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WA@oam3125
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Yinkaemmanuel
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I also don’t believe anyone’s perspective should be the reason you’d change your mind because your mental preparation must be too notch as it won’t be an easy ride.

The ultimate decision is yours and yours only.

There are still a lot of opportunities here, but make sure you are flexible with your options too.
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Calling all Cornell Johnson MBA Applicants: 2026 Intake Class of 2028 03 Sep 2025, 13:23
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Yinkaemmanuel
I also don’t believe anyone’s perspective should be the reason you’d change your mind because your mental preparation must be too notch as it won’t be an easy ride.

The ultimate decision is yours and yours only.

There are still a lot of opportunities here, but make sure you are flexible with your options too.
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I think it may be reassuring to chat with Students or Alums. You think it is big risk to take $200K loan and quit your job? Talk to a current student who has just done that to get the idea!
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Agree with all your points,
Just to do add from my perspective, besides the goal of making money and transitioning to IB, I want to get to MBA to be surrounded by people like you guys - ambitious, intelligent, and hard working people. To get into top MBA, you have to be such a person (that’s my assumption xD). Idk about you but my work is full of complacent people, nothing wrong with it but not my cup of tea.

And regardless of economy or job market, I actually think everyone will find jobs after graduation, just a matter of time and desire.
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Zosima08
Agree with all your points,
Just to do add from my perspective, besides the goal of making money and transitioning to IB, I want to get to MBA to be surrounded by people like you guys - ambitious, intelligent, and hard working people. To get into top MBA, you have to be such a person (that’s my assumption xD). Idk about you but my work is full of complacent people, nothing wrong with it but not my cup of tea.

And regardless of economy or job market, I actually think everyone will find jobs after graduation, just a matter of time and desire.
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Very valid points!

Another view is that MBA it’s kind of like jumping out with a parachute out of a perfectly working plane. It’s hard to jump into the unknown because you don’t know if the parachute is gonna open and you know the landing is not going to be Soft either way. So you cling onto that door and if the plane is not on fire, some may not jump. And that’s not a wrong decision either because you are on a perfectly fine airplane it’s just not flying in the direction you want or perhaps at the speed you want but it’s flying...
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Quote:

*bb writes:*
> Agree with all your points,
> Just to do add from my perspective, besides the goal of making money and transitioning to IB, I want to get to MBA to be surrounded by people like you guys - ambitious, intelligent, and hard working people. To get into top MBA, you have to be such a person (that’s my assumption xD). Idk about you but my work is full of complacent people, nothing wrong with it but not my cup of tea.
> And regardless of economy or job market, I actually think everyone will find jobs af
Very valid points!

Another view is that MBA it’s kind of like jumping out with a parachute out of a perfectly working plane. It’s hard to jump into the unknown because you don’t know if the parachute is gonna open and you know the landing is not going to be Soft either way. So you cling onto that door and if the plane is not on fire, some may not jump. And that’s not a wrong decision either because you are on a perfectly fine airplane it’s just not flying in the direction you want or perhaps at the speed you want but it’s flying...
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https://open.substack.com/pub/apoorvago ... medium=web
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Quote:

*bb writes:*
> Agree with all your points,
> Just to do add from my perspective, besides the goal of making money and transitioning to IB, I want to get to MBA to be surrounded by people like you guys - ambitious, intelligent, and hard working people. To get into top MBA, you have to be such a person (that’s my assumption xD). Idk about you but my work is full of complacent people, nothing wrong with it but not my cup of tea.
> And regardless of economy or job market, I actually think everyone will find jobs af
Very valid points!

Another view is that MBA it’s kind of like jumping out with a parachute out of a perfectly working plane. It’s hard to jump into the unknown because you don’t know if the parachute is gonna open and you know the landing is not going to be Soft either way. So you cling onto that door and if the plane is not on fire, some may not jump. And that’s not a wrong decision either because you are on a perfectly fine airplane it’s just not flying in the direction you want or perhaps at the speed you want but it’s flying...
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You are always spot on with your metaphors! First the dating one (that was a funny one) and now this...
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Love all positive and right attitude messages. I’m not new to risk—I moved to the U.S. for an MS at Purdue, took a $100K swing, and landed the job. I’m in a stronger spot now, but the 2025 MBA calculus feels different, and I’m not sure why. Maybe I’m just getting more cautious with age lol.

