Last visit was: 21 Apr 2026, 07:57 It is currently 21 Apr 2026, 07:57
Home
Messages
Tests
Schools
Events
Close
GMAT Club Daily Prep
Thank you for using the timer - this advanced tool can estimate your performance and suggest more practice questions. We have subscribed you to Daily Prep Questions via email.

Customized
for You

we will pick new questions that match your level based on your Timer History

Track
Your Progress

every week, we’ll send you an estimated GMAT score based on your performance

Practice
Pays

we will pick new questions that match your level based on your Timer History
Not interested in getting valuable practice questions and articles delivered to your email? No problem, unsubscribe here.
Go to My Error Log Learn more
Close
Request Expert Reply
Confirm Cancel
Back to Forum
Create Topic
Add a Tag
User avatar
arora1
User avatar
PM Intern
Joined: 27 Feb 2019
Last visit: 27 Dec 2024
Posts: 210
Own Kudos:
196
Given Kudos: 197
Location: India
Schools: Kelley '23 (M$)
GMAT 1: 720 Q48 V41
Schools: Kelley '23 (M$)
GMAT 1: 720 Q48 V41
Posts: 210
Kudos: 196
Kelley($$) this year or apply next year? 19 Mar 2021, 16:02
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Hi Everyone,
I hope to get your perspectives and any advice to clear my confusion is appreciated.

This year has been brutal in all aspects, and I have been lucky to get an admit.

Amongst all the schools that I got an admit from, I was able to narrow down my choice to Kelley. However, I feel that applying next year might help me land into a better school.
First, a brief profile summary about me:
    4.5 years WE at Adobe
    6 issued patents
    Good work experience and awards, 2 promotions
    GPA ~4.0
    Co-curricular above average
    GMAT 720 (probably not good for Indian male engineers)
Will a wait of 1 year be worth it? Can I land into a better school with that profile? (I know that's a silly question to ask, but am confused to the core)
I always wanted to go to a more tech focussed school such as Tepper and UCLA (WL at both currently)

Additionally, how have tech-recruitments been at Kelley for internationals (Indians)?
My post MBA goals:
    Work as PM in hi-tech company
    Preferred location west coast

What I like about Kelley:
    Scholarship (more than 50% tuition)
    One year will be saved, market may open by 2023
    Academy format of the school
    Strong focus on marketing

What I do not like:
    Most admits have a gmat waiver and so am not sure how companies would weigh this
    Remote location of the school
    Not within Top 25
    Not very sure about internship opportunities and lack of hi-tech recruitments

Opinions on ROI, and insights on reduced competition next year will be really helpful. And not to forget is the abolition of OPT still under consideration? Biden seems to be supportive of internationals

Please help :(

bb studenthopeful
User avatar
Mo2men
User avatar
Joined: 26 Mar 2013
Last visit: 09 May 2023
Posts: 2,426
Own Kudos:
1,508
Given Kudos: 641
Concentration: Operations, Strategy
Schools: Erasmus (II)
Products:
My Reviews
Schools: Erasmus (II)
Posts: 2,426
Kudos: 1,508
Kelley($$) this year or apply next year? 20 Mar 2021, 01:31
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
congrats

Before giving any a view, How much is $$?
User avatar
arora1
User avatar
PM Intern
Joined: 27 Feb 2019
Last visit: 27 Dec 2024
Posts: 210
Own Kudos:
196
Given Kudos: 197
Location: India
Schools: Kelley '23 (M$)
GMAT 1: 720 Q48 V41
Schools: Kelley '23 (M$)
GMAT 1: 720 Q48 V41
Posts: 210
Kudos: 196
Kelley($$) this year or apply next year? 20 Mar 2021, 02:20
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Mo2men
Thanks for your reply. I did mention around 50% tuition.

