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SEPTEMBER 2002 MBA JOURNAL: INTRODUCTION Anitra Waller: Who I Am, and Why B-School Is for Me "While I was eagerly awaiting my decisions, it really hit me. I hated what I was doing and whether I got into business school or not didn't change that. I put in my resignation. It didn't matter that I had rent and other bills to pay." My name is Anitra, (@ for short - pronounced Anitra), and I am attending Stanford's Graduate School of Business. Interestingly enough, I've finally worked my way from NYC to Stanford, CA with a few stops in between. I can't believe that I am going to be a poor student again. I had gotten really comfortable with that monthly paycheck. Now it looks like I'll be receiving a quarterly loan disbursement. But before I get too ahead of myself, let me give you a little background. I graduated from Baruch College in New York City having majored in Finance and minored in Clinical Psychology, so I should have known I was a little "conflicted" as to what my career goals were. I moved to Cincinnati (knowing only one person) and began working for Procter & Gamble as an Internal Auditor. I guess my job was to help foresee any potential Enronesque problems. However, it didn't take long to realize that Cincinnati and I weren't a great fit, nor did I find auditing all that exciting. The travel, pay, and benefits were great, but it really didn't mean that much to me. After 16 months of knowing I needed a change, I finally took a step towards that change...I applied to B-school. The application process wasn't exactly what I expected. I knew that I wanted to change careers - finance just wasn't my thing. I really wanted to work with disadvantaged youth to help prepare them for the workplace. Although I still haven't figured out exactly how I am going to do that, I do know that getting my MBA will give me a solid business foundation while allowing me the opportunity to seek and find where my niche lies. I applied to six schools, all within the BusinessWeek Top 20 - Anderson at UCLA, Kenan-Flagler at UNC, Wharton, Stern at NYU, Goizueta at Emory and Stanford. I visited every school I was seriously interested in and had conversations with a bunch of students. (I'd encourage anyone to actually spend time at schools, even before you apply if you can. Many places offer you a great academic experience, but you're going to have to spend a great deal of time with your classmates for the better part of 24 months...You should make sure you like the type of people there.) While I was eagerly awaiting my decisions, it really hit me. I hated what I was doing and whether I got into business school or not didn't change that. I put in my resignation. It didn't matter that I had rent and other bills to pay. It didn't matter that I had no plans if I didn't get into school. What mattered was that I finally felt good about what I was doing - I was following my heart. Oddly enough, I found out that evening that I had gotten into UCLA. I withdrew applications at three schools, Wharton, Stern and Goizueta, thereafter. A few weeks later, I heard from Kenan-Flagler. Although I had an offer of full tuition Kenan-Flagler, I chose Anderson. I could envision myself working into the night with the people I met at A-Days (Anderson's Admitted Students Weekend). And being in the heart of Los Angeles didn't hurt...particularly coming from Cincinnati! Anderson just felt right - I really can't explain it any better. But clearly the story didn't end there. I applied to Stanford in the third round, so I didn't hear from them until late May. Once I got the call from Derrick Bolton I really had a tough decision to make. Who would have believed that I would get in third round - while I was apartment hunting in LA. I can't begin to explain the conflicting emotions I had. Both schools are well-respected, have amazing students, faculty and staff, and both are in California. I had spent more time with students at Anderson, but I also felt that Stanford was a better fit academically. I had already convinced both schools of what I could bring to the table, but now I had to consider what each school offered me. In the end, Stanford's general management orientation and great reputation for Organizational Behavior pushed the scales in their favor. The toughest part was trusting that I had made the right decision. What will I do now that I'm here? I'm not exactly sure. Eventually I would like to consult with schools and intern programs to better prepare students, particularly disadvantaged students, for the work environment. I'll have set up a bunch of informational interviews with individuals who are currently working in this area. Right now, however, I need to concentrate on getting through Pre-Term and the Core Classes! Maybe things will change after the core classes. Maybe I'll win the lottery and never have to work again. Maybe some rich California mogul will take me in as a charity case and give me a few million to follow my dreams. In any case, I'll end up where I need to be. And at the end of the day, that's what really matters. Finally, a few words to the wise (but not necessarily from the wise): · Apply early - the wait is hard enough when your chances are good. Final rounds are just more competitive. And you'll hate hearing everyone on the boards making plans while you're still in limbo. · Read BusinessWeek Online's B-School Forums - even if you just lurk, there are nuggets of information. Admissions Officers often post too, so you may be able to get a few questions answered. · Don't let the Forums discourage you - you'll find that there are a bunch of self-reporting impressive people. Keep this in mind when it seems like there are 10,000 people with GMAT scores of 760 and above, 10 years work experience as CEO of their own firm, etc. Schools need different kinds of people, so just concentrate on what you have to offer. I got in with a 660 and two years work experience. And, I didn't graduate from a well-known undergraduate institution, either. · That being said, study for the GMAT - a higher score is better. Even if only for your own piece of mind. · Learn something about yourself - yeah, getting in is the goal of applying, but through all the preparation, you really should walk away having a better understanding of yourself. Just telling the admissions committees what you think they want to hear, you may miss an opportunity to show them who YOU are and why your uniqueness is something the school needs. Maybe what you learn won't be that deep. But hey, at least you'll you be certain to get something out of the process - even if its not a letter of admission. Waiting for reality to hit, @  Get BusinessWeek directly on your desktop with our RSS feeds.  Add BusinessWeek news to your Web site with our headline feed. Click to buy an e-print or reprint of a BusinessWeek or BusinessWeek Online story or video. To subscribe online to BusinessWeek magazine, please click here. Learn more, go to the BusinessWeekOnline home page  | | SEPTEMBER Learn about your online education options |
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