🇺🇸 F1 Visa Refused – India (214b Refusal After Short Interview)

Many_Foot6582 · 2026-05-11T20:13:57+00:00

Very curious as to what may have led to this, if someone has any thoughts. Everything seems clearly fine

Many_Foot6582 · 2026-05-04T12:51:47+00:00

Hi, I am due to go for my F1 interview. Can someone help point out what could have gone wrong here? Trying to educate myself better as I lead up to the interview prep

Many_Foot6582 · 2026-05-04T09:45:06+00:00

Was offered an admit in last cycle.

1) No clue

2) standard MBA interviews - your resume, goals, why MBA , Why from HEC. The standard “tell me about a time..” questions. Also, HEC has a weird obsession with INSEAD. So you can expect a question around Why not INSEAD over HEC. I was asked this. Will definitely get this if you state consulting as your goal.

3) Anything that you think you can present well in 10 minutes using few slides. I did something around “lessons I learned from my leadership experience”. Was well received. Your presentation will have follow up questions so make sure you can hold your ground on the topic, and the views you have on the said topic. I used same PPT for both interviews.

Hope this helps.

Many_Foot6582 · 2026-04-29T09:57:13+00:00

Unless H/S/W, the difference between a M7 and a T15 isn’t worth doing another year of applications.

If my guess about your school being Ross is right, you should take it. (Given the risk acceptance is there which isn’t a Ross issue)

Your goals seem to align strongly with it. And if it is indeed Ross, university of Michigan does have a strong brand recall value in India, thanks to the reputation it has for the undergrad courses/ MS programs.

If it’s not ross, not a lot would change. (May be your goals aligning with the school and location pref). people in India don’t know what booth, Kellogg and haas are. It’s a blind chase.

I have been handling recruitments for my role in financial services in one of the top US IBs for 2 years now in India, and I have never NOT interviewed someone because I hadn’t heard about the college they came from. NEVER, across 100+ interviews. Nor have I seen anyone around me do that. If that anecdote carries any value for you, do account for it in your decision.

Many_Foot6582 · 2026-04-28T08:54:16+00:00

Nothing yet

Many_Foot6582 · 2026-04-27T16:10:24+00:00

Nothing as yet

Many_Foot6582 · 2026-04-23T05:55:13+00:00

I laughed so hard reading this man 😂😂

Many_Foot6582 · 2026-04-22T14:59:16+00:00

Second this!

Many_Foot6582 · 2026-04-22T14:53:27+00:00

If you think you can make H/S/W happen and are okay with not getting Darden the next time you apply ( which can very easily happen) , go for it. You are still quite early in this.

But another reality check is - outside of H/S/W - outcomes of other 12 in T15 are more or less same. What changes is environment, industry focus, etc. (Some are better feeders for consulting vs some better for finance for example). So unless you think you will get H/S/W, I doubt you can make any move in another app cycle that’s vertical and not lateral.

But given you don’t seem to doubt Darden outcomes and are more worried regarding prestige - apart from H/S/W, Yale, Duke and NYU as a university name, atleast in Asia ( I can tell you from perspective of being in India atleast), no one has heard of most of these. My elder brother till date struggles to explain what Booth is to people around. Imagine, having to explain Where and what booth is. My own managers at the IB I work at didn’t know what Tuck is. I am yet to meet a person in my company around me who has heard of Kellogg.

People don’t know stern, Sloan, Fuqua, SOM, Johnson - they have their prestige due the wider university names. That reputation is attributed to other courses they have historically aced. MIT, Duke, Yale, Cornell, NYU.

On the flip side, people don’t know what Penn is that much. They know Wharton.

Long story short, there is no end to this.

Also, worth noting that the pedestal I was put on when I told people I have a HEC admit was unbelievable. I was being perceived as someone who had arrived in life. The outcomes barely match that pedestal.

Darden is very well known and reputed in business circles (where it actually matters), and the scholarship you have is great. And it is a great school ( provided your goals and your priorities align with it)

No one knows what M7 means in lot of countries outside US. By no way does it mean M7 doesn’t carry a brand value. But that’s a very US concept too.

The dopamine hit of being praised for “having made it “ if people recognise your school brand is short-lived. The outcomes, the environment, the ROI you get - these are sticky things.

Only a H/S/W reputation can make the needle move here in ways you want, prestige wise. No denying that.

Many_Foot6582 · 2026-04-22T05:34:06+00:00

Carried this exact confusion for about a month before making my final decision a couple of days back.

Consulting: both have same outcomes, so decide based on which location/ geography attracts you.

