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?

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?).

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

Are most invites out already?

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

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

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?

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!

Would you take an ₹18 lakh MBA or a ₹4 lakh MBA?

Let's consider two options:

🎓 College A

Total fees: ₹18 lakh

Average package: ₹10 LPA

🎓 College B

Total fees: ₹4 lakh

Average package: ₹6 LPA

Assume both colleges offer reasonable placements.

Would you take a loan for College A or choose College B and avoid financial pressure?

I'm interested in hearing from MBA graduates, especially those who have already started repaying their education loans.

I have a habit of downloading apps that promise to make my life easier. Productivity apps, habit trackers, budgeting apps ; you name it. Every time, I convince myself that this is the one that will finally help me get organised.

A few days ago, I downloaded a productivity app because I wanted to manage my daily tasks better. The interface looked clean, the features seemed impressive, and everything felt promising. I spent more time setting it up than actually using it.

And then… I forgot it existed. 💀

What’s funny is that I genuinely needed what the app was offering. But somehow, opening my notes app and writing a basic to-do list felt easier than using a product specifically designed for that purpose.

That got me thinking: How does an app with so many useful features end up feeling less useful than a simple alternative?

Maybe the problem wasn't the features. Maybe it was the extra effort, the unnecessary steps, or the fact that I had to change a habit just to use the app.

It also made me curious about the product management side of things. Companies spend so much time building features, improving interfaces and launching updates, but how much attention goes into understanding why users stop coming back?

Getting someone to download an app is one thing. Giving them a reason to open it again tomorrow is a completely different challenge.

Now I'm curious: what's that one app you downloaded with great expectations but abandoned after a day or two? And what made you stop using it?

Bonus question for anyone interested in product management: was it a bad product, or was it simply solving a problem that didn't need solving that way?

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?

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.

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.

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.

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

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?

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.

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.

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?

I have CBS interview with an Alum, should I keep anything in mind. Is the interview same with an alum or current student

A colleague of mine is considering running for U.S. Congress in a purple California district. The seat is currently held by an centrist Blue Dog Democrat, but progressives have won here before, and California's top-two primary system means a Dem vs Dem general election is possible.

His background is a finance / consulting track: Princeton undergrad, big tech corporate finance, HBS for his MBA, and he is now an early-40s partner at McKinsey pulling down $1M+ a year.

However, in terms of politics. he genuinely identifies as a progressive and social democrat. He's not anti-capitalist or DSA, but he likes the Scandinavian model of welfare capitalism.

He supports Medicare for All, higher taxes on top earners like himself, and strong public institutions. He aligns closely with politicians like Ro Khanna and Bernie Sanders. He has consistently maxed out donations to progressive primary challengers, organized phone banks, and volunteered for social causes for years.

He is wondering about the McKinsey optics. Even though he had nothing to do with the opoid crisis or propping up latin american authoritarianism, his client history includes work for oil and gas majors, alongside standard cost-cutting and workforce reduction engagements. While people bring up Pete Buttigieg, Pete was an entry-level analyst over fifteen years ago. My colleague is a senior partner who made a long career out of consulting.

He is trying to decide whether to launch a campaign directly from his current seat, or if he realistically needs to step down first to spend a couple of years running a nonprofit or doing civic work to build community credibility.

From a branding and career pivot standpoint, do you think voters would trust a candidate running on a working-class progressive platform straight out of an MBB partnership, or is the profile simply too contradictory to overcome without a transition role?

I’m done with my SIPs and would try my best to get a PPO but i can’t understand what should i do for the next few months, i want to continue improving myself. But there aren’t any consulting certifications…help me with this please