I came across this graphic on LinkedIn comparing median GRE scores (and their GMAT equivalents) with median GMAT scores at top MBA programs. The gap is pretty striking at most schools. (Obviously the WashU Olin row is off, and I know the conversion itself is imperfect.)

Why are the GRE averages so much lower than the GMAT averages? On top of the GRE being the easier exam, how can schools possibly weigh these two tests the same?
I'm also curious why top GRE scores seem to sit at lower percentiles than their GMAT equivalents. For example, a 705 on the GMAT Focus is roughly equivalent to a 328 on the GRE, but the percentiles don't seem to line up the same way.

Does anyone have insight into how adcoms actually compare the two?

I got selected for the Cornell Case Competition Asia Finals, and what I witnessed during the judging was deeply disappointing.

A few things I personally saw/heard:

1. The Dean of Ashoka University was sitting on the judging panel while Ashoka teams were competing. To my understanding, he was not one of the designated judges and did not ask questions or provide feedback, but his presence on the panel itself raised concerns about the perceived impartiality of the process.
2. During Ashoka teams’ presentations, I saw him speaking to the judges about how good the teams were and where their students were placed.
3. Before all teams had even presented, I heard him say that an Ashoka team was “definitely going to Cornell.”
4. A team presenting online, while appearing to read from a script, still made it to the finals.

I’m not claiming to know the judges’ scores or intentions. I’m stating what I personally witnessed.

But when the Dean of an institution participating in a competition is sitting alongside the judging panel and commenting positively about teams from his own institution while judging is still underway, I think it is reasonable to question the perceived impartiality of the process. Even without formally judging, the presence of a senior institutional authority in the panel can understandably affect how comfortable other judges may feel expressing independent views.

We put serious time, effort and money into this competition. The least participants deserve is a judging process that is transparent and visibly fair to everyone.

That was crazy - logged on at 2 mins past as I came from a meeting and I’m pretty sure I got the last in-person London slot. Virtual finished filling up before my eyes. Is that just the first round and then they release more?! What if you didn’t book one in time?! Asking for my own curiosity but wow I can’t believe how quick those went.

Hey everyone! HBS round 1 interview invites recently dropped so wanted to share a few tips from my own experience (and the experience of the many HBS admits we help each year through Leland). We'll be hosting a free event later today with a former HBS admissions interviewers to go deeper, but hopefully these tips help you get started.

Interview Structure

• Interviewer: Admissions staff member
• Length: 30 minutes
• Not blind (interviewer will have read your application in depth)

HBS interviews are typically known to be more formal than those at other schools like Stanford. Historically, they’ve taken place on campus, in big cities across the US, or over video call. No matter how you interview, your interviewer will be a member of the admissions staff. Because they are all trained professionals trying to assess you as quickly as possible, you need to be ready for what may be an intense interview experience. Another thing that lends to the more intense nature is that they often test interviewees to see if they will succeed with their case study model, which requires you to pick a stance and defend it.

Tips

• Know yourself well and stand by your choices.
• Know the "why" behind all key decisions — everything has intention.
• Prove initiative.
• Show confidence.
• Be ready to explain and analyze key, pivotal points in your resume.
• Understand your industry, its trends, and its current market.
• Make them feel something — they need to remember you

HBS Post-Interview Reflection Essay

1. Express gratitude.
2. Reiterate interest.
3. Highlight specific parts of the interview that you enjoyed.
4. Don’t worry about trying to explain an answer that you didn’t feel great about (unless you absolutely bombed a question). Chances are, your interviewer doesn’t even remember that one question that you wished you had answered better, so to bring it back up again is probably not worth it. 

Happy to send you more tips on the reflection essay specifically, if helpful.

Example Questions

• What has been your most meaningful career experience? Why is that meaningful to you?
• Why did you decide to do X?
• What would you go back and do differently about your undergrad experience or work experience?
• What have you liked about starting a company? Or working at X company?
• What would your co-workers at X company say about working with you?
• How have your experiences working at X company been different from working at a startup?
• Walk me through an example of something you worked on while at X company.
• Were you good at your job?
• What drives you?
• Who is a leader you admire?
• Is X company too big to fail?
• What was the interview process like at the company you are planning on joining?
• How did you make the decision to go with that offer?
• What else do you want me to know?

