Deferred MBA programs: An early ticket to the Ivy League and elite global schools for Indian graduates

While engaging with students from one of the top IITs a few months back, I sensed a strong interest in knowing more about ‘Deferred MBA programs’. This interest resurfaced during a seminar at a top NIT recently and so I decided to pen down this article that covers essential facts about deferred MBA.

How is the deferred MBA different from the regular MBA?

Deferred MBA, as the term suggests, means ‘postponed MBA’. In a deferred MBA, you secure the admit in the final year of your undergraduate or masters degree (as long as you don’t have any prior work experience) and join the regular full time MBA program at the school atleast 2 years later, though programs like the Yale Silver Scholar are notable exceptions. Given that the average age of regular MBA admit of a top global B School is 26-28 years, it means regular MBA applicants have an experience of around 5 years. Deferred MBA admits who join the regular MBA after completing the required work experience sit in the same classes with more experienced classmates and have access to same employment opportunities as them. Thus a deferred MBA can be an accelerated option for jumpstarting your career.

Key Advantages and Watchouts for Deferred MBA

Advantages

Watchouts

·         You start early and can save anywhere from 2 to 5 years vs. candidates who pursue a regular MBA. The gain in earnings in form of salary and a faster track in management can result in a much better ROI and faster student loan repayment ·         You have the assurance of going to a top school way in advance and can use the intervening years to gain targeted learnings from your job in order to maximize your impending B School experience ·         As a student, you have more time than a working professional to complete the demanding MBA applications ·         Experience of holding your own and collaborating with peers with higher professional experience while pursuing an MBA. Any senior manager will attest to the value of influencing without authority and negotiation skills for a corporate career ·         Peace of mind of having an assured admit

·         If you change your mind about pursuing an MBA in those intervening years, you’ll lose your deposit money ·         It’s your responsibility to get an ‘acceptable’ job prior to joining the regular MBA and that job has been be ratified by the school ·         It’s more challenging to be able to fund B School tuition and living expenses with a limited earnings from the short professional experience prior to MBA

Key Evaluation Criteria for deferred MBA applicants:

•           Ability to handle academic rigor (GPA, test score)
•           Leadership (Positions of responsibility on or off campus)
•           Maturity (Ability to handle sticky situations well)
•           Analytical/Quantitative Aptitude
•           Strong Resume and Letters of Recommendation
•           Internships and impact made therein

Program Options:

UNIVERSITY	PROGRAMS accepting applicants without work experience
Chicago/Booth	Chicago Booth Scholars Program
Brigham Young University: Marriott	Graduate+2
Georgia Institute of Technology: Scheller	MBA Pathway
Harvard Business School	Harvard 2+2
IESE	IESE’s Young Talent Path (YTP)
Indian School of Business	ISB Young Leader Programme
McCombs School of Business	MBA (no early action program available)
MiT Sloan	MIT Sloan MBA Early Admission
NYU Stern	MBA (no early action program available)
Penn Wharton	Advance Access MBA
Rollins Crummer Graduate Schools of Business	Crummer Early Advantage MBA
Rutegers Business Schools	The Rutgers Future Leaders 2+2 program
SMU: Cox	Accelerated MBA
Stanford Graduate School of Business	Deferred enrollment
University of Virginia	Future Year Scholar Program
Yale School of Management	The Silver Scholars Program
University of Iowa Tippie	Take2 Deferred Admission Program
University of Minnesota Carlson	MBA in Two
Kelley School of Business	Kelley Accelerated Admissions Program for college seniors

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

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A recent Michigan Ross MBA (US News Rank #9) Admit's story

Shrikant gave it adequate time and adopted an authentic approach in his application to secure admit in one of the most coveted Global MBA programs

Profile Snapshot

Shrikanth M

GMAT: 750

Education: B.Tech (CS), MIT, Manipal GPA: 8.6/10

Work Experience: 4 years, 10 Months with US-based Big 3 Technology company

Post MBA Industry of Interest: Management Consulting

Interview Calls: Michigan (Ross), U.Penn (Wharton) 

When and why did you first consider getting a global MBA?

