Akshat Nagori's journey to Yale (Silver Scholar) MBA program

Akshat Nagori (Admit: Yale Silver Scholar, MBA, 2020 Intake)

GMAT: 760 (Q49, V44)

Education: B.Sc (Economics), NMIMS Mumbai, 3.8/4.0 GPA 

Work Experience: Nil

Post MBA Industry of Interest: Finance or Consulting

Interviews: Yale Silver Scholar MBA, Darden Future Years MBA, MIT MS Finance, NYU MS Quantitative Finance

Admits: Yale Silver Scholar (MBA), Darden Future Years (MBA), NYU, MS Quantitative Finance

When and why did you first consider getting a deferred MBA from a global B School? 

- I always had doing an MBA on my radar, and was initially considering staying in the country. Over time, I realised just how important diversity is to me, and decided to apply to B Schools outside the country (specifically to America) to really be exposed to different cultures and viewpoints.

Taking up the Silver Scholars program at SOM was a function of how I (a) Loved the SOM community and (b) appreciated the accelerated opportunity the program offers.

Gmat prep, reaction/thoughts after score

- My prep consisted of a TON of practice and most importantly, reflection.

I started with a ton of theory, and moved on to actually doing questions and mocks. An important note is to really take your scores on mocks seriously, and deeply evaluate where you're losing points - getting too many things wrong in a row will cost you.

Seeing the 760 was honestly more relieving than anything else. I really didn't want to have to write the GMAT again lol. But on a more serious note, whilst my score was super important (given the programs I was looking at), its important to keep in perspective that your score is just a small part of your entire 'story', and eventually your entire application

Your experience of the MBA application process. - Did anything surprise or shock you?

- In a word, holistic. I was really shocked by how much they cared about outside of just your grades. Actually being at Yale now, I can see why - each person here brings with them a specific skillset and personality, and that's so important for our overall learning.

Yale interview: How did you prepare, experience and thoughts 

- Without revealing too much, I'll say that the Silver Scholars interview was tough, to say the least. You need to know your motivations behind everything. My biggest interview prep technique was actually just introspecting deeply - WHY do I want to do an MBA? Why Yale? Why Now? These are answers that differ from person to person, and you need to figure out your own answers. For me, I knew from speaking to alumni and others that Yale's an incredibly collaborative place, and a strong community. This was super important to me, and I made sure it came through. 

Specialized inputs and mentoring your received 

This was probably marginally the most important aspect of it. While as a candidate you could easily be MBA - ready, for the top schools especially, I don't think that's enough. You also have to be a good fit at that school, it's so important. The specialised help I got from Sumeet and the CIE team was really understanding the personality of each B-School, and figuring out if I was a match. This not only helped me research the school with a better perspective, but also self select the schools I wanted to be at in the future. Understanding that you're a fit at a school (and demonstrating it) is (in my opinion) often overlooked while applying, and I cant overstate how important it is to get someone who can help walk you through what the schools are like, and whether you'd be a good fit.

Any advice for future applicants regarding the application process?

- Yep, relax! Getting into B School is not just about getting in, its also about doing well once you're there. Choose your schools wisely, and choose ones you vibe with, and you'd arguably be much happier. Also, focus on parts of your application you maybe don't actively think about as much, and figure out what your 'story' is - it may be your make or break.

For more tips on this or other topics or to get regular updates on new articles, write to me:

sumeet [underscore] verlekar [at the rate] berkeley [dot] edu

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