Posted from my mobile device
User avatar
Mo2men
User avatar
Joined: 26 Mar 2013
Last visit: 09 May 2023
Posts: 2,426
Own Kudos:
1,508
Given Kudos: 641
Concentration: Operations, Strategy
Schools: Erasmus (II)
Products:
My Reviews
Schools: Erasmus (II)
Posts: 2,426
Kudos: 1,508
Kelley($$) this year or apply next year? 20 Mar 2021, 02:26
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
arora1
Mo2men
Thanks for your reply. I did mention around 50% tuition.

Posted from my mobile device
Show more


I think this scholarship is not a decisive factor in your case. It is that lucrative to accept, especially kelley is not that helpful for PM and in west coast. I think you may wait for next year but try to enhance your GMAT score. I do not know if many schools are going to ignore it for next year though.
User avatar
mihir0710
User avatar
Current Student
Joined: 17 Jun 2016
Last visit: 23 Mar 2026
Posts: 470
Own Kudos:
999
 [4]
Given Kudos: 206
Location: India
GMAT 1: 720 Q49 V39
GMAT 2: 710 Q50 V37
GPA: 3.65
WE:Engineering (Energy)
Products:
My Reviews
GMAT 2: 710 Q50 V37
Posts: 470
Kudos: 999
 [4]
Kelley($$) this year or apply next year? 20 Mar 2021, 08:55
4
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Hi there,

Happy to share my 2 cents:

Let's first talk about Kelley:

- ROI would be better than most schools you are targeting and particularly better than schools in California
- Tech schools especially UCLA, USC, Tepper - all will have high tuition atleast 15-20% higher than Kelley plus the cost of living will be approx. 2x
- Plus if you end up working in bay area even with higher pay ur savings will not be any better than most of the other states/cities in the country
- PM roles at Kelley:
- It's relatively new at Kelley (say started around 2018-19) but now we have some amazing alums/network of PMs working across top tech companies
- Batch of 2020 started PM club and have decent enough resources to prepare you for a PM career
- Option of pursuing PM certification along with ur MBA
- Ranking:
- You should know in the US unless u r a top 10 school, most of the other schools have a region-focused reputation
- So if you are a school in the midwest, your school may rank lower in the rankings but it would be more popular with the recruiting companies in that region
- Having said that - Kelley has never moved out of the top 25. Check the rankings again it has always been around 22nd - 23rd

Now let's talk a bit about waiting one more year:
- For an Indian male engineer, you probably have a really good profile to even get an interview and waitlisted at UCLA and Tepper with that GMAT score (and you can probably look at past years thread to verify that statement)
- Now unless you really add something stellar in your profile - like a major national-level award or a couple of promotions - in this next year, it would be difficult to get an improved result in those schools in the next admission cycle
- The other thing is GMAT improvement: Ask yourself this question - Can you improve ur GMAT to a 740-750? if yes, go for it. Wait a year and I am very confident you will get into those schools. Also, keep in mind next year the average GMAT would probably go up a bit because more and more people have taken GMAT from home this year and have been getting better scores as the stress factor of taking tests at home vs the test centers is much lower.
- OPT abolition - What is that?? it has not affected anyone yet and probably not going to at least, not in the next 4 years.

Hope this helps.

P.S: I got into PM (hardware products) after my Kelley MBA.
User avatar
arora1
User avatar
PM Intern
Joined: 27 Feb 2019
Last visit: 27 Dec 2024
Posts: 210
Own Kudos:
196
Given Kudos: 197
Location: India
Schools: Kelley '23 (M$)
GMAT 1: 720 Q48 V41
Schools: Kelley '23 (M$)
GMAT 1: 720 Q48 V41
Posts: 210
Kudos: 196
Kelley($$) this year or apply next year? 20 Mar 2021, 13:38
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Hi mihir0710
Thanks a lot for your detailed response.
Quote:
- ROI would be better than most schools you are targeting and particularly better than schools in California
- Tech schools especially UCLA, USC, Tepper - all will have high tuition atleast 15-20% higher than Kelley plus the cost of living will be approx. 2x
Show more
Yes, a great plus point! I am a person who cannot take financial stress.

