Show me the Money !! School Applications

Hello there ! beautiful people. Thanks for being here with me and here I am again with yet another post to get you started on your grad school journey. It doesn't matter where you are right now what matters is where you want to go. I am going to try my best to keep this article short since being concise is one of the themes that is often stressed upon both my admissions teams as well as in business communication. Often times we think that articulated essays can only be written by using flowery language, adding quotes from commonly read books and sources( yea you're right that is what I am hinting at) or even skillfully copying content that is available online. Here is what I am going to say there are three things that you must consider when you start that essay of yours. Regardless of the school you are applying to they are going to ask you - why do you want to apply? thats a basic question, you must know why you're going back to school in the first place, thats a fair ask right? describe your journey and show us how you expect us to help? your personal narrative is extremely important and keep reading to know why.

What Business Schools Care About ?!

Business schools compete on their rankings( which are not an accurate measure of a school's performance ) and there is one thing every person every school every company every investor absolutely detests is you going back disgruntled posting a scathing review on social media, community forums etc. That is what they want to avoid and for good reason right, you don't want someone tarnishing your brand , a disgruntled business school graduate is the last thing any school wants. You may be like who does that ? I'll be perfectly honest with you I can tell you 10 people who did that because $200k is a lot of money, the opportunity cost from lost earnings for the 1-2 years of course duration and, not being able to really get what you went in for.I get it people it people may feel they got scammed, trust me MBA is an expensive degree so you must figure out if you really need to go to business, what reasons you're going for and what is going to be your plan B or even plan C if things don't work out the way you planned. I am going to add a note especially for international students. Please make sure you know about the post graduate job opportunities that stand for you, just because a school that is ranked 1 lists a laundry list of employers doesn't make you eligible to apply. You would to shocked to learn that so many companies don't even sponsor international students, its not a fair field and if you think it's unfair that you are paying 5x more in name of out of state tuition and limited job opportunities hold that thought. I'll address it in a moment.

Tackling Public Opinion

Any first world country you go to will have certain laws that favor natives and opportunities will be easily available to them that you. Getting visa approvals is nasty, its expensive its a risk for a company which is why many don't even want to get into it. This is especially true for companies that aren't stable or don't have resources to invest in employees. Make sure you do your research in the area of your interest, go outside, meet people, take them out to lunch and really understand what you are getting into before and not after the fact. You will be saving yourself a $$$$ fortune by not picking a school if that is not something important for your career path. Career trajectories are non-linear , just because your friend is going back to school doesn't mean you must too. We all are on a different phase and path in our life's journey, know yourself and give yourself time to grow into a version that is ready for more. Never jump a cliff without knowing what you're landing on. Adventurous quotes only look good on instagram and Tiktok, real life is different. You are free to make any choice you want but you are not free from the consequences of that choice. While you do your research, a technique known as sampling in the world of statistics to use to collect data as evidence for decision making make sure to exclude any outliers.

You will come across people who will not hesitate one bit to talk down to you, some people are skilled to identify your weakest flaws and insecurities. When or if that happens I only have one advice that has worked for me, "Never forget what you are , the rest of the world will not. Wear it like an armor and it can never be used to hurt you." Yes you are right this a quote by Tyrion Lannister from Game of Thrones, I found it quite powerful. You don't ever dim your light because people around you think you shine too bright are doing too much and don't fit the mould. Break that mould, get new friends. In 2018 I had no friends and I didn't die. You shouldn't be rude, you shouldn't treat people poorly , you treat them accordingly.

Never forget who you are, the rest of the world will not.Wear it like an armor and it can never be used to hurt you.

Tyrion Lannister

Why Us??????????

Next part of the puzzle is to talk about why a certain school. Umm, ok so you're telling me that all schools aren't the same? yes read that again " all schools are different". You are going to be surprised to know that "fit" is so important to schools. If you don't know what a specific school values, go to their admissions website , download that brochure, connect with them on email, zoom, QSMBA fairs and get to know them. You want to have genuine interest in the school you are applying to. You want to show the effort and that you did everything you could to shine those parts of yourself that you think are the best. Don't get lazy , I know we have all done that , have one essay and resume one fits all. Nope. Not gonna lie that doesn't fly. Wow! gotta love when things rhyme. If you can, I know the pandemic is a major blocker these days go visit the school. Yes it might cost you $2000 to visit may be 4-5 schools but let me remind you , you are planning to invest $100k. To put that in perspective $2000 vs $100k+ and lost earning and fill in the blank sacrifices.I went to the campus of UCLA, UC Berkeley, Stanford, UC Davis, USC Marshall,UT Austin(this one zoom because pandemic ugh) , Arizona State University and Columbia (QS MBA fair) to name a few and it was worth it. This research about schools and what their brand means , what is their culture fit is NOT an optional exercise. Spend time on it and you will not have a hard time answering why this school. Why this school is also a popular question when you apply for a student visa (for international students only). You must know why a certain school and don'r be swayed by online rankings.

Why UC Davis?

UC Davis is ranked 4 and in many places the program doesn't even make a cut because it only started in 2017 and you need at least 5 years of data to even compete for ranks. I would rank UC Davis light years ahead of UT Austin, UCLA , USC and several others. This is my personal opinion and nice people please don't come at me for saying this. We all have our own priorities and its important for you to understand that a rank #1 school doesn't make you rank #1 . UC Davis MSBA program has a year long practicum where you get to work with a mentor and a team of 2-3 people to solve an analytics challenge for a company/brand/non-profit organization. I couldn't find a single school in the United States that provides that. There is a F1 visa clause so you are not eligible for internships unless your program is longer than a few months to start exercising your CPT. It is illegal for an international student to work more than 20hours on-campus unless you provide a severe economic circumstance that exempts you from this clause. The practicum ( its not an unpaid internship, its not an internship, it's not a volunteering task, its a way for you to apply and learn how data powers organizations). The professors don't stick to conventional curriculum, they constantly refine their content to address concerns and demands of the world. There is a student - to - faculty ratio of 7:1 which is considered good. The program is 44 units and the courses are foundational and focussed on building from first principles. There is a no bullshit approach to most topics that are vital for success in business analytics. You get to compete in analytics competitions and build your brand through the entire duration of the program. You have people who are invested in you 7 days a week 24hrs working tirelessly to make you the best version of yourself. Tell me one school that would be so committed to you. You all are smart people I don't have to tell you what to you. My job just to show you the way and nudge you in the right direction. Avoid some of those painful expensive mistakes that we don't want to get caught up in. It's ok if we do but why don't we avoid that bridge all together ha?

That's all I had for now. I will come back and update the post based on your questions ;) Please take care and keep hustling. I'll see you in the next one.

Akansha?