Real Humans of MBA Class of 2023

Published: December 7, 2023

Real Humans of the IMD MBA Class of 2023

We pay a visit to Lausanne, Switzerland, for this edition of our Real Humans: MBA Students series to meet some members of the MBA Class of 2023 at the International Institute for Management Development (IMD). Eighty-seven students matriculated in January 2023 for the one-year IMD MBA. Thirty-six percent are women. The class represents 36 different nationalities with a quarter coming from Western Europe and 24 percent from South Asia. Ten percent each hail from Latin America or North America while another nine percent joined from East and Central Asia. Eight percent joined from Africa/Middle Read more

Published: October 24, 2022

Real Humans of the IMD MBA Class of 2022

We head to Lausanne, Switzerland, for this edition of our Real Humans: MBA Students series to meet some new members of the MBA Class of 2022 at IMD. 104 students matriculated in January 2022 for the one-year IMD MBA. Thirty-five percent are women. The class represents 39 different countries with a fifth coming from Western Europe and 18 percent from South Asia. Fourteen percent hail from East and Central Asia while another 12 percent came from Latin America. Ten percent each joined from Africa/Middle East or North America. Eight percent came from South East Read more

Published: October 13, 2022

Real Humans of the Cambridge Judge MBA Class of 2023

In this edition of our Real Humans: MBA Students series, we head to Cambridge University’s Judge Business School in England to meet some new members of the Class of 2023. 210 students matriculated at the one-year MBA program for the Class of 2023. Forty-seven percent are women and the class represents 46 different nationalities. During their undergraduate years, 34 percent had majored in business/accounting/finance. A quarter had studied engineering and 13 percent had studied other STEM disciplines. Fourteen percent earned degrees in economics followed by nine percent in social sciences. Five percent came from Read more

Published: March 8, 2022

Real Humans of MBA Students: Stanford GSB Class of 2023

Get the inside scoop on MBA life at Stanford GSB in this edition of Real Humans: MBA Students. Out of 7,367 applicants, 426 new students matriculated at Stanford GSB in the fall of 2021. Forty-four percent are women and 47 percent are international, representing 63 countries. Forty-eight percent of U.S. students and permanent residents identify as students of color. A quarter of the class had studied engineering during their undergraduate years. Economics followed at 22 percent. Fifteen percent had majored in business & commerce and the same in social sciences. Another 14 percent earned degrees in Read more

Published: February 22, 2022

Real Humans of MBA Students: The Wharton School MBA Class of 2023

MBA students from The Wharton School join us for another edition of Real Humans: MBA Students to share their insights into admissions, the program and more. 897 enrolled in the Wharton MBA Class of 2023. Fifty-two percent are women and 36 percent are international, representing 83 countries. Thirty-seven percent of the class identifies as U.S. minorities, which includes students of African-American, Asian-American, Hispanic American, Native American and multiethnic backgrounds. During their undergraduate years, the largest portion of the class, 39 percent, majored in the humanities, while another 33 percent had a STEM background. Business Read more

Published: February 2, 2022

Real Humans of MBA Students: Esade MBA Class of 2023

This edition of Real Humans: MBA Students takes us to Spain to meet some new members of the Esade MBA Class of 2023. 182 students comprise the MBA Class of 2023. Forty-one percent of the class are women. Ninety-six percent are international students, representing 42 nationalities. Twenty-seven percent come from Europe and the same percentage joined from Latin America and the Caribbean. Nearly a quarter of students came from Asia and 13 percent from North America. Another eight percent joined the class from MENA and one percent from Africa. During their undergraduate years, 39 Read more

Published: January 31, 2022

Real Humans of MBA Students: UVA Darden MBA Class of 2023

We continue 2022 with a trip to Charlottesville, VA, to meet some new members of the UVA Darden School of Business Class of 2023 in this edition of Real Humans: MBA Students. 351 students joined the Darden MBA Class of 2023. Forty percent of them are women and 40 percent are international, altogether representing 40 countries. Twenty-one percent identify as U.S. minority members and 52 students were accepted through the Consortium. Thirteen percent overall are underrepresented minorities and, among U.S. citizens, 19 percent are underrepresented minorities. During their undergraduate years, the students averaged a Read more

