This post won’t be for everyone but I’ve shared this story enough that I wanted to record it to encourage others.
When I decided to start my business school journey, it was exactly at the five-year mark when my GRE scores expired (Painful, I know). With expiring scores, I knew I would have to take the GMAT to get into school if I wanted to go.
I’ve taken many tests before. I’d also like to think I’m a fairly decent test-taker unless my degrees lied to me, but this GMAT is a whole other beast. It is the devil in disguise!
Fortunately, I was a part of MLT and had guidance from my coach on coming up with a GMAT strategy to give me a comeptitive package. My coach was consistently concerned with the whole package. I knew what number I was aiming for in order to “prove” myself to these schools.
It was January of the year when I was planning to apply when I started studying for the exam. I went to the store, picked up a GMAT book, and went through it on my own for the most part (that was a terrible decision). I took the test for the 1st time and was surprised at the results. All I said afterward was “okay I now have time to recalibrate and get back in the game.”
We’re now moving into the beginning of summer and alongside MLT seminars I’m still studying for the GMAT and going to free GMAT courses once a week found off MeetUp. The course was fine. I learned a few things from it but it was the community of people that kept me going back who understood the journey I was on. This was my first understanding of how important a tribe would be to this process.
I took the GMAT for the 2nd time and while I was surprised on the first exam, I was shocked at the second exam results. My score improved by 10 points. I had put in countless hours to study for this exam and made it a priority above most things in my life.
At this point, I made the decision to hire a tutor, committ to a schedule, and be done with the test at the beginning of fall. I gave myself three months! For three months, I was focused. I did independent work and worked with others preparing for the exam and saw so many strategies from Manhattan to Kaplan to Princeton. I wanted to be done with this exam while I was simultaneously working during the day, teaching aerial pole at night, volunteering with non-profits most weekends, trying to maintain relationships, and pulling the rest of my application together. I was tired but committed to the process (this was only a sneak-peak of how tired I would be in business school).
September came and I took the GMAT for the 3rd time. Lo and behold my score went up another 10 points. This is when things got fuzzy for me. I was a mess after that third time. I couldn’t comprehend how my score wasn’t improving more dramatically. I was following a combination of strategies, got a good night’s rest, and felt confident before and during the exam.
This was my low point in the business school application process. I fell into depression alongside several other personal factors going on at the same time. I couldn’t comprehend how the one thing I thought I could “control” in life was seemingly unachievable. Throughout this process, the news continued to roll that more MLT fellows got GMAT Final (GMAT score of 650). While I definitely celebrated them (cause I’m not a hater), the news likely produced more anxiety in me about where I was in the process.
I’m condensing the story quite a bit, but between September and December I doubled down. I had never said “no” to more opportunities that came my way than I did during that time. I thought about switching to the GRE which would have been my worst nightmare but luckily, someone in my MLT cohort, who landed at Stanford, recommended Sherpa, a GMAT prep course in DC. To date, Sherpa is the only GMAT prep course that I would recommend to anyone. I get absolutely no money for saying this but I wish I had found them on day one and invested my time and money early on. Their strategies are so good that they even offer a free-repeat option for their class which no other prep class does.
By this point in the process, I had developed so many bad strategy habits that would try to creep back in as I was learning these amazing new strategies that were the hidden gems I needed all along. The instructor, Nafeez, was exactly what I needed. He was efficient, direct, and easy to understand. I explained my dilemma to him and we began my journey to get me over the finish line.
December came and I felt ready. Round 2 deadlines were nearing and I felt the most logically confident I had ever felt. I took the GMAT for the 4th time and I received the exact same score as I did the 3rd time. I was distraught. I immediately called Nafeez and we eventually met together and I showed him the Enhanced Score Report (more $$). This process was draining my bank account.
Forunately, Nafeez was able to dissect where I was going wrong and gave me new strategies to combat the tiredness he read based on my lack of performance towards the end of the test.
So now we are in December. First-round applicants are getting their decisions back, the holidays are around the corner, and here I am only 20 points better than where I started. I had to make a choice. If I wanted to apply round 2, now was not the time to get emotional. I had to get it done.
I scheduled to take the GMAT for the 5th time on the application deadline (I know, crazy!). I needed to know that when I hit submit on my applications that I gave this process my all. As I looked at the rest of my package, I remembered how dope I am and started to come to the realization that a school would be lucky to have me. If my resillience and dedication to this process weren’t evident to them by my life story to date and the many times I took the GMAT, I didn’t know how else I could articulate it to admissions officers.
Test day came. This time I was in