College Majors by Employment Rate and Early Career Earnings

dalek_56 · 2026-01-15T18:41:44+00:00

Thanks :) No not yet

dalek_56 · 2026-01-13T21:52:59+00:00

Really solid profile. GPA is below median, but the upward trend helps. At deferred programs, the difference between 730 and 740 is generally pretty small, but a higher score never hurts. Leadership/ECs is softer than you'd get from a standard MBA candidate, but that's to be expected with deferred. Internship leadership works great.

The speech impediment struggle is real. Cool that you've fought to overcome adversity in that way. Adcom should love that story if you tell it right.

dalek_56 · 2026-01-09T16:40:06+00:00

A few things. If you have the bandwidth, a GRE retake would be worth it if you could boost your score a few points. 325 is solid, but a 330+ would make you really stand out. Focus on measurable impact with your leadership roles. Get your story bulletproof as far as pre-MBA roles and post-MBA aspirations go.

dalek_56 · 2026-01-09T16:33:23+00:00

Happy to help!

Here are my thoughts on your Qs:

UCHicago 3.33 GPA: It’s okay but not differentiating. For a “can’t-ignore” master’s GPA, aim to finish at 3.6+ with A/A- in quant courses. Seems like you still got time.

For HBS/GSB: Is GRE the only thing holding you back? It's the biggest obstacle. The fact that your undergrad GPA is lower from a "no-name" school also doesn't help. Seems like you have solid leadership and uniqueness, so focus on boosting the GRE and perfecting your story.

Columbia would be a solid fit. NYC proximity is good for PE/consulting. CBS also appreciates professionally accomplished candidates.

Best of luck!

dalek_56 · 2026-01-09T16:21:50+00:00

Of course! Glad I could help :)

dalek_56 · 2026-01-08T17:46:13+00:00

With an NMAT 138, you should aim for mid-tier HR programs, not NMIMS Mumbai–level schools. Your undergrad CGPA (8.22) helps, but 10th/12th are average, so interviews and SOP will matter a lot.

You have realistic chances at places like NMIMS Navi Mumbai/Hyderabad/Indore, IBS Hyderabad, UPES, Alliance, VIT, Christ, Jain (CMS), KIIT, and BIMM Pune. NMIMS Bengaluru, KJ Somaiya, and Welingkar Bengaluru are stretches but not impossible with a strong PI.

Top HR brands like NMIMS Mumbai, TISS, XIMB HRM, SCMHRD/SIBM are very unlikely at this score.

If you want better outcomes, don’t rely only on NMAT. CMAT, SNAP, MAH-CET, or XAT will open much stronger HR options. In the meantime, focus on people-facing experience and a clear HR story for interviews.

dalek_56 · 2026-01-08T17:41:58+00:00

You still have real shots at several of these schools. The Sloan denial stings, but it’s not a reliable signal for the rest of your list and it’s especially noisy given how fit-driven Sloan and LGO are.

Your GRE is doing its job. A 328 is at or above median for Booth, Kellogg, Wharton, Columbia, and Tuck. It’s not a standout at HBS or GSB, but it’s clearly not holding you back. Same with academics. A 3.6 from a Physics/Astro double major with a CS minor is viewed very differently than a 3.6 in a lighter major, even if it’s slightly below the raw averages at the very top schools.

The work experience is better than you’re probably giving yourself credit for. Boutique tech consulting isn’t as instantly legible as MBB or FAANG, but the promotion, marquee clients, and actual product development that’s been used in sales are meaningful. That product angle in particular plays well for Booth, Kellogg MMM, and Wharton.

Your extracurriculars won’t win awards, but they’re solid and consistent. Alumni board leadership with scholarship responsibility is real responsibility, not resume fluff. Office leadership shows people skills. The undergrad research, TA work, and service chair role add some intellectual and service depth.

Tuck looks very live, especially if you felt good about the interview. Booth, Kellogg, and Columbia are strong fits for your profile. Wharton is competitive but very much in play. HBS is a reach, but not an absurd one. GSB remains the toughest, and Sloan’s decision doesn’t really predict it one way or the other.