Published: January 25, 2022

Real Humans of MBA Students: Georgetown McDonough MBA Class of 2023

We head to Washington, D.C., for this edition of Real Humans: MBA Students to meet some new members of the Georgetown McDonough MBA Class of 2023. 283 students enrolled in the McDonough MBA Class of 2023. Thirty-two percent are women and 37 percent are international, representing 37 countries. Forty percent of U.S. students are African American, Asian American, Hispanic American, or Native American. Twenty percent identify as underrepresented minorities. During their undergraduate years, the class averaged a GPA of 3.35. Twenty-nine percent had majored in business followed by 17 percent in engineering. Fourteen percent Read more

Published: January 17, 2022

Real Humans of MBA Students: USC Marshall MBA Class of 2023

Students of the USC Marshall School of Business MBA Class of 2023 shed light on their admissions journeys and more in this edition of Real Humans: MBA Students. The MBA Class of 2023 at Marshall is comprised of 218 students. Thirty-six percent are women and 34 percent are international, representing 31 different countries of origin. Forty-seven domestic students identify as students of color, while 21 percent identify as historically underrepresented students of color. During their undergraduate years, the Marshall class averaged a GPA of 3.6. Twenty-nine percent had majored in business/commerce followed by 18 Read more

Published: January 12, 2022

Real Humans of MBA Students: Vanderbilt Owen MBA Class of 2023

This edition of Real Humans: MBA Students takes us to Nashville to meet some new members of the Class of 2023 at Vanderbilt University’s Owen Graduate School of Management. 182 students comprise the Vanderbilt Owen MBA Class of 2023. Thirty-seven percent are women and a quarter are international, which includes dual citizens and permanent residents. The class represents 27 different countries. Twenty-three percent of U.S. students identify as minorities. During their undergraduate years, Vanderbilt Owen MBAs averaged a 3.33 GPA and represent 117 different undergraduate institutions. Classmates range in age from 23 to 40 Read more

Published: January 10, 2022

Real Humans of Texas McCombs’ MBA Class of 2023

In this edition of Real Humans: MBA Students, we meet some new members of the MBA Class of 2023 at the University of Texas McCombs School of Business in Austin. 270 students joined the Austin-based McCombs full-time MBA program. Thirty-eight percent of the class are women and nearly a quarter are international. Thirty-six percent of U.S. students identify as a minority and 23 percent overall identify as an underrepresented minority. Texas MBA students averaged an age of 29 and 5.5 years of work experience at the time of matriculation. During their undergraduate years, Texas Read more

Published: January 5, 2022

Real Humans of MBA Students: Boston College Carroll MBA Class of 2023

In this edition of Real Humans: MBA Students, new members of the Boston College Carroll MBA Class of 2023 shed light on their admissions journeys and more. 97 students matriculated for the latest Carroll MBA class. Forty-two percent are women and 23 percent are international. Nineteen percent identify as African-American, Hispanic, Asian or Native American. During their undergraduate years, the BC Carroll MBA class averaged a GPA of 3.19. Twenty-one percent had majored in humanities/social sciences followed by 17 percent in business. Ten percent each had earned degrees in economics or finance. Nine percent Read more

Published: January 3, 2022

Real Humans of MBA Students: Washington University Olin MBA Class of 2023

We continue with our Real Humans: MBA Students series in the new year by saying hi to some new members of the Washington University (WashU) Olin Business School MBA Class of 2023 in St. Louis. 86 students comprise the MBA Class of 2023. Forty-three percent are women and 40 percent are international students. Twenty-five percent identify as underrepresented U.S. minorities. During their undergraduate years, WashU Olin MBAs averaged a 3.3 GPA. Thirty-seven percent had majored in business or economics. Thirty-six percent pursued studies in natural science, engineering or STEM. Twenty-seven percent had earned degrees Read more

