Mr. Bone Surgeon

Obviously, you bring a lot to the game here. Your accomplishments and credentials are nothing less than stellar. A 4.0 in surgery from Oxford sounds like an amazingly intricate surgery in and of itself. And while we don’t yet have a GMAT or GRE score here, I can’t imagine that you could ever score below the HBS median GMAT score of 730. More importantly, even if you did, it shouldn’t matter all that much as long as your score doesn’t dip below 700. But there is one key element that is critically important to your success and it is a strong explanation for why you want an MBA and what you plan to do with it. On the face of it, we have no idea. Is it because you want to leave surgery and assume a leaderhsip position in healthcare? I am going to guess that is the answer but I also would like to know why you want to do that and whether you have role models in mind that inspire your transition. If your post-MBA goals is along these lines, I think you are in very good shape. If you’re seeking an MBA because you are just an unhappy surgeon who regrets having made the investment to get this far, that would be more of an issue.

Hi, it’s Nisha from mbaMission. As you can imagine, it’s not every day (or even every few months!) that I see a profile of an orthopedic surgeon interested in business school! I’m incredibly impressed by your academic (4.0 at Oxford!!) and career accomplishments to date. I’m sure that the GMAT and getting great recommendations – essential for potential admission to HBS – won’t be an issue for you.

However, I’m unclear on WHY you want an MBA at this point. You mention wanting to found a healthcare startup, but why? What has inspired you to do so – what’s the unmet need you have observed in the marketplace based on your experience at NHS? Business schools always want to understand the motivations behind your career goals, so make sure you are very clear on this in your application. And in your essay, you’ll want to talk about the forces that shaped you into who you are today, professionally and personally – some of this may explain what led you to your startup idea.

Additionally, business schools know that starting a business right after graduation is very difficult in most cases, so I nearly always encourage candidates to consider entrepreneurship as a long-term goal. To that end, think about what you would do after business school that would prepare you for that goal – alternatively, think about how an MBA would benefit you as a surgeon while you’re laying the foundation for your startup. I hope that I’ve provided some helpful thought-starters – best of luck!