Thanks for sharing your profile @gabtannh ! Starting with what stands out in your profile, your Brazilian citizenship is a valuable asset for many U.S. schools, offering international diversity. Pre-MBA: Technology/founding team/head of revenue, clear, high-impact role (startup scaling from 3 → 600 clients is a measurable outcome and will be compelling if you quantify ARR, retention, LTV/CAC improvements, team built, and revenue growth %).

GPA 3.2, below many top M7 averages, but not a dealbreaker if offset by strong professional impact, GMAT, and a clear narrative explaining any transcript context. Is 665 Focus “good enough”? It’s decent, but for M7, it’s middle/low; raising it to 675-685+, with other strong signals, can still be competitive at several top schools.

Deferred admissions: Is that the right route for you? Probably not, unless you actually meet the eligibility rules for deferred programs (they’re targeted at current students / very recent grads who have little or no full-time work experience). Many deferred programs (HBS 2+2, MIT Sloan Early, Stanford Deferred Enrollment, Kellogg Future Leaders, etc.) are explicitly for students who are still in (or just finishing) undergraduate or graduate study and who plan 2-5 years of work before matriculation. If you already have substantive full-time startup experience and are the head of revenue, admissions may view you as a regular applicant rather than a deferred applicant. Check each school’s eligibility carefully.

If you’re truly still a student or just about to graduate, apply to deferred enrollment programs only if you meet those programs’ eligibility windows.

Questions for you:
1) Are you currently a student (graduating in 2027/2028), or have you been working full-time after graduation?
2) How many years of full-time work experience will you have by the time you apply/matriculate? (Important to know, deferred programs require little/ no FT experience.)
3) What is your current GMAT Focus diagnostic score, and do you have a target deadline for the test?

We would love to learn more about your academic background, extracurricular activities, professional experiences, and personal journey so we can offer a more tailored assessment of your profile and evaluate your chances at your target schools more accurately. Feel free to book a profile evaluation session.

Cheers!
Shantanu Sharma
Founder and Admissions Consultant, MBA and Beyond

I will graduate end of year, my gmat mock tests were between 655-695, I study at night and work during the day since mid college so that is why i am able to be head of revenue while in college

Hi @gabtannh,
For a GMAT of 655, you may want to go for schools ranked lower (those will still help you achieve your career goals by the way, Darden is a good example, and their employment report has high emplyment by MBB consulting firms, which will poise you well to both globalize your career in the Financial world, expand your networks, and poise you for heading revenues in a short time.

Your GPA of 3.2 can be explained (and offset to a great degree by your working paralelly), but MBA programs do want their students (and even more so, their deferred MBA students) to have the academic caliber to be able to do well in the MBA program. That is where the need for a high GMAT score becomes critical. Something like a 685+ would certainly be a big help.

Equally important is how compelling your story is, how well you are able to convince the AdCom in your answers to the Why and why now of an MBA.

Hope that helps. Please submit your profile for a Free Assessment over a 1:1 call. https://theivyleagueedge.com/index.php/contactus/
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How did you manage to get waiver for Columbia Business School?

+1

Hi @Aantonsen ! We would love to learn more about your academic background, extracurricular activities, professional experiences, and personal journey so we can offer a more tailored assessment of your profile and evaluate your chances at your target schools more accurately. Feel free to book a profile evaluation session.

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Shantanu Sharma
Founder and Admissions Consultant, MBA and Beyond

Hi @PiggyChops17 ! We would love to learn more about your academic background, extracurricular activities, professional experiences, and personal journey so we can offer a more tailored assessment of your profile and evaluate your chances at your target schools more accurately. Feel free to book a profile evaluation session.

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Shantanu Sharma
Founder and Admissions Consultant, MBA and Beyond

Hi @rubinpage ! We would love to learn more about your academic background, extracurricular activities, professional experiences, and personal journey so we can offer a more tailored assessment of your profile and evaluate your chances at your target schools more accurately. Feel free to book a profile evaluation session.

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Shantanu Sharma
Founder and Admissions Consultant, MBA and Beyond

Hi @MarkeyBoii ! We would love to learn more about your academic background, extracurricular activities, professional experiences, and personal journey so we can offer a more tailored assessment of your profile and evaluate your chances at your target schools more accurately. Feel free to book a profile evaluation session.

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Shantanu Sharma
Founder and Admissions Consultant, MBA and Beyond

Hi @Mr G 12345 , I hope you are doing well!