It was 4 years into my work at Microsoft, the learning curve had been extremely steep and I had gained a lot of exposure at sales strategies, business development and working with small businesses. I felt uniquely positioned to take the next steps towards my goal of becoming a management consultant and decided that an MBA will provision me with right platform and tools to make the shift. The decision to pursue a global MBA was guided by the fact that I wanted a diverse experience and a school that provided with hands-on experiences.

You scored high on GMAT, can you share what you did to prepare for the test?

I tried to be very patient with my preparation and did lot of questions, everything from the official guide, to multiple supplement course books and online exams. I consistently tested my self over weekends to get comfortable with the format. In my opinion the key is to find a balance between accuracy and speed. I would have practiced over 1000 questions for each quant and verbal.

Close to the exam I was very comfortable with the format and key concepts that are examined through the test. Given that I was working while I was preparing, gave me very little free time and hence I decided to study on my own and work at my pace. I ensured I gave myself 2.5 – 3 months of prep time before attempting the exam.

Describe your test day experience?

I had taken a couple of days off from work right before my test day, and used that time revise and more importantly rest. On test day I was fortunately calm and relaxed. I had decided my strategy while attempting the exam (thanks to the numerous mock tests I had given), and executed on the same. I tried to give every question enough time, but mindfully moved on when I was stumped.

What should one do to ace the GMAT?

Most things that the GMAT examines, have been taught to a lot of us during school, hence, after a brief revision of key concepts. I would recommend attempting questions of varying difficulty and a thorough post-mortem of the attempts. This will not only allow for an early grasp of the format but also allow one to practicing balancing speed and accuracy. However, in case some concepts are unclear or new for an aspirant, I would strongly recommend pursuing alternate material/sources like classes (offline/online).

Tell us your experience of the MBA application process. Did anything surprise or shock you?

The MBA application process was one that I learned a lot from, it pushed me to introspect and analyse what my goals were, both long term and short term. I was shocked when I saw that what schools demanded beyond score and GPA’s was the clarity of thought and its expression. I am extremely grateful to Sumeet for helping me form concrete ideas and helping me express them impactfully! Its important to note that building your story can be a tedious process and to give adequate justice, one must start their research early.

Tell us about Ross School and why you applied there?

While Ross is revered as one of the top MBA schools globally an in the US, what attracted me most was the university-town warm culture and their academic focus on action-based learning. It was clear that they make a targeted effort to foster their culture through avenues like MTrek, MAP, Student Funds, etc. I was drawn to this, given my priorities that were hand-on learning and diversity in experience.

Any advice for future applicants regarding the application process?

I can’t stress enough on giving active time to every part of the process, whether its GMAT, Resume, Essays, and even the small parts of the application. Iteratively reflecting on your story with the help of an unbiased guide will help you form your most impactful application. So start early and once again provide active-time in your application every day.

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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Sneha's experience: Getting an INSEAD admit (and a Berkeley call) with GMAT 720

Sneha Gupta

GMAT: 720

Education:

-          BE (Manufacturing), COE Chennai, GPA 9.2/10,

-          Master's in Manufacturing Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (4.7/5)

Work Experience: 6 years (3 years with KPMG, 3 years with Fincare Small Finance Bank, a start-up)

Post MBA Industry of Interest: Impact space, especially products to spur growth of women micro entrepreneurs

Interview Calls: Berkeley Haas, INSEAD

Admit: INSEAD

When and why did you first consider getting a global MBA? 

I first felt I need an MBA while at my first job at KPMG Advisory and a global one from a top school since I had experienced pedagogy in the US and loved the exposure/challenges. 

However, when I initially thought of doing an MBA, I saw it more as a "necessary" tool to maximize growth since I had taken up a career in consulting/business and that's the "path" most engineers in consulting followed. 

