Weekly Columns

Hey everyone! I'm thinking about applying to M7 deferred programs but would like to get a second opinion on my profile. What are my profile's strengths and weaknesses? Thank you for your help!

**Demographics:**
23M, First Gen Low-Income College, Immigrant, ORM, Serving in the Air Force

**Education:**

* (Ongoing) MS in Aerospace Engineering (4.0 GPA), focusing on Bioastronautics and Human Factors, from a state school with a T10 aerospace program. Currently taking classes online.
* (Ongoing) MS in Econ Analysis at a T5 econ program in Europe, focusing on international trade and development. Living in Europe right now.
* BS in Aerospace Engineering with a Business minor, 3.8 GPA. Same school as my MS.

**Test Scores:**
GMAT: 715 FE

**Work Experience:**

* **Space Start-Up:** Interned part-time for 9 months and full-time for 4 months. Worked on new in-space construction tech and frequently pitched to VCs.
* **T1 Space Company (think SpaceX/NASA):** Integration/Test Engineering Intern for two summers. Led cross-functional teams across sites, saving $15M+. Directed flight hardware tests, built dashboards/tools, and solved technical issues under tight timelines.
* **Mid-Sized Space Company:** Interned in spacecraft testing. Streamlined workflows and redesigned hardware, cutting testing timelines by 30%+.
* **US Air Force:** Lieutenant. Managed logistics for one of the biggest ROTC detachments, leading a team of 20+. Currently doing grad school while awaiting pilot training.

**Extracurriculars:**

* VP of a university aviation club for 3 years, organized flying events for 200+ students.
* Volunteer pilot for an animal rescue nonprofit. Flown 15k+ miles and rescued 30+ animals over 4 years.

**Post-MBA Goal:**
Start a company focused on human factors products—think astronaut peripherals or performance systems designed to enhance safety and effectiveness in extreme space environments.

**Why Deferred:**
I’m about to start Air Force flight training and will be flying for \~2.5 years before becoming a reservist. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and I’m super excited to go through it. I feel like I've done a lot so far, but I could fall behind of my peers in 2 to 3 years time because I'm going to be doing military stuff.

**Dream Schools:**
Sloan, GSB, and HBS, but open to other M7s.

Thank you again!

Post MBA I want to run my own health tech startup or join a health focused VC team.

Have a bit of a varied background. Italian-Ivorian but have been living in London since 2010. Went to the University of Oxford for undergrad where I studied history and politics. Have an international affairs masters degree from Sciences Po in Paris.

Started my career post grad school in innovation consulting (1year and a half) before a short stint at a VC firm in Amsterdam. Left that after 6 months because of culture to join a tech startup. Landed in an innovation role at a top Pharma co in London almost 2 years ago (in that role I focused on establishing partnerships with digital health players from startups and scale-ups to health systems).

I've always have done things on the side. Started a startup in 2018 with a bunch of former colleagues I had met in South Korea in 2016 - that folded in 2019; started another startup in 2020 - an edtech marketplace and closed that up in the same year. In 2022 I co-founded a non profit focused on supporting Africa-focused emerging fund managers as they raise their first investment vehicles - I run that on the side with my Co-Founders and we now have 2 employees. Played a key role in securing $259k in funding for the non profit.

Hello everyone. I'm a senior and going to apply for the Stanford, Harvard, and Wharton deferred admission programs next year. Would appreciate feedback from people here and what I should do to increase my chances

**Academic Background:**

Undergrad & major: Top Undergrad Business program @ Top State School (Think Ross/Mcintire/Mcdough/Haas level)

GPA: 3.9/4.0.

GMAT: 750

Race/nationality: Hispanic

Sex: M

**Work experience:**

\- Junior Intern & Going back full-time @ T2 Growth Equity Shop (Think Spectrum/Silversmith level)

\- Sophomore Intern @ MBB

\- T1 VC Spring Fellowship

\- 3 Consulting Projects @ different F100 Companies

\- Freshman Intern LMM @ Private Equity Shop

\- Venture Scourt @ Small VC Firm

\- Campus Growth for Series A Startup

\- Econ Research @ HYPSM

**Extracurricular:**

\-President of a large preprofessional URM organization (100+ members). Also did consulting projects for several F500 companies as part of the org.

\-Content creator (100k subs on all platforms doing career/undergrad related vlogs and podcasts)

**Future plans:**

\- Build out venture capital/entrepreneurship/tech companies in 3rd world country my family is from

\- Build out a creator economy tech company to connect the worldd

\- Build out student financing tool because of my background of being FGLI

**Goal of MBA/More info:**

\- PreMBA = Safety net to explore building or joining a renowned startup
\- During MBA = use as incubator to develop my own tech startup
\- Post MBA ideally startup becomes unicorn and I drop out but that's 99% not going to happen so go into early-stage investing at T1 VC or go to T1 GE shop

**Questions:**

Is growth equity a good differentiator compared to traditional roles like IB/Consulting

Really appreciate any advice, thank you!