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The best success story ever.

November 21, 2014 by EssaySnark Leave a Comment

We have a favorite former BSer who we’ve now followed along the entire process of applying to business school (stress!), to getting in (yay!), to getting scholarship money (double yay!), to getting an exciting internship (crazy!), to landing the most coveted post-MBA job ever (OMG!!!!), to now GRADUATING! and being back in the Real World with those three little initials MBA after their name, raking in the big bucks in the start of an amazing new career.

This person sent us a letter over the summer, and we are posting it here (edited slightly, and with permission) to hopefully inspire all of you who are struggling with the first step of this whole process: applying to business school.

Hi EssaySnark!

I never imagined what it would be like to write this email at the conclusion of my time at [bschool].

I’ve been reflecting all month, it took me that long to write this full email (which is super stinking long), but I figured I would try to capture my thoughts.

I took a much needed break from email. I hadn’t realized just how crazy life had become and just how married I was to my inbox until after graduation, when the barrage finally started to slow down.

Typical to my style, I took on way too many things this last semester and finally found my breaking point – when I realized I wasn’t able to give everything the attention it deserved, and things probably started slipping through the cracks that were too important to let slip. It was an immensely valuable lesson to learn in business school, one of the best ever.

In other news, May held a trip to Puerto Rico with my classmates, two graduation ceremonies, a week with my parents visiting (hosting tourists, even the best kind, was exhausting), a trip to the Outer Banks with 70+ of my non-bschool friends from the East Coast, and a move out of [city]. I don’t think I slept more than 4 or 5 hours a night, it was the most whirlwind month ever.

It was odd, to get to the end of business school, look around and think “okay. I’m good. I learned enough at this place with these people. I’ve met enough good people and enough people that I don’t imagine staying that close to in the future.” I am ready for the next step (and freaked out, since I’ve been promised that I will again feel like an “admissions mistake” when I meet and interact with my future colleagues)

I suppose I expected more nostalgia, but I didn’t really feel that. Just gratitude for the lessons I had learned and the friends I had made, but also a desire to continue on with life. I have learned that I try to grow in every direction I need to at once, which is actually a terrible way to try to grow at all. My summer is going to be spent (and probably the rest of my life) learning how to set one or two goals for personal development at a time, since currently I have about 6-8 floating around in my head at any given point. I think business school also taught me to be more gentle with myself, to appreciate that although my methods aren’t perfect, I have been successful so far with them, and balancing the past success while attempting to change some of my less effective methods for more effective ones.

Most of all, I am grateful for the experience. Grateful for the friends who make me a better person, grateful for the learning opportunities and the ways that I pushed myself even harder and tested my limits. Grateful that I ended up with the exact job I wanted, and another that taught me how important finding the right culture is for my future jobs. What a transformative two years!

And, grateful to you EssaySnark, for helping me find the words to convey how much I wanted to be at [this school], and why I was the right fit. I couldn’t have done it without you, seriously.

Now that I’m finally done with my email/computer hiatus (a month was probably long enough…), I can be a normal, productive member of society again. Looking forward to perusing the blahg again and seeing what’s changed 🙂


Dunno ’bout you, Blahg Readers, but that gave us chills. 😀

Filed Under: Success Stories

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Next: How to contact the MBA admissions office. »

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We're the snarky experts in MBA admissions!

Sometimes amused and often appalled by what candidates write in their MBA applications to top bschools, EssaySnark created this little blahg to share common mistakes. Learn from them and avoid making admissions directors laugh (or want to hurl) when they read your essays. If you are hoping to have your essay reviewed anonymously on the blahg for free, submit it for consideration.

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Good luck on your apps, Brave Supplicant!

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From a BSer January 2020:
"love the guide books!"


CLASS OF 2023 MBA APPLICATION STRATEGY GUIDES

     
    The 2020 Berkeley-Haas MBA Application Guide - updated for the Class of 2023 application!
SnarkStrategies Guide for Berkeley Haas - refreshed and updated, with brainstorming exercises and structured maps to help you focus your stories!
   
    The 2020-2021 NYU Stern MBA Application Guide that covers the main essay, the EQ Endorsement and Pick Six!
SnarkStrategies Guide for NYU - discusses your requirements for the Class of 2023 essays!
   
    The 2020-2021 Columbia MBA Application Guide
SnarkStrategies Guide for Columbia Business School for 2020-2021 applications
   
    The 2020 Harvard MBA Application Guide - completely overhauled and updated for the coronavirus era!
SnarkStrategies Guide for Harvard Business School!
   
    The 2020-2021 Duke Essay Guide - covers the 25 Random Things essay and all the rest too!
SnarkStrategies Guide for Duke Fuqua - up to date for the current season!
   
    The 2020-2021 MIT Essay Guide covers the org chart, the contacts for two references, and additional tips for the cover letter and 'introduce yourself' video -- and everything else you need to know!
SnarkStrategies Guide for MIT Sloan MBA - totally revised for the Class of 2023!
   
    The 2020-2021 Tuck Essay Guide has been refreshed with latest insights and advice for your essays about "investing generously" and "why Tuck"!
SnarkStrategies Guide for the Dartmouth Tuck MBA - completely overhauled for 2020, to help you demonstrate how you are nice, aware, etc stuff!
   
    The Yale SOM MBA Application Guide for Class of 2023 candidates!
SnarkStrategies Guide for Yale SOM - updated for 2020-2021
   
    The 2020-2021 Chicago Booth MBA Application Guide - ready to go to support your Class of 2023 essay strategy!
SnarkStrategies Guide for Chicago Booth for this year's MBA app!
   
    The 2020 Wharton MBA Application Guide - even more advice on how to get to a win with those essays!
SnarkStrategies Guide for The Wharton School - with new tips for 2020!
   
    The 2020 Kellogg Essay Guide - with a full methodology to identify your 'lasting impact' and your 'values' -- plus tips on 2020 world events and applicability to your essays!
SnarkStrategies Guide for Kellogg MBA - updated and revised for the new realities of 2020!    
      The 2020 Stanford MBA Application Guide - for "what matters most" in your MBA application!
SnarkStrategies Guide for Stanford GSB for the Class of 2023
   
    The 2020-2021 UCLA Anderson MBA Application Guide - updated for Class of 2023 on "impact"!
SnarkStrategies Guide for 
UCLA
   
   

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What were we snarking about at this time in past years?

  • 2020: "What should I do with my summer?"
  • 2019: ($) Got a glitch with your grades? TAKE ACTION NOW!
  • 2018: Should you care who the dean is?
  • 2018: Does it matter who the dean is? 2018 edition
  • 2017: If you really want to go to Harvard...
  • 2016: Another little quiz
  • 2016: ($) When your safety school is actually a stretch school.
  • 2015: ($) Deciding on a school: Does location matter?
  • 2013: Success Story! "It's complicated..."
  • 2012: "School X, or School Y with $$$?" (Part who knows)
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