Most of my leadership discovery actually happened at the start-up. Here's where leadership, management and implementation challenges got real for me. Despite the pressures, I thoroughly enjoyed the sense of ownership in setting up business/functions from scratch and making them successful.  It was helpful that I had a really close friend (who herself had been at a start-up before going to HBS for her MBA) who I discussed my experiences/challenges with. She in turn helped me understand how her MBA helped her gain perspective on some of these challenges. This helped me understand the MBA and reflect on my purpose for an MBA a lot better.

GMAT Prep, Reaction/thoughts after score

I was right in the middle of our bank's launch when I was preparing for the GMAT. I decided to get some weekend classes in Bangalore but really it all boils down to the amount of practice you can do. I did the official guides and official prep mocks (it's difficult to put a time frame since it was on and off prep over 2-3 months). I was not initially happy with the score since I was scoring higher in the mocks. But I decided to go with it since I was hard pressed for time, especially with the intensity of work at our start-up bank. 

PS: I found Sentence Correction really tricky during the actual exam 

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

Broadly, two things surprised me during the application process-

1.       I definitely underestimated the time. The MBA process is a lot about self awareness and reflection. MBA questions not only challenge you on your motivation but also challenge you to explain yourself within really stringent word limits. I believe it takes a lot of clarity on your internal motivation and goals to express yourself within the space allowed. This process of gaining clarity was gradual and I felt I was getting sharper on my story after every application I submitted (4 in total).  

2.       Another thing that surprised me was how difficult it was to answer the "Why MBA?" question. I found this especially challenging since my post MBA goal is to continue to build and run products (as I do at my company currently) except at a larger scale/greater impact where I'm leading a company's growth journey.

Tell us about how you went about choosing Schools 

Since I enjoyed setting up our bank's first digital product business, I realized I wanted to explore entrepreneurship. I'm excited about creating access to opportunity- I joined the start-up bank because of its vision to improve financial inclusion using technology and I was lucky to work on a digital product that made opening a bank account completely online, independent of geography or time.  

I used the dual lens of impact (social impact) and entrepreneurship and applied to schools that scored high on both. I also decided that I would apply to the top most programmes only otherwise it did not make much sense.

Interview experience and thoughts 

I made the cut for 2 interviews, Berkeley/Haas and Insead

1.       Haas interview experience: This was my first interview and I had just under a week to prepare. I remember feeling stressed since I realized how having a discussion would be so different from writing thoughts down. I did one mock which helped a lot. The interview was on skype and though it was formal, the interviewer (a recent Haas graduate) made me feel comfortable. I was conscious that I had to be crisp on my answers (not go more than 2 mins on any question). While many questions were standard, why Haas, why MBA, Challenging situation etc. a few were unique and I’d advice you to study what makes you unique and how you’ve dealt with challenging situations.

2.       Insead interview experience: This was really different from Haas in that you do not really know what to expect. All I gathered was that it's very important to know the answer to "Why INSEAD?" very well. INSEAD (just like Haas) cares a lot about cultural fit and diversity.

You have to schedule interviews with 2 alums. 

The interviews are fairly conversational. The alums also share what courses they liked and how they managed during their time at INSEAD during the chat.

My first interviewer dug quite deep on my product and bank's business model (I answered but I did not expect a deep dive into the business :)) and what I do to reach out to customers, how do I reach different segments, etc. Other questions she asked- Why INSEAD? Why MBA and not just start-up (since I said want to set myself up for an entrepreneurial journey ultimately)?  

My second interviewer was passionate about responsible business and he straight-away jumped into Why INSEAD? Why MBA? If not MBA, then what? - All my answers were aligned with my purpose and he liked the "purpose based approach". After this, we had a fairly relaxed conversation on his journey. 

Summary for preparation- 

1. Be clear on your story- I took a milestone based approach- key career shifts/moments and prepared myself on explaining the shifts well

2. Think of some key examples - tough person/leader to work with and how did you cope? Challenge and how did you cope? - Think of just few examples to use in a variety of contexts and focus on presenting in a structured way- "The problem, what you did?, result". 

