Meet IE Business School’s Class of 2016

Michael Arnot

IE Business School

Hometown: Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Undergraduate School and Major (Include Graduate School if Relevant): Deakin University, Law

Employers and Job Titles Since Graduation: Carroll & O’Dea Lawyers, lawyer; Thomson Lawyers, lawyer, Crisp Legal, Lawyer

Recalling your own experience, what advice do you have for applicants who are preparing for either the GMAT or the GRE? Try and time it after a period in which you are not at work (i.e. after the Christmas holiday). It’s a little exhausting and soul crushing after finishing a long day at work to be studying and committing your entire weekend to study.

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? Reputation is good and it helps you decide which schools you should look at, but it’s not everything. Look into the school, past the marketing propaganda, to identify the comparative differences in each school and find an answer to “why do you want to study at this school” that has nothing to do with ranking or reputation. And have more than one answer. Otherwise you get to the interview stage and it’s hard to get (and demonstrate) enthusiasm for the school and its program.

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? It takes A LOT longer than you think.

What led you to choose this program for your full-time MBA? The interview. It was easy, relaxed and what was discussed was (being that IE was directed at fostering the unconventional thinker) exactly what I wanted in a program.

What would you ultimately like to achieve before you graduate? Awesomeness. Not even sure that is correct grammar, but it is an apt description. I want to nail the course, nail the extra-curricular activities within the school and nail the experience. I want to graduate knowing I’ve done everything.