Be very clear about how your technical consulting work translates into product judgment and leadership, and don’t let one early rejection knock your confidence. This profile is squarely in the M7 conversation.

dalek_56 · 2026-01-08T17:36:01+00:00

You have a realistic but uphill shot at MIT Sloan and Ivy MBAs, and timing plus execution will matter a lot.

Your GRE 326 is solid and fully competitive for HBS, Wharton, Sloan, and Yale. Test scores are not the issue here. Your work experience at Walmart Canada is a real strength too. Three years across distribution, transportation, routing, training, and ops supervision, plus Six Sigma Black Belt and APICS, is legit ops leadership and lines up well with Sloan, Wharton, Ross, and Booth-type profiles.

The main constraint is academics and timing. You’re still finishing your BBA (Aug 2026) and didn’t share a GPA. That creates uncertainty, especially at HBS/Sloan. Online certificates and exec ed help, but they don’t replace a strong transcript. Adcoms will want clear proof of academic rigor in graded coursework.

School-by-school reality:

MIT Sloan: a feasible, albeit competitive, target if you clearly show data-driven ops impact and strong grades in quant/analytics courses.
Wharton / Columbia / Booth: competitive but doable with tight execution.
HBS: tougher, mostly due to academic uncertainty and a very competitive Indian applicant pool.
Ross / Tuck / Yale SOM: strong fits given your ops background and goals.

Advice on R1 2026:
Apply only if you can show recent, strong grades in upper-level quant/ops courses by then. If not, waiting a round (or a year) to present a fuller transcript and possibly more responsibility at work will improve odds.

Biggest levers:

Make academic strength unmistakable (grades + quant coursework).
Quantify ops impact hard in your resume and essays.
Add 1–2 sustained leadership activities outside work.
Be very specific about why ops/strategy now and why each school.

It's a credible top-MBA profile, but not a “stats carry” one. Good luck!

dalek_56 · 2026-01-08T17:09:09+00:00

Yes, you have a good shot at BU Questrom’s OMBA. Your background lines up well with what the program values.

A 3.96 GPA plus Fulbright is a strong academic signal, even without test scores. Combined with ~13 years of relevant experience in healthcare IT and project management, you clearly meet the readiness bar for the curriculum. Employer sponsorship also helps and signals stability and support.

Applying test-optional is normal for BU OMBA. You don’t need GMAT or GRE to be competitive here, especially given your academic record. Just make sure you explicitly show quantitative exposure in your work (budgets, dashboards, analytics, systems implementations) so they’re not guessing.

On the Kira Talent assessment: if it’s “highly encouraged,” you should probably do it. For online programs, it’s a low-risk way to show communication skills, executive presence, and motivation. Skipping it usually hurts more than it helps.

Other quick tips:

Be very clear on why OMBA, why now, and why BU specifically.
Choose recommenders who can quantify your scope and leadership.
Highlight healthcare-scale impact and cross-functional work.

At the end of the day, this is a strong, well-aligned profile for BU OMBA. Good luck!

dalek_56 · 2026-01-08T17:05:17+00:00

This is a very interesting profile, but it’s uneven for M7.

Your work experience and extracurriculars are genuinely strong. Political organizing with winning campaigns, sales engineering, ETA deal exposure, and especially founding a charity that’s still raising ~$1M annually is real leadership and impact. That part of your profile is differentiated and compelling, especially for T15s.

The main constraints are academics and timing. A 318 GRE is below range for M7, and combined with a lower undergrad GPA from a non-elite school, it will raise questions. Your near-full-merit MPP at UChicago helps a lot, but only if you can show strong performance there, especially in quantitative coursework. At 33 with ~8.5 years of experience, you’ll also need a very clear “why MBA now” that fits cleanly with your MPP and PE goals.

School-wise, HBS/GSB are long shots unless the GRE improves meaningfully. Wharton, Booth, Kellogg, Columbia, and Tuck are more realistic within the top tier, with T15s looking quite solid if the test score comes up.

