Meet Foster’s Class of 2017 MBAs

Joshua Rodriguez

 

University of Washington, Michael G. Foster School of Business 

Hometown: Killeen, Texas

Undergraduate School and Major: United States Military Academy – Russian and French

Employers and Job Titles Since Graduation: US Army – Executive Officer, Reconnaissance Platoon Leader, Aide de Camp, Brigade Planner, Troop Commander

Recalling your own experience, what advice do you have for applicants who are preparing for either the GMAT or the GRE? Forecast how you want to attack studying.Most people who have not dealt with these types of problems (GMAT) since college will need to set aside considerable time to sharpen their skills again. I was in command of 100+ soldiers at the time and was always training, rarely home. I had to take two weeks of leave to study.That certainly isn’t the preferred method, but even that required deliberate planning to accomplish. Ideally, you should schedule regular study sessions over the course of a 3-4 month period prior to paying the GMAT fee.

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? I didn’t apply to a school that I wasn’t excited about attending. For me, I focused on schools that were situated in an environment both my family and I could thrive in while attending and post-MBA. I spent a lot of time studying employment stats for the schools I was interested in. A brand with a reputation for competitive placement less than 90 days after graduation was very important to me as a career switcher and father to three girls. The four schools I had at the top of my list had some of the best employment stats and had incredible success in two regions of the United States I was most interested in working in – one of those being the Northwest, specifically Seattle.

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? 

Applying: If at all possible, ensure you participate in any shadow days, class visits, prospective student events, etc. Decide early on what it is you are looking for in an MBA program and write it down. Refer to that product throughout your research online and/or in person. Try to make a connection or multiple connections with current students you might enjoy as classmates. Listen to as much of their advice as they’re willing to provide. What do they constantly talk about? Camaraderie? Faculty? Opportunities that have opened up [for them] as a result of the program? Decide which of their answers are most important to you.

Writing Essays and Doing Interviews: By the time I was finished applying, I had about 40 different drafts of essays. Some of them were major tweaks, some were minor. I felt that the essays were my best chance at really sharing who I was. There are a ton of incredible individuals all trying to get into the top MBA programs at the same time. The GMAT number was important, but there was always going to be someone with a higher score. I knew that I needed to spend some real time sharing my story. I chose three or four mentors to help me with essays. One was a current business school professor at a top 20 program; two were recent MBA grads from top global programs who had some free time before they started their jobs; and one was already an MBA candidate from arguably the top-ranked program in the world. I did the leg work, but their advice absolutely helped me bring out the rarities in my personal story. Regarding the interview, I just tried to relax and enjoy my interaction with each adcom member. I focused on my story to ensure I could elaborate on what I had already provided in my essays and didn’t stress too much. Had I run into an interviewer who seemed aggressive, I probably would have decided that the program wasn’t a good fit for me. Thankfully, all of my interviews went well (at least I think they did!).

Recommenders: The Army encourages mentorship for those who want to excel professionally. Throughout my career in the military, I had the good fortune of crossing paths with a number of great leaders that I felt would write on my behalf. I approached those who I thought knew me the best, had a bit of time, and could articulate my character and potential. I gave them about a month or two advanced notice. One of my recommenders fell through at the last minute – thankfully I had reliable back ups who probably described who I was more accurately anyway.

What led you to choose this program for your full-time MBA? There are possibly too many reasons why Foster was the best choice…I’ll attempt to list them without taking up too much space!

For one, I had the best personal interactions here at Foster out of all my visits. At each school I applied to, there was some aspect that was incredible…either the students, the faculty, or the adcom. Before I had even applied to Foster, I found that all three welcomed me as if I was already on the team. Their recruiting methods were very genuine and coming from an organization that relies on trust – I needed that to be the case.

I fit right into the energy that Foster seems to radiate. I met Ms. Naomi Sanchez, assistant dean of MBA career management, at Welcome Weekend and the passion she has for advancing the Foster brand is very exciting. I was anxious to start working with someone who was that excited about my personal success. The career management team takes their job seriously and has about 1 person for every 12-15 students dedicated to them. That ratio was difficult, if not impossible, to beat when stacked up next to even the top 5 programs in the country.

The last two things that hooked me were class size and location. Foster MBA classes tend to have no more than 150 or so candidates admitted. That seemed absurdly competitive for a program that is inside the top 25 and is gaining ground to break into the top 20. Dan Poston, assistant dean of MBA admissions, really put it into perspective for me when he talked not only of the program but the entrepreneurial economy that we will study in. Seattle is geographically isolated from every other top MBA program outside of UW. The Foster School of Business has incredible influence in the city and its economy. The top employers for Foster are the same ones you’ll find MBAs on the East Coast competing to get (Amazon, Microsoft, Starbucks, etc.) and Foster has the home field advantage.

What would you ultimately like to achieve before you graduate? This sounds like an essay question I had to answer last fall. I had extraordinary opportunities in the Army with regard to leading and planning operations. Before graduation, I’m looking forward to learning about how to advance those skills in the private sector. It’s also very encouraging to see the amazing talent that surrounds me at Foster. Working with that team over the next two years in an effort to advance innovation during and post-MBA is incredibly exciting.