics spectrum from master data management implementation to data visualization and descriptive analytics to machine learning. Leadership experience includes leading two workstreams and overseeing team of offshore resources on a long term engagement, technical project manager for data integration project with 30+ internal and external resources for another engagement.

Extracurriculars:

Undergrad
-Senior photojournalist for 3 years for largest news publication in the county
-Pro Bono digital transformation consulting services during for a state congressional caucus and a small business with $1M+ revenue

Post undergrad
-Team Lead for 4 years for local LGBT nonprofit. Essentially oversee planning for one of the largest Pride events in the South (200k+ visitors). Serve as main POC for 200+ vendors and lead a team of 6 people. Inaugural recipient of "Volunteer of the Year" award

Why MBA & Why Now: Want to pivot to a leadership role where I'm owning something & providing strategic direction instead of simply in an advisory role. After 4 years I've built up my skillsets in analytics and cross functional communication and am ready to use what I've learned to drive longer term value. I want to transition away from consulting and broaden my network.

Post-MBA Goals: Tech PM, PMM

13
June 9, 2025 11:16am ET
Applying: Cambridge / Judge, Columbia, Harvard Business School, INSEAD, Lauder Institute, London Business School, MIT Sloan, Northwestern / Kellogg, NYU Stern, Stanford GSB, U. Chicago Booth, UPenn / Wharton, Yale SOM
Intake Year: 2026
Pre-MBA Career: Management Consulting
Post-MBA Target Industry: Technology, Venture Capital, Asset Management, inc. HF Companies: Amazon , Apple , Facebook , Google , LinkedIn , Microsoft , Tesla , Twitter , Uber , Accell Partners , Andressen Horowitz , Battery Ventures , Charles River , Draper Fisher , First Round Capital , Kleiner Perkins , NEA , Sequoia Capital , Venrock , Blackrock , Fidelity , Goldman Sachs , JP Morgan Asset Management , State Street , Vanguard
GRE: 330
GPA: 3.9
Years of Work Experience: 4
Post MBA Location: NYC
Notes:

Working proficiency in Italian and Spanish (self taught, US citizen). Solo traveled Asia and Italy for 3 months.

Ironman triathlon and marathon competitor

Volunteer as a guide for vets and disabled folks looking to achieve their goals on the marathon and triathlon circuit.

Own and operate a successful real estate LLC that invests in multi family properties in the NYC metro area. Also write a blog that is tied to the LLC

Promoted once at work to Associate Consultant, likely to be promoted again this summer (2025) or in the winter of 2026. Focus primarily on S&O and financial forecasting for life sciences companies and big pharma.

Looking to pivot out of consulting and into investing / VC or tech. Haven't decided which route I want to pursue yet, but will have an answer before I submit my apps.

10
June 5, 2025 3:20pm ET
Applying: Carnegie Mellon / Tepper, Cornell / Johnson, Dartmouth / Tuck, Duke / Fuqua, Georgetown / McDonough, Harvard Business School, Michigan / Ross, Northwestern / Kellogg, UVA / Darden, Yale SOM
Intake Year: 2026
Pre-MBA Career: Federal Consultant
Post-MBA Target Industry: Consulting, Technology, Investment Banking, Media Companies: Accenture , AT Kearney , Bain , Booz Allen Hamilton , BCG , Deloitte , Ernst & Young , KPMG , McKinsey , PWC , Amazon , Apple , Facebook , Google , Hewlett Packard , IBM , Lenova , LinkedIn , Microsoft , Oracle , Tesla , Twitter , Uber , 21st Century Fox , CBS Corp , Comcast , Time Warner , Viacom , Walt Disney
GRE: 330
GPA: 3.6
Years of Work Experience: 4
Location: Columbus
Post MBA Location: New York

MBA Livewire

June 11, 2025 4:46pm ET
Accepted to UVA / Darden
Round: Round 1
Received via phone June 11, 2025
Standardized Test: GRE
GPA: 3.8
GRE: 329
Program Type: Deferred Enrollment
Target Career: Finance
Application Location: Los Angeles
June 11, 2025 2:55pm ET
Accepted to Vanderbilt / Owen
Round: Round 5
Received via phone June 11, 2025
Standardized Test: GRE
GPA: 3.93
GRE: 332
Program Type: Deferred Enrollment
Target Career: Entrepreneurship
June 11, 2025 2:54pm ET
Accepted to Vanderbilt / Owen
Round: Round 5
Received via phone June 11, 2025
Standardized Test: GRE
GPA: 3.93
GRE: 329
Program Type: Deferred Enrollment
Target Career: Entrepreneurship
Application Location: Philadelphia
June 10, 2025 6:39pm ET
Rejected at Stanford GSB
Round: Round 3
Received via email
Standardized Test: GMAT
GPA: 4.0
GMAT: 665
Program Type: Deferred Enrollment
Target Career: Finance
Application Location: United States, New York
June 10, 2025 6:38pm ET
Rejected at MIT Sloan
Round: Round 3
Received via email
Standardized Test: GMAT
GPA: 4.0
GMAT: 733
Program Type: Deferred Enrollment
Target Career: Finance
Application Location: United States, New York

MBA DecisionWire

Yal
June 10, 2025 11:39am ET
Enrolled: Yale SOM
Admitted: U. Chicago Booth $
$50000
,
Dartmouth / Tuck $
$60000
,
Yale SOM $
$60000
Applied: U. Chicago Booth, Columbia, Dartmouth / Tuck, MIT Sloan, UPenn / Wharton, Yale SOM
Entering Year: 2025
Post MBA Career: Pharmaceutical Companies: Astra Zeneca, Johnson & Johnson, Novartis, Pfizer
GRE: 340
GPA: 3.5
CMU
June 9, 2025 11:05am ET
Enrolled: Carnegie Mellon / Tepper
Admitted: Carnegie Mellon / Tepper $
$100000
,
NYU Stern , UT Austin / McCombs $
$30000
Applied: Carnegie Mellon / Tepper, UT Austin / McCombs, NYU Stern
Entering Year: 2025
Post MBA Career: Technology, Venture Capital, Entrepreneurship
GMAT: 720
GPA: 3.44
Location: New York City
Notes:

Like that Tepper seems more focused on tech and entrepreneurship than Stern (more consulting and finance focus), and slightly more than McCombs. Tepper also gave me much more in scholarships than the other programs. Chatted with several students and faculty to come to this decision. #1 advice is a clear set of goals during/post MBA and why X school

Mic
June 8, 2025 5:10pm ET
Enrolled: Michigan / Ross
Admitted: Michigan / Ross $
$80000
Applied: Columbia, Duke / Fuqua, Harvard Business School, Michigan / Ross, Northwestern / Kellogg, NYU Stern, UPenn / Wharton
Entering Year: 2025
Post MBA Career: Technology, Venture Capital, Entrepreneurship Companies: Apple, Hewlett Packard, Microsoft, Andressen Horowitz, Draper Fisher, NEA, Sequoia Capital
GMAT: 695
GPA: 2.91
Location: New York City
And
June 3, 2025 12:01pm ET
Enrolled: UCLA Anderson
Admitted: UCLA Anderson $
$100000
,
U. Washington / Foster $
$35000
Applied: U. Washington / Foster, UCLA Anderson
Entering Year: 2025
Post MBA Career: Technology Companies: Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Tesla, Uber
GMAT: 760
GPA: 3.7

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