CA: What did you enjoy least about the process?
NN: The GMAT. My advice to people is to get it out of the way early and truly be satisfied with what you have (and if you’re not, at least you have the time to retake it). Life has a funny way of getting crazy when you think you have months and months left to retake the GMAT, so do it now! I did fairly well—I got a 700—but my score was incredibly skewed in favor of verbal. I did have a lot of thoughts about whether I should retake it, but in the end I decided instead to use the time I had left to focus on other parts of my application profile and make them the best they could be.
Ultimately, I made the decision I did because for myself personally and what was going on in my life, it made more sense to avert my attention to my strengths (essays, recommendations, being available to take tough assignments at work with lots of exposure/impact). Also, a lot of people stress themselves about the Quantitative section, but I don’t think it’s a good indicator of post-MBA skills. As a consultant, I do a very quantitative job—lots of data analysis, Excel, data visualization—nowhere in there is determining 1 over x times the square root of 3. I scored really, really well on integrated reasoning, because to me that is what consulting is: combing through a bunch of information and finding what’s important to help you make decisions. I interned on Wall Street, I have done very quantitative work and still I never found myself needing to find 1 over x times the square root of 3. To me, I had more to say about myself in other parts of my application. You have to know your strengths and play to those.
Obviously, the GMAT (quant, verbal, everything) is very important. Do the best you can, but know your circumstances. Be self-aware. And please, get it done early—you’ll then be better able to make that call!
CA: How did MBALaunch prepare you for the application process? What were its best features?
NN: What I liked most about the MBALaunch program was its multifaceted approach. We met in person in small groups but we also benefitted from Forte’s many partnerships: The program featured webinars led by a range of different test prep firms, admissions consultants and others involved in the admission process who were all very passionate about empowering women. I really enjoyed the multitude of perspectives. We had webinars in both our GMAT module, which were very specific to the test, and our application module, which focused more on topics such as how to articulate your story in an essay.
In addition to the range of perspectives presented as a result of the partnerships Forté forged, I also really liked the flexibility of the webinars. If you aren’t able to make one for any reason, it’s very easy to make it up. As long as you manage your time, you can complete the program in good standing. It’s also great that they have so many in-house GMAT resources. For example, on Tuesday we would have sentence correction with Kaplan, on Thursday, reading comprehension with Veritas Prep. Instead of me taking a course from one of these providers, I got to learn tips and tricks from all of them.
With that being said, I went through Forté’s MBALaunch’s GMAT module religiously—I didn’t just listen to the webinars, I listened with a closed bedroom door and a notebook out, fully engaged in the practice problems they’d put up. That, together with really focused self-study, got me my 700. At the time, taking a formal class was not an option for me, so I decided to give the resources I did have my full attention. And because you have multiple perspectives it was more valuable than doing it all through one provider. Because Kaplan might have a trick of the trade that the Veritas didn’t and vice versa. The application module was also incredibly insightful. It was excellent content, and as with the GMAT module, it was helpful getting different perspectives. For instance, the admissions consultant from Stacy Blackman might give me a different tip than a consultant from Accepted.com.
I also had the amazing opportunity to participate in another program, MBA Prep, hosted by Management Leadership or Tomorrow (MLT), an organization that works to help high-potential minorities reach their full leadership potential in business. I cannot say enough amazing things about my coach, Shannon, who has been there every step of the way.
My advice to those on this journey is to take advantage of every opportunity you have to get guidance and support, whether through affinity groups like Forté or MLT or at work (if provided). It’s okay to get turned down, but you should never not apply if you’re serious and are willing to give those programs and this process your all. That’s my personal motto—I put in the work then let other people tell me no, not myself!
CA: Is it common to do both MBA application prep programs?
NN: From what I could see, there were about 15 of us who did both this year. MLT has been around for a long time and it is a really well developed and beneficial program. Forté’s MBALaunch is still fairly new, and it’s growing. The people who first did MBALaunch are just finishing business school. Like I said before, we all have different networks and different opportunities, and everyone should be fully utilizing what is available to them while giving back!
