The Leading Independent
Resource for Top-tier MBA
Candidates

Ask Clear Admit

Your 24/7 MBA admissions expert. Ask anything about applying to business school.
Register for our next event!

Applying for Fall 2027?

Post and share which b-schools you're targeting for feedback on your profile!
School Profiles
Engage

Clear Admit’s Wire tools provide a platform for you to learn from and support other applicants to leading MBA programs.

 

MBA Applywire

2
August 13, 2026 7:05am ET
Applying: Duke / Fuqua, Vanderbilt / Owen
Intake Year: 2027
Pre-MBA Career: Big 4 Tax
Post MBA Career: Consulting, Bain, BCG, McKinsey
GMAT: 615
GPA: 3.76
Years of Work Experience: 3
Location: Nashville
Post MBA Location: Atlanta/Nashville
Notes:

CPA, masters degree (3.5 gpa), 1.5 years of local non profit board experience, 615 gmat focus. Promoted to senior associate after 2 years at big 4.

7
August 11, 2026 10:19pm ET
Applying: Carnegie Mellon / Tepper, Chicago Booth, Columbia Business School, Cornell / Johnson, Dartmouth / Tuck, Duke / Fuqua, Michigan / Ross
Intake Year: 2027
Pre-MBA Career: Consumer Insights
Post MBA Career: Consulting
GRE: 334
GPA: 3.44
Years of Work Experience: 6
Location: Tokyo
Post MBA Location: US
Notes:

Looking for an honest assessment of whether M7 schools are realistic for me, or if I should focus more on T10/T15 given my GPA.

I'm a South Asian applicant who graduated from the top business school in my country with a 3.44 GPA. My GPA was dragged down by some weaker semesters early on, but I was above 3.6 throughout my last two years and showed a pretty strong upward trend academically. A lot of the early struggles were related to ADHD, which wasn't diagnosed until later during university.

I also have a 334 GRE (169Q, 165V).

Career wise, I spent 2 years at a research agency where I was fast-tracked to a leadership role, and the last 4 years at a Fortune 500 FMCG in consumer insights. My current company relocated me from my home country to their Tokyo office, where I've been working for the past 2 years, so I do have international experience and exposure to global stakeholders.

Outside of work, I volunteer as a freelance consultant for an NGO back home, helping them secure international grants and design vocational tech courses.

My post MBA goal is to pivot into strategy consulting in the US.

One thing I'm unsure about: I was diagnosed with ADHD during university and have been on medication since. Is this something worth mentioning in the optional essay to explain the GPA, or would it be better not to bring it up at all?

Would appreciate any thoughts on:

Whether M7 is a realistic target

How much my GPA hurts relative to the GRE

Whether the international transfer to Japan adds meaningful value

Whether mentioning ADHD is advisable

4
August 11, 2026 3:59pm ET
Applying: Columbia Business School, Harvard Business School, MIT Sloan, Penn / Wharton
Intake Year: 2027
Pre-MBA Career: SWE
Post MBA Career: Finance, Asset Management, Private Equity
GRE: 330
GPA: 3.4
Years of Work Experience: 7
Location: NYC
Post MBA Location: CA or East Coast
Notes:

7 years of SWE at Big Tech
US undergrad with CS & Math major at Top 10 schools
330 (162 V, 168 Q)

Asian Female. Worked and lived in Asia, US, and London. I have various startup experiences (from internship and my side project).

Short-term: I want to pivot into PE or Infrastructure funds on tech/energy.

Long-term: I have family business on energy and power plants in Asia, which I want to expand into investment and operating platform on energy with technology.

Questions:
- I am thinking these 4 schools as round 1 (or maybe 1 more) and thinking part-time as round 2. Any change of programs/additional school recommendation?
- I know this is rather a hard career pivot and because I don't have previous experience on my family business nor finance, it is hard to weave in or show adcoms that I am serious. Thinking about previous startup experiences as the way to connect the dots. Any preference or advices on candidates for family business but without the family business background?

15
August 11, 2026 10:05am ET
Applying: Carnegie Mellon / Tepper, Columbia Business School, Dartmouth / Tuck, Duke / Fuqua, Emory / Goizueta, Michigan / Ross, Ohio State / Fisher, Rice / Jones, UCLA Anderson, UNC Kenan-Flagler, USC / Marshall, UT Austin / McCombs, UVA / Darden, Vanderbilt / Owen, Yale SOM
Intake Year: 2028
Pre-MBA Career: Attorney
Post MBA Career: Energy, Management Consulting, Marketing, Professional Services, Law Firms, Undecided
GPA: 2.5
Years of Work Experience: 5
Location: Louisiana
Post MBA Location: Anywhere
Notes:

I am a judge advocate in the military, and will have 4 years in as a CPT when I would matriculate. I have worked in administrative law, trial counsel as a prosecutor, and a special assistant fed prosecutor, and now I work on large complex events in charge of the legal side. My undergrad and law school GPA are 2.5 my law school curve was a C. My undergrad degree was poli sci. I held local elected office while I was going to school and worked full time/raised a family with my wife. I am trying to build a realistic gameplan and expectations to maximize my outcomes. I am location agnostic. I am currently studying with TTP about 30 hours a week, and taking the GRE in mid December. I took a diagnostic without practice and got a 313 162V 151Q. I am heavily studying the quant sections to boost those numbers.

