MBA News

CPA, masters degree (3.5 gpa), 1.5 years of local non profit board experience, 615 gmat focus. Promoted to senior associate after 2 years at big 4.

Looking for an honest assessment of whether M7 schools are realistic for me, or if I should focus more on T10/T15 given my GPA.

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

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?

I am a judge advocate in the military, and will have 4 years in as a CPT when I would matriculate. I have worked in administrative law, trial counsel as a prosecutor, and a special assistant fed prosecutor, and now I work on large complex events in charge of the legal side. My undergrad and law school GPA are 2.5 my law school curve was a C. My undergrad degree was poli sci. I held local elected office while I was going to school and worked full time/raised a family with my wife. I am trying to build a realistic gameplan and expectations to maximize my outcomes. I am location agnostic. I am currently studying with TTP about 30 hours a week, and taking the GRE in mid December. I took a diagnostic without practice and got a 313 162V 151Q. I am heavily studying the quant sections to boost those numbers.