Quote:
- PM roles at Kelley:
- It's relatively new at Kelley (say started around 2018-19) but now we have some amazing alums/network of PMs working across top tech companies
Show more
Do they take internationals too from Kelley? For example, I heard microsoft explicitly stated that they will not take internationals as interns

Quote:
- So if you are a school in the midwest, your school may rank lower in the rankings but it would be more popular with the recruiting companies in that region
Show more
About the west coast: Is it that even after 1 year of work, the transition is tough? I mean are schools like Kelley not known to west coast companies? Maybe i can work in a tier 2 company as a start, and then progress to FAANGs. Will that be tough? I see many UCLA graduates in Adobe, but not so many from Kelley.

Quote:
- For an Indian male engineer, you probably have a really good profile to even get an interview and waitlisted at UCLA and Tepper with that GMAT score (and you can probably look at past years thread to verify that statement)
Show more
I know my GMAT score is mediocre compared to Indian standards. So wont land me easily in schools like UCLA. However, this time the competition was high (thanks to Covid). If i can get an interview invite this time, maybe it will translate to admit next year. Which is why I am confused. The way schools work is tough for me to understand

Quote:
- Now unless you really add something stellar in your profile - like a major national-level award or a couple of promotions - in this next year, it would be difficult to get an improved result in those schools in the next admission cycle
- The other thing is GMAT improvement
Show more
Few things on this:
* I am not sure if I can raise my gmat by more than 10 points. 730 looks achievable (I used virtual board for GMAT online, and got Q48. I never scored less than Q50 otherwise). So, 740 might not become a reality. Getting into Tepper or UCLA will still be tough I think? I dont know how to calibrate these findings- so just making informed guesses
* Secondly, I just got promoted. So getting another one in next 10-12 months is clearly not possible
* No national awards for sure.
* The wait is depressing!
Overall, no great answers to "What has changed since last year"

Quote:
- OPT abolition - What is that?? it has not affected anyone yet and probably not going to at least, not in the next 4 years.
Show more
That sounds nice!

Additionally, would you mind to connect elsewhere?

Congrats for your role as a PM and thanks again!
User avatar
bb
User avatar
Founder
Joined: 04 Dec 2002
Last visit: 21 Apr 2026
Posts: 43,142
Own Kudos:
83,679
Given Kudos: 24,657
Location: United States
GMAT 1: 750 Q49 V42
GPA: 3
Products:
GMAT Club Tests Forum Quiz
Expert
Expert reply
GMAT 1: 750 Q49 V42
Posts: 43,142
Kudos: 83,679
Kelley($$) this year or apply next year? 20 Mar 2021, 16:15
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Thanks so much Mihir!
I somehow forgot that you went to Kelley!!!

Congratulations on your amazing job and getting a PM job!!!


mihir0710
Hi there,

Happy to share my 2 cents:

Let's first talk about Kelley:

- ROI would be better than most schools you are targeting and particularly better than schools in California
- Tech schools especially UCLA, USC, Tepper - all will have high tuition atleast 15-20% higher than Kelley plus the cost of living will be approx. 2x
- Plus if you end up working in bay area even with higher pay ur savings will not be any better than most of the other states/cities in the country
- PM roles at Kelley:
- It's relatively new at Kelley (say started around 2018-19) but now we have some amazing alums/network of PMs working across top tech companies
- Batch of 2020 started PM club and have decent enough resources to prepare you for a PM career
- Option of pursuing PM certification along with ur MBA
- Ranking:
- You should know in the US unless u r a top 10 school, most of the other schools have a region-focused reputation
- So if you are a school in the midwest, your school may rank lower in the rankings but it would be more popular with the recruiting companies in that region
- Having said that - Kelley has never moved out of the top 25. Check the rankings again it has always been around 22nd - 23rd

Now let's talk a bit about waiting one more year:
- For an Indian male engineer, you probably have a really good profile to even get an interview and waitlisted at UCLA and Tepper with that GMAT score (and you can probably look at past years thread to verify that statement)
- Now unless you really add something stellar in your profile - like a major national-level award or a couple of promotions - in this next year, it would be difficult to get an improved result in those schools in the next admission cycle
- The other thing is GMAT improvement: Ask yourself this question - Can you improve ur GMAT to a 740-750? if yes, go for it. Wait a year and I am very confident you will get into those schools. Also, keep in mind next year the average GMAT would probably go up a bit because more and more people have taken GMAT from home this year and have been getting better scores as the stress factor of taking tests at home vs the test centers is much lower.
- OPT abolition - What is that?? it has not affected anyone yet and probably not going to at least, not in the next 4 years.