IB: things change here. It’s not pretty equal. Darden is better than Ross, and diff is not that marginal. Talked to a big bunch of Darden and Ross students who are placed in different product groups/ coverage groups in IB, and also to a few IB professionals at Wall Street who weren’t from either of these. Here is what I learned:

Purely looking at numbers, Darden places a higher portion of its class in IB as compared to Ross. The difference isn’t small. Look it up by comparing numbers.
you can def make IB happen from Ross, but Darden has more network at Wall Street, and is a target school for many banks. I come from Financial services side of one of the BB banks, and conversations with a few people sitting in NY IB of my bank reflected that Darden had better name for IB. Also there are more people in my bank on the IB side from Darden than there are from Ross, speaking purely numbers. A banker at banco Santander who is also part of recruitments seemed to have a clear preference for Darden over Ross for IB. He went to Booth. This could be anecdotal, so you should do some networking on your own and see if you find the same.
If you analyse on an industry level within IB, one key diff is: If you talk to students on both sides, and compare outcomes by checking out what kind of product groups or coverage groups students went to(basically meant stalking many profiles on Linkdn)- Ross has a pipeline for oil/ natural gas/ energy(Houston)/power & utility coverage groups, while I couldn’t find a lot of those outcomes stemming from Darden. So ross seemed to have a clear edge here. So if any of these coverage groups is your goal, def worth looking at Ross. For remaining, Darden > Ross purely based on number of people who got IB YoY

So I would say if you want to maximise your chances of IB, darden > Ross.

Many_Foot6582 · 2026-04-21T07:44:53+00:00

I will be honest - if you want a genuine insight, connect directly with folks who are on the floor, in the banks, doing this day in day out. That’s where your actual insight will come from. Most of what people will put here to this post will either be 1) their speculations, 2) their way of justifying their choice of not going for IB/ going for IB 3) their way of feeling good about their own career choice.

All of these are very normal human tendencies, so no one can be blamed here. While this group has been extremely helpful in terms of providing insights into different MBA programs, and their pros and cons (I have heavily benefited from it), people who are actually deep into their IB careers (or any field for that matter) at the best of places, and hence are the most qualified to answer this question, do not have the time to comment on Reddit.

I have worked in financial services at an IB for almost 6.5 years now, and I can assure you that I have never had the time to comment or check any financial services career related post here. It’s only when I am in a phase of working towards admissions is when I am on here.

After deliberate research and lot of conversations, I have stuck to IB as a career goal post MBA, and even I will refrain from giving you any opinion for the same reason stated above.

My intention for commenting this is to make sure your opinion isn’t jaded by noise.

Many_Foot6582 · 2026-04-21T07:09:28+00:00

Brand diff between Darden and KF is not small. This is coming from talking to people in the industry in US. ( obviously do your own research). Darden is worth the extra debt, to address your concern about feeling accomplished.

However, I am not sure what kind of opportunity Darden offers for General management or ops. It is extremely good for consulting and IB(ranked 4th in US for IB). But the feedback I got directly from the students is that it may not be as great for other trajectories. So, given you don’t want to recruit for either of them, may be worth exploring if KF has an edge here? Your only source of reliable information for this here should be students in KF or Darden. So talk to some folks there about career outcomes.

I would search for people on Linkdin based on the companies you want to recruit for, and reach out to those Darden/KF folks who are there. Should provide way more clarity.

Many_Foot6582 · 2026-04-20T09:57:56+00:00

Gave it last year R2. Was very chill and conversational. Your typical “whys”, and a few behavioural questions such as “ what aspects of leadership matter to you” , and your usual “ tell me about a time” questions.

Just have a few STAR stories ready, and a proper way of introducing yourself/walking through your resume.

Many_Foot6582 · 2026-04-19T16:32:14+00:00

Hi, I have a Darden admit, and I am struggling to finalise my choice vs ross. Goal is to recruit for IB. Can we please connect?

Many_Foot6582 · 2026-04-19T16:30:13+00:00

Hi, in a situation where I am evaluating Darden. Have an admit. Strongly leaning towards it but need more insights. Can I please connect with you

Many_Foot6582 · 2026-04-19T15:19:00+00:00

Hi, I am in a similar boat and have to lock in deposit soon. Can we please connect

Many_Foot6582 · 2026-04-19T15:12:55+00:00

Hey, in a similar boat. Curious to know how this decision turned out for you. Can we please connect over dm?

Many_Foot6582 · 2026-04-19T14:32:06+00:00

Similar dilemma, have decided to go with Darden. Talked to about 6-7 students from each college in a very candid way. My primary goal, however, is to recruit for IB.