Published: December 29, 2021

Real Humans of MBA Students: Rochester Simon MBA Class of 2023

This edition of Real Humans: MBA Students takes us to upstate New York to meet some new members of the Rochester Simon MBA Class of 2023. 113 students enrolled in Simon’s latest MBA class. Forty-two percent are women and 43 percent are international. Thirty-four percent of U.S. students are from historically underrepresented groups – 17 percent are African American or Black and another 17 percent are Hispanic American. During their undergraduate years, the middle 80 percent of GPAs for Rochester Simon MBAs ranged from 2.8 to 3.9. Forty-two percent had studied business & commerce Read more

Published: December 27, 2021

Real Humans of MBA Students: UCLA Anderson MBA Class of 2023

We head to sunny California for this edition of Real Humans: MBA Students to meet some new members of the UCLA Anderson School of Management MBA Class of 2023. 360 students joined the latest Anderson class. Forty-two percent are women and 36 percent are international, representing 41 different countries. Thirty-two percent identify as minorities. During their undergraduate years, 26 percent of Anderson MBA students had studied business. Twenty percent each had majored in engineering or economics. Seventeen percent earned degrees in the humanities followed by 10 percent in math/science. The middle 80 percent of Read more

Published: December 20, 2021

Real Humans of the Dartmouth Tuck MBA Class of 2023

Get to know some new members of the Dartmouth Tuck School of Business MBA Class of 2023 in this edition of Real Humans: MBA Students. 294 students enrolled for the Tuck MBA Class of 2023. Forty-six percent are women and 41 percent are international, including dual citizens and permanent residents. Twenty-nine percent of U.S. students identify as U.S. minorities. During their undergraduate years, Tuckies averaged a GPA of 3.54. Forty-five percent had majored in the arts, humanities or social sciences. Twenty-eight percent earned degrees in STEM disciplines. The remaining 27 percent of the class Read more

Published: December 15, 2021

Real Humans of MBA Students: Minnesota Carlson MBA Class of 2023

This edition of Real Humans: MBA Students takes us to Minneapolis to meet some new members of the University of Minnesota’s Curtis L. Carlson School of Management MBA Class of 2023. On average, the class size at Carlson lands at 89 students. Thirty-two percent are women and 19 percent are international. Sixteen percent identify as U.S. students of color. Carlson also reports that 19 percent of new students served in the military. During their undergraduate years, Carlson MBA students averaged a GPA of 3.45. Twenty-two percent earned degrees in business followed by 20 percent Read more

Published: December 13, 2021

Real Humans of MBA Students: Columbia Business School Class of 2023

Join us for another edition of the Real Humans: MBA Students series to meet some new members of the Columbia Business School (CBS) MBA Class of 2023. 847 students chose to attend CBS and become part of the MBA Class of 2023. Classes began in August with 614 students and another 233 will begin their studies in January. Women make up 41 percent of the class, and international students comprise nearly half (48 percent) of students. Forty percent of students identify as US minorities. CBS reports minority representation using both federal guidelines and multi-dimensional Read more

Published: December 8, 2021

Real Humans of the Rice Jones MBA Class of 2023

We head to Texas for this edition of our Real Humans: MBA Students series to meet some new members of the Rice Jones MBA Class of 2023. 178 students matriculated into the Rice MBA program in the fall of 2021. Thirty-three percent are women and 39 percent are international. Thirty percent identify as U.S. minorities and 16 percent as underrepresented minorities. During their undergraduate years, Rice MBA students had an average GPA of 3.51. Fifty-five percent had earned degrees in STEM disciplines and a third had studied business/economics. Twelve percent pursued degrees in humanities Read more

Published: December 6, 2021

Real Humans of the Chicago Booth MBA Class of 2023

Get to know Chicago Booth’s MBA Class of 2023 in this edition of our ongoing series, Real Humans: MBA Students. The latest MBA class at Chicago Booth is comprised of 620 students. Forty-two percent of the class are women. Students hail from 56 countries overall and 39 percent of students in the Class of 2023 are international. Chicago Booth shares the racial and ethnic identities of its domestic students in two ways. Federal reporting guidelines allow each individual student to be represented in a single race or ethnic group, and Booth also employs multidimensional Read more

