Sina Sharifpour, USC Marshall MBA Class of 2021
Age: 28
Hometown: Santa Monica, CA
Undergraduate Institution and Major: University of California, Santa Barbara; Double Major in Business Economics & Communications with a minor in Accounting
Pre-MBA Work Experience (years, industry): Deloitte (1 year, Audit); iParq (3.5 years, Controller of Tech SaaS company); Wix.com (1 year, Finance & Accounting at Public Tech Company)
Why business school? Why now?
I hit a point in my career where I had plateaued. I wanted to gain the necessary business strategy and leadership skills in order to pivot my career to a role that better fit my strengths and passions within the tech industry.
Why USC Marshall? What factors figured most prominently into your decision of where to attend?
USC’s MBA program is one of the best in the country. To have the Trojan brand and alumni network in Southern California will be very beneficial to my career.
I really appreciated that the Marshall class is smaller than schools like Harvard or Wharton. We only have a class of 214 so we get to know everyone in our program really well and get to work and interact with more people, and have a specialized program.
I also love the fact that USC places a huge emphasis on diversity and inclusion—our class is about one third international students. I felt would be a great experience to work with people from different backgrounds.
The USC curriculum also has a mandatory international study abroad experience called PRIME which is an amazing opportunity to apply our classroom knowledge to real life international business problems.
What do you think is your most valuable or differentiating contribution to the Class of 2021?
Being one of the few CPAs in our class, I bring a considerable technical finance and accounting background along with great international and cultural experiences from a year spent backpacking around the world.
Fun fact that didn’t get included on your application?
I have traveled to over 40 countries.
Post-MBA career interests?
Internal Business Strategy, Development, or Operations Management at a technology company revolutionizing the health or environmental industry.
Advice to current prospective applicants:
–One thing you would absolutely do again as part of your application process?
Understand the core values of the school or program you want to attend and make sure it aligns with your values and what you are looking to get from your MBA. Doing the research to assess the differences in every program will really help determine which MBA experience will fit you best.
–One thing you would change or do differently?
I would meet with more current MBA students during my application process to learn more about their overall MBA experience, the recruiting process of different industries, and internship positions most available to MBA students.
–Part you would have skipped if you could—and what helped you get through it?
Studying for the GMAT for 6 weeks in the summertime was brutal and definitely kept me disciplined but studying with a friend who was going through the application process as well made it worthwhile.
What is your initial impression of USC Marshall’s students/culture/community?
I love the overall One Marshall community we have. We are all one team and community in a collaborative and not a competitive environment. This fosters a lot of growth and an overall family feel.
One thing you have learned about USC Marshall that has surprised you?
I knew the Marshall community and alumni network was strong, but I think I underestimated exactly how strong. Every alumnus I’ve reached out to has been so willing and open to meet with me. It’s as if we all went through an experience together and really respect one another for it. I’m excited to be a Trojan not only during my time here but for the rest of my career and life.
Thing you are most anxious about in your first year?
Where I end up getting an internship and in which role, as I am applying all over the country.
Thing you are most excited about in your first year?
All of our MBA events and networking opportunities. We’ve had some amazing speakers already come out to campus in the first few weeks of school and their stories and career paths are very inspiring.