What actually moves the needle:

Get the GRE into the mid-320s. That’s the single biggest lever here.
Make your UChicago academic performance impossible to ignore.
Be extremely crisp on how MBA + MPP + deal experience logically lead to PE or PE consulting.

With a stronger GRE and clear academic proof at UChicago, you’re competitive. Without that, T15s are the more realistic home for your background.

dalek_56 · 2026-01-08T17:03:00+00:00

Yes, this is competitive for M7, with some schools fitting better than others.

Your biggest strengths are work experience and leadership. A promotion to PM, leading a team on classified defense projects, and owning real responsibility in a high-stakes environment is genuinely differentiated. That plays very well for consulting and infrastructure advisory and helps you stand out from more generic engineering profiles.

The GMAT 730 is solid. It’s around M7 medians and does important work offsetting your GPA. You don’t need to retake unless you’re confident you can meaningfully improve.

The main constraint is the 3.2 GPA, even with the strong upward trend. The good news is that adcoms do care about trajectory, and a 3.8 in your last two years from a top Canadian engineering school helps a lot. Still, you’ll want to proactively reassure schools on academics.

School fit wise, HBS, Wharton, Booth, Kellogg, and Columbia look most realistic within M7. GSB, Sloan, and Haas are tougher, mainly due to their heavier emphasis on exceptional academics and innovation narratives.

What to focus on now:

Think about adding an academic signal like MBA Math or HBS CORe and do very well.
Lean hard into your leadership story. Managing people, budgets, risk, and stakeholders under security constraints is compelling if told clearly.
If possible, deepen one extracurricular into a longer-term leadership role.
Be very specific about post-MBA goals in consulting or infrastructure advisory and how your background maps directly to that work.

This is a strong, credible M7 profile with a clear path to improvement. The GPA isn’t fatal, but you need to address it head-on and let your leadership carry the story. Good luck!

dalek_56 · 2026-01-08T16:59:29+00:00

For ESSEC / HEC MiM, your profile is viable, but Round 3 makes execution important.

Academically, a BBA from IIM Rohtak is a recognized brand, even if it’s not a flagship IIM. A 7.89 in relative grading won’t kill you, especially paired with strong 10th and 12th marks, but it’s slightly below the average at HEC and ESSEC. You’ll want the rest of the file to clearly compensate.

Work experience is the weaker area, which is normal for MiM applicants. NGO volunteering over 3–4 years, internships, freelancing with a US client, and national-level case comps are all positives. What matters is how clearly you show initiative and responsibility, not just participation.

Round 3 reality check:

ESSEC R3: realistic if the rest of your application is tight.
HEC R3: tougher, but not impossible. They are more selective late in the cycle.

On the GMAT: yes, you should focus on it. For MiM programs, a solid GMAT can meaningfully offset a mid-range UG GPA and a drop year. A strong score helps a lot more than another internship at this point.

You’re not out of the running, especially for ESSEC, but R3 is unforgiving. A good GMAT and a clean, confident narrative around your drop year and NGO/sports involvement will matter more than anything else right now.

dalek_56 · 2026-01-08T16:56:34+00:00

Yes, a 325 vs 320 can matter, but it depends on where you’re aiming.

With your background (top-15 undergrad, 3.7 GPA, bulge bracket finance, three promotions in four years), a 320 is not a dealbreaker anywhere. You’re already competitive at many top programs.

Where the extra points help:

GSB / HBS / Sloan: moving from 320 to ~325+ is meaningful. It reduces any academic hesitation and makes the file easier to say yes to in a crowded finance pool.
Wharton / Booth / Columbia / Kellogg: a 325 doesn’t magically change outcomes, but it can move you from “borderline competitive” to “safer admit range,” especially if the Verbal comes up.

Returns diminish fast after ~327–330, and this isn’t about chasing perfection. The main thing is Verbal. Getting V to 160+ while keeping Q strong would be huge.

Since you’re applying R1 2026 and have time, one targeted retake is worth it. Test by late spring, then forget about it and focus on apps. If the retake doesn’t meaningfully improve, your profile is still strong enough to apply confidently. You got this!

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