I completed my MBA from IIM (India) in 2026 — it's a reasonably well-regarded school, CGPA 6.99/10. I want to pursue a fully funded PhD in the UK or Europe (targeting Strategic Management, Marketing, or Healthcare Management).

The problem I keep running into: most funded PhD positions or calls for papers seem to want either an MSc in a specific field (economics, finance, etc.) or existing publications. I have neither. What I do have is a decent amount of applied research experience — field projects with AIIMS and a hospital, an independent research paper submitted at a competition, some analytics projects — but nothing peer-reviewed.

Has anyone done this? Gone from MBA → fully funded PhD at a decent UK/EU school without a prior MSc or publications? What made the difference in your application? Did you need GMAT/GRE?

Any honest experience welcome — especially if it didn't go smoothly the first time.

MBA tuition has become expensive almost everywhere, so ROI is probably one of the most important factors for applicants. When evaluating MBA programs in China, I am mainly interested in employment outcomes, career progression, salary growth, and opportunities for career transition after graduation.

Programs such as CEIBS, Fudan MBA, and SJTU Antai are often mentioned when people discuss long-term career value.

What caught my attention about Fudan MBA was its focus on career development. The program appears to invest heavily in helping students with career planning, employer connections, industry exposure, and professional growth, which can have a direct impact on ROI for working professionals.

Of course, ROI can mean different things to different people. For some, it is salary growth. For others, it is switching industries, moving into management, or expanding their professional opportunities.

For people who have completed an MBA in China, which program delivered the strongest return on investment for your career, and why?

Can anyone please share advice on what schools from the following list can I realistically target for 2027 Intake?

Europe: **INSEAD, LBS, Cambridge, Oxford, Imperial, Warwick, Mannheim, Warwick, Erasmus (RSM)**
Singapore: **NUS, NTU**
India: **ISB, IIM Ahmedabad PGPX, IIM Bangalore ePGP, IIM Lucknow IPMX, IIM indore ePGP, IIM Kozhikode PGP BL**
US: **Anything within t15?**

**My Profile:**

* **10th / 12th / Grad :** 10 / 8 / 7 CGPA respectively * **Background:** **B.E (I.T)** * **Graduation:** RGPV, Bhopal * **GRE Score:** 327 (Q-165, V-162) * **IELTS:** 8.5 * **Work Experience:** 5 years at TCS (last 2 years as Tech lead - promoted fairly early to the role) - have led delivery of enterprise web platforms across European and USA markets for a global pharmaceutical client. Currently leading a cross-functional team of over 20 quality assurance professionals and engineers that are of Indian, US and Brazil origin. Furthermore, one of the platforms I currently lead on have over 400k+ visitors per month - one of the top performing platform for the brand. Additionally, have multiple recognitions and accolades at organizational level for my own work and for the team I lead.

PS: I belong to General category (for Indian MBA context)

1. Were you able to find a job after graduating?
2. How long did it take?
3. ⁠Did you get a role in your previous industry or have to switch?
4. ⁠If you’re an int’l student were you able to secure sponsorship or did you have to return home?

Is there any way to get waivers for applying to this R2?

How does one achieve this?

Should we hire a consultant and they help us

Very confusing, please help!

Thanks!

I am interested in doing an MBA in EU as I really want to live there for a few years, but I read everywhere that going to HEC, IE, IESE, etc does not help in getting job after the MBA. I am open to France, Italy, Spain and Netherlands to do the MBA and get a job there after the program. Any opinions from international students there currently or before? I will be willing to learn the language as well.

For an international student wanting to land a job and stay after graduation which is the better choice?

Imperial has the stronger brand but Australia seems to have easier immigration. Does the Imperial name make a real difference when job hunting?

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Hello

My qualification is BDS graduation.

I am a dentist in india.

I plan for MBA in healthcare management from UK.

And take 2 years work experience after my MBA in UK.

Than I stay back to India it gives me more opportunities?

If you have any idea than pls tell me

Would love some honest feedback on my profile and advice on how to strengthen it before applying.

My_Qualifications

GRE: 338
Class 10: 93%
Class 12: 96.5%
Delhi University: 7.5 CGPA (affected by an accident during my second year)

Big 4 Risk Consulting (recently promoted); 2 years’ experience at application, 3 years by enrollment

Weekend involvement as a Non-Executive Director/Promoter in my family’s FMCG supply chain business, which has grown significantly during my involvement

President of a college society, active in multiple societies, NGO involvement

Targeting top MBA programs in the US, UK, and Europe.

My biggest confusion is my essay/story. How would you position this profile, what schools seem realistic, and what can I still add to strengthen my application over the next few months?

