Ms. All-Rounder

Sorry to say but Harvard Business School is not in your future. You really need to apply to a very different range of business schools if you want an MBA degree in the U.S., most likely in the T20 range. You can achieve your goals with an MBA from any of the schools just outside the Top Ten or even outside the Top 20. Here’s why your chances at HBS are very slim:
1) You would be 32 years of age at matriculation when the age of the average HBS student is between 26 and 28.
2) As an engineer from India (even one who made the leap into product management), you are in one of the most overpopulated parts of the MBA applicant pool where the competition is most severe.
3) Your undergraduate institution lacks the prestige and reputation of an IIT and you will be competing with other applicants who were stars at IITs.
4) Your GRE score is six points below the class average when Indian engineers are expected to have above average stanardized test scores.
5) You work for a startup that I presume is not well known and may not be as highly selective as the employers of applicants you will compete against.
Do not be discouraged by any of this. Admissions at M7 schools are very competitive and often elitist. You’ve done well in your life and I agree that earning your master’s from IIT in Bombay is a real achievement. You just need to set your sights on some other exceptional business schools.

Hi Ms. All Rounder! I am assessing your odds based on exactly your candidacy as it stands today; however, if you apply in 2023 and put in some serious hard work, my rating would likely dramatically increase! Here’s where I suggest you focus: (1) Engage on an introspective journey, potentially with support of key mentors/coaches, to really get deep on your goals and why an MBA is necessary to achieve those goals. I know you are confident in it, but getting deeper and more specific will give AdCom the confidence in your conviction. (2) Deliberately study for and retake the GRE/GMAT to improve your score. Given you are already a bit outside the typical years of experience, your profile needs to be perfect in nearly all other areas. Your standardized test score is one key area that you could significantly reduce any hesitations from AdCom. If your previous test prep approach has left you plateauing, I suggest that you engage in more diagnostic 1:1 tutoring to identify where you are going wrong and create a plan to focus heavily on those specific areas – often a less than ideal score isn’t about the candidate not having the intelligence; it’s about not having the right test prep strategy. Focus on those two things Ms. All-Rounder and those odds will creep up… fast!