Yash Dubey, Carnegie Mellon Tepper MBA Class of 2024
Hometown: Varanasi, India.
Undergraduate Institution and Major: Vellore Institute of Technology, BS Mechanical Engineering
Pre-MBA Work Experience (years, industry): 4.5 years, Strategy Consulting
Why did you make the decision to attend business school? Why now?
After spending close to five years in consulting, I realized that to effectively perform in a strategic role, I must have knowledge in all areas of an organization. Up to this point in my career, I have learned about most areas through various cross-functional projects. Business School will expand my horizon by exposing me to a variety of disciplines that I have limited knowledge of. My vision for my career is to create impact for people at scale, leveraging technology. I wanted to learn more about digital innovation to better understand strategic and operational issues surrounding transformation. To learn how to effectively introduce technology solutions to clients, I hope to explore the space of digital management. This will help me directly with bringing cutting-edge digital thinking to clients I advise in the future.
Why did you choose Carnegie Mellon Tepper? What factors figured most prominently into your decision of where to attend?
I was drawn toward Tepper’s incredible coalescence of technology, business, and strategy. Through its goal to build an Intelligent Future, Tepper emphasizes and teaches the importance of data-driven decision making which is the key solution for every business’s challenges today. Finally, the community at Tepper was one of the most genuine, supportive, and thoughtful communities that I encountered in my MBA application journey. Tepper was the business school where I felt at home.
What do you think is your most valuable or differentiating contribution to the Tepper MBA Class of 2024?
I’m humbled and inspired by my classmates every day. In my career in consulting and with the Government, I developed turnaround strategies for various Federal & State governments across the globe on challenges related to Infrastructure, Healthcare, and Governance. I hope to bring in the perspective that I gained through a ringside of view of Strategy & Policy Development in Government & Public Sector space. I naturally gravitate toward listening more than speaking and I hope to contribute to creating space and access, inspiring others to share their story to grow and learn together.
Tell us a fun fact about yourself that didn’t get included on your application:
After I got my admit from Tepper, I decided to take some time off to complete PADI Advance Open Water Dive Course. The goal is complete 10+ dives across 3 continents in the next 3 years. 
Post-MBA career interests:
I want to further my career in Consulting. I would like to diversify my advisory experience by working on engagements in which I can solve challenging business problems by leveraging data and technology.
Advice for Current Prospective Applicants:
–What is one thing you would absolutely do again as part of your application process?
Start early. I cannot emphasize this enough. Get done with GMAT Soon. Start the research process and talk to alums/current students to gauge a better fit. Business school application is more of an introspection than anything else. If you give yourself time, you will be able to get yourself to more authentic and genuine responses. Be humble but bold in the applications; this will go a long way.
Here, I also want to pay gratitude to my mentor, Ashwin Vishwanathan, who was a solid support to me throughout this process. He once told me that business school applications are a marathon and not a sprint, just like the MBA.
–What is one thing you would change or do differently?
I would get more people involved in the application process. It’s a grueling journey and having someone (mentors/friends) to share the journey would have taken a lot of pressure off my shoulders. It’s easy to get distracted and procrastinate, but having people around who hold you accountable on a regular basis will be a huge help during this arduous journey of business school applications.
–What is one part you would have skipped if you could—and what helped you get through it?
If I could, I would have skipped the standardized testing part. With a full-time job it is not easy to find the time and mental rigor to study for the GMAT/GRE. Discipline, mock tests, and a stress-free mindset helped me get through it!
What is your initial impression of the Carnegie Mellon Tepper students/culture/community?
Tepper community is ambitious yet collaborative. Every day I am around some of the smartest people I have ever met. There is a wide spectrum of backgrounds and life experiences that people bring with them, and this really adds to the richness of the MBA experience. Everyone is doing their part to help each other succeed, from classes to recruiting and overall life. I’ve found the Tepper community to be extremely collaborative and inclusive, as opposed to competitive. Also, a big shoutout to the class of 2023 for dedicating so much of their busy schedules to supporting us first-year students in the career search process.
What is one thing you have learned about Carnegie Mellon Tepper that has surprised you?
I am truly surprised by the help and nurture the Tepper community has provided me with. My classmates and I are supported by a ton of wonderful second years. Every second year I’ve reached out to has been incredibly generous with their time — I’m excited to pay that forward next year!
I am also surprised by the effort and time that the Tepper community takes to be inclusive of everyone’s different interests with various affinity, social, and support groups. It is very easy for us to find like-minded people or follow our passion in any interest area that we want to.
What is one thing you are most anxious about in your first year?
I’m nervous about finding balance between classes, recruiting, clubs, and self-care. There are a lot of competing priorities during business school. The key so far has been recognizing that I can do all the things I want to while at Tepper, but that I probably can’t do them all at the same time. I’m gradually letting go of FOMO about what I’m not prioritizing in the moment.
What is one thing you are most excited about in your first year?
Making friends! As simple as it sounds, I am anxious about this because with all the rush and pressure of business school, it can be difficult to truly connect with people. I am thankful to have found a community here that I have grown close to in the short period of time that I have been here. I’m sure some of the people I have met will be friends for life. I am most excited about getting to know all my brilliant classmates as we embark on this journey together.
