Assistant Manager at EY GDS: 4.5 years in consulting at EY Global Delivery Services (Risk Consulting, software asset management); ~5.5 years by matriculation. Promoted ahead of cycle to Assistant Manager, ranked highest-performing AM in a cohort of ~60, rated top 10% of ~200 consultants.

Client-facing since year two, advising Fortune 500 clients across banking, insurance, fintech, media and business services on licensing compliance, risk exposure and cost optimisation. Present directly to client Directors, AVPs and procurement leads. Engagements have surfaced $600K–$1M+ in savings or contractual exposure; advised on renewal decisions for a ~$20M contract.

Led teams of 2–6. Trained 20+ consultants.

Indian male, B.Tech CSE, Tier II institution, 7.97/10.
GMAT Focus 675 (Q87/V84/DI80), not retaking.

Extracurriculars are thin — personally, a 50kg transformation (125→75kg) I now use to coach others informally.

Goals: strategy consulting (MBB target, tier-2/Big 4 alternates)
Long term, partner-level in technology strategy.
Applying R1/EA: Tuck, INSEAD, Darden, Ross, Emory, McCombs.

Where I'd genuinely value input:

1. Is 675 FE a meaningful constraint at Tuck/INSEAD for an Indian male consulting applicant, or is it survivable with a differentiated narrative?
2. Is my school list appropriately balanced? What are my chances in these?
3. How much does a non-IIT/NIT undergrad hurt at this level, and can EY-brand + progression offset it?
4. My extracurricular profile is thin post-college. With ~6 weeks to R1, is starting something now worth it, or is it better to lean entirely on essays?
5. Am I mis-reading the "GDS is a delivery center, not real consulting" perception risk? Everything I've done is client-facing advisory, but I'm aware of how the label reads.