I was always inspired by students who graduated from top MBA programs.
Through several internships and networking opportunities, I met many individuals from these programs who thoroughly enjoyed their experiences.
As a result, I knew that I wanted to pursue an MBA after completing my undergraduate business degree in 2018.
Over the past few months, I’ve shared much about MBA applications and the tips and tricks I’ve learned. Now, I want to take you through my career journey and explain how I approached applying for my MBA. I offer key takeaways to help you better approach your own MBA journey.
1. Crushing the GMAT
For me, the GMAT was the most challenging part of the MBA application process. Thankfully, I completed the GMAT more than a year before actually applying to MBA programs.
Initially, I focused solely on the GMAT since the GRE was not as popular or widely accepted at top schools.
I took my first GMAT attempt the summer after graduating, knowing I was about to start a career in management consulting and wouldn’t have as much time to prepare later.
I over-stressed about the preparation and relied heavily on solving as many practice problems as possible. This approach didn’t yield the results I hoped for, and I didn’t do well on my first attempt.
I spent the next several months adopting a new study strategy and retaking the exam a few more times to achieve a competitive score above 700.
Many blogs on the internet suggest that candidates from overrepresented backgrounds, such as Asian American male consultants, may need higher scores for US M7 schools. While I’m not sure of the validity of this observation, I knew I needed a strong score.
Key takeaway: Decide between the GMAT or GRE and prepare your study plan well in advance of your application to ensure you have enough time to achieve a top-percentile score or re-sit the test.
2. Pursuing Career Prestige and Business Impact
I was advised that both the prestige of the company you work for and the impact you make are crucial elements of your career story for your MBA application. Fortunately, I genuinely enjoyed the world of management consulting, which helped me achieve both prestige and business impact. Initially, I planned to apply for my MBA in 2021, but I realized that I might have been too young and lacked a diverse set of career experiences, as my background was primarily in consulting.
Luckily, I stumbled upon an opportunity to join a unicorn startup in my favourite field—transportation and the future of mobility. I decided to pursue this opportunity to further develop my skills. This experience allowed me to work directly with a CEO, lead a team through a corporate acquisition, and manage multiple parts of a business. It strengthened my entrepreneurial toolkit and provided me with a perspective distinct from the traditional corporate or consulting world.
In my most recent role, I returned to consulting and joined an MBB firm to learn about the future of various industries and understand how influential clients and companies make decisions and view the evolving world. The combination of these experiences positioned me as a consultant who had the chance to explore different areas of business and maximize impact.
Key takeaway: While brand name and business impact are critical in your career story, strive to differentiate yourself from others with similar career backgrounds.
3. Being Passionate about Extra-curriculars
Balancing personal commitments, professional obligations, and community impact can be challenging. Given my limited time, I focused my extra efforts on organizations I felt strongly affiliated with or truly believed in their goals and values. Early in my consulting career, I dedicated significant time to student pro-bono consulting clubs. I mentored students in consulting skills by guiding them through real-world business cases for local nonprofits and providing networking opportunities.
Later, I reconnected with some high school friends to create a national nonprofit aimed at helping high school students learn more about business education—a gap we faced during our high school years. This allowed me to concentrate on the impact I could make. We grew the organization into a team of over 10 members, providing workshops to thousands of students through boot camps and collaborations with the largest student leadership organizations in the country.
Key takeaway: Focus on what you truly care about and maximize the impact you can make on the community and the knowledge you can gain.
In conclusion
The MBA journey should begin years before you start writing your application.
It requires extensive planning, strategy, investment, and patience.
In the next article, we’ll discuss the optimal time to start preparing for your MBA application.
Jeff Zhang currently serves as a Consultant at McKinsey, specializing in private equity, transportation, technology, and sustainability sectors. Before this role, he spearheaded the creation of an innovative final-mile logistics product at a startup, later acquired by Shopify. His background includes significant experience in consulting, logistics and successful applications to global MBA programs.
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