Decision Time

It was in December 2023, after we were considering shutting our startup. I started to apply for jobs. Around this time, I was evaluating the next steps in my career. I talked to folks, mentors, and my co-founder to decide that an MBA would be a great boost at this juncture of around 4.5 years of work experience.

Here were some thoughts I had in mind

• Geography change—India SaaS was US-centric in its business, so it made sense to want to expand my network there, understand the company better, and be physically present there. This would also give me exposure to newer and riskier businesses.
• The Degree—Curriculum and all aside, once my startup hustle phase ends years later, and I want to break into big tech to work on large-scale problems, I feared my lack of a degree might be a filtering hindrance. Yes, it's not compulsory; there could be one-off examples, but the signaling a top degree and college provides in business roles played on my mind.

First Shot

GMAT Focus was pretty new in late 2023 when I hastily prepared and got an acceptable score. This gave me the confidence to fancy my chances at several colleges in the USA for my MBA starting in 2024.

Mind you, all this thought process regarding GMAT Preparation and application submission happened over a period of three weeks, from December 2023 to January's first-week submission deadlines.

I maintained that getting a top admission in three weeks would be a miracle. All I could manage was a waitlist at a T20 USA MBA Program.

Exam Hustle

After we shut down our startup and I joined another job, I re-evaluated my decision. My pointers still felt in line, and I wanted to go with the plan, this time with experience and more time on my side.

It started off with getting another shot at the GMAT focus. And another one, but all I could manage was a 675, which is the median at best for top colleges.

Heading into R1

I knew my baseline was on the T20 waitlist. Given my experience, I thought I could perform better, but my strictly median GMAT scores, combined with a sub-par CGPA, made me less of a prospect.

I signed up for multiple counseling sessions with various MBA institutes, some overtly optimistic and some overtly negative. Either way, I wasn't convinced that $8,000 or so for five applications was worth it.

Resources

• I opted for Applicant Lab as my essay reference guide and even paid for additional essays and one application review service. That felt like a one-time evaluation, and I took pointers to incorporate across applications.
• r/MBA is a lot of noise, with many pouncing on negative banter or bombarding your DM with counseling services, except for a one-off thread that you could relate to and some sincere replies that could make the whole thing useful.
• Stacy-Blackman has good essays and overviews of each college.
• Read up the entirety of the college's website. Be it the professors whose work aligns with your goals or any courses that appeal to you. Clubs you want to be part of. These could be great inclusions to your essays.

Preparation

• Resume - Make that resume in a standard format. Include quantitative impact wherever possible.
• Make a document exhaustively listing things you've done at work and extracurriculars.
• This even helps you come up with anecdotes and appropriate pointers to mention in essays/resumes, according to the program and college.
• LOR - Talk to your recommenders early, guide them on the process, deadlines, and the potential message/direction to convey in your LORs
• Transcript Conversion—Most colleges request it after admission, but some may also require it early. I used WES Conversion. The process took around three weeks to complete.

Choosing Colleges

This is a big one. I made a list of top colleges, focusing on The USA and UK. I used the template below to create an evaluation, much of it is subjective.

In hindsight, I should've also researched the scholarship prospects.

Given my tech programs, I've also considered.

• Tech MBA Programs—Particularly Cornell Tech and NYU Tech MBA. Both are one-year MBAs. Cornell also has a 1+1 offering, which is one year in Ithaca and another tech-focused in NYC.
• Dual Degrees - Columbia MBAxMS, Kellogg MMM, HBS MS/MBA, Haas MEng/MBA are some of the top programs in this cadre

With a combination of this and further subjective inputs from my cousin and professional mentors, I narrowed down my R1 to the following colleges

Dream

• CBS MBAxMS
• LBS

Reach

• UCLA
• NYU Tech MBA
• Yale

Likely

• Cornell Tech MBA
• USC Marshall

ClearAdmit has ApplyWire to help you choose colleges better, with some of their folks freely commenting and opining on your college selection

The 'Why's?

As I got down to the essays, the fundamentals of any essay across the college can be broken down into a few fundamental 'Why.'

• Why MBA?
• Why Now?
• Why this Program/College?
• Why you?

Getting these answers aligned with your profile and goals is super important.

If you have everything you have to accomplish your goal, then an MBA isn't needed.

If you are too early or too late as per median cohort work experience, why now is critical

In any case, beyond obvious reasons like 'Wow, your college is great and top-rated,' why this program makes a lot of sense.

Amidst the thousands of applications, another question is Why you are applying, whether because of the experience you've had and can contribute or because of the personality you bring.