MBALaunch was also a great encourager of leadership and the opportunity to give back. For example, I found that many of the women I met wanted to have my job post-MBA—to get into consulting. So, a few of us over the course of the 10 weeks did a current-state assessment of the MBALaunch program and made strategic recommendations to Forté’s Krystal Brooks, who heads the program. Through this project, which I pitched, those of us in consulting were able to educate our peers and give them the opportunity to point to viable consulting experience on their resumes. We gave Krystal a 50-slide presentation with our recommendations, including some ideas that have since been implemented for next year’s class! Krystal is very open to people taking initiative like that and she is very dedicated to enhancing the program to match Launcher feedback! She is such a fantastic leader.
CA: What is your biggest piece of advice to future MBA applicants?
NN: To really search within—spend some time with yourself and figure out what you really want to do. When I first began this process and people asked me what I wanted to do with my life, I would sometimes find myself answering that I wanted to be a partner at my firm. It was a respectable answer—it was what I saw when I looked way up the ladder from where I am now. But then I realized, while I greatly respect the partners at my firm (they are geniuses), that path is not my true aspiration.
So, shortly after that realization, I literally asked myself what job I would want if I could do anything. Or, and I realize this is morbid, I asked myself that if I found out I had five more years to live, what would I go to start working on—what cause would I dedicate myself to? What would I wake up early in the morning to impact? I want to consult with restaurant owners of color—I want to see restaurants representing different cultures stick around; that’s really important to me. So then I did a bunch of research, called anyone I could find, prepared, reflected, prepared again and then wrote about that plan in my applications. For me it has paid off because I have been able to make meaningful relationships with people in the MBA admission process—it has become an interesting point of conversation.
The MBA is a big investment. That is true. So think about it as if you were spending your last dime on the MBA, what job do you want it to help you get? Maybe it’s the thing you dream about while you procrastinate at your actual job. Don’t be afraid of things that don’t make sense. I was afraid of saying, “Hey, I want to do hospitality.” Being a consultant, as well as an introvert, it was hard to leave the “pack” of consultants in the room at MBA events, which was my comfort zone. After stepping out on faith and owning it, I was often the only one in the room saying anything about hospitality. On some applications I even had to select “Other” in the drop-down menu of choices when answering “Desired Post-MBA industry” and manually type it in!
But you know what? At those events, when people asked me follow-up questions, they realized that I knew what I was talking about. Don’t be afraid of going after what you want to do, even if it’s not a big chunk of the industry pie charts on school employment reports. I know a lot of people who want to do beauty and want to work at places like Chanel but are afraid it won’t be “respected.” Guess what? Chanel has a CEO. Go make that happen. No matter where you work, it’s going to be hard—you might as well climb the ladder in an industry you truly enjoy.
To be clear, I am not saying people should go after non-traditional industries if it’s not their passion or just for application strategy to be “unique.” If I chose hospitality because it was just an interest of mine, but didn’t immerse myself in learning all I could about it, I’m sure it would’ve shown through in my interviews that I wasn’t serious. So don’t choose something to be cool or a unique applicant. What makes you unique is choosing to do anything with genuine passion and authenticity. I know a lot of people who chose to go for consulting and banking and really, really want to do that in the depths of their hearts who are also now getting acceptance letters.
I find that if you’re honest with yourself, even if your post-MBA goal is a traditional industry, you’ll make better connections in this process because you have well-informed and personal reasons that make you unique. I think the point I’m trying to make is, be genuine, and it will show through to your favor. People pick up on passion when it’s accompanied by hard work. It’s clear.
In all, my application process has gone so much better than it would have if I had taken the “safe” route. I feel incredibly blessed. So my advice is to really be fearless and go after your dream. Be your best self—whatever that looks like.
