Meet The Kenan-Flagler MBA Class of 2017

Angela Cai

University of North Carolina, Kenan-Flagler Business School

Hometown: Charlotte, N.C.

Undergraduate School and Major: Duke University, BA, Physics; UNC-Chapel Hill School of Medicine, MD (MBA/MBD dual-degree program, Class of 2017)

Employers and Job Titles Since Graduation: Medical Student 

Recalling your own experience, what advice do you have for applicants who are preparing for either the GMAT or the GRE?  Keep doing practice problems until you understand how the test-makers think, including what kinds of questions they like to ask and what kinds of answers they like to choose.

Based on your own selection process, what advice do you have for applicants who are trying to draw up a list of target schools to which to apply? Notice how schools market themselves as an indication of their strengths and make sure it matches with your professional development goals. Determine how much hands-on professional development you want from your school and recognize that it is physically more difficult to access resources the larger a class becomes. Your classmates will be your first and strongest professional network – meet students and find out if you like the student culture.

What advice do you have for applicants in actually applying to a school, writing essays, doing admission interviews, and getting recommenders to write letters on your behalf? Do not present yourselves to schools based on the impression you think they want to have of you. You cannot pretend to be someone else forever, so focus on presenting the most polished form of your authentic self and finding the best fit. Writing is a process of discovery in itself – start writing early to allow your thoughts to mature over time.

What led you to choose this program for your full-time MBA? I value the sense of community and focus on leadership development at UNC Kenan-Flagler. After only three weeks on campus, I already feel like my classmates and I, as well as the administrators and students, are building a community in which we all want to succeed and work together. Leadership development is an important skill for me to develop as an MBA/MD because I am working to bring the voice of physician leadership to health care decision making.

What would you ultimately like to achieve before you graduate?  I would like to get to know and work with as many of my classmates as possible. Specific skills I hope to develop include an ability to understand the business language of medicine and improved communication. Ultimately, I want to graduate knowing that I left a positive legacy to UNC Kenan-Flagler and the UNC School of Medicine community and grew by chasing opportunities that made me uncomfortable and challenged my weaknesses.