Published: December 1, 2021

Real Humans of the CEIBS MBA Class of 2023

This edition of Real Humans: MBA Students takes us to Shanghai, China, to meet the China Europe International Business School (CEIBS) MBA Class of 2023. 120 students matriculated in the CEIBS MBA Class of 2023. Half are women and 38.3 percent are international students, representing 21 countries. During their undergraduate years, 42.5 percent of CEIBS MBAs pursued majors in business and management. Thirty percent earned degrees in science and engineering. Nearly 16 percent had majored in language and arts while the remaining 12 percent studied other disciplines. In regards to pre-MBA work experience, a Read more

Published: November 29, 2021

Real Humans of Northwestern Kellogg’s MBA Class of 2023

New members of the MBA Class of 2023 at Northwestern Kellogg are here to share their insights into admissions, what they love about the Kellogg community and more in this edition of Real Humans: MBA Students. 508 students matriculated in the Kellogg MBA Class of 2023. Nearly half, 49 percent, are women and 36 percent are international. Twenty-three percent of the new class identify as U.S. underrepresented minorities. Kellogg also shares the racial and ethnic identities of its domestic students in two ways. Federal reporting guidelines allow each individual student to be represented in Read more

Published: November 24, 2021

Real Humans of the HEC Paris MBA Class of 2023

This edition of Real Humans: MBA Students introduces some new members of the MBA Class of 2023 at HEC Paris. Typically, the class size at HEC Paris hovers around 300. However, due to COVID-related deferrals, the MBA Class of 2023 numbers 378.* Thirty-five percent are women. Ninety-five percent are international and the class represents 69 nationalities. HEC Paris MBA students averaged six years of work experience at the time of matriculation and an age of 30. When it came time to take the GMAT, the new class landed an average score of 690. HEC Read more

Published: November 22, 2021

Real Humans of UNC Kenan-Flagler’s MBA Class of 2023

Meet some of the newest members of the UNC Kenan-Flagler MBA Class of 2023 in this edition of Real Humans: MBA Students. 296 students matriculated in the latest Kenan-Flagler MBA class. Thirty-four percent are women and 26 percent are international. Based on the U.S. attendance, 29 percent identify as U.S. minorities and 17 percent as underrepresented minorities. Within the context of the whole class, 13 percent identify as underrepresented, which includes American Indian or Alaskan Native, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, Multi-racial/ethnic. Kenan-Flagler MBA students averaged Read more

Published: November 17, 2021

Real Humans of UCI Merage’s MBA Class of 2023

In this edition of our Real Humans: MBA Students series, we head to the University of California, Irvine’s Paul Merage School of Business. Fifty-one students comprise the UCI Merage MBA Class of 2023. Forty-three percent are women and 27 percent are international. The new class represent 10 different countries. During their undergraduate years, Merage MBA students averaged a GPA of 3.47. Twenty-nine percent had majored in business/commerce followed by 20 percent in science. Nineteen percent had studied engineering and 14 percent had pursued humanities/social sciences. Six percent each had majored in economics, finance or Read more

MBA Applywire

April 25, 2025 9:29am ET

Applying: Carnegie Mellon / Tepper, Columbia, Cornell / Johnson, Dartmouth / Tuck, Duke / Fuqua, INSEAD, London Business School, Michigan / Ross, MIT Sloan, Northwestern / Kellogg, NYU Stern, U. Chicago Booth, UT Austin / McCombs, UVA / Darden, Yale SOM

Intake Year: 2026

Pre-MBA Career: Nuclear Engineer

Post-MBA Target Industry: Consulting Companies: Accenture , Bain , BCG , McKinsey

GMAT: 740

GPA: 3.3

Years of Work Experience: 5

Location: Canada

Post MBA Location: USA or Middle East

Notes:

Work Experience: Worked 1 year as a process engineer for an Aerospace and Defense company and now work as a radioactive waste management engineer working in nuclear energy with 2.5 years of experience and would have 4.5 years of total work experience by the time I would matriculate.

