Meet The UT-Austin’s McCombs Class of 2017

Preeta Maitra

Preeta Maitra 

University of Texas at Austin, McCombs School of Business 

Hometown: Ann Arbor, Michigan

Undergraduate School and Major: University of Michigan, Chemical Engineering

Employers and Job Titles Since Graduation: Whirlpool Corporation, Engineer & Project Engineer

Recalling your own experience, what advice do you have for applicants who are preparing for either the GMAT or the GRE? Set a target GMAT score for yourself by looking at the historical average scores of the schools you’re interested in and think about what range you may need to be in to make up for a lower GPA, a lack of a quantitative background, etc. Take a practice exam and evaluate how far you are from your goal. If you’re not far off, or if you’re a great self-pacer, then buy a set of GMAT prep books. If you’re not a great self-pacer (like me!), sign up for an online or in-person GMAT class. Don’t stop doing practice problems and taking practice exams until you hit your goal score and THEN sign up for the test. Give yourself ample time to prepare so you can be sure you’ll reach your target.

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? Think about your career goals and which industries, functions, and companies you’re interested in. Do some research on what percentage of the students at schools you are considering go into those industries and functions and find out if the school has many alumni at the companies you’re targeting. Reach out to current students and alumni to learn more about the culture and to see if you’d actually enjoy spending two years at those schools. Consider whether things like professors, location, program costs, family, or other factors are important to you as well.

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? Start the process as early as possible. Create a schedule for when you want to complete each part of the application and make sure to include time to review and revise your essays MANY times. For the essays, explore what personal and work experiences you’ve had that differentiate you and your point of view from other applicants. Also, especially if you’re a career switcher, be able to paint a clear picture of WHY you want to go to business school through your essays. Prepare for the admission interviews by doing mock interviews and seek out a couple current students or alumni to chat with beforehand. Talk with your recommenders about key strengths of yours that you’d like them to highlight and remind them of your work-related accomplishments that you’re most proud of so that they can easily write glowing letters.

What led you to choose this program for your full-time MBA? I chose McCombs School of Business for three key reasons. First, I knew they would do a great job of helping me prepare for a career in the industries and functions I’m interested in. They have a stellar career services department and strong relationships with industry -leading companies. Second, I knew that I was looking for a big, diverse university atmosphere because I loved that aspect of my undergraduate experience at Michigan, but I wanted a relatively smaller class size within the MBA program itself. Third, I wanted to branch out of the Midwest and explore a new part of the country that would be rich with its own culture and I knew that Austin would have plenty of new experiences and excitement to offer.

What would you ultimately like to achieve before you graduate? Before I graduate, I would like to help recruit the best MBA class at McCombs yet and I’d like to help grow the number of Consortium students at McCombs by 50% by the 2019 MBA class. I’d like to put the knowledge and skills I’ll be building during business school into practice by volunteering on the board of a non-profit organization in Austin. Finally, I’d like to build some life-long friendships before I graduate and find a full-time job that I’m thrilled about. 

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