Swarnim Bagre, UNC Kenan-Flagler MBA Class of 2021
Age: 27
Hometown: Bhopal, India
Undergraduate Institution and Major: Mechanical engineering from BITS-Pilani, India
Pre-MBA Work Experience (years, industry): 5 years in IT, Digital Media, Data Analytics
Why business school? Why now?
After working in different sectors in various capacities, I wanted to have more visibility, gain a macro-level understanding of business processes and problem-solving, and develop a wide and diverse professional network.
Why UNC Kenan-Flagler? What factors figured most prominently into your decision of where to attend?
One of the major factors that attracted me to the school was its strength in consulting and technology fields, combined with a close-knit community of students and the location of Chapel Hill. Also, the class size is big enough to have many diverse students and not too big where you feel lost in a crowd.
Fun fact that didn’t get included on your application?
I recently started to like travel and over the past year, I have traveled to six countries.
Post-MBA career interests?
Consulting and technology.
Advice to current prospective applicants:
–One thing you would absolutely do again as part of your application process?
I would talk to as many students as possible to learn more about the schools and their culture. This is what helped me to understand my fit with schools and distinguish myself from other applicants.
–One thing you would change or do differently?
Having a diverse background, one thing I would have changed during my application process would be to not stress too much on not having the “ideal” profile.
There’s no such thing as an ideal profile for any career path you want to pursue after an MBA. Many MBA students are career switchers, so what matters more is the transferable skills from any career path you have had before MBA to the one you want.
–Part you would have skipped if you could—and what helped you get through it?
Applying to too many schools under the perception that this would increase my chances of getting admitted. I should have traded applying to loads of colleges with an average application with excellent applications to fewer schools.
Students usually don’t realize when an application goes below par while applying to many business schools. I would have foregone this process and focused more on understanding school fit.
What is your initial impression of UNC Kenan-Flagler’s students/culture/community?
The school has been everything I had heard before joining. Students are always ready to help and the close-knit community gives a sense of belonging and loyalty.
One thing you have learned about UNC Kenan-Flagler that has surprised you?
The grading concept here is something that took me by surprise. There is none actually.* The school makes a good effort to help students handle academics and recruiting simultaneously, and not overburden them with the pressure of maintaining high grades.
The focus here is not on students’ test-taking ability, but on understanding the coursework.
Thing you are most anxious about in your first year?
The biggest apprehension in my first year is handling the academics, having been out of a school schedule for quite some time. I feel adjusting to classes and homework and tests could take a lot of time.
Thing you are most excited about in your first year?
I’m most looking forward to meeting all of my classmates from different countries and getting introduced to Chapel Hill.
*As with many graduate schools, Kenan-Flagler uses H (High Pass – Clear Excellence), P (Pass – Entirely Satisfactory Graduate Work), L (Low Pass – Inadequate/Unsatisfactory Graduate Work) or F (Fail)).
Clear Admit Resources
Thanks for meeting a few of UNC’s MBA candidates! As you work on your Kenan-Flagler MBA essays and application, we encourage you to consider all of Clear Admit’s UNC / Kenan-Flagler offerings:
- UNC / Kenan-Flagler Business School on the Clear Admit website: up-to-date advice and admissions information
- Clear Admit LiveWire: admissions updates submitted in real time by applicants to Kenan-Flagler
- Clear Admit DecisionWire: school selections in real-time by admits to Kenan-Flagler
