Meet Ohio State’s MBA Class Of 2019

Hargav Ram Dharnikota

Fisher College of Business, The Ohio State University 

Describe yourself in 15 words or less: A humorous person, an aspiring business leader and ardent admirer of innovation.

Hometown: Vijayawada, India

Fun Fact About Yourself: Though I am highly terrified of watching horror movies in theaters, I still go and watch them to experience fear.

Undergraduate School and Major: Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kharagpur – Electronics & Electrical Communication Engineering (B.Tech)

Employers and Job Titles Since Graduation: iRunway India Private Limited – Consultant – Bangalore, India

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: I co-authored an industry report on Speech Recognition that featured in major media houses such as Yahoo Finance, Intellectual Asset Magazine (iam) – leading IP magazine and World Intellectual Property Organization and many others. Seeing my name on such reputed media house website is the proudest moment in my professional career. The industry report not only garnered huge viewership but also increased iRunway revenue by $0.5M through new client contracts.

Looking back on your experience, what one piece of advice would you give to future business school applicants? I would advise applicants to focus on the holistic nature of their application rather than focusing on one aspect of an application and ignoring the rest. The GMAT score is only a part of application and there are several other factors in the application that differentiate individuals in a typical MBA class. A higher GMAT score does not always guarantee an admission into a top b-school. Applicants should learn to equally emphasize various components of the application and submit the best possible application that depicts their overall personality.

What was the key factor that led you to choose this program for your full-time MBA and why was it so important to you? Experiential Learning is key factor that led me to chosoe Fisher College over other b-schools. During the application phase, I started shortlisting b-schools primarily based on the experiential learning opportunities a school provides. Fisher College has one of the best experiential learning opportunities in its Global Applied Projects (GAP) & Global Business Expeditions (GBE) programs and it stands out among top b-Schools. Through GAP, students get an opportunity to work on real-world business challenges even before they graduate, which is a very important attribute in today’s challenging business environment.

What would success look like to you after your first year of business school?  If I could develop business acumen through deeper understanding of various business functions and if I am confident enough to take leadership roles and initiatives in multinational corporations after first year of my business school, I would call myself successful.