Best & Brightest MBAs: Holly Price of the University of Michigan's Ross School

Holly Price once tried out for a modern dance company in high school and was told she would be a “better fit” for the school's new Hip-Hop dance team. She spent the next eight years dancing with competitive Hip-Hop dancers and thinks of her rejection as the best ever. Now the 30-year-old Houstonian s about to graduate from the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business.

Before heading off to business school, Price had worked as a senior consultant in Deloitte Consulting's tech practice. She did a summer internship with Education Pioneers at a nonprofit in Houston that helps inner-city high school students get college and career exposure through summer learning opportunities. And now she's headed to McKinsey & Co.

“I knew I wanted to go to business school when…I moved to Ann Arbor with my husband, who was joining the Ross MBA program, and his classmates, who were some of the most impressive people I had ever met and instantly welcomed me as one of their own. There were so many people who were ambitious and convinced that an MBA was a critical step in their journey to changing the world—I felt I would be lucky to be a part of this program."

“If I hadn’t gone to business school, I would be…working at Deloitte as a manager in the Technology practice. I was fortunate to have a network there that kept me on my toes and continued to push me; it was hard to imagine leaving. In fact, I quit work the week after I started business school because I was so reluctant to leave.”

What did you enjoy most about business school in general? Hands down, the diversity of the student body and their willingness to learn about each other. There are very few places in the world where you can work side-by-side with such a mix of people. I believe the key to counteracting the increasing polarization of our world is to figure out how to build bridges to people who are different from us. Business school has created a space for me to build what I hope will be lasting friendships with people from many different nations, races, religions, and identities. That is just not an opportunity that most people get in their lifetime.

What was the most surprising thing about business school for you? I have been surprised at how busy I am in business school. After a few particularly grueling projects at work, I thought, “I will go get my MBA and take it easy for a couple of years.” But I have found so many things to be excited about that I work harder and often get less sleep than when I was a consultant. It’s a good problem to have.

What is your best piece advice to an applicant hoping to get into your school’s MBA program? Visit schools before you apply and identify the unique aspects of the program that resonate with you that you can include in your application. Michigan is looking for smart, talented, passionate people from diverse backgrounds. Figure out how to convey that you are someone they are looking for and how the many unique aspects of the program are going to help you get closer to your goals.

Meet all of Poets&Quants' 100 Best & Brightest MBA Graduates of 2017