Mr. Oilfield Trekker

So we have here another male, Indian engineer who wants to go to the most selective business school in the world? Let me just say right away you have an incredibly impressive background and accomplishments to boot. And I have great admiration for what you have achieved, particularly because you come from a background of “limited means.” Still, for someone in the most overrepresented part of the applicant pool to get an admit from Stanford generally requires luck along with a lot of boxes you need to check: From the prestige and selectivity of your undergraduate institution, your grades, the selectivity of your employer, your work experience record, compelling extras that show you care about people and things beyond yourself, and how unique your narrative is. So let’s judge you on those. You check the box with a degree from IIT, though it may surprise you that there were only four graduates in this year’s Class of 2020 at the GSB with IIT degrees, one each from Kharagpur, Madras, Delhi and .Kanpur. Those grads majored in technology, aerospace engineering, and chemical engineering. Compare that against the 25 from Harvard, the 23 from Stanford, the 19 from Yale or the 15 from Penn. Your grades in mechanical engineering ( a 7.99 out of 10) were solid but when you say you were the “best student at school” do you mean academically? If so, that’s great, yet a 7.99 out of ten wouldn’t make me think that. Same is true of your 720 GMAT. I’m impressed but the class average at Stanford is 734. Your work for a Fortune 500 company, assuming its within the higher ranges of the 500, is significant and your accomplishments in the job are admirable. So are your extras, including the fact that you launched a clean energy startup. Bottom line: You certainly have a chance but I wouldn’t bet on it, not at Stanford where the competition is severe. You would have to perfectly execute on your application, your essay, your interview (if you get one), and make sure your recommenders are passionate about you. Your chances at HBS, Wharton and Booth are significantly higher. I know you’ll get invites from a couple of these places and you might very well make it to California. I’m rooting for you!