6 pieces of advice I wish I got when I decided to go after an MBA

If I had N100 for every b-school admissions post I read that was supposed to help in 'getting started'... let's just say my bank account wouldn't have suffered as much as it did when I paid the $250 application fee to each of the schools I applied to.


When I decided I wanted an MBA, I started probably just like you; I pitched a tent, lit lanterns, and settled into life as a cyber hunter; I read almost every MBA blog, forum and comment my mouse could click on until my brain felt like it was going to explode from all the information.

Kudos to the internet though. There is a whole lot of information out there and I would highly recommend it as a starting point for anyone who is serious about getting into a top MBA program.

On my blog, I want to provide advice that will be helpful to MBA hopefuls - especially those from African countries - and that doesn't overlap (too much) with information that is already out there. Difficult feat but I'll try my best.

To start off, here are six pieces of advice I wish I got when I was starting out:


1. It's great that you've decided you want an MBA! Now, spend more time getting it and less time talking about it.
If you're Nigerian, you'll probably agree with me that Nigerians 'like book'. When we hear about someone who got a flashy degree from some flashy university, our eyes light up. This might lead you to the temptation of talking about your plans to get one of such flashy degrees without having started the process. 

I know I sure as hell fell for this temptation. Lunch conversations easily turned into 

"Oh, I plan on applying to 3 schools for my MBA..."
"Oh, the GMAT is just a monster..."
"Oh, I hear the essay word limits will be much shorter this year..."

While talking about your plans can help relieve the stress of the whole process, or even help you find help in the most unlikely places, one thing any MBA can tell you is that if you don't act quickly on them, you might find yourself saying the same lines in the same lunch room in the following year's admission cycle.

As soon as you're sure you want your MBA, tell your friends and family about it. But, also start to take steps that will help your application land in the 'Yes' pile.

2. The GMAT is not a test of how smart you are; it's a test of how committed you can get. So, get committed.
Taking the GMAT was one of the toughest aspects of the process for me. *insert painful groan*

As the crown princess in the kingdom of procrastination, I most times know what I need to do, but getting started can just be serious wahala. For instance, after doing my research and settling on a GMAT prep kit, I borrowed a colleague's MasterCard and ordered a 15-book guide from a prep company in the US feeling like a "baddest guy ever liveth"... long story short, those books ended up taking up half my luggage allowance on every business trip I made for moooonths!

The problem was not that I wasn't studying, it was that my study wasn't consistent and that I was somehow hoping my A1 in Mathematics and B3 in English from SSCE would help me scale through somehow somehow.

Months passed and I wasn't able to get past a certain score ceiling until I actually booked out and stayed loyal to time slots in my calendar for a few weeks straight.

Some aspects of the MBA application are based on how great you've been in the past or how smart you are. With the GMAT, it really is about having a committed relationship with the test for an extended period of time; the actual exam alone is 4 hours long!

Sidebar: I'd be happy to write a separate post about my GMAT experience in Nigeria so let me know if it's a topic you'd be interested in.

3. Your time will become, by far, your most valuable asset in this journey. Be tactful about how you spend it.
Minutes here, hours there, weeks here, months there. They all add up. Knowing what you can do productively within each 'unit' of time will prove very useful in your MBA journey. e.g. 

• Being stuck in traffic on 3rd mainland bridge can be turned into a 5-question review session where you read 'Question of the day' solutions from GMAT prep sites (if you're not driving, of course)
• Early days off work can be turned into a 1-hour nap and a 2-hour practice session in an empty meeting room
• Unexpected public holidays (thank you, Nigeria) can be turned into a half-day study session in your room
• A weekend at home can be turned into one day of introspection and writing of short paragraphs about yourself that answer 'typical essay questions'.

It's easy to look at application deadlines for your programs and think "I still have time", but, as you will likely come to find, a few months can go by very, very quickly especially when you're not actively looking to make the most productive use of your spare time. 

4. Trying to mirror someone else's story will be a surefire way to getting frustrated and most likely, rejected.
I knew quite a few truly amazing people who had gone to business school and there was so much temptation to just try to recreate their stories.

I had a particularly inspiring friend who got a really cool job in banking at the HQ one of the world's most prominent financial institutions and who got into a top b-school afterwards. Her story was just so cool that I was sure that if I got her role after she left, I, too, would land a spot at a top b-school. 

However, the more time I spent reflecting on my personal goals and dreams, the more it became clear to me that taking on that role would have so clearly been a 'check-the-box' move not just to the admissions board but to the people who knew me well. It was not in any way aligned with my personal vision and I would have had a hard time justifying it to anyone, including myself.

I decided to go in the direction of my own dreams which was so specific to me that I had no doubt in my mind that no one, not even the admissions board of the world's best schools, could shake my conviction on it. I have to admit that several aspects of towing that path proved to be very challenging but when I look back at the choices I made, I know I could not have been much happier with any other decision (unless there was a fatter salary involved, of course :o) ).

5. Only good Samaritans in parables will give you what you need without you having to ask for it.
I don't remember speaking with any student or alum from a top-tier b-school that I wasn't impressed by. I'm usually impressed not just by what they've achieved, but also by what they did to get what they had. No one (b-school grad or not) ever succeeded without pushing some boundaries that required them getting out of their comfort zone. Getting recommendation letters, landing a stellar GMAT score, writing compelling essays, these are feats that don't come easy to achieve. 

If you want to submit a winning application to a great MBA program, you have to be willing to put in the work. Get ready to move out of your comfort zone.

6. Achieving your goal will really, really make the hard work ALL feel worth it.
If the tediousness of process seems to become nothing but an agony-inducing vicious cycle (which at some point it probably will), remind yourself that the whole process will last a couple of months patapata and depending on how well you spend the time, the reward of the efforts of those few months could last you a lifetime.

I hope this post was helpful! Let me know if you have questions or if there are any topics you'd like me to write about.

Thanks for stopping by and all the best!