Wharton, Kellogg and Ross admits with $200,000 in scholarships

I had three and a half years of experience in operations and technology and decided I had decided quite late in the application cycle to go for an MBA. Having made my decision in Sept, I had already missed the round 1 deadlines.

Since I was late to the game, round 2 was the only option for me. In 4 months, I had to study for and write the GMAT, research and select schools, reach out to my recommenders and put in well-thought out applications. The whole ordeal seemed extremely daunting at the outset and it went well but I would advise everyone to plan ahead and manage time well as this process takes more time then it would seem like.

I applied to Booth, Kellogg, Wharton and Ross and my goals were tech product management related so these schools seemed to be appropriate choices. For the essays, I broke down each complicated essay question into 4-5 components and put forth my goals and uniqueness into it. I also did a lot of school research to explain things like how I would grow at Kellogg or what contribution I would make at Wharton.

For the interview by building out my behavioural examples into a STAR format, I was easily able to customize my answers and tackle any question thrown at me. This helped me remain informative while making my answers concise. The extensive networking I did during the essay stage also helped me connect with interviewers and showcase my fit with the schools.

Faced with applying to schools in a short period of time I worked with a consultant and a shout out to Rajdeep Chimni as I got much better results than I had hoped for - I got into 3 (Wharton, Kellogg and Ross) schools in a single round, with significant scholarships. I f I were to do the process again I would definitely keep more time on my side and would actually start in June-July. Getting admits in Round 1 would have made the process much easier starting out in Round 2 you have no room to make any mistake. Luckily it all worked out!

Finally, a huge thanks to the fantastic GMAT club community. It was great to have a place to come to when I was feeling anxious about deadlines, interview calls, admit news etc. All the best to everyone!