Goals: Did a few co-ops in water treatment and now work in clean energy and have a passion for environmental solutions. But don't necessarily enjoy technical heavy work and want more towards management side of this. Looking to pivot to strategy consulting, specializing in sustainability.

EC: Community Outreach Executive for Nuclear chapter at my work where I give speeches at elementary schools to promote STEM careers; Communication representative for my Union; some volunteer work with my local food bank and some other small community involvements.

Target: UVA / Duke / Cornell / Yale / Dartmouth
Safety: McCombs / Tepper
Reach: Kelloggs / Booth / Columbia

Does my profile have a shot at this? I have applied to Round 2 for INSEAD but outside of that, will properly apply this fall. Would love any insights/opinions/recommendations!

April 25, 2025 9:04am ET

Applying: Berkeley / Haas, Carnegie Mellon / Tepper, Rice / Jones, UCLA Anderson, USC / Marshall, UT Austin / McCombs, Yale SOM

Intake Year: 2026

Pre-MBA Career: Sales Engineer

Post-MBA Target Industry: Entrepreneurship, Other

GMAT: 728

GPA: 6.1

Years of Work Experience: 4.5

Location: San Francisco Bay Area

Post MBA Location: San Francisco Bay Area

Notes:

I am looking to apply to MBA programs with focus on energy and sustainability. I want to stay in the west coast and I am currently based out of here. Please recommend admission consultants too. The biggest caveat: I am unemployed currently (left my job in Dec 2024 to focus on my passions and figure out long term plans) and currently doing part time unpaid work as a VC scout and in a climate startup.

Profile Snapshot

Demographics: US citizen by birth but grew up in India. Indian female, currently based in SF bay area

Academics: Undergrad from top Indian engineering school (Bachelors of Engineering in EEE) (low GPA) - 6.1

Two research papers in undergrad with 40+ citations currently. Low GPA due to death in family and other problems but have strong ECs and papers in undergrad.

GMAT: 730

Work Experience (4+ years, diverse)

1.5 years at strategic analytics consulting & AI research firm in India – front-office, European clients - Medical devices and FMCG (F500). Title was imagineer (role is mix of business, data and engineering)

0.4 years at another analytics consulting firm – data engineer, FMCG client (TC: 120K) in Austin Texas

2.4 years: Series D startup Agentic AI space. Title Sales engineer in SF, California (GTM role working with enterprise Fortune 50 clients). Two unofficial promotions - no title change but got salary increase of 10k each and unofficial lead sales engineer. (TC - 180K plus options)

Currently unemployed. The AI field left me very concerned, rapid job loss and I was part of the problem among other concerns. I left since I wanted to focus and transition to the energy sector. Currently working with a cleanTech venture firm as VC scout and a sustainability startup. No money. Might start looking for jobs soon

ECs:

Founded Non-profit during undergrad. Still running in my undergrad school

Chief Marketing Officer of my undergrad alma mater in the bay area: organize events with 100k plus is revenue. Lead team of 5 and have one VP under me.

Toastmasters: was ex-VP

Passionate about animals and children education. Donate and fund multiple programs in India.

My strongest value system is giving back to my community hence I want to go into energy and sustainability.

Goals

Short-term: Work in energy startups - Go to Market in CleanTech, P&L or Development roles in public utilities, strategy role in an energy firm

Long-term: PE targeting the energy sector or VC in renewables

Dilemma
Will I get any admits? concerned about low GPA and unemployment.

Would love your views on:

Do I have a realistic shot at (M7 / T10)?

