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25 Jul 2026, 11:07
Kudos
Bookmarks
Hi all - final-year undergrad applying in the coming deferred admissions cycle. Looking for a realistic read on where I stand, ideally school by school.
Target schools (deferred): Columbia, Wharton, Cornell, Stanford GSB, UVA Darden, Chicago Booth, Yale. Possibly Kellogg and MIT Sloan as well.
Academics
Target schools (deferred): Columbia, Wharton, Cornell, Stanford GSB, UVA Darden, Chicago Booth, Yale. Possibly Kellogg and MIT Sloan as well.
Academics
- IIT - Bachelor of Technology in BioE, Minor in Management, Class of 2027
- CGPA 7.6/10 realistically by graduation, 7.4 when applying
- GMAT Focus 725
- CFA Level I cleared (L2 candidate (will give the exam after applications end))
- Sem 1 mediocre: Sems 2–3 poor: documented medical issues including a heart condition and a surgery, got a seperately marked Fs due to short attendance due to a professor not recognizing my medical issues (no other professor did this)
- Sems 4-5: 8+
- Sem 6 dipped again to 7.4: I returned to campus mid-semester from an internship, my first midsem was the day after I got back, and I'd missed the lectures for most of what was tested
- Somewhere in year 1 itself I lost interest in my core program and redirected most of my effort into finance self-study and two ventures I was running (at different times during sem 5 and 6). That was a trade off, and my transcript reflects it. I can only do so much at one time
- Quantitative Investment Analyst Intern- systematic equities prop shop
- Credit Analyst Intern - listed NBFC
- Heading to IB (M&A) - India office of the investment banking arm of one of Africa's largest banks; staffed on the Energy M&A desk. Expected to receive a full-time return offer (that's how the conversation has shaped up during my interview rounds, unless I crap the bed I am getting the return offer).
- Growth Equity Intern - ~$500M growth equity fund. Went well beyond the standard intern remit; the partner described me as a top 1% intern, and I became the first undergrad in the fund's history offered a fast-track path to join directly. Skipping the usual two years of IB, subject to an additional case round and a partner conversation.
- CVPR (The most prestigious CV conference in the world) - Research on financial chart reading (finance + computer vision)
- Leading Indian conference on computer vision - Computer vision, particularly work on vision transformers
- Head of Strategy & Operations - large-scale state culture and commerce festival connecting VCs, HNIs and buyers with indigenous tech startups, local businesses, artisans and food vendors.
- Coordinator, national government-funded social service organisation - ~₹80k raised for an old age home plus an oxygen concentrator I donated personally after noticing their tank supply chain was the actual bottleneck; lighting, seating and a climate clock installed at an underprivileged school; 2–3 campus and beyond cleanliness drives; 100+ trees planted
- Coordinator, volunteer teaching initiative - 120 students across multiple subjects, average scores moved from 50–60% to ~80%. Ran scheduling, volunteer coordination and liaison with partner schools
- Finance lead, Entrepreneurship Cell
- Co-coordinator, campus deeptech group
- TA for a university course and for a continuing-education course teaching students Python
- Short term: energy / energy transition sector coverage at a bank without separate product groups, so I get end-to-end sector depth and execution reps.
- Open question I'm currently weighing: the fast-track offer would let me skip IB entirely and move straight into energy transition investing. I'm not sure whether the two years of IB fundamentals are worth giving up for the head start - undecided as of yet, will take the offer if offered an MBA seat.
- Medium term: Top MBA in the US, then energy transition or broader deeptech investing (climate tech preferred)
- Long term: lead carbon capture and negative-carbon venture and project investing. Funding the energy build-out the AI era needs, sustainably
- Realistic odds per school?
- Which of these are genuine targets vs. lottery tickets for this profile?
- Where should I expect at least an interview?
- How much of the GPA story is worth explaining vs. leaving alone?
27 Jul 2026, 01:32
Kudos
Bookmarks
overall seems to be a good profile.. all the best with applications
29 Jul 2026, 21:45
Kudos
Bookmarks
An IIT background and a 725 GMAT certainly strengthen your profile, but they aren't enough on their own to get into Ivy League or other top MBA programs.
I also think you're asking the wrong question at this stage. Rather than starting with "What are my chances?", spend time identifying the schools whose programs, curriculum, recruiting opportunities, and alumni networks best align with your short-, medium-, and long-term goals. Once you've narrowed that list, it's much easier to evaluate how competitive your profile is for each program and where you should focus your applications.
I also think you're asking the wrong question at this stage. Rather than starting with "What are my chances?", spend time identifying the schools whose programs, curriculum, recruiting opportunities, and alumni networks best align with your short-, medium-, and long-term goals. Once you've narrowed that list, it's much easier to evaluate how competitive your profile is for each program and where you should focus your applications.
