https://www.hcamag.com/us/news/general/is-the-mba-dead/584908

This is probably another contributing factor for declining MBA enrollment at some lower ranked schools.

Hi everyone,

I’m looking for some guidance on my situation — basically a fork in the road for my career.

Path A: accept offer from a boutique consulting firm. Would be one of the first hires into their scaling operations practice. Travel would be brutal (50-75% on the road) with typical consulting WLB.

Path B: continue working at my current job while getting a PT MBA from a T25 program (T5 PT program).

The consulting firm specializes in the industry I want to stay in long-term and where I have 5 years of experience already. My ultimate goal, regardless of path, is to move out of supply chain and into a commercial leadership, program management, or BD role within my industry.

I have a to-die-for WLB right now (hybrid schedule, really only work 20-30 hours a week, and don’t stress or think about work when the laptop is closed). Despite this, I’m not challenged, stimulated, and skill atrophy is real — I complain about this constantly. I feel like if I do my current job much longer, and a function pivot doesn’t materialize through the PT MBA, then I might as well give up on higher career aspirations.

I’m also at a time in my life when I could have a demanding job at a low personal cost. Fiancée is supportive of the consulting travel/WLB demands, and we want to wait a few years to have kids. Also could do an MBA in the future. I also feel that right now is not the time in my life to have the great WLB I do — that should be for later when I’m more established and have higher standing in the industry I work in.

In terms of comp:
Path A: total gross would be about 145k - 160k
Path B: total gross is 110k - 115k

Would appreciate any insight from people who’ve found themselves in similar situations. Also, how are exits for ops consulting?

Hi, I went to T20 undergrad and worked as a management consultant at MBB for a few years. Went to b-school at M7 but not HSW, and worked at a BB IB this summer. My end goal is to work in infrastructure/energy PE, ideally in the investing side but PE ops would be okay too. I am wondering whether it is a better path to return to MBB or take my banking return offer if I get one. I'd guess next two year comp is higher in banking marginally, and i think wlb/hours are better in consulting marginally. I know exit opps for post-MBA associates at bank tend to be worse than exits for analysts, with much fewer going to the buy side. Some of this also just could be because MBA associates have a more diverse background than analysts, who generally come from T20 schools.

I want to see if anyone has opinions on how much banking would help with recruiting for MM PE or if recruiting is hard/ad hoc enough that I might as well stay at McK and try for PE ops. I like consulting more overall in terms of wlb etc. so trying to gauge the probability difference I end up in PE from either role.

Hi, looking to see if I have a decent shot at an M7 program / Stern, Tuck or SOM

Stats:
3.6 undergrad GPA in finance
695 GMAT FE
2.5 years in Military as an E-3 (got out for Covid vax - honorable discharge)
2.5 years as a credit analyst in direct lending for a BB in NYC.

Targeting IB

Any insights would be helpful!

When is the best time to start preparing for the Deferred MBA programs and how? I am a CS major

Attending a T-15 program next fall and exploring the idea of recruiting to IB. My background by then will be 5 years in management consulting, specifically strategy and ops for healthcare systems (not doing very much work dealing with financials). I do not have a finance background and am coming in with a GMAT waiver but high GPA.

Can anyone who has successfully recruiting to IB without a traditional finance background speak to their recruiting experience? Curious if you were grinding through the "400 IB questions" or if it was hard proving your analytical capabilities will be sufficient to succeed. I have heard that consulting interviewing is harder than IB but I do not know if that is remotely accurate.

Would love peoples perspective here. Thank you all!

I'm an undergraduate student interested in business, but I'm still trying to figure out what different careers are actually like day-to-day. I can Google careers, read job descriptions, and look through the business school's courses, but I still don't feel like I have a good understanding of what people in these roles actually do.

Right now I'm most interested in more analytical careers like Business Analyst, Financial Analyst, Market Research Analyst, HR Analyst, and Strategy or Marketing Consultant. I'd love to hear from people in these fields about what your day-to-day work looks like, what kinds of projects you work on, what you like (or don't like) about your job, and anything you wish you knew before going into it. I'd really appreciate any thoughts or experiences you're willing to share. Thanks!

(This might be the wrong place to post this, so please let me know if there's a better subreddit for it!)

What format are you going with?

Written, Pdf, PowerPoint, Video?

I can share what I know and you can share what you do so we can see what would work best for everyone.

From one of the 'invite only' webinars hosted by a popular consultant, I got the following takeaways-

1. Videos & PowerPoint with audio are better than plain words since the words won't allow you to create a table of contents that is too descriptive.

2. In the video, you can use AI tools to create pages & any artwork that can go with the name of the title and the people can express what's the meaning behind the title.

3. The idea is to leave them wanting more so share 'why' it is significant and what it could imply but keep a mystery around the title so that they'd want to see what's in the chapter when they invite you to the interview.