Open to all feedback. Thanks

Hi everyone,

I’m currently preparing for MBA applications (targeting top schools like INSEAD / LBS / HEC) and trying to finalise my post-MBA goal. I’d really appreciate insights from people who have been through consulting or energy recruiting.

My background:

• Process Engineer with ~5 years experience in LNG / large EPC projects
• Currently exploring MBA as a pivot into strategy roles in the energy sector
• Long-term goal: build and scale my family business into an energy transition solutions provider

At this stage, I’m refining between two post-MBA paths:

1) Energy Strategy Consulting (Kearney, EY-Parthenon, Strategy&, Roland Berger, Oliver Wyman)

vs

2) Strategy role at Oil & Gas majors (Shell, BP, TotalEnergies, etc.)

I’m trying to understand:

• What is the real difference in day-to-day work between these two roles post-MBA?
• Which role gives better exposure to energy transition, capital allocation, and strategic decision-making?
• For someone aiming to eventually build a business in energy transition, which path is more valuable long-term?

MBA recruiting questions:

I also wanted to understand from a recruitment perspective:

• At top MBA programs, what do Energy Strategy Consulting firms actually look for in candidates?
• Is prior technical / engineering experience in energy seen as an advantage, or do they primarily prefer generalist consulting profiles?
• How structured is recruiting for energy consulting vs oil major strategy roles during MBA (timelines, competitiveness, interview style)?

Application question:

Finally, for people who have applied to top B-schools:

• If someone comes from a technical energy background, do admissions committees actually value a post-MBA goal of moving into Energy Strategy Consulting?
• Or do they prefer more “traditional consulting / finance” narratives during application and interviews?

Would really appreciate any real-world insights, especially from people who have worked in either of these paths or gone through MBA recruiting recently.

Thanks in advance!

​

Hi everyone,

I received an offer to pursue an MBA at London Business School, with my primary goal being to pivot into front-end consulting.

For context, I currently work in the knowledge/capability network of an MBB firm (think Bain Capability network BCG vantage etc.). While my title sits within the capability organization, my role has evolved to be very similar to front-end consulting. The challenge is that my compensation and career progression are significantly different. The alternative is to continue in my current path, but with a career trajectory that feels disconnected from the level of effort and impact I'm putting in.

Speaking to current students, I've heard that consulting recruiting, and recruiting in general, has been very competitive and challenging across the board (Think single digit offers at major consulting firms)

Financially, this is a major decision. I'd need to finance almost the entire cost (\~£120k tuition plus living expenses), making the ROI an important consideration. Hearing about the current recruiting environment has honestly given me a lot of anxiety about whether pursuing the MBA is the right decision, especially with such a large financial commitment. But at the same time stuck on a career path that is stagnant. I'm also 30, so I'm not sure I'll have another realistic opportunity to pursue a top MBA.

My questions are given this situation would you take the LBS offeer or continue with current job ? 

I am trying to manage my anxiety of taking this plunge vs the regret of not taking this opportunity.

Hi guys! I’ve been really worried about this, and I wanted some honest opinions about how badly my chances of recruitment would be affected post mba by this gap on my profile. For context:

(1) in October 2025 I had to leave Canada and resign from my role (it was a large global fintech) because my work permit was expiring
(2) I moved to Mumbai, and spent November—February applying for b schools and securing my admission
(3) in February I got into a b school program which starts in January 2027. At the same time, I got my invitation for Canadian PR, so i spent the next month compiling about 400 pages of documents and getting my PR application submitted
(4) In April I took a short break, reconnected with my family etc
(5) in May I started a short term contract role at a startup and I am still here. However, I feel like I am doing work that’s repetitive and not really helping me from an MBA standpoint.

So currently, I am trying to think about whether to stay in this role till September/October or to quit and do something that actually contributes towards my MBA prep - for example this is a one year program so I need to strengthen basic finance/accounting skills which I haven’t been exposed to, since I’m making a pivot into consulting I need to familiarise myself with case interviews and frameworks, personally during this time I would also like to learn how to drive (I’ve been putting this off for a long time) and travel for some time. I also have the option to do an externship where I get exposure to end to end projects in unfamiliar industries (like consulting) that I’m looking to pivot to, but it’s for only 2 months. Additionally, I may have to travel to Canada in September/October to finalise my PR etc.

I’m just wondering, what does it look like to recruiters if I did 2 shorter projects (approx 2-3 months each) in this time as opposed to sticking to one role? Is this gap terrible and will it hurt my chances at getting hired?

Mba in international finance with acca