Insead experience and what all you did

While INSEAD was an intense application process, I really enjoyed the process since a lot of questions focus on "who you are as a person- strengths and weaknesses", "biggest failure and proudest achievement and how these impacted my relationships with people around me"- I felt these questions were very direct. Since I was 3 applications old by then, I had good clarity which held me in good stead in writing the essays.

Some of the additional things I did for this application-

1. Recommendations are important to INSEAD and just like the essay the questions are direct - Do you see her as a future leader? Why?; Describe your relationship with the candidate and how she added value to you?, etc.- this is the general drift. I reconnected with my recommenders and worked with them on some of these questions to ensure the reco is crisp and sharp.

2. What will be your next steps if you continue to work at your current company- This is a question INSEAD asks to perhaps gauge your vision as a leader. Tied all activities I plan to a vision I hold for digital banking. 

3. Wrote an extra essay explaining my motivation for starting up. Tied this to the research of a professor at INSEAD whose work I really found interesting (she actually works on addressing root causes that hold vulnerable groups back and I found a research paper where she did such a study on women micro/rural entrepreneurs in India- the segment I'm passionate to create opportunities for)  

Any advice for future applicants regarding the application process?

I guess I have given most of the insights above :)

But broadly-

1. Enjoy the process. The journey is challenging but also therapeutic- process leads to a lot of self awareness which is really good to have, irrespective of the result of applying. Focus on asking yourself "Why?" for every line/motivation you jot down.

2. Personalize but customize to schools as much as possible - research/network (whatever works for you to get a flavour)

3. Why MBA and Why the school are important questions- harder than they seem at the outset. So be hard on these questions to make sure there is utmost clarity. 

4. Get help of a mentor/guide who truly believes in you. Sumeet’s mentorship in my process was a key reason for my success.

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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How Smriti got into Kellogg MBA (US News rank #6)

Smriti used introspection and authenticity in her application to get numerous calls from top schools and chose to join Kellogg MBA (class of 2021) program.

Smriti (name changed to protect identity)

GMAT: 700+ score

Education: B.Tech, Top 15 engineering colleges in India

Work Experience: 3.5 years work experience in technology

Post MBA Industry of Interest: Management Consulting 

When and why did you first consider getting a global MBA?

I wanted to gain global exposure and build a strong network across the world. I was excited to be a part of a classroom that boasted of students coming from diverse backgrounds, cultures and work experiences. I felt it would grow me holistically which is vital for my career progression.

When did you start? What steps did you take?

I initiated my application process with schools selection.

1) I started researching the schools online and spent a lot of  time understanding the culture and profiles of current students and alumni. That gave a strong sense of the values that the school stands for.

2) Also, I personally visited a few of the schools that I applied to. The visits gave me a clear perspective of a possible fit with the colleges. The culture is represented by each and every person of the school be it a student or a professor or an alum or a staff worker. It is important to pay heed to minute details while interacting with them to get a sense of the values of the school.

3) After narrowing down on my list of colleges, I spent time reflecting on my personal story, my strengths and weaknesses and started to write my essays. I tried to highlight my past experiences and transferrable skills through my essays while keeping in mind the values of the school. I tried to get my essays verified by a few current students as well.

4) After receiving interview invites, I practised mock interviews with friends, family, alums and my counsellor.

Tell us your experience of the MBA application process. Did anything surprise or shock you?

I absolutely enjoyed the process. It was an eye-opener for me. Not only did I reflect on my past experiences but I also had the opportunity to think deeply about my future goals- both short term and long term.

What did you do to differentiate yourself?

Intensive research of schools and self-retrospection helped me keep my story true and spill out the passion in my essays. It is critical to marry past experiences with the values of the schools.

Any advice for future applicants regarding the application process?

Be passionate about the process, story and application. It is YOUR story and hence treat it like your BABY. Do not be in a rush to finish school applications. Remember there are two parts to any application/story- the narrator (you) and the audience (ad com member). So it is critical to spend considerate and equal amount of time to both sides of the story. Reflect on your strengths, weaknesses, personal preferences, future career choices while keeping in mind the culture, values, alumni base of the school. (Also refer to the 2^nd question)

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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