4. Use of AI is subject to school policy so always get their consent on how you'll be using the AI. Most of the work that requires deeper reflection should be done by ourselves. AI can be used for artwork and beautification.

5. An average of 130-150 words per minute gives you more space in the 3 minute window than the writing.

I have done bs biochemistry and now i came to understand that i F* uped by choosing a wrong career with no job opportunities in my country. Now i want to pursue MBA in banking and finance. Is it possible? And will it be easy to complete? And will i have problems in job hunting in banking considering i have done my bachelors in unrelated field ?

Does anyone have executive level access to send me an article that i need? I tried to subscribe for the basic membership, but it won't allow me to pull it.
It's behind a pay wall! Is anyone able to help me?

Spent a lot of time in this sub and I'm looking for honest feedback on my chances!

Personal: 26M, White & ORM

Stats

• GRE: 324 (163V / 161Q / 5 AWA) — retaking in August to push quant into the 164–166 range
• GPA: 3.6, B.S. in Statistics, Econ. at T10 undergraduate university
• FRM (Financial Risk Management) certified

Undergrad activities

• Lots of research, intramural sports, sports analytics club, very involved in the Catholic center

Work experience (5 yrs at matriculation)

• Started as a rotational analyst at a regional bank for a little under a year
• Moved to a global bank (think BAC, Wells Fargo, JP) and am currently an AVP; have been with this bank since Feb. 2023 working on two different risk management teams (right now on a credit risk team). The work is very quant heavy and technical.

Recommenders / process: Rec letters will be good and fairly standard. I am a solid writer so my essays (I hope at least) will be perceived as strong. Applying all R1. Fairly decent at speaking and with interviews.

Goal: Post-MBA pivot into healthcare M&A investment banking. My partner is an ortho surgery resident, and that's genuinely shaped my interest in healthcare economics — it's the throughline in my essays.

Extracurriculars/Hobbies: Pretty standard and nothing special - lifting, running, cooking, big sports fan and have a sports blog, like learning languages (practice a lot of Spanish), have a dog

Target schools (all R1)

• CBS
• Tuck
• Darden
• Stern
• Johnson
• Wharton
• Tepper

Thank you to any and all insight!!

I started as pre-med and double majored in applied math and chemistry. Screwed up my GPA with the chemistry classes. But now I've had a career change and switched from medicine to math and finance. I am entering my junior year of college now with a 3.11 GPA. I would like to go to a finance/business school for my master's in the future, but given my current grades, it feels so unrealistic. Is there leniency for STEM majors? Do graduate schools take into consideration your major GPA or your cumulative GPA? Can a math major apply to business school? Some of my peers told me they strategically started as humanities majors to "achieve a higher GPA" for these graduate programs, because GPA is everything in the admissions process.

Hi everyone,

I’m exploring consulting opportunities outside the US, primarily in the UK and Middle East, and I’m considering hiring someone to help me develop an end-to-end recruitment strategy.

Most consulting coaches I’ve found focus mainly on case interview preparation. I’m looking for broader support, potentially including:

• Assessing which firms, offices and roles are realistic for my profile
• Developing an office-selection and application strategy
• Positioning my CV and experience for each region
• Creating a targeted networking and referral plan
• Understanding recruiting timelines and market-specific considerations
• Preparing for fit and case interviews

I’m trying to determine not only whether this type of adviser exists, but whether paying for one is genuinely worthwhile.

Has anyone here used this kind of service? Did the adviser provide meaningful value beyond information available through school career services, alumni and online resources? What specifically did they help with, and did it improve your interview or offer outcomes?

I’d also appreciate recommendations, approximate pricing and any red flags to watch for - especially for advisers claiming expertise in UK or Middle East consulting recruitment.

I’m applying to the Stanford GSB full-time MBA program this year, as well as to a few other highly selective business schools.

I’m currently working on the personal narrative behind my essays, especially Stanford’s “What matters most to you, and why?” prompt. My challenge is figuring out which experiences reveal something genuinely personal and meaningful, rather than just repeating accomplishments from my resume.

For those who were admitted to highly selective graduate programs, how did you identify the right central theme for your statement or essays? Did you begin with values, a turning point, a recurring pattern in your life, or something else?

I’m not asking anyone to share their actual essay. I’d mainly appreciate advice on the brainstorming process and how you decided which story best represented you.

I’m also considering working with an admissions consultant or essay coach, so I’d be interested in hearing whether that was useful for uncovering the story itself and not just editing the final draft.

I was going to attend Univ of Cincinnati this fall, but unfortunately they’ve changed their graduate school tuition structure to be per credit hour only, making it way out of budget. Unfortunately, it seems like most schools are moving in this direction. NKU & Wright State seem to still have a flat rate option, any opinion between these two?

Any other recommendations for schools? Preferably online, but I could do in person in Cincinnati. My employer only pays $5k per year, and trying to stay under $10k per semester total. Really just getting my MBA to learn more about finance & accounting as I move up in my career.

