My MBA Journey: A Guide to Applying with Purpose

Over the past two years I have talked to hundreds of prospective students thinking about getting an MBA. I recently completed mine at Columbia Business School and while the experience is still fresh, I want to take this opportunity to document it. This is a guide that helped me chart my path and I hope that if you’re reading it, it’ll help you too. 

This post isn’t about the philosophical 'why get an MBA?' - that’s a different story - but rather a practical guide to how I approached the process—and what helped me along the way.

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Preface

I am a first-generation college student. Originally from Atlanta, GA, I went to Barnard College, Columbia’s women’s college, where I studied economics and dabbled with education and computer science. I was lucky and also worked really hard to graduate student debt free. I thoroughly enjoyed the liberal arts curriculum - and I’m on a lifelong voyage to get every student who will listen to me to also pursue an undergraduate liberal arts education - and knew that the purpose of an undergraduate degree was to make me a better critical thinker, writer, and communicator. In short, the undergraduate degree was a signal to the real world that I could think. 

After graduating I knew I would return to school to get a masters degree, but first I had one immediate goal: to purchase a home for my parents. That’s why I went into consulting - one of the few paths - that pays a high salary to new graduates. I saw the consulting stint as a short-term path—three years max—long enough to qualify for an MBA, gain exposure to finance and economics, and take care of my financial goals.

As the three year mark approached, this was January 2022, I spent that year mapping what going back to school would look like. I wanted to start school in the Fall 2023 semester. As I began my listening tour - talking to current students, alums and admissions representatives - below are some of the questions that surfaced in each phase of my journey.

January 2022 - Thinking about an MBA

• So you’re thinking about an MBA… the number one question you should be ready to ask yourself is: Why an MBA? Why now? Are you a career pivoter or are you looking to stay in your industry? 

  • In my case, I was looking to pivot. I had enjoyed the work I was doing as a consultant in financial services, but I wanted more. I knew I wanted to work in government. I knew leading public-private partnerships interested me, and I knew I could talk both sides (i.e. public vs. private sector). Pursuing a joint MBA/MPP (Masters in Business Administration and Masters in Public Policy) seemed like the right start to this career pivot.

• What program do I want to do?

  • There are full-time, part-time, executive, online-only MBA programs. I knew a two-year full-time program was what I wanted to pursue. 

• What schools should I apply to?

  • Location matters a lot. In my case, I focused on schools that offered a joint MBA/MPP program. I wanted to stay on the east coast. I wanted to be in a big city and was indifferent to class size. In addition, I decided to apply to schools through The Consortium, a network of schools that gives Black/brown students the opportunity to apply to business schools through one application (similar to the Posses and Questbridges of the world). Based on my research on curriculum offerings, conversations with current students, and strong public-private partnership programs and centers, I honed my research to six schools.

February - March 2022 | Planning the MBA

• Who can I ask for help?

  • Let me start with this, applying to graduate school is much more different than applying to colleges in undergrad. This is not the hunger games. You’re applying to programs that you think will help you fill the gaps in the skills that you’re missing. In short, you’re here and you want to go over there… what are the skills, network, and tools that you need to get you there? The answer to that question will give you the list of schools you should apply to, but the literal step of “how do I apply to business school” may be the most challenging - it was for me as a first-gen student. 

  • My approach was to seek support. I considered applying to Management Leadership of Tomorrow (MLT), a very popular program known for supporting Black/brown students through the MBA, but ultimately decided against it when I learned that my alma mater, Barnard, offered free graduate advising to alums through its Beyond Barnard career center (I recommend you also check in with your alma mater to see if they offer similar advising programs!). I scheduled my first appointment with Jody, the Associate Director for Advising & Programs, told her my spiel and we devised a plan to hold me accountable (couldn’t have done it without you Jody!). I decided to apply to MBA programs Round 1 and MPP programs Round 2. 

  • Another approach I took was I enlisted 3-5 friends to help me read my essays and prepare me for interviews. I know of students that rely on this approach alone to get them through the application. You want to be mindful of who you enlist because having too many cooks in the kitchen can muddle the feedback process. Tap some friends who have known you since childhood, college, workplace, to get a full scope of your story.

April - July 2022 | Get the testing done first (also identify your recommenders) 

• What test should I take, the GRE or GMAT?