MBA Livewire

August 8, 2026 11:54am ET
Rejected at MIT Sloan
Round: Round 2
Received via portal on February 23, 2026
Standardized Test: GMAT
GPA: 3.2
GMAT: 645
Program Type: Traditional Two-Year
Post MBA Career: Technology
Application Location: South Africa
Juno Member: Not yet
August 6, 2026 11:42pm ET
Accepted from Waitlist to Northwestern / Kellogg
Round: Round 1
Received via phone on June 30, 2026
Standardized Test: GRE
GPA: 3.65
GRE: 322
Program Type: Traditional Two-Year
Post MBA Career: Healthcare
Application Location: Northeast, USA
Note:

Accepted with $80k scholarship

Juno Member: Not yet
August 6, 2026 7:27pm ET
Rejected from Waitlist at Stanford GSB
Round: Round 2
Received via email August 6, 2026
Standardized Test: GRE
GRE: 321
Program Type: Traditional Two-Year
Juno Member: Not yet
July 30, 2026 6:48pm ET
Applied to Penn / Wharton
Round: Round 1
Received via email
Standardized Test: GRE
GPA: 3.39
GRE: 327
Program Type: Traditional Two-Year
Post MBA Career: Bain, PWC Strategy&, Oliver Wyman, McKinsey, LEK Consulting, Kearney, BCG, Consulting
Application Location: United States, Chicago
Juno Member: Not yet
July 30, 2026 6:46pm ET
Applied to Columbia Business School
Round: Round 1
Received via portal
Standardized Test: GRE
GPA: 3.39
GRE: 327
Program Type: Traditional Two-Year
Post MBA Career: Bain, BCG, LEK Consulting, McKinsey, Oliver Wyman, PWC Strategy&, Consulting
Application Location: United States, Chicago
Juno Member: Not yet

MBA DecisionWire

UT
June 28, 2026 7:54pm ET
Enrolled: UT Austin / McCombs
Admitted: UT Austin / McCombs $
$10,000
Applied: UT Austin / McCombs
GPA: 3.05
Location: Dallas, Tx
Juno Member: Yes
NYU
June 27, 2026 5:05am ET
Enrolled: NYU Stern
Admitted: Cornell / Johnson $
$70000
,
Michigan / Ross , NYU Stern , Rochester / Simon $
$130000
,
UVA / Darden $
$30000
Applied: Cornell / Johnson, Michigan / Ross, NYU Stern, Rochester / Simon, UVA / Darden
GPA: 3.6
Juno Member: Yes
UVA
June 25, 2026 7:04am ET
Enrolled: UVA / Darden
Admitted: Carnegie Mellon / Tepper $
$40000
,
Cornell / Johnson , Georgetown / McDonough , UCLA Anderson , UVA / Darden $
$40000
Applied: Harvard Business School, UVA / Darden, UCLA Anderson, Stanford GSB, Penn / Wharton, Northwestern / Kellogg, MIT Sloan, Georgetown / McDonough, Cornell / Johnson, Columbia Business School, Chicago Booth, Carnegie Mellon / Tepper, Berkeley / Haas
Entering Year: Other
GMAT: 675
GPA: 3.75
Location: USA
Juno Member: Not yet
Notes:

Deferred Enrollment. Kind of rushed the application process, curious if that could have contributed to my M7 results or if it was test score or my overrepresented profile.

Em
June 17, 2026 10:49am ET
Enrolled: Emory / Goizueta
Admitted: Carnegie Mellon / Tepper $
$65,000
,
Emory / Goizueta $
$125,000
Applied: Carnegie Mellon / Tepper, Emory / Goizueta, Michigan / Ross, Northwestern / Kellogg, UT Austin / McCombs, Berkeley / Haas
GMAT: 705
GPA: 3.1
Location: India
Juno Member: Yes

Prepare

Clear Admit resources covering the MBA admissions world and popular career paths.

Apply

General and school-specific information and advice for each aspect of your MBA application.

Watch Admissions Academy videos!

Get expert guidance on applying for your MBA with our step-by-step approach.

Each episode features a concise 9-minute video, detailed lesson notes, and references to the book, “Becoming a Clear Admit: The Definitive Guide to MBA Admissions.”

More videos!