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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