Oct. 13 Chat with ARINGO: Top MBA applications

Hi, I have 2.4 years of experience as a developer ( still working) and I scored 720 in my gmat . I did my btech from vit . What b-schools should I consider? I am mostly looking for usa and uk schools.

For management roles (outside of PM) you’ll want to find a target schools with strong General Management education - US: HBS, GSB, Kellogg, Wharton, Ross, Tuck, Darden, Yale, Duke, CBS; Global: IMD, IESE, INSEAD, Bocconi... 1yr programs tend to focus on general management

ARINGO, sorry, I’m jumping back and forth between this and a Michigan zoom

Indian Male
23 years
Work experience: 1 year, software developer, working on and leading multiple infrastructure projects that impact the entire organisation and improves SLAs saving crores.
Planning to apply next fall, will have 2+ years of work experience at the time of application
GMAT: 770
Undergrad: B.Tech CS (IIIT under mentorship of tier 1 university) - 9.05/10 gpa
EC: Semi-pro kinda photographer, managed and organised various fests, workshops.
Currently working with NGOs focussing on saving ponds and plantations.
Post-MBA goal: Want to move towards sustainability side since I want to give a lot back to the Earth and that gives me a feeling of doing something worthwhile day in day out. Exploring opportunities in climate-tech and other fields as well.
What schools should I target? I know MIT is an excellent option for sustainability, apart from that, what are the top schools for sustainability in US/Canada? Also, any suggestions for opportunities at the intersection of tech and sustainability? Thanks a lot! 😊

Most schools want 3 years of exp at time of application with 1-2 promotions. I would target these schools Cornell, Darden, McCombs, Kenan Flagler, Tepper and Oxford, Cambridge and even LBS with the right application

Great profile and motivation - I may recommend waiting 1 more year - Top programs are typically looking for 3+ years at time of application and 1-2 promotions - your 770 is great and will get you in some schools, but if you want the best, it might be best to wait another year - MIT, GSB, Haas, HBS, Duke, Said, Cornell, RSM

Does the designation of trainee count in total years of work experience when applying to Indian b-schools?

Thank you ARINGO. I will take this into consideration( Preference would be the countries where I can get PR easily). Also, I am aiming for colleges where I am likely to get scholarships with this experience and GMAT score because my undergrad GPA is on the lower side(~6.7/10). In the long term I want to focus on my startup/start with afresh idea.

yes, technically all work post-grad is counted

Sure, would keep that in mind. Thank you so much for your time. Apart from a little experience handicap, it’s not bad if I try next year as well na (2 year WE at application time), if by any chance I don’t make it to a school of my choice, then I’ll try again the following year? ARINGO,

that is a good plan, schools look for GMAT /GRE to balance out GPA and show current capacity for rigorous curriculum. US is not easy for PR, Canada is much easier for Indians. I’m not an expert in this area, but you can ask current students about this for the other geographies.

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Demographics (nationality, gender): Indian, Male

· Education (undergraduate institution, GPA, major - high school/entrance exams not needed): University of Delhi (Bachelors in Commerce) CGPA 7.29 [Ranked 1 university in India]

· Other coursework or post-undergraduate education: ACCA Member

· GMAT or GRE or EA score (include section breakdown): 750 (Q 51 | V 39 | IR 7 | AWA 4)

· Work experience (briefly highlight amount of work experience, industries, roles, promotions, special accomplishments, international exposure):
3 years & 2 months at KPMG Global Services (Position: Senior Executive) | Industry - Audit | International exposure - working in UK financial services market, focusing on insurance regulation, climate change scenarios and impact on insurance industry and Solvency II audits | special accomplishments - awarded encore award each year at the firm (not sure if this was the requirement to this)

· Extracurricular activities (briefly highlight notable undergraduate and post-undergraduate ones): Finance manager at Enactus (Social entrepreneurship club), teacher at UMEED NGO & volunteering at Sankalp Taru (NGO - working on planting trees to boost sustainability) - created carbon footprint calculator which calculates carbon emissions from e-commerce deliveries, food deliveries, home energy, cloud storage and air travel.