Your GMAT score of 645 is good but below the average for top-tier MBA programs, which could be a challenge for highly competitive schools. Your GPA of 3.5 is decent, but improving your GMAT score with a 10, 20+ points could boost your chances. We would like to know more about your profile like achievements, international exposure, challenges faced, impact created, extracurriculars and more, discussing these details, will help us identify if you can pull out good stories from your experience.

If you’d like, we are happy to hop on a 1:1 call with you to discuss your profile in detail and shortlist schools for you. Please feel free to schedule a profile evaluation call according to your convenience.

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Cheers!
Shantanu Sharma
Founder and Admissions Consultant, MBA and Beyond

Hey could you share your interview experience with Vanderbilt and kenan Flagler? I have an interview tomorrow. Thanks

Owen- 2Y Student - Standard questions. Slightly more focus on why Vanderbilt.
KF- Adcom - was very conversational, not blind. Personal story focus. Hope this helps

Hi, where did you join?
How was the interview experience at McDonough

Hi, where did you join?
How was the interview experience at McDonough

Hi @ROoou ! We would love to learn more about your academic background, extracurricular activities, professional experiences, and personal journey so we can offer a more tailored assessment of your profile and evaluate your chances at your target school more accurately. If you'd like, feel free to book a profile evaluation session.

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Shantanu Sharma
Founder and Admissions Consultant, MBA and Beyond

Hi @impeditaperiam ! We would love to learn more about your academic background, extracurricular activities, professional experiences, and personal journey so we can offer a more tailored assessment of your profile and evaluate your chances at your target school more accurately. If you'd like, feel free to book a profile evaluation session.

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Shantanu Sharma
Founder and Admissions Consultant, MBA and Beyond

Hi @xuanlocc1 ! We would love to learn more about your academic background, extracurricular activities, professional experience, and personal journey so we can offer a more tailored assessment of your profile and evaluate your chances at your target schools more accurately. If you'd like, feel free to book a profile evaluation session.

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Shantanu Sharma
Founder and Admissions Consultant, MBA and Beyond

What exam did you take and what grade?

Hi @velexercitationem ! We would love to learn more about your academic background, extracurricular activities, professional experiences, and personal journey so we can offer a more tailored assessment of your profile and evaluate your chances at your target schools more accurately. If you'd like, feel free to book a profile evaluation session.

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Hi @reiciendisdolores ! We would love to learn more about your academic background, extracurricular activities, professional experiences, and personal journey so we can offer a more tailored assessment of your profile and evaluate your chances at your target schools more accurately. If you'd like, feel free to book a profile evaluation session.

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Hi @fugarepudiandae ! We would love to learn more about your academic background, extracurricular activities, professional experiences, and personal journey so we can offer a more tailored assessment of your profile and evaluate your chances at your target school more accurately. If you'd like, feel free to book a profile evaluation session.

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Hi @ullammolestiae ! We would love to learn more about your academic background, extracurricular activities, professional experience, and personal journey so we can offer a more tailored assessment of your profile and evaluate your chances at your target school more accurately. If you'd like, feel free to book a profile evaluation session.

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Hi @AjoeCy ! We would love to learn more about your academic background, extracurricular activities, professional experiences, and personal journey so we can offer a more tailored assessment of your profile and evaluate your chances at your target school more accurately. Feel free to book a profile evaluation session.

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Hi @ayon68 ! We would love to learn more about your academic background, extracurricular activities, professional experiences, and personal journey so we can offer a more tailored assessment of your profile and evaluate your chances at your target school more accurately. Feel free to book a profile evaluation session.

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Shantanu Sharma
Founder and Admissions Consultant, MBA and Beyond

Not sure if any of these Full Time MBAs would allow your application without a test, although for many Executive, PT/ evening programs, taking a much shorter EA may help.
Anyway, details of your College, College Standing, Professional accomplishments (not just your role), ECs etc would immensely help. Without those, unfortunately your current list looks more like a wish-list, devoid of the much needed homework on your part.

Hope that helps. Please submit your profile for a Free Assessment over a 1:1 call. https://theivyleagueedge.com/index.php/contactus/
_________________
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Thanks for sharing your profile @mewsmas . You seem to be a competitive candidate for top US tech-oriented MBA programs if you take and score well on the GMAT Focus. With 8+ years, you fit the preferred experience band for FT MBAs and are well-positioned to recruit into product management and senior product roles after MBA. Key remaining lifts are: (1) an admissions-grade GMAT, (2) tightened storytelling to show product/strategy readiness (not just agile/team management), and (3) clear examples of ownership & measurable impact.

