Meet The Indiana Kelley MBA Class of 2017

Mark Schultz

Mark Schultz 

Indiana University, Kelley School of Business 

Hometown: Fort Wayne, IN

Undergraduate School and Major: Wabash College, Economics

 

 

Employers and Job Titles Since Graduation:

Cigna Corporation:

  • Financial Analyst
  • Service Coordinator Supervisor
  • Client Advocacy Manager
  • Production Floor Supervisor 

Recalling your own experience, what advice do you have for applicants who are preparing for either the GMAT or the GRE? I recommend taking the GMAT early in order to compare your score against the average GMAT scores for the schools you are interested in. Your GMAT score is good for five years, which allows plenty of time to decide if attending business school is right for you.

I also recommend researching a few different companies that provide GMAT preparation to see if their materials align with your goals.  The company I used helped identify my skill range and then honed in on that level.  In hindsight, I wish I had used a company that focused on pushing towards the absolute highest score. I think it would have helped me break through to a higher level of performance and score.

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? School rankings can be a quick way to identify a short list of target schools. To figure out which ones would truly be the best fit, you need to make campus visits before applying. Visiting campus will allow you to connect with numerous current students who can provide a variety of perspectives into the school rather than relying only on admissions materials. Consider class size and the location of the school and think about what setting best fits your personality and learning style.

I also recommend researching which companies come on campus to recruit. It is easy to focus on a school’s overall rankings, but there may be a school that is a great fit who has all of your favorite companies on campus recruiting.

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? Don’t read online blogs or forums written solely by other prospective students! Most of them have no idea what they are talking about and will create more anxiety rather than bringing help.

The application process can be time-consuming, so you should start as early as possible before the application deadlines.  Applying during the first round of the process will help your overall chances and generally helps with the amount of aid you can receive.

The admissions process for top tier schools is extremely competitive, so each portion of your application needs to be as thorough and impressive as possible. I recommend having a trusted peer or friend proofread your essays to provide feedback. I sent my essays to a friend who proofread papers in college to get his thoughts and suggestions for improvement.

You should prepare for your interview as if you were preparing for the toughest job interview that you’ve ever had. Schools will tell you that the interviews are conversational, but that is not necessarily the case. If possible, have several mock interviews ahead of time in order to prepare.

When seeking letters of recommendation, I suggest reaching out to managers who can provide detailed insight into your work rather than picking someone with an impressive title. If your recommender is not able to articulate what makes you a strong candidate, you won’t stand out.

What led you to choose this program for your full-time MBA? While visiting campus, it was clear to me that the Graduate Career Services team was dedicated to helping students reach their career goals. When I visited other top ranked schools and asked about their career services, students let me know it existed, but didn’t elaborate much more than that. The team at Kelley starts working with students on the first day of orientation to prepare us for interviews and the internship search. This close working relationship continues throughout the entire duration of the MBA program.

Kelley’s relatively small class size was also attractive for me since it helps contribute to a small community feel within the school. It has been a great experience to get to know so many peers in such a short period of time. We have a class of students who compete against each other for internships and jobs, but truly want each other to succeed in their pursuits.

What would you ultimately like to achieve before you graduate? While at Kelley, I’m planning to reinforce my financial analysis skill set. I hope to enter a Corporate Finance function as a leader who is not only able to crunch numbers, but also understands and can communicate the insights derived from those models. I hope to also build a strong network of friends who could eventually become strong resources in the fields that they enter. Early on in my MBA experience, it has been extremely rewarding to learn from the various experiences that my peers bring to the table.

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