April 24, 2025 7:07pm ET

Applying: Berkeley / Haas, Duke / Fuqua, Harvard Business School, Northwestern / Kellogg, Stanford GSB, UPenn / Wharton

Intake Year: 2026

Pre-MBA Career: LDP into Program Manager (global role)

Post-MBA Target Industry: Pharmaceutical, Entrepreneurship Companies: Amgen , Astra Zeneca , Merck , Roche

GMAT: 685

GPA: 3.2

Years of Work Experience: 3

Location: Bay Area

Post MBA Location: Bay Area or San Diego

Notes:

Haas is part-time. Rest are FT. Curious as what the best option is for both ROI and long-term value.

-Currently make $200k+ TC.
-BS in STEM (3.20) low rank state school
-MS in Management (3.9+) low rank private school
-Good ECs/Volunteering/Hobbies -- Founded an org that is still ongoing. On the private school's alumni relations board.
-Good story for personal statements and interviews. First-gen everything, low income.

Goals (in order of best to worst case):
1) co-founding a startup and running with it (e.g. vc funding, fellowships, etc.)
2) Chief of Staff at a start up --> Head of Dept or C-level
3) Back into another LDP in the area of interest

April 24, 2025 2:12pm ET

Applying: Berkeley / Haas, Columbia, NYU Stern, U. Washington / Foster, UCLA Anderson, UT Austin / McCombs, UVA / Darden

Intake Year: 2026

Pre-MBA Career: Boutique Consulting

Post-MBA Target Industry: Consulting Companies: Deloitte

GMAT: 700

GPA: 3.91

Years of Work Experience: 3

Location: San Francisco

Post MBA Location: New York

Notes:

Studying for GRE and estimated around 320 in mocks. Is a 320 GRE better than 700 GMAT (classic)?

April 24, 2025 2:08pm ET

Applying: Columbia, Cornell / Johnson, Harvard Business School, MIT Sloan, Northwestern / Kellogg, Stanford GSB, UPenn / Wharton, UVA / Darden

Pre-MBA Career: Pharmaceuticals (specifically in clinical operations)

Post-MBA Target Industry: Consulting, Pharmaceutical Companies: BCG , Deloitte , Ernst & Young , Other , Amgen , Johnson & Johnson , Merck , Roche , Other

GPA: 3.5

Location: Northeast

Notes:

3.5 GPA with a B.S. in Molecular Biology from a small, private, non-target school. Graduating in 2025 but I'm looking to apply to a top MBA program in the next 3-5 years. I currently have a role lined up with a top 5 pharmaceutical company in clinical operations but my end goal would be to pivot into strategy or business development at a pharma company or consulting for life sciences. I have already taken GMAT FE (605 score) but I don't count this as I plan to retake and study (ideal score would be 675+, this will hopefully be achievable). If you have any additional advice I can implement in the next 3-5 years it would be greatly appreciated.

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MBA LiveWire

April 28, 2025 7:05pm ET

Enrolled at Yale SOM

Round: Round 3

Received via email

Standardized Test: GRE

GPA: 4.0

GRE: 327

Program Type: Deferred Enrollment

Target Career: Entrepreneurship

Application Location: Providence

April 28, 2025 7:04pm ET

Enrolled at Yale SOM

Round: Round 3

Received via email

Standardized Test: GRE

GPA: 4.0

GRE: 327

Program Type: Deferred Enrollment

Target Career: Entrepreneurship

Application Location: Providence

April 28, 2025 7:04pm ET

Accepted from Waitlist to Dartmouth / Tuck

Round: Round 2

Received via phone April 28, 2025

Standardized Test: GRE

GPA: 3.3

GRE: 321

Program Type: Traditional Two-Year

Target Career: Consulting

Application Location: Philadelphia

April 28, 2025 11:23am ET

Interview Invite to Michigan State / Broad

Round: Round 4

Received via email on April 08, 2025

Standardized Test: GRE

GPA: 3.1

GRE: 319

Program Type: Traditional Two-Year

Target Career: Technology

April 28, 2025 9:38am ET

Waitlisted at U. Chicago Booth

Round: Round 2

Received via portal on March 26, 2025

Standardized Test: GRE

GPA: 2.7

GRE: 333

Program Type: Traditional Two-Year

Target Career: Marketing

Application Location: Accra, Ghana

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