Shivam Kalkar – From Aurangabad to Stanford GSB: The Power of Clarity, Grit, and Trust
When Shivam Kalkar received his Stanford GSB admit, it marked the culmination of a journey that was as much about self-discovery as it was about cracking the world’s most competitive MBA programs. Raised in Aurangabad, a city in Maharashtra, by his single mother and grandmother, Shivam had been fascinated by technology from a young age. He saw firsthand how access to it could change lives—a belief that drove him to IIT Madras for a degree in engineering and later to Japan, where he built a career that seamlessly blended deep tech and consulting.
A career at the intersection of AI, business, and impact
Shivam’s professional arc began in the autonomous driving space, developing algorithms to help Japanese companies lead the self-driving transition. Later, at Nomura Research Institute, the consulting arm of Nomura Bank, he pivoted to AI consulting, supporting clients in sectors ranging from healthcare to sustainability. His work went beyond commercial impact: he advised the Japanese government on using AI to tackle pressing societal challenges and launched seven AI products and IPs in just four years.
Yet, for all the technical success, Shivam knew that his next leap required a firmer grasp of general management. “AI was at an inflection point. I wanted to understand not just how to build solutions, but how to lead their adoption at scale,” he recalls. That meant one thing: an MBA.
The GMAT hurdle, and a decision that defined everything
Shivam’s MBA dream had one major roadblock: the GMAT. Coming from a Marathi-medium school, he struggled particularly with reading comprehension. His first attempt yielded a 690, his second a 710. At this point, he consulted Admissions Gateway. While we believed strongly in his profile, the GMAT score would limit his options at the top 3 schools.
That conversation led to a decision many would have avoided: Shivam chose to delay his applications by an entire year to focus solely on improving his GMAT score. This wasn’t just a scheduling change. It meant accepting that his fiancée, Kirti (who eventually joined Wharton), would move to the US, creating a year-long gap in their personal plans.
“I just decided to trust the process and the people guiding me,” Shivam says. That trust extended to GMAT coach Shweta, who not only helped him refine his verbal skills but also taught him techniques to handle severe exam anxiety. A fellow coach helped sharpen his data interpretation performance. After four unsuccessful attempts on the old GMAT format, Shivam switched to the GMAT Focus Edition, scoring a 705, which placed him in the 99th percentile.
A clean-slate approach to applications
With the GMAT done, Shivam began his applications with us at Admissions Gateway. From day one, the process was personalized and rigorous.
The first step was the resume. Using our 3S (Stakeholder, Size, Scope) and STAR (Situation, Task, Action, Result) frameworks, Shivam learned to translate his work into clear, jargon-free impact statements. “Even if I was doing something big, it had to be simple enough for anyone to understand,” he says.
Next came goal-setting—a stage that took four to five hours of intense discussion. Initially, Shivam imagined continuing in consulting. Through probing conversations, they mapped out a far more cohesive 20-year arc: in the long term, he would launch a VC fund to back AI-driven ventures that build India; in the mid-term, he would work in VC; and in the short term, he would gain operational expertise through product management. “That exercise didn’t just set me up for the MBA. It set me up for my career,” he reflects.
Essays that told his story, school by school
Our no-templates policy meant every essay started fresh. For Wharton, the first school he and his consultant tackled, Shivam worked paragraph by paragraph, refining until each section had a clear growth arc—starting from his early fascination with tech, to building single solutions at IIT, to leading multiple AI launches at Nomura, and finally to his vision for India.
Once the Wharton essays were done, they built distinct narratives for Columbia, Kellogg, HBS, and Stanford, each tied to specific school resources. For Wharton, the semester in San Francisco and McNulty Leadership Ventures became key points; for Columbia, the New York location’s VC ecosystem; for Kellogg, the Growth & Scaling pathway and leading PM faculty.
By the time they reached Stanford’s famously open-ended essay, Shivam knew exactly how to integrate his personal history, professional milestones, and future vision into a deeply authentic narrative.
Interviews: mastering the STAR and the story
Having spent many years in Japan, where he primarily spoke Japanese at work, Shivam had little practice holding long professional conversations in English. Anticipating this, he began interview prep early. We emphasized tight, STAR-based responses with compelling openings, plus subtle storytelling hooks to re-engage the listener.
When the Stanford interview invite arrived, just 15 minutes after his Harvard rejection, it was his first major interview of the season. He went in prepared, clear on his stories, and confident in his delivery.
Results beyond expectations
Shivam applied to five M7 schools—Harvard, Stanford, Wharton, Columbia, and Kellogg, plus Dartmouth Tuck. He received admits from four of the five M7s (all but Harvard), with a Joseph Wharton Fellowship ($90K), $100k financial aid from Columbia, and Knight-Hennessy scholarship from Stanford. The Stanford admit with Knight-Hennessy was the dream-come-true.
Reflections: clarity, patience, and trust
Looking back, Shivam credits his success to three things:
- Clarity – on his career path and the purpose of each step.
- Patience – choosing to wait a year to strengthen his profile rather than rushing in.
- Trust – placing complete faith in his coaches and consultants, and executing without second-guessing.
“I’m the first in my family to speak English, the first to go to IIT, and now the first to go to Stanford. None of this would have happened without the right guidance and the courage to slow down in order to speed up,” he says.
As he prepares to join GSB, Shivam knows the journey isn’t over—it’s just moved to a bigger stage. But the foundation he’s built, through discipline, self-awareness, and unwavering commitment, will serve him for decades to come
To read more such stories of folks who got into their dream business schools to pursue their lifelong passion, check out our success stories.
