Confessions of An MBA Consultant

WORKING ON APPLYING TO B-SCHOOL AS IF IT WAS A SECOND JOB.

I also knew that the essays were crucial because, well, everyone knows that…plus I was reading tons of them for my job at TFA and saw how they make/break applicants…and I’d dropped out of law school and needed to explain such things. So I set about working on my B-school applications like it was a second job.

After long hours at TFA, I would moonlight at my dad’s office across town. The TFA office wasn’t where you wanted to be really late at night and my apartment was full of roommates. My dad got me access, and I loved showing up there late at night with the cleaning crew. It was so peaceful, and they had free hot chocolate packets. Such amenities didn’t exist in my nonprofit world.

Diligently, I did practice GMATs and crafted my essays. I was actually having fun being in the zone. It was nice to see my progress in math and to learn about myself through essay writing. I started spending chunks of weekend time there, too.

One Saturday as I plugged along, hot chocolate by my side, I decided to take a break and head two blocks south to the Hilton where they were hosting the MBA Tour. There would be representatives from schools and other applicants. I got information on it from my GMAT class. I thought it might be good to check out since I hadn’t visited B-schools or gone t panels or met anyone else applying.

DRESSED LIKE LL COOL J.

I trotted over in my jeans and Nike sweat jacket, a favorite item of mine purchased in Oakland during TFA teaching days. As soon as I walked into the hotel, I felt silly. Everyone was in suits—and I was dressed like LL Cool J. But knowing that clothes don’t make the woman, I registered and went upstairs. I especially wanted to talk to the Stanford rep because it was my first choice. I was intent on going back to Cali.

But…Oh My God. It was like a feeding frenzy. There was the Stanford rep, a tiny woman surrounded by a hundred people shoved up against each other like the miserable NYC morning subway commute. Someone was screaming (seriously screaming), “So are you saying that if I don’t get at least a 730 than I shouldn’t even bother applying to Stanford?” They all lurched in to hear the response. I turned on the heel of my running shoes and headed straight out the door.

This was years before I would acknowledge that I felt energy or that it affected me, but I knew I didn’t want to be anywhere near that kind of madness. As I walked back to my dad’s office, I smiled to myself. Surely none of those folks suspected that the chick dressed as the unknown white girl, fourth member of RunDMC, would get a coveted spot at Stanford…with less than a 730. But better to just keep doing my thing. I was feeling good about my essays, so I went back to work on them.

WHY STRESSED-OUT ENERGY IS JUST A DISTRACTION.

Freaking out will not help you get into business school. Yelling at people will not help you get into business schools. Mouthing off on blogs and stressing out while reading blogs will not help you get into business school. Reading statistics on how hard it is to get into business school will not help you get into business school. Worrying about whether other people just like you are applying to business school will not help you get into business school. Neither will worrying about whether no one like you is applying to business school. Nor will gossiping about other people applying to business school. Nor will wondering who else is applying to business school.

The only thing that will help you in applying to business school is getting clear about why you want to go and then working on your application. That’s it. All the rest of this competitive, stressed-out energy is just a form of distraction. It’s a natural human tendency to worry about our chances and think crappy thoughts about others’ chances when we’re nervous and anxious.

For now though, could you practice not comparing yourself to others when it comes to business school stuff and maybe other things as well? Maybe you could even take it to another level and practice being supportive instead? Remember, what you put out comes back to you. If you want support and affirmation, then give it. What would it feel like to be compassionate when your peers struggle with this process and joyful when they succeed? Probably great. And perhaps they will shine that light right back on you. Cultivating this perspective is a discipline. Sometimes, you have to fake it till you make it. But it will feel so good that it will become part of your nature. And you can become a shining example to the rest of us. Just think about it.

This article is excerpted from “Earn It: A Stress-Free and Proven Approach to Getting Into Top MBA Programs” by Katie Malachuk. A former MBA admissions consultant, Malachuk is a yoga instructor and a certified life coach.

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