Booth, Kellogg, Ross, and McDonough medians show mid-to-high 600s-730+ GMATs and average work experience of around 5-7 years. Your experience is on target, but your score will materially affect admission/scholarship chances.

Take the GMAT / GMAT Focus. Top programs still use test scores heavily to compare quantitatively across applicants. Booth & Kellogg medians are high (Booth ~728 avg; Kellogg ~733 avg historically). A strong quantitative score opens doors and scholarships.

You have the right experience length. With 8+ years, you’ll be at or above the mean experience for many FT classes, good for senior roles and R1/R2 timing. (Part-time students show higher variance and often have 6-8+ yrs.)

Full-time is the stronger path for a role pivot to senior product/strategy. If you want to move into product leadership (director → VP) and recruit via school pipelines, an FT MBA can give the best access to career services, internships, and on-campus recruiting, with good networking and research on your own. Part-time is great if you must keep working, want to avoid opportunity cost, and don’t need a full pivot. (See part-time class profiles and outcomes.)

What each school values, and how you can position:
Chicago Booth (target / reach to lock): Strong analytics/strategy culture and product roles via tech recruiting, emphasizing metrics, A/B results, and analytics you used as Scrum Manager. Booth class GMAT ~728 and average work exp ~5 yrs.

Kellogg (reach/ target): Leadership, product management, and collaborative culture. Kellogg's median GMAT is historically ~733. Sell cross-functional leadership (engineers, PMs, stakeholders) and product strategy exposure.

Michigan Ross (target): Action-based (MAP) and strong product/tech pipeline; medians around high 600s-720. Position as operator → product leader, with examples of strategic initiatives.

Georgetown McDonough (target/ match): Slightly lower numeric medians (GMAT ~696 avg) but strong for those wanting East Coast tech/strategy roles. Good if you seek a balance between rigor and slightly more accessible stats.

Full-time vs Part-time:
If your priority is a substantive industry/role pivot (Scrum Manager → Director Product / Head of Product), → Full-time MBA is typically better: internship opportunities, full recruitment cycle, dedicated career coaches, alumni access, and on-campus interviews.

If you must keep income / senior role and cannot leave job → Part-time/evening /weekend can work, especially for promotions within your company or slower lateral moves. But note: on-campus recruiting and internship signals can be weaker for part-time students. (See Kellogg Evening & Weekend and Booth Part-Time profiles; they show higher average experience and different recruiting expectations.)

Concrete gaps & how you can fix them:
1) GMAT: Set a target early.
2) Product signal beyond agile title: Admissions care about what you own, product metrics, launches, roadmap decisions, prioritization tradeoffs, and cross-functional initiatives. Convert “Scrum Manager” bullets into product/impact bullets (numbers: % retention improvement, time-to-market, revenue enabled, cost saved). If you lack product ownership, create a product project: build a roadmap + prototype + metrics.
3) Leadership at scale: With 8+ yrs, provide 3-4 stories showing strategic influence: leading cross-org initiatives, shaping product strategy, P&L influence, or mentoring leaders. Use STAR + metrics.
4) Networking & internships prep: Booth/Kellogg/Ross, prepare to secure a summer internship if changing function. Start informational interviews with alumni now.

We would love to learn more about your academic background, extracurricular activities, professional experience, and personal journey so we can offer a more tailored assessment of your profile and evaluate your chances at your target schools more accurately. Feel free to book a profile evaluation session.

Register for our Coffee Session: “Tackle MBA Applications for Canadian Business Schools- Rotman, Schulich, Ivey & More”, which we are hosting on 5th September, 2025 | 9:00 PM IST | 11:30 AM ET. KNOW MORE DETAILS

Cheers!
Shantanu Sharma
Founder and Admissions Consultant, MBA and Beyond

Hi
Priyanka here from ARINGO. Speaking about your profile, if you are targeting a FT MBA program, I would recommend that you appear for a GMAT/GRE test. A strong score will enhance your profile. Your age will not be a hindrance to your profile, you will just have to have strong answers for 'Why MBA?' and 'Why now?'

It will be crucial for you to figure out which type of MBA program you wish to apply for. I hope our article MBA over 30 helps you to plan your MBA journey.

I’d be happy to offer you a free profile review for your target MBA programs to see where you stand and how to boost your chances, happy to help!
No pressure, no strings - just helpful insights on where you stand and how you can strengthen your chances.

Feel free to connect- Click here
You can also email me your CV at: [email protected]
Good Luck!