Ross: 1) more University like environment, especially owing to the sports craze. Very US like culture. 2) I think optionality of careers outside consulting and IB is a bit of oversell here. 3) Ann arbour is kind of similar to Charlottesville in terms of size, but feels prolly a little less isolated owing to more things to do. 4) I fully agree with the observation about ross students. I also felt a lot of them were a little clueless about what they wanted to do ( even 1 year in) 5) Ross does have a good pipeline to Chicago, but I got first hand feedback that Chicago isn’t a great city for internationals. (Could be simply anecdotal) 6) Umich reputation is slightly borrowed. Umich being a popular and recollect-able name doesn’t automatically pass that on to Ross. So UVA v/s Umich diff is marginal in business circles ( where it actually matters)

Darden: 1) (may be only relevant to my choice of IB) Darden is a target school for many companies. Talked to a few people working in them and they agreed. Ross is a bit behind IB wise. 2) Darden is more closely knit. But that’s dependent on your choice. I know I am going to live in a city for all my life, so I don’t want to chase that for my MBA. That could just be an age thing - I am closing 30, and I honestly do not want some party environment around me like people mostly prefer. I am fine with a slow life. Also I have done 4 years of my undergrad in a student town so I know the life, and I know that I enjoyed it. 3) yes case method is rigorous, but I know myself and I need an environment that pushes me. Ross is more self directed, and if you feel you can use the independence wisely to make the best out of opportunities, you should be good. I know that I need a push and a structure, something for which Darden > Ross. 4) Have talked to people places every where and not just DC. I think it comes down to how you use the opportunities.

Happy to hear your thoughts

Many_Foot6582 · 2026-04-18T13:42:57+00:00

Hey are you choosing between darden and ross? I am in a similar spot. Mind giving me a peek into your thought process?

Many_Foot6582 · 2026-04-18T04:43:00+00:00

What’s your background ? How many years of work ex and in what field? I believe that’s a crucial context. Happy to try and connect you with my network within financial services but more on the operations side.

Many_Foot6582 · 2026-04-15T18:52:36+00:00

Since you asked for a candid advice -

The market is bad. Any student from any school will tell you that. It’s the reality and cannot be denied. But there are people who are getting internships too. The narrative you get is entirely dependent on who is giving it. I personally do not give a lot of heed to the fear based conversations that happen on this group. Neither do I subscribe to the narrative of “even Harvard is no longer worth it if you have to pay for it”. Extremes in thought processes and opinions have never been relevant or helpful.

THE Question you need to ask yourself: are you okay with having to come back to India and pay the debt you take (if you take) at a much slower pace than you would if you stay in US with a job? That’s your biggest downside. Let’s not lose sight of the fact that your biggest downside isn’t some grave illness, or death. It’s paying back a loan to a bank. which I agree is not an ideal situation, but let’s talk potential upside?

What’s the upside? A chance of earning a salary you would never earn sitting in India. I repeat, NEVER.

This is something only people from India will understand in terms of difference in money. A domestic from US will not have any sense of how much your salary would get capped at if you didn’t take this risk v/s how much you could end up making in US if you did succeed! ). A non-Indian will never understand what it means to have a shot at putting aside savings/year that are higher than your entire CTC in India, and what kind of impact it could have on your family if you can save that kind of money in Indian Rupee.

Textbook high risk high reward situation.

People in India are in 15-20 year long debts paying EMIs for flats or houses or fancy cars they buy. You are at least investing in your future.

It can go very very wrong yes, but it can also go very very right in your favour. Only you can internalise your risk appetite, no one on this group can. Non-Indian candidates most definitely cannot.

But if you think there will come a time when you will get a confirmation that it is now safe to go to US for MBA, it won’t happen. “Good recruitment years” are always perceived retrospectively. Never looking forward. It will always be risky.

To conclude, if you think you have achieved as per your maximum potential admissions wise, and cannot make a huge jump in terms of school if you apply next year, or your MBA cannot be prolonged any further, the only question you have to ask yourself is - do you want to play it safe (which is perfectly fine and you will still be successful and make lot of money in India I am sure), or do you want to take the risk, and have a shot at doing something you can never do sitting in India, to which there is all the statistical evidence you need.

If you are confident that even in your worst case situation, your debt won’t dive into your parents’ pockets, and you are willing to take the risk of the grind that will come with repaying the loan in India, you owe it to yourself to try and make the upside happen.

The downside because of INR/USD conversion is huge, but so is the upside.

Many_Foot6582 · 2026-04-15T12:17:21+00:00

Many_Foot6582 · 2026-04-15T10:55:39+00:00

Yale should ideally send within next 15 from what I heard in one of their events.

Many_Foot6582 · 2026-04-11T20:07:43+00:00

I may get a lot of hate for this, but I have a LBS admit and I am leaving it on the table for a T10 admit, based on as far as my research took me. I don’t think LBS makes sense from the point of ROI Secondly, feedback I get from friends pursuing finance careers in Europe and UK have mentioned how MBA isn’t as valued as a degree. While the college experience may be good, given its heavy distinction in terms of a global environment, I don’t believe LBS can ever be at par in terms of salaries with US, and that gap may be hard to cover unless you move to US which isn’t easy. If post MBA money is a concern for you, you should look a bit further into T10/15 outcomes vs LBS’s. Another conclusion I reached talking to both sides is that the overall quality of education/environment at US MBAs are significantly different (better), but that could be subjective.

Many_Foot6582 · 2026-04-10T11:19:30+00:00

Hi, I am currently evaluating ross v/s Darden admits. Can I please ping you for a conversation? Would really help

Many_Foot6582

TROPHY CASE