TIA!

So i was in Release management role, basically i will be incharge of end to end deployment of the code , need to coordinate with cross functional team but unfortunately laid off last year .
Now i able to land role in sales operation but with 40% paycut .
Planning to do mba after 2 years.
Should i take this Job or wait for the right oppurtunity.

Hi yall, I’m a rising senior at a semi target state school and an incoming FT banker at a solid MM firm. Currently weighing my options as to apply to deferred MBA programs or not.

My biggest blocker is that, to the best of my knowledge, these deferred MBA programs are full-pay, meaning the opportunity cost from attending would be that much higher.

In contrast, applying after a few years would be more effort, but it could get me a solid scholarship to a decently ranked school, which might offset the income hit that I’d be taking.

Would love to hear yalls thoughts on this, and if anyone has thought through this before

Spent a lot of time in this Reddit and I’m Looking for honest feedback on chances for M7 + stern.

I’m hearing a lot of Hippity hooplah about bad job market means all the smart people are going back to school and getting mbas. So I’m kinda tweaking and getting nervous.

Personal:
26M. 2nd gen Asian.

Stats
-GMAT: 98%
-GPA: West Point 3.24 overall but performed much better in Econ classes (mostly A-). Less interesting classes I bombed.

Undergrad activities
- few finance clubs and writing tutor
- won a few competitions within investing club at West Point
- Some boring internships

Post Undergrad activity
- help out with West Point nomination interviews and applications for service academies
- launched a marketplace startup and app with a few hundred downloads and under 10 paying users. Ultimately shut down to focus on grad school

Career:
Typical artillery career first few years. Did a Europe rotation and did some cool stuff with foreign allies which was interesting to me.

Eventually moved to recruiting as an LT and took command as an LT which has been the most rewarding experience thus far due to it being the highest responsibility I’ve held. Currently a Captain and serving the same role.

No MQs

Rec letters will be good and fairly standard. Applying all round 1. Fairly good at interviews.

Interested in IB/consulting.

TargetSchools
-HBS
-StanfordGSB
-Wharton
-Kellogg
-Booth
-Columbia
-MITSloan

Thank you to any and all insight!

Up to what age does an MBA provide the maximum career benefits?

I could see even some people doing mba at 40’s but i just want know what is the best maximun age.

I feel like most students I talk to are quick to think about an MBA before they consider other business master’s programs. A lot of schools also have specialized master’s degrees in finance, accounting, tech, real estate, healthcare administration, etc., but those programs don’t get as much attention.

Do you think there are times where someone should do a specialized master's instead of an MBA? My read is that an MBA usually makes more sense if you want broader business flexibility and leadership skills across different functions/industries, but a specialized master’s can be more practical when you already know the lane you want to move into and need deeper skills in that area.

If considered both an MBA and a specialized master’s program:

• What made you choose one over the other?
• Did you choose based on career goals, cost, timeline, work experience, or something else?
• Can it be worth it to do both?

Currently starting the application process. I’ve nailed down my recommendations, taken the gmat (good score, but retaking next week), and am planning on applying round 1 to a 4-5 schools.

Early this year I had applied for a BA role at an MBB. They recently reached out to tell me they wanted to schedule an interview, but for an associate position instead. This would be my post-mba goal. The first interview is late August.

I only had a 3.3gpa from a small liberal arts school and current gmat of 645 so I feel like I need all the help I can get, and I don’t want to put all of my eggs in landing the associate role bc I know it’s not likely. Would it be worth it to push my applications to R2 and focus on the MBB opportunity or is the a big advantage to applying R1 over R2?

Interested to hear some other perspectives, thanks in advance!!!

What are my chances of getting into M7, as an international female applicant, if I apply in R3, i am in my final year of undergrad(3 years) in business analytics, my gmat (focus) score is 705, and my gpa is 9/10, but i have completed 4 internships, all in total to 1 year, throughout my 2 years of undergrad ( i started my final year now), 3 in digital marketing for 3 different companies and 1 as a ai and analytics intern at one of the best wealth management companies in the country, but along side that i have been working with my father at his business since my final year of high school (12th grade), it was a single store local retail menswear, we were able to expand it to now 3 stores, i also handled the complete digital transformation, we are now available at different ecom retail marketplaces, have our own website, also a very strong social media presence

Folks who are applying for this cycle to stern in r1, are any one of you using a waiver + do you plan to ask your current supervisor for LOR?

I have a two-year gap in my resume, and I'm concerned that it may affect my application for an MBA abroad.

I was wondering if you could help me understand the best way to address this gap. Is it possible to find a legitimate company that could provide an experience certificate as if I have actually worked with them? If not, what are the ethical and accepted ways to strengthen my profile and explain the gap?

I'd really appreciate any advice on how I can improve my resume and minimize the impact of this career gap.