Hope this helps.

P.S: I got into PM (hardware products) after my Kelley MBA.
Show more

Posted from my mobile device
User avatar
arora1
User avatar
PM Intern
Joined: 27 Feb 2019
Last visit: 27 Dec 2024
Posts: 210
Own Kudos:
196
Given Kudos: 197
Location: India
Schools: Kelley '23 (M$)
GMAT 1: 720 Q48 V41
Schools: Kelley '23 (M$)
GMAT 1: 720 Q48 V41
Posts: 210
Kudos: 196
Kelley($$) this year or apply next year? 23 Mar 2021, 07:06
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
bb / studenthopeful
Any inputs from your side too?

Posted from my mobile device
User avatar
bb
User avatar
Founder
Joined: 04 Dec 2002
Last visit: 21 Apr 2026
Posts: 43,142
Own Kudos:
83,679
Given Kudos: 24,657
Location: United States
GMAT 1: 750 Q49 V42
GPA: 3
Products:
GMAT Club Tests Forum Quiz
Expert
Expert reply
GMAT 1: 750 Q49 V42
Posts: 43,142
Kudos: 83,679
Kelley($$) this year or apply next year? 23 Mar 2021, 08:15
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
arora1
bb / studenthopeful
Any inputs from your side too?

Posted from my mobile device
Show more

No
User avatar
arora1
User avatar
PM Intern
Joined: 27 Feb 2019
Last visit: 27 Dec 2024
Posts: 210
Own Kudos:
196
Given Kudos: 197
Location: India
Schools: Kelley '23 (M$)
GMAT 1: 720 Q48 V41
Schools: Kelley '23 (M$)
GMAT 1: 720 Q48 V41
Posts: 210
Kudos: 196
Kelley($$) this year or apply next year? 06 Apr 2021, 10:12
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Hi everyone,
I have finally decided to join Kelley Class of 2023.

Thanks everyone for the help.
User avatar
Regenerate
User avatar
BSchool Forum Moderator
Joined: 24 Apr 2020
Last visit: 16 Feb 2023
Posts: 499
Own Kudos:
305
 [1]
Given Kudos: 75
Location: United States
Concentration: Strategy, Finance
Schools: Anderson (UCLA) Duke Fuqua UVA Darden Ross (Michigan)
Schools: Anderson (UCLA) Duke Fuqua UVA Darden Ross (Michigan)
Posts: 499
Kudos: 305
 [1]
Kelley($$) this year or apply next year? 06 Apr 2021, 23:48
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
arora1
Hi everyone,
I have finally decided to join Kelley Class of 2023.

Thanks everyone for the help.
Show more

Glad to hear it. Thanks for letting us know.

Now, a bit of professional advice ... START NETWORKING NOW FOR THE INTERNSHIP YOU WANT! :)
User avatar
Mo2men
User avatar
Joined: 26 Mar 2013
Last visit: 09 May 2023
Posts: 2,426
Own Kudos:
1,508
Given Kudos: 641
Concentration: Operations, Strategy
Schools: Erasmus (II)
Products:
My Reviews
Schools: Erasmus (II)
Posts: 2,426
Kudos: 1,508
Kelley($$) this year or apply next year? 07 Apr 2021, 04:01
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Very Very Very valuable advice Regenerate. I do the same with admitted to RSM.


Regenerate
arora1
Hi everyone,
I have finally decided to join Kelley Class of 2023.

Thanks everyone for the help.

Glad to hear it. Thanks for letting us know.

Now, a bit of professional advice ... START NETWORKING NOW FOR THE INTERNSHIP YOU WANT! :)
Show more