Ms. Social Changemaker

Hi, it’s Nisha from mbaMission. Congratulations on launching and selling your social enterprise! That’s impressive in any case, but particularly at your young age. Your desire to integrate business strategies to the non-profit and social-cause space is very noble (and, as I’ve heard from my many clients who have worked in this space, much-needed). However, I think you’ll be in an even stronger position to do so upon gaining experience in the for-profit sector and observing companies’ best practices firsthand. Therefore, you might consider entering a consulting firm or a general management role in the short-term, to gain this experience.

I infer that you are still in college and targeting the deferred/2+2 programs, correct? Admissions committees seek the following in deferred candidates: outstanding academics, promising internships/preliminary professional experience, and excellent extracurricular leadership. Your academics are solid, and co-founding a healthcare startup and working as a TA show strong leadership. I don’t see information about extracurriculars in what you’ve written, but I can imagine that the other two involvements+school keep you quite busy.

One thing I always mention to deferred candidates is that admissions is not only competitive but also unpredictable – over the years, we’ve seen that it can be hard to gauge who will make the cut. However, even if these programs don’t work out right now, you’ll still be in a great position to apply the “regular” way down the road, and I have a strong feeling you’ll have a successful career no matter how things unfold. Best of luck!

Hi, it’s Jennifer Jackson from Stratus Admissions. You have a lot to admire in your profile, from launching and selling a social enterprise to overcoming personal adversity at a young age. Your stats are strong and your goals make sense to me. The deferred enrollment programs are seeking very strong applicants and I think you’ll have a shot at the top programs if you can craft a compelling narrative. Explain clearly what you’ll be doing after you graduate and how those skills will prepare you for your longer-term goals after the MBA. I agree with Nisha that working in the for-profit space for a while would be beneficial so you will have seen both sides when entering an MBA program, but it’s not a necessity as I’ve seen applicants come straight from all kinds of different nonprofit backgrounds including government work. You just want to be clear and intentional about why you’re doing X after graduation, and why the MBA is necessary to reach the long-term goal. As far as the trauma you experienced, it’s not a good idea to just mention something gratuitously but I imagine you did a lot of growing as a person going through this experience. Often this growth results in more reflection and clarity around the kind of change you want to see in the world and/or the kind of impact you want to make. You might want to weave that in to your story to show another side of you outside your work experiences. I wish you lots of luck!