I was a first year at an M7 and dropped out last week and wanted to share my experience. I moved cross country to attend my program in August. Unfortunately, decided to drop out due to several reasons.

1) The students at my program just did not have the incredible backgrounds that I thought they'd have. There were probably less than 30 students who were in IB, MBB, or Big Tech in the US before the program. For those who were, a few actually dropped out with me because they came to the same realization that I did - the program isn't really meant for us because most students wanted to end up in those roles. I would argue that at HSW a lot more students came from these backgrounds, though, and were using the MBA as a 2 year break.

2) The students honestly just were not that ambitious or smart. There was definitely a lot of diversity in backgrounds but in the classroom, I was surprised how many students did not understand basic math (percent change, expected value, etc).

3) The student body was pretty cliquey. The program was big enough that you'll likely find your people if you're willing to put yourself out there, but people definitely form their groups in the first few weeks and stick with them. There was a post about this yesterday on here from a CBS student and I definitely felt the same about my program. It just felt incredibly performative and did not feel like I was making "life-long" friends/network. It mostly felt like a popularity contest.

4) Recruiting was not very strong this year. A lot more students wanted to do IB this year for the same number of spots as as last year, and a lot more people were getting cut. Obviously, recruiting is still going on so I cannot speak to final numbers but I didn't feel the opportunities were there even outside of banking.

5) A big chunk of students are sponsored in some way. Whether by employer, GI bill, parents, a big percentage of students are having their MBA paid for. This is not something I realized going into the program and made it feel less "worth it" for me, since I was self-funded.

The point of this post is not to convince anyone not to go to an MBA program - I don't think someone's internet post should be able to do that. Additionally, I think there are plenty of reasons to go to an MBA program i.e. get a job in the US (obviously, much harder now for internationals), pivot careers, etc. but if you're already pretty successful in your career, the MBA might not be right for you (HSW could make more sense?).

Beyond the admissions marketing, what does each M7 school seem to care about most in each candidate?

The stereotypes I’ve heard are

Kellogg = cultural fit/collaboration

Booth = quant/intellectual curiosity

HBS = leadership/personal story

MIT Sloan = “mind and hand,” or turning ideas into action.

How accurate are these? What would the equivalents be for Stanford, Wharton, and Columbia?

Obviously admissions are holistic, but are there qualities each school places noticeably more weight on? Curious to hear concrete examples beyond admissions marketing.

Hi everyone!

Just wanted to see if anyone has completed the Chicago Booth video simulation for this application cycle.

Would love to hear how it’s setup, what questions were asked, and if the questions are the same for everyone.

Thanks in advance!

What kind of person, not on a resume/piece of paper, would score better on the Executive Assessment? I was never the solid standardized test taker but from what I’ve heard the format is much different?

Saw a lot of mba interview invite reporting on ClearAdmit. Quite nervous.

Are most invites out already?

Has anyone received an email from Sloan for an interview yet?

Started this process early this year. Spent a few months on GMAT, then summer in networking and writing essays. Now gotta prep for interviews and other side quests like Video Questions. Then have to debate about R2, and if lucky get admission and then figure how to pack my life in one city and move to the next.

Been over 9-10 months juggling MBA work with a full time job and life. Feeling quite burnt out. Although grateful for the invites. Sometimes I question if all this work is worth it reading the negative discourse about the MBA (even M7)

Any tips on how to remain motivated and productive in what feels like a never ending process.

Comment time and country when you start receiving calls from darden for Early Action Results. Include scholarship details if any.

Anyone applying to Fuqua EMBA? How was the process and interviews ?

Of course, you can argue that good materials are timeless.

But if we are paying big bucks for education, shouldn't we expect access to state-of-the-art materials?

Just visited SOM, recruiting seems bad, students seem very immature, almost like college seniors

Felt very undergrad experience or some social work school. did not feel MBA school to me

visited booth, kellogg, duke and tuck - all very different - many ex MBB and highly professional

Im an electrical engineer in Spain(23M), is it worth it to do an MBA to work in spain? Or just grew in the engineering sector? I do like finance/business but i also do like engineering as work. Any advise from europe would be cool, thanks.

Just curious for all M7, what’s the weight for M7 interviews? Are interviews make it or break it? Have seen some reports online for people who nailed interview but still got dinged, so just curious how do admission committee decides who gets in and how important is interview for each school? Thank you!!

And any tips for post-interview spiraling 😭

For those who landed a full ride or a large scholarship at a T15 like Stern or Darden: what got you there?

Was it a high GMAT, a strong GPA, or something else entirely, like your work experience, a unique story, or a great interview?

Trying to figure out how much stats really drive merit money vs. the overall quality of the application.

Would love to hear your profile if you're willing to share!

I’ve been experimenting around with AI for my Stanford GSB essay, mostly to sort through my notes and clean up awkward sentences. Some of the edits sound nothing like how I’d actually talk. Everything starts sounding polished in the same boring way, and I’m having a hard time figuring out what to keep and what to ignore.

For those who wrote your essays yourself, did you ever get stuck on this? I'm also curious how people who get feedback from a consultant handled it without letting someone else's voice take over.

For anyone who interviewed this cycle or last, how was it overall? What questions came up beyond the usual tell me about yourself, why MBA, why Johnson, goals? Did they push back on your answers or stay conversational? Anything you wish you’d prepared for, and anything Ithaca or Immersion specific they asked?

Only 2 invites and no update on the application. Reading subs seeing people getting invites is freaking me out. Got an unusual invite in just 18 days, post submission. Has Wharton rolled out invites yet?. Is me being an international applicant causing delay?

How realistic is it for an international student to land a sustainability strategy or operations role after MBA at Said BS or even at a consultancy?

Anyone who pursued this path, please share your experience.

I'm an international student at SBU. Planning to get into MBA, not sure if top universities are going to accept me or I'll be able to cover the expenses. GPA is not an issue.

Hence I'm asking for a list of 15-20, maybe more, public universities that are good for MBA. Nothing more, I will do the research later

Please refrain from saying stuff like "MBA is worth only from top 10", just ignore the post if you can't provide a list.

Looking to pivot into venture capital using my MBA. Currently at a Top 15 have a 4 YOE in consulting and startups. How tough is the pivot? Ik it’s relationship based for full time roles afterwards, but curious of how technical the role is? Also, any firms that typically recruit MBA’s for internships that would be good reach out too? Additionally looking for folks without private equity/finance experience that got within the space. For context, I have been networking and having extensive coffee chats with associates and LP’s with pre-seed to series C firms too, just wanted a pulse check within the broader community.

Are MBA college placement advertisements misleading students?

I've noticed that many B-schools highlight their highest packages, but students rarely discuss the median salary, batch size, or actual roles offered.

Imagine paying ₹18–20 lakh for an MBA and receiving a job offer of ₹6–7 LPA.

My question: What should students check before choosing a B-school?

Average and median packages

Placement percentage

Companies and job profiles

Total fees and living expenses

Alumni feedback

Which factor matters most to you?