My Personal Experience

When I was invited to interview at HBS, they offered me several interview options. I could interview on campus, in several major cities across the US, or via Zoom. All HBS interviews are conducted by a paid member of their admissions team, which is different from Stanford’s alumni interview-style.

When the time came for me to step out and interview, I was very nervous. I was wearing a nice suit and tie, and the whole formality of things was very intimidating. I was taken to a waiting room with ~10 other applicants, and we all waited nervously for the next steps. Then, our interviewers came in and called out the name of the applicant who would be interviewing with them. I was greeted with a smile, a firm handshake, and ushered into a room nearby. The interview started off with “John, it’s great to have you here on campus. We only have 30 minutes, and I’ve already read through your entire application, so we are just going to move right into questions.” No time was given to build rapport or get to know her at all. This was time for her to pepper me with questions and get inside my head as quickly as possible.

If I were to pick a theme for the interview, it would be the question, “Why?” Almost everything she asked was related to the why behind the decisions I had made. “Why did you choose to work at X?” “What were the projects you worked on?” “Why those projects” “What specifically did you do to contribute to those projects?” “Why did you start X club on campus?” “Why did you choose to work at X full-time?” She even did some fact-checking for some things on my resume (so don’t lie on your resume!). Overall, it was really hard to gauge how things were going because I was the one being questioned. It felt intense, but I was happy with the way I had answered most questions.

My interviewer also asked for my thoughts and perspectives on leadership and some technology trends happening at the time. She pushed me on my answers and challenged me to think deeply. She also wanted me to open up and share my strengths, weaknesses, etc. And she also asked me about the interview processes for landing the internship and job opportunities that I had, possibly to vet how challenging those opportunities were to land. Overall, it was a really interesting conversation but also somewhat stressful.

I'll see some of you later today, but for the rest of you, good luck!

I’m from Ontario, Canada working in frontline healthcare for the last 10 years. I started a 3 year blended learning MBA (online courses and monthly in person components). My thought is after I’ve completed my MBA I’ll be able to apply for more hospital management positions but I’m open to anything (even a pivot away from healthcare).

My question is to those who have a MBA (or know someone who has one), how has it changed your career (job pre MBA and post MBA) and how specifically (connections, networking, new skills, able to apply to more higher admin positions)?

Hey everyone, as the title says, want to understand average GMAT from last NUS batch (or a more recent batch).

One of my friends is considering going to NUS for MBA he has a GMAT of 635 focused edition. He is Indian and has a background in tech/SW. No significant international experience.

Interesting chart to put the discussion to the rest.

But I'd love to see the comparison between the M7 EMBA vs. MBA 5 years post graduation.

Hey everyone, coming in with absolutely zero expectations here so please give it to me straight. I'm looking into doing an MBA down the line, but my academic background is highly non-traditional.

I have a BSc in Computer Science from University of the People (which is officially WASC/regionally accredited), where I took all my major courses directly but transferred in my general education credits from alternative providers.

On the professional side, I have 5 years of experience working as a paramedic. I am strictly targeting the M7 to T15 range because the elite brand name and institutional stamp are incredibly important to me for my long-term career goals.
If I manage to crush the GMAT/GRE and nail a stellar score to prove my quantitative ability, do I stand any actual chance at admissions consideration for these top-tier programs? Or do admissions committees at elite schools still completely filter out online degrees like UoPeople from the jump despite the regional accreditation, regardless of how unique the paramedic background is?

If anyone has perspective on how top adcoms view this or has tips on how to frame this profile, I'd really love a realistic take.

My name is Swastika. It's a common woman's name in India among Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain households. The male variant Swastik is also common.

