Admitted to Harvard with No Business Background and Just 2 Months to Apply

And tell.

I think it's interesting to learn a little more about your background because that was one of the things too, that for me was so interesting working with you is that, you know, we work with a lot of consultants and investment bankers, and it's always really interesting to learn their stories. But you came from a really different place. I don't think I've had anyone come from your industry since then. Do you want to just tell us a little bit about your industry and then also that talk with your friend and how you started seeing that shaping your career.

So my background is mostly in agriculture sustainability. I think what helped me in the application is that it. Everything was very consistent in terms of my personal life story. Coming from a family of farmers and then becoming an agronomist and working in the industry. So I think we were able to create that story. Arch. So I never lived my life to create that story, but I was living it. And this friend, her name is Marina, we used to work together. I was just going through a time, you know, it was Covid. And I was like, how do I progress in my career? I'm struggling a little. And she's like, you should go for an mba. You're the perfect candidate. I'm like, how? What? And I think what she saw was really that art. She's like, you are hardworking. You have your dreams, you're pursuing them. You can really benefit from that education. My consultant friends, or like my private equity friends, the academic aspect of HBS was somehow easier for them, as in, like, they were doing work that was pretty much related to a lot of the required curriculum. And for me, everything was new. Like, I hadn't had a class, like a marketing class or done any case, you know, like a consulting case on any of those topics. So it was way harder for me in a way. But I remember some alum, I. I was talking to an alum, I think, first semester, saying that I was like, it was hard. And he's like, yeah, but like, you're gonna gain so much more from this experience. Cause your, your starting point is maybe further away, but that's great. You're paying the same price and you're getting more if you go for it, if that makes sense.

Yeah. So you're getting more out of it, but that's a good, A good positive way to look at it. So that when you're struggling with exams, you're not. Not stressed out too much. And what would you say was the hardest part of the application process for you?

I think it was probably the, the gmat. And that's because I only had two months, I think a little bit less than two months the day I met you. And you were like, this is going to be hard, but we can try. Because that was July 2020 and the deadline was September 2020. So there were less than. There are like seven weeks. And as I, as I told you and you know, I really had no idea what is an mba? What is it like, what is the application like? So I really needed your help. Right. Like you gave me the structure and the step so I could see, okay, these are the tests that I have to do until that day. But that's like the essays and you know, building my brand, that's a lot. But then I also had to do the gmat and that test comes after us. Like it learns what you don't know and keeps throwing it at you. So you get really good at a certain type of problem or question, but they're not going to give you that question. I don't know. I know the test has been changing over time, but at least in 2020, it was really hard. It was really humbling. And I was studying like four hours every night and doing mocks every weekend. So it was like a full time job on top of my full time job to do that along with the application. Right. I really feel like those are different things. So it was really, really challenging to like find the balance and find like a known one, my consultant friends or like my private equity friends. The academic aspect of HBS was somehow easier for them, as in like they were doing work that was pretty much related to a lot of the required curriculum. And for me everything was new. Like I hadn't had a class, like a marketing class or done any case, you know, like a consulting case on any of those topics. So it was way harder for me in a way. But I remember some alum, I, I was talking to an alum, I think, first semester, saying that I was like, it was hard. And he's like, yeah, but like, you're gonna gain so much more from this experience. Cause your, your starting point is maybe further away, but that's great. You're paying the same price and you're getting more, if you go for it, if that makes sense.

Yeah. So you're getting more out of it then. That's a good, a good positive way to look at it. So that when you're struggling with exams, you're not, not stressed out too much. And what would you say was the hardest part of the application process?

For you, I think it was probably the, the gmat and that's because I only had two months. I think a little bit less than two months the day I met you. And you were like, this is going to be hard, but we can try. Because that was July 2020 and the deadline was September 2020. So there were less than, they're like seven weeks. And as I, as I told you and you know, I really had no idea what is an mba? What is it like, what is the application like? So I really needed your help. Right. Like you gave me the structure and the step so I could see, okay, these are the tests that I have to do until that day. But that's like the essays and you know, building my brand, that's a lot. But then I also had to do the gmat and that test comes after us. Like it learns what you don't know and keeps throwing it at you. So you get really good at a certain type of problem or question, but they are not going to give you that question. I don't know. I know the test has been changing over time, but at least in 2020 it was really hard. It was really humbling. And I was studying like four hours every night and doing mocks every weekend. So it was like a full time job on top of my full time job to do that along with the application. Right. I really feel like those are different things. So it was really, really challenging to like find the balance and find like an online course. That worked for me because some were like live classes and the schedule would not fit my schedule. Like I need to get this done in less than two months. And there was Covid, so you couldn't get the test. You had to be online and that was the whole thing. And if you did something, they could like cancel your test. So I think that was the hardest part for me.

Did you have any strategies that you used to be able to fit everything in? Like you mentioned you didn't take off time to do this. You were continuing to work a full time job. So how did you organize things or what strategies did you do to use to make that happen?

Yeah, I feel like in a way the time crunch was really helpful. Like there was no space for like not getting things done. There was no space for procrastinating, which I feel like sometimes, oh, I tell people you should do this with more time than I did. But at the same time that urgency really helped me every day do a little bit of something. Uh, and I, I, I used to have the pictures of my calendar. So the. My calendar for July, August, it's like what I did every day, you know, like, I sent Ellen the second version of this essay and I've studied four hours of sentence correction and my score improved from this to that. But, you know, the online course that I'm doing on my own pace is telling me to focus more on this type of thing. Every lunch break, I would use the. I think the forum is called GMAT Club. I don't remember. There is an online thing that everybody uses and they post like daily questions, one for the verbal side and one for the quant side. So I would use lunchtime to. To go through that. So it was like massive commitment. You need to be persistent. You know, it's like keeping that pace every day, Sunday to Sunday, and, and just being organized with my calendar. And I knew what I was going to study that week and each day and how much time I was going to put into it.

And I like what you said too, that you kind of also noted some of your wins as well. So I sent this and I, you know, completed this many questions because I think too, that's also probably helping you, like, okay, I am making progress. It's not just a to do list. I can look at it and realize, like, okay, I'm doing this. I'm making it happen. I'm going to make it.