  • Since I was applying to MPP programs as well the GRE was more widely accepted and I quickly decided on that exam. I began a three-month self-guided crash course using a Magoosh textbook and their online platform. From April - July I had daily 7-9am and 6-9pm blocks intended for this studying. I would alternate between English and Math and on Saturdays I blocked 7am-12pm for simulated exams. Sundays were off days. Having a strong work ethic was important, but I didn’t let the regiment prevent me from being flexible, hanging out with friends, going to the movies, you get it. See what study plan works for you.

• When should I take the test?

  • You should take it when you feel ready. I knew that I wanted to get the testing out of the way so come the fall I could purely focus on the application essays. Thus I set a goal to first take the exam at the end of my three month crash course. This would be in July for me. I took the test on July 31st. You immediately get your scores after you complete the exam. A wave of great relief overtook me when I saw my scores, but I decided to take it one more time. MIT Sloan was my dream school and I wanted to push myself. I took it again one month later and I got the exact same score. Happy with the results and wanting to get it behind me I moved on to the application essays. 

  • As this was happening in the background I also identified my recommenders. I looked at both professors from Barnard as well as managers from previous jobs as well as current ones. 

August - October 2022 | Writing the essays

• What / how / when do I even start writing? 

  • Take a look at the schools you selected. Map out their deadlines. Are there any programs you are applying early admission to? In my case I decided to apply to MIT Sloan Round 1. This meant having to work on those essays first. I spent most of August and early September outlining, drafting, and meeting with Jody to get the final drafts. This was a DEEPLY introspective process and it certainly helped to have someone prompt you with questions to dig deeper into the life events you’re planning on sharing. Be prepared to go into this process with an open heart and mind. Later when that application was submitted, I focused on the rest of the applications, thankfully a lot of the “deep thinking” had already happened with Jody and I leveraged my group of friends to help me revise. I asked them for specific types of feedback each time. For example, early on it was about “does this sound like me,” “Am I missing something about this situation that happened?” 

• What else should I consider as I’m writing my essays?

  • Writing these essays is a very introspective process. You’re writing about your journey as a leader, where you failed, where you grew and what type of leader you would like to morph into. What helped me get out of this deep thinking while I was writing was attending the events schools put together to learn more about them. I remember attending various events both in-person and online to get to know current students, admissions reps, and professors. I attended these events with a list of questions, and made it a habit to always say hello to the admissions reps for the schools I was applying to even if I had already met them before (once you’re deep in the application process you’ll notice admissions reps travel in groups for events like National Black MBA, The Consortium, or The MBA Tour).

  • After each event, I would get home feeling inspired, motivated, and with a little more information to add to my essays. 

• Final piece of advice you have for someone regarding the application?

  • Use every piece of the application to say something new about yourself. Even if it says optional, I would use that opportunity to share something that highlights a skill, your leadership, an interest, etc. 

November 2022 | Preparing for the Interview

• I finished applying to all my MBA programs in October, and by November I was hearing back from schools inviting me to interview. While you may think the hardest part of the application is behind you, I took preparing for interviews seriously and enlisted my group of friends to help conduct some mock interviews. I had a list of commonly asked interview questions. I had some friends take a good cop, bad cop approach because I wasn’t sure what type of interviewer I would have. I also practiced on my own, using the voice recording feature of my phone to review my responses and cut down on filler words.

• All in all interviews happened pretty much back to back which allowed me to be in a constant flow state. Ask me why I’m getting my MBA?! Jeje

December 2022

• By middle to late December I began hearing from schools. I got accepted into most of the schools I applied to and was receiving generous financial aid packages from some of them. The question of what school I should choose weighed on me, but I decided to enjoy the holiday break and give thanks that I made it to this spot.

January 2023 - February 2023

• Throughout January and February schools offer the admitted student weekends where you can visit the school and ask questions. You will also get this opportunity later in the Spring if you apply in Round 2. I used this opportunity and ultimately landed on Columbia. As an undergrad at Columbia I had benefited so much from the alumni network, I knew this experience would only magnify as an MBA candidate. I was really happy with my decision and began moves to start in the Fall.

• Preparing for the first year would constitute another post so that is all for now. And if you made it to the bottom of this post kudos to you - getting to this point is a big deal. Good luck!!

I wrote this post to support others navigating the MBA process, especially those who may be doing it without a roadmap. If you’re thinking about your own path and want to dive deeper into any of these sections—or just need a sounding board—I offer 1:1 sessions. You can learn more or book a time here. No pressure at all; just if it would be helpful.