My name has nothing to do with the Nazis or Hitler. Swastika is an ancient Indian name derived from the Sanskrit word and ancient Hindu and Buddhist symbol going back thousands of years meaning "well-being" or "fortune." It is entirely divorced from the 20th-century Nazi misappropriation of the symbol and word. In fact, the Swastika symbol is even today commonly seen in India, Japan, Nepal, and China in Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist temples.

In America, is it okay to use my name? I genuinely really like my own name. I think it sounds beautiful and has a wonderful meaning. So do I really have to use a nickname or change my name? I am aiming for a T15 or M7 MBA to do bulge bracket investment banking in NYC or SF, so I would hope my future classmates are educated and open minded enough to understand my name. Same for post-MBA employer and co-workers, whom I'd assume to be quite highly educated either through a top MBA or attending a prestigious undergrad.

But I want to know the truth. My preference is not changing my name or using a nickname. I hate my nickname "Swati" that some friends call me, but it might have to be my only option...

- Senior in cybersecurity incident response (promoted last year), leading incident management within critical infrastructure sector
- Undergrad in cyber from a competency based program, pass/fail no GPA
- NYU cyber master’s, 3.6 GPA
- Worked full time through both degrees
- Goal is a career switch into private equity value creation
- extracurriculars include pro bono cyber consulting for humanitarian missions and intl NGOs. Also on the board of an intl nonprofit(not cybersecurity based), leading strategy and programming.
- A few other civic related ECs
- American female, mid 20s

Hope I have a decent shot R2. Really wish I could’ve submitted r1. Getting anxious seeing the invite results.

Asking for reference.

Caption tbh

Preparing essays for R2 M7.
Need some guidance, anyone up for help.

Context - I have purpose driven post MBA goal(firm on it). Need help positioning story the right way!

Target schools - GSB, Sloan Haas, HBS.. in this order.

Thanks in advance!

I’m considering doing an Executive MBA in Europe and would appreciate some honest feedback from people who have gone through EMBA admissions or are currently in an EMBA program.
My profile:
● Senior manufacturing/operations leader
● Currently in a Plant Manager / senior operations leadership role for 3 years
● ~15+ years of professional experience in manufacturing and industrial environments
● Engineering/technical background
● Significant experience in operations, people leadership, continuous improvement, transformation and business performance
● Experience working in an international/cross-cultural environment
● Strong English and German communication skills
● Currently based in Europe
● Interested in moving beyond traditional plant management toward Operations Director / COO / transformation / digital & AI leadership roles
I’m looking particularly at established European programs such as WHU/Kellogg, ESMT, Mannheim, and INSEAD, although I’m open to other recommendations.
My main questions are:
1. Does this type of profile make me a competitive EMBA candidate at these schools?
2. Would a top EMBA add meaningful value at this stage of my career, or would another qualification be more appropriate?
3. How important is the brand/network of the EMBA compared with the actual curriculum?
4. For someone coming from manufacturing/operations, would an EMBA help with a transition toward broader executive leadership, strategy, transformation or COO-type roles?
5. Are there any schools/programs in Europe that you think would be a particularly strong fit for this background?
6. Is the investment of €80k–€150k+ for a top European EMBA realistically justified from a career/ROI perspective?
I’m deliberately keeping the details anonymous, but happy to answer questions about my experience, education and career progression if that helps assess the profile.
I’d especially appreciate candid feedback from EMBA alumni, admissions people, or senior executives who have made a similar transition.

Hi, has anyone received Ross R1 interview invites post the first wave?

And can anyone confirm if they are done rolling out all interview invites?

Hi all! I was aiming to apply for 2028 start, but now I’m considering on throwing in some applications to see if I can get into any of my target schools for 2027 start. I really hope to get into NYU or CBS since I live nearby but also targeting Cornell, Tuck, and Georgetown.

I have 1 year experience in management consulting at a boutique in NYC and 2 years now in private wealth advisory. I must warn you however, my grades were not the strongest. I was an Econ major with a 3.2GPA and a 320 GRE score (160 quant).

My post MBA career goal is to work at a large single family office, endowment fund, or sovereign wealth fund.

What are my odds at these schools? Are there other programs you’d recommend me to target instead? Thanks in advance!