All the whys with corresponding data points and stories, which lead to each of the answers, are critical to spinning the essays

Interviews

I was lucky to have been invited for a bunch of interviews.

• Columbia MBAxMS
• Cornell Tech MBA
• USC Marshall

Be prepared with questions on your resume, deep-diving your choices throughout your career.

Present yourself confidently in alignment with your application. It's whether an anonymous interview with or without access to your resume/profile earlier.

Prepare for instances where you demonstrated XYZ capabilities

Read through your interviewer's profile; prepare appropriate questions to ask and follow up. It's something more nuanced and not a Google search away.

I asked about the future of the program in my Columbia interview, given that I was interviewing with one of the program directors. This information is not easily available and is relevant, given that it's a new program with the first batch graduating in 2025.

Go through the course structure, university, top professors, and maybe even YouTube interview videos and college videos to better understand culture and pose better questions.

Waiting & Anxiety

The entire period from September to December is filled with wait and anxiety.

Some universities, like LBS, have an interview intimation date, which helps with closure and a lot of panic if rejected, like in my case. Some have a rolling interview call. Almost all have a single decision date.

I found solace in Reddit and GMAT club forums, knowing that people are in a similar boat as me with respect to anxiety and questions on timelines. Sharing interview snippets and announcements of 'I received my invite today' filled these forums.

ClearAdmit has decisionWire which usually amplifies anxiety, but also has notes on interview questions

I was oscillating between, 'Heck, I'll get any of these colleges, let's plan R2 for better ones' and waking up another day feeling shit, "What if I don't get into any?" let's plan R2 for absolute minimum college I would be willing to go.

Tick..Tick..Tick

It's December; any day is the day to hear. Every mail notification could carry a piece of good or bad news. I overthought every past interview and accepted the potential rejection of the ones I haven't interviewed yet. That's the pass time for the weeks in late November and December.

A waitlist arrived, and several rejections came in the first week of December.

I already went to the next batch of colleges, logged in, and started to fill in the form. I made a Google Doc to write draft essays. With every passing day and rejection, my R2 fallback college applications were filling up. It was a hail-mary situation before it was.

Such was the levels of anxiety.

Dec 11, 2024. 10:27 PM As I was lying on my bed in Hyderabad after a tiring visit to the office, I received a notification. My top preferred program sends a mail a week before the expected decision date. It's been a while since I've felt that level of anxiety and heart pumping, and a slight shiver in my hand as I pulled my laptop out to check (instead of mobile, I know, such a millennial thing)

As I opened the notification email, logged into the portal, and laid out a decision PDF, I still had no clue, after all of my anticipation, if it was a good one or not.

I took a long breath, hoping it was a good one. I murmured a small prayer, wishing the same. Then I opened the PDF to one of the best pieces of news I've received in some time.

My trembling only amplified, this time out of jubilation and disbelief. I reread the application and searched the pdf for the words' Waitlisted, 'Rejected,' and 'Accepted' to double-check. I dialed up my parents, family, and close friends. Suddenly, all the efforts were awarded, anxiety vanished, and breath was pacified. I slept to a smile and surprise in equal measure.

I woke up the next day and rechecked my email because I expected my vivid dream machine to make realistic dreams. Such were levels of disbelief and self-doubt.

Why not?

Now, with newfound confidence of 'Heck, I made it to Columbia MBAxMS, let me try Harvard/Stanford.'

I wasn't prepared for this case in my anxious thought preparation in November. But here I was. With no expectation or pressure, I submitted these two applications by their deadline and as good as forgot them.

How would the last few weeks of December have been if anything else happened? That's just overthinking to no use 🙂

In Summary

When I started, I didn't fancy an M7 admit. None of the MBA admissions consulting folks even dared suggest M7 colleges for me. However, it was the perfect fit for me; my experience and goals resonated with the program and college.

Many elements in my story would be 'red flags' as per any person.

• A 6.8 CGPA
• 5 firms in 5 YOE
• Let go of a job a week after applying (the week before applying to a few other colleges)

It's a stroke of luck or alignment. I casually want to try reconnecting with admission consulting firms, telling the same story, and see if they suggest Columbia as one of my potential admits. Sometimes, I wonder if I had to reapply, would I still be able to get in? But it only has to happen once. Either way, I do sometimes feel like an imposter. That may be a feeling many share, but it's time to shrug it off and focus ahead.

I hope you take this as a story: "If he can do it, I can too." I would be rooting for you to accomplish that admit.

Doubts (and Self-doubts)

Probably the more useful section