But all some hard data points as international making me worried despite being in the USA for 9 years

India’s U.S. student visas took a hit—F-1 issuances to Indians are down ~44% from 2024

. The H-1B cap is still 65k + 20k (same as when I came in 2017) while the applicant pool has multiplied.

Meanwhile, GenAI is reshaping analyst/PM pipelines far more than earlier hype cycles (3D printing, AR/VR, blockchain, crypto). I’ve seen stellar PMs and even MBB consultants lose roles.

International MBA loans remain expensive (~10–13% APR; avg ~12.94%), and I know people who’ve applied to 3,000–4,000 roles to land ~15–20 interviews, often taking ~90 days to secure something—with talk of tightening timelines toward ~30 days. All of this makes the 2025 MBA decision feel different.
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Are you on H1B right now?
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Yes sir
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Same here. I thought I would have “advantage” because I don’t need to win lottery the second time, the company just extends it.
So, no reason to worry for OPT and lottery.
Am I missing smth?

And I am sure you would have no issues with F1. The only “scary” point is APR lol, I didn’t know it’s double digits...

Quote:

https://open.substack.com/pub/apoorvago ... medium=web
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Also, man great article, I couldn’t agree more with the points made there. That’s why I decided to move on, whether to MBA or another job (hopefully MBA though lol).
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Quote:

Same here. I thought I would have “advantage” because I don’t need to win lottery the second time, the new company can just extend it.
So, no reason to worry about OPT and lottery.
Am I missing smth?

And I am sure you would have no issues with F1. The only “scary” point is APR lol, I didn’t know it’s double digits…
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That’s long story ( Change of status)
Will share in some time

Quote:

Also, man great article, I couldn’t agree more with the points made there. That’s why I decided to move on, whether to MBA or another job (hopefully MBA though lol).
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+1
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Quote:

That’s long story ( Change of status)
Will share in some time
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Would love to hear this! I’ll ping you if you forget ;)
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Quote:

if other applicants think it’s an amazing and awesome opportunity than everyone is applying and the market is overheated but if everyone thinks it’s a bad time and it’s horrible then it could be exactly the time you want to be applying in at least based on the stock market framework… 😂
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Good to see someone else giving stock market reference for this scenario

When there is panic in market invest
When there is greed it’s time to exit 😬
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Food for thought:

Most people put consulting as their short term goal which makes it very generic and common but anything unique has the burden of proof and subject to much more scrutiny. Most bschools have consulting outcomes of 35-40% so its something that can be said to be much more achievable with proper consulting pipelines in place right when you enter any bschool.

Is it safest to say your short term goal is consulting (since stats point that way) or you should say something unique (to appear more unique)?

Talking purely from a getting into Bschool perspective. I know the general guidance is to be authentic but that’s hard when you’re competing against people who are carefully crafting stories to get into the school you dream of 😛
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Why not specify because I did specify in my essay .
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Quick one: if you are taking loans, should the answer here be yes or no?
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bb
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Quote:

Quick one: if you are taking loans, should the answer here be yes or no?
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This is an archaic visa related question which basically says that anyone who applies or anyone who is admitted must have enough sufficient funding to attend the program. This doesn’t have anything to do with admissions or scholarship decision, which is based on the merit anyway and not financial ability.

Everyone should answer yes to this question as otherwise the school will be at odds with immigration rules for the student visa
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Quote:

This is an archaic visa related question which basically says that anyone who applies or anyone who is admitted must have enough sufficient funding to attend the program. This doesn’t have anything to do with admissions or scholarship decision, which is based on the merit anyway and not financial ability.
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Thought as much. Thank you!
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Also, what proof did y’all put here? I already uploaded my transcript somewhere else. Do I need to do that again here?

My undergrad was taught in English and I’m from Nigeria.
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