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dingo469
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Joined: 02 Jun 2025
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Profile Evaluation for M7, with no-name school and working experience 24 Sep 2025, 06:19
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Hi everyone,
Just decided to go back to biz school next year, really appreciate it if anyone can advise my chances to go to M7 MBA:
  • Male, 27, SEA country/ URM
  • Graduated from a top local public uni, BEng, but relatively unknown globally, GPA: 3.2 (top 10% of the class, can show some evidence from school report)
  • GMAT FE 675 (taken)
  • Working experience: 2 years at Big 4 Consulting (strategy & ops practices), 2 years of founding my own fintech startup for underserved citizens (raised 15k$ pre-seed from a global bank's venture arm, quite big in my developing country, but I guess it looks small-to-nothing on the US scale), ultimately closed due to lack of funding for next round. Decided to go back to work in another startup as a Chief of Staff (telecom, raised $2M), overseeing strategic growth projects, grew to 20k users. All my work experience is domestically-based.
  • Admission story: grew from consulting, found some interesting problems to solve > opened a startup > failed, decided to slow down a bit to reflect on my failure, helped another startup from 0 to 1 successfully > back to mba to find another chance to launch a biz
  • LOR: either from my prev Director at Big 4 consulting, or from the CTO of the latest unknown startup > still deciding on this
  • Goals post-MBA: startup again with MBA friends, or VC/ Growth Capital firms in Fintech/ Tech
Questions: with most of my time spent on no-name things, can I still have a chance to apply for M7, and which school specifically helps me to connect with the US startup world, and any chance for a scholarship as well
Thank you guys.
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MBADecoder
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Profile Evaluation for M7, with no-name school and working experience Updated on: 24 Sep 2025, 15:39
Originally posted by MBADecoder on 24 Sep 2025, 06:45.
Last edited by MBADecoder on 24 Sep 2025, 15:39, edited 1 time in total.
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dingo469
Hi everyone,
Just decided to go back to biz school next year, really appreciate it if anyone can advise my chances to go to M7 MBA:
  • Male, 27, SEA country/ URM
  • Graduated from a top local public uni, BEng, but relatively unknown globally, GPA: 3.2 (top 10% of the class, can show some evidence from school report)
  • GMAT FE 675 (taken)
  • Working experience: 2 years at Big 4 Consulting (strategy & ops practices), 2 years of founding my own fintech startup for underserved citizens (raised 15k$ pre-seed from a global bank's venture arm, quite big in my developing country, but I guess it looks small-to-nothing on the US scale), ultimately closed due to lack of funding for next round. Decided to go back to work in another startup as a Chief of Staff (telecom, raised $2M), overseeing strategic growth projects, grew to 20k users. All my work experience is domestically-based.
  • Admission story: grew from consulting, found some interesting problems to solve > opened a startup > failed, decided to slow down a bit to reflect on my failure, helped another startup from 0 to 1 successfully > back to mba to find another chance to launch a biz
  • LOR: either from my prev Director at Big 4 consulting, or from the CTO of the latest unknown startup > still deciding on this
  • Goals post-MBA: startup again with MBA friends, or VC/ Growth Capital firms in Fintech/ Tech
Questions: with most of my time spent on no-name things, can I still have a chance to apply for M7, and which school specifically helps me to connect with the US startup world, and any chance for a scholarship as well
Thank you guys.
Show more

One of my applicants got into a T10 with a very similar career trajectory like yours- consulting> Chief of staff> entrepreneurship, so its definitely possible.
So I am going to say, admission depends on how well you show your story and convey your passion and purpose for all the things you have down in the past and the future goals. The fintech experience and the purpose behind it sounds noble and getting funding is always a good sign. I like that you were able to help the next venture scale up - you could show some learnings from your failed venture in this outcome.

Rather than focusing just on M7s, apply to b-schools which will help you in your entrepreneurial journey. California based b-schools may be better here as they give you better access to the Silicon valley ecosystem.



Namita Garg,
Founder, MBA Decoder
Email: contact@mbadecoder.com
Profile evaluation: https://mbadecoder.com/services/free-pr ... valuation/
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admitStreet
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Profile Evaluation for M7, with no-name school and working experience 24 Sep 2025, 08:34
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dingo469 - your mix of Big-4 consulting and start-up/ entrepreneurial experiences present strong angles, and the progressive arc looks interesting as well. Was the GMAT score in line with your mocks/ expectations, or is there any scope to improve there?

It'd be crucial to have a strong narrative covering your experiences, what you achieved, what you learned (both thro' success and failure), what skills are transferable, your post-MBA goals, and how the MBA will help bridge gaps.

Assuming you're looking at R2 deadlines, it'd be prudent to have a strategic mix of 5-7 schools across M7 and US-T20 broadly, spread across Ambitious, Reach and Safe buckets. Top MBA programs (along with placement stats) for tech careers are here and finance careers are here FYI.

Hope this helps. Feel free to reach out through the link below for a more detailed discussion.