Question - How often do people get financial assistance(waivers) from academic fee?

· Post-MBA goals: exploring other industries and departments - mainly looking for general management roles or financial advisory on climate change

· Target schools: London business school, INSEAD, HEC Paris, Warwick business school and Indian school of business. Not sure if this profile is good for USA B Schools.

US schools are super friendly to reapplicants. The biggest hurdle will be the reapplicant essay - what has changed between last year and this year? Easy to come up with professional experiences to discuss. I would certainly recommend 2 year programs with lower end of the experience continuum - will be best route for employment post mba.

Also, one last question, sorry for asking in different threads. 😅
Is the work exp requirement same for the dual degree programs ( mainly MIT’s LGO)

Should I consider reapplying to Stanford in R2?

1.Age / Demography: 30 year old Indian Male, 7 years work experience for 2022 intake2. Undergraduate Degree/ GPA: Dual Degree (B.TECH + M.TECH) from IIT Madras in 2015; CGPA: 8.08/ 10, 1 of 8 out of 700 students to be awarded the letter of appreciation from Dean, Guidance and Counselling Unit Coordinator, Teaching Assistant, played intracollegiate soccer tournaments3. GMAT: 770 Q50, V44,AWA 6, IR54. Work experience: 6+ years WE: 2yrs 2 months as a business analyst in financial services, switched to the nonprofit world to work at India’s leading education nonprofit. Started as Associate and got a promotion ahead of time to Manager. Worked at nonprofit till Apr’20.Started my own healthcare-focused social enterprise that provides affordable treatment to diabetic wounds in Jan 2019. Working full-time from May 2020. Consistent YoY increase in impact and revenues. Led the social enterprise to financial sustainability through the pandemic
Possible Cons/Weaknesses - Current no name company, still working at an impactful but small scale with only a 5 person team, and no PE/VC or big4 consulting experience on my resume5. Extracurricular Activities: Fundraising campaign with Wrigley employees while working at Pratham; Teaching 5 Gades 7 and 8 children math; Pro-bono consulting for a mental health nonprofit: helping them improve their report writing capabilities; 5km Terry fox run for cancer research during undergrad days;  Moderator at GMATClub6. Other Interests/ Hobbies: Philately (stamp collection) - collection of ~500 specially printed commemorative stamps, play tabla (indian classical music instrument), soccer, and badminton, Travelling - travelled to 13 countries across 4 continents, completed hikes in 4 Indian states, visited worlds 2nd largest mangrove forest, hot-air balloon ride in Luxor, Egypt7. Post-MBA Goal: ST - Join a management consulting firm such as BCG, EY-Parthenon, or ZS Associates as an associate and specialize in the healthcare sector; LT - Join an international pharmaceuticals company in an operations role8. Awards/ Recognition: Youngest-ever Guest Speaker at Rotary Club of Mulund Hills, fastest college hire to be awarded Star of the Month at Citi - within two month of joining Citi in Sep ’15, Star of the Month at Citi in Jan ’17, Nominated by cofounder of Pratham as the youngest member of the working committee that organized Pratham’s Silver Jubilee Celebration event.9. Application History so far: Rejected by HBS and Stanford and waitlisted at

Indian Male
24 years
Work experience: 2 year, senior devops engineer, working on and leading multiple infrastructure and cloud projects for major financial institutions in india. Lead a team of 4 people. (4 promotions)
GMAT: 710
Undergrad: B.Tech CS (TIER 1 UNIVERSITY) - 8.08/10 gpa
EC: football player, managed and organised various events, workshops in college
Currently working with NGOs focusing serving undeserved communitues.
Post-MBA goal: Want to transition into a product manager role in a cloud oriented tech company. Applying in Round 2 this year
Which schools should i target?
Thanks a lot! 

What kind of companies recruit at NUS?