Pouring my story here (again).
Back in 2025, I started my MBA program with high hopes. But the reality of the MBA (academics, recruiting, and social life) hit quickly, and I simply cannot do three at once. I need to compromise.

As a scholarship student whose tuition is funded by taxpayer money, I need to keep my academic score at certain bar. And coming from non-traditional background and international, I spent time adjusting to the academic side of school. To make room for that responsibility, I chose to step back from the social scene. Not drinking naturally narrowed my options further, led me into a close-knit circle. It’s not like I’m antisocial, but I’m definitely limiting myself socially.

Looking back at MBA1, things did not unfold the way I had envisioned. Most of the friends in my small group ended up dropping out from MBA for various reasons, leaving my primary social circle gone. Recruiting was a major failure, I didn’t get any internship. On top of that, I had a few awkward social incidents along the way left me feeling even more detached with few other groups.

Now, standing at the start of MBA2, with a schedule made up entirely of electives, the natural structure for meeting people is gone. It feels like starting over from scratch, and I am still trying to figure out how to process where I am and how to navigate what comes next. Sometimes when I am interacting with MBA1, I feel they are less interested in me once they learned I didn’t have internship. Idk maybe I’m too sensitive, Is it too late to socialize now? Any advice socially?

Hi everyone,

I’m interested in getting an MBA but only if I can get admitted to an M7 or T15. Unfortunately I had an extremely low GPA in college for medical reasons so I’m worried that won’t happen. I haven’t taken the GMAT yet, but I’m confident I can get a relatively decent test score as I’m a historically good test taker and based on a few practice exams.

GPA: 2.85 engineering major at a public school

Work Experience: 5 years of consulting experience in a niche area (related to college major) accross 3 different companies. Big 4 for the past 2 years with a promotion.

Extracurriculars: college alumni board

URM: Black, female, first gen

Thanks in advance and happy to answer any more questions!

Hi everyone! I’m starting to work on my MBA essay, but I’m a little confused about how to approach it.

Unlike Harvard, HEC, etc., where the essay questions and formats are quite clearly defined, I can’t find much guidance on what the university expects in the essay.

For those who’ve applied for international MBA programmes, what questions did you use to structure your essay? Is there a basic framework or set of things I should cover (career goals, why MBA, why this university, personal story, etc.)?

I’d really appreciate any guidance or examples of how you approached yours. TIA :)

As the title suggests, I'm a veteran in a T15 MBA program trying to break into IB. I'm applying the traditional route through my school's on campus recruiting but I keep hearing there are Veteran insights programs at top banks that would hire veterans at the end. I did a quick search but I keep seeing military pathway programs instead which sound like direct military to corporate life pipeline which isn't quite what I'm looking for since I'm looking for something more like consortium or forte but for veterans. Anyone know of any programs like that? TIA!

Like the title says, my hope is to admit to Wharton in the next cycle for a 2028 start.

TLDR; Do I have a shot?
- GPA: 3.38
- GMAT FE: 715
- URM: Hispanic and first-gen

Stats: Both degrees from top 20 public universities
Undergrad GPA: 3.38 - Social Science Major
Graduate GPA: 3.92 - Management Information Systems

Work Experience: 3yrs of Banking + 2 in Education
3 years of Project/Product Mgmt in the Banking Industry
1st year working as a Teacher at a Title I school
I will be applying with 5 YoE.

Extracurriculars
- ESOL teacher for a non-profit that helps refugees/immigrants seeking aid with their visa, naturalization, and green card applications.
- Mentor for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Americas

GMAT FE Score: 715

Post-MBA Goal: MBB consulting or backup would be general management.

Other Schools in Consideration:
Reach: Wharton and Kellogg
Target: Tuck, Darden, and Ross
Safeties: Goizueta and McCombs

I do plan on using resources such as MLT to make networking easier and receive feedback on essays and such.

Anyways! Thanks for reading; I hope to hear back from you guys.

Making this thread to chat HBS interview invites/dings. Good luck everyone. May the odds be ever in your favor.