Meet Harvard’s MBA Class of 2017

Libby Leffler-Harvard-PoetsAndQuants-Classof2017

Libby Leffler 

Harvard Business School 

Hometown: Modesto, California 

Undergraduate School and Major: University of California, Berkeley / BSc Business Administration (Haas School of Business undergraduate program) 

Employers and Job Titles Since Graduation:

2007-2008 — Google

  • Account Strategist, Business Insights

2008-2015 — Facebook

  • Inside Sales Client Partner
  • Business Lead to the Chief Operating Officer
  • Business Development Manager 

Recalling your own experience, what advice do you have for applicants who are preparing for either the GMAT or the GRE? The GMAT/GRE is just one (mandatory) part of the entire application. It is worth going into the prep process with a positive attitude. Get ready to brush up on a few concepts and be prepared to learn a few things, too.

It is important to take the test seriously and start thinking about your prep plan right away. The GMAT is one of the single most objective parts of your application – and the best part is that you can plan and prepare for it. Start early. Look at your list of schools and respective application deadlines. Check with each school on the GMAT score receipt cutoff date if one exists. Based on your upcoming schedule and commitments you’ll be facing over the next several months, map out a plan of attack. Know when you want to take the GMAT and work backward to develop a detailed timeline of everything you need to do, from kicking off your prep course to scheduling the actual exam.

There are countless options when starting to think about ways to prepare. Listen to your instincts. Do you find yourself motivated by and dedicated to self-guided prep? Do you prefer a structured, in-class model? Figure out how you learn most effectively. Tailor your plan to your lifestyle, preferred method of learning, and overall objectives.

When I decided to apply to business school, I was several years out of undergrad. I was working in a demanding full-time job that also required some travel. Based on my lifestyle, committing to a regular class schedule would be difficult. Self-guided preparation was effective for me in the past. I did some research and settled on prep materials I liked.

Before ever cracking open a book, I took a sample test to set an initial baseline. I did my undergrad at the Haas School of Business (UC Berkeley), so I knew that some parts of the exam would feel more familiar than others. The early practice test was one of the best things I did – right away I could tell that some areas of the test felt more intuitive than others. More importantly, I had a clear sense of what I needed to work on.

There is no “right way” to prepare for the GMAT/GRE, no matter what anybody tells you. There is, however, a right way for YOU to prepare for the test. Educate yourself, start early, and hit the ground running so you can check “GMAT” off of your business school to-do list and move on knowing that you did everything possible to set yourself up for success. 

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? First, know yourself. Second, know the schools. Each school is known for something different, from having a focus on developing leaders or providing a stimulating environment for aspiring entrepreneurs. Class sizes vary and pedagogy differs from school-to-school.

Ask yourself why you want to go to business school… really. You should know deep down what you are truly hoping to get out of the experience. You should try to envision yourself in the classroom and figure out what type of learning stimulates you most. Take a look at the student makeup from past years — are these the kinds of people you want to surround yourself with for the next two years? You should be excited about every school you are applying to, but also thoughtful as you prepare different applications for each school. Each unique application should reflect your enthusiasm about the qualities of that particular program, but also offer insight into what you think you’ll bring to the classroom.

Examine the admissions data for each school. Look at average GMAT/GRE score, GPA, industry, and years out of college. Be ambitious, but be realistic. You can quickly assess where you stand against your own target list and which aspects of the application you’ll want to focus on to increase your chances of the “big envelope” from your dream business school. 

What advice do you have for applicants in actually applying to a school, writing essays, doing admissions interviews, and getting recommenders to write letters on your behalf? My main advice for applying to an MBA program — or any graduate school program — falls into three buckets:

  1. Start early and get organized
  2. Understand your strengths and weaknesses
  3. Tell your story

I viewed the MBA application process as a chance to reflect on my past work, areas for personal growth and as an opportunity to tell a clear story about the person I am, the things I hope to achieve, and the type of leader I aspire to become. Before I could do any of this, though, I had to start early and get organized. There are specific requirements for each application — everything from interview follow-up reflections to recommender forms — so make it easy on yourself and paint a very clear picture of what lies ahead as application deadlines approach.

Once you have a general outline of the important dates, work backward. For example, if you plan to have people review your essays, you’ll want to set a deadline for yourself to give reviewers ample reading time to send thoughtful edits. Similarly, you’ll want to give your recommenders plenty of notice on writing letters and making sure that you are providing any advance material that they will need to write something excellent on your behalf. Once you get organized, it becomes easier to avoid last-minute mistakes or hiccups. Carefully follow and continuously revise your own timeline.

It is worth spending the most time understanding your own strengths and weaknesses. The MBA application is one big story and it is all yours to tell. You can craft the package however you want (more on this below), but in order to do this well, you have to understand the areas where you truly shine and also be honest about your opportunities for growth. Great businesses have a clear mission statement — you should too.

Each of our lives up to this point are made up of our individual, unique stories. You should start thinking about the different stories that will shape your application for the admissions board. What stories will you choose to share in your essays? Which stories will your recommenders tell in their letters? What stories are you going to share in your interview? It is much easier to tell someone things about yourself, but those things only come to life when you have real examples to share. Get a good sense of the top things you definitely want the admissions board to know about you and make sure that each part of your application package speaks to one or more of those things in some way. Consistency matters — and so does speaking from one’s heart. 

What led you to choose this program for your full-time MBA? I chose Harvard Business School for the people and the learning process:

  • People. At both Facebook and Google, I was fortunate enough to have worked closely for and with many HBS graduates, many of whom helped me develop in the very early stages of my own career. In hearing about their individual experiences at HBS, I got the sense very quickly that the experience at HBS was a transformative one. I am grateful to have had supportive mentors, former colleagues, and friends who were able to articulate their reflections with me before I ever even landed on campus. Based on what I knew about the school’s alumni, I was certain I would encounter a special group of people at HBS.
  • Learning process. The learning process at Harvard Business School is one of a kind. Before ever applying to HBS, I made a personal decision that if I was going to go back to school and step out of my work at Facebook — which was challenging and hugely interesting in itself — I needed to be able to step into an environment that was fast-paced and unfamiliar. The case method requires you to learn new things in just this way. It demands preparation and synthesis of a large amount of (often incomplete) information to get to the heart of an issue very quickly and then engage in a productive dialogue with the people around you. The range of industries and perspectives in just my section alone (section i!) significantly shifts the learning experience by demonstrating that there are no simple solutions to any problems. 

What would you ultimately like to achieve before you graduate?

I am at HBS to learn as much as I can from everyone around me. There are few moments in life where you have the chance to break away and surround yourself with some of the world’s most brilliant individuals – which includes both my professors and my classmates. My focus on my first day here will be the same as on my last: The people.

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