Regards,
Arvind
Founder, admitStreet | Testimonials
W: https://admitstreet.com | Request a free profile evaluation

dingo469
Hi everyone,
Just decided to go back to biz school next year, really appreciate it if anyone can advise my chances to go to M7 MBA:
  • Male, 27, SEA country/ URM
  • Graduated from a top local public uni, BEng, but relatively unknown globally, GPA: 3.2 (top 10% of the class, can show some evidence from school report)
  • GMAT FE 675 (taken)
  • Working experience: 2 years at Big 4 Consulting (strategy & ops practices), 2 years of founding my own fintech startup for underserved citizens (raised 15k$ pre-seed from a global bank's venture arm, quite big in my developing country, but I guess it looks small-to-nothing on the US scale), ultimately closed due to lack of funding for next round. Decided to go back to work in another startup as a Chief of Staff (telecom, raised $2M), overseeing strategic growth projects, grew to 20k users. All my work experience is domestically-based.
  • Admission story: grew from consulting, found some interesting problems to solve > opened a startup > failed, decided to slow down a bit to reflect on my failure, helped another startup from 0 to 1 successfully > back to mba to find another chance to launch a biz
  • LOR: either from my prev Director at Big 4 consulting, or from the CTO of the latest unknown startup > still deciding on this
  • Goals post-MBA: startup again with MBA friends, or VC/ Growth Capital firms in Fintech/ Tech
Questions: with most of my time spent on no-name things, can I still have a chance to apply for M7, and which school specifically helps me to connect with the US startup world, and any chance for a scholarship as well
Thank you guys.
Show more
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GeneralEducation
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Profile Evaluation for M7, with no-name school and working experience 24 Sep 2025, 20:57
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Your Profile looks good. While your GMAT FE 675 is below M7 averages, a retake would help; otherwise, focus your essays on resilience, learning from failure, and your impact leading teams and scaling projects. Target Wharton, Booth, Kellogg, MIT Sloan, and Columbia for strong US startup links, but include T20 schools for balanced odds and more scholarship chances. Secure recommendations from both a Big 4 supervisor and startup lead to highlight credibility and entrepreneurial drive, using your narrative to show clear post-MBA goals in startups or VC.

DM us to schedule a 1:1 evaluation call with our admission experts.
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Profile Evaluation for M7, with no-name school and working experience 25 Sep 2025, 03:31
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dingo469
Hi everyone,
Just decided to go back to biz school next year, really appreciate it if anyone can advise my chances to go to M7 MBA:
  • Male, 27, SEA country/ URM
  • Graduated from a top local public uni, BEng, but relatively unknown globally, GPA: 3.2 (top 10% of the class, can show some evidence from school report)
  • GMAT FE 675 (taken)
  • Working experience: 2 years at Big 4 Consulting (strategy & ops practices), 2 years of founding my own fintech startup for underserved citizens (raised 15k$ pre-seed from a global bank's venture arm, quite big in my developing country, but I guess it looks small-to-nothing on the US scale), ultimately closed due to lack of funding for next round. Decided to go back to work in another startup as a Chief of Staff (telecom, raised $2M), overseeing strategic growth projects, grew to 20k users. All my work experience is domestically-based.
  • Admission story: grew from consulting, found some interesting problems to solve > opened a startup > failed, decided to slow down a bit to reflect on my failure, helped another startup from 0 to 1 successfully > back to mba to find another chance to launch a biz
  • LOR: either from my prev Director at Big 4 consulting, or from the CTO of the latest unknown startup > still deciding on this
  • Goals post-MBA: startup again with MBA friends, or VC/ Growth Capital firms in Fintech/ Tech
Questions: with most of my time spent on no-name things, can I still have a chance to apply for M7, and which school specifically helps me to connect with the US startup world, and any chance for a scholarship as well
Thank you guys.
Show more
Hi dingo469

Your profile shows a strong entrepreneurial spirit and solid consulting experience, which are great assets for M7 schools. A 675 GMAT is decent, though aiming for a higher score could strengthen your candidacy, especially for top-tier MBA programs.

Your startup experience, even with its ups and downs, adds unique value—admissions committees appreciate resilience and learning from failure. Be sure to clearly articulate your growth and lessons learned in your essays.

For LORs, a strong recommendation from your Big 4 Director might carry more weight given their brand recognition, but if your CTO can speak deeply about your impact and leadership, that’s valuable too.

Regarding schools, Wharton, Sloan, and Haas are known for strong connections to the US startup ecosystem. Booth and Harvard also offer excellent VC and entrepreneurial resources.

Scholarships at M7 are competitive but possible, especially if you demonstrate clear leadership potential and a compelling career story.

Focus on telling your authentic story, highlighting your regional uniqueness as a URM candidate, and your clear post-MBA goals. With the right strategy, you definitely have a shot.

If you'd like detailed advice on school selection, essay strategy, or scholarships, feel free to book a free consult with our experts! You can also contact us directly at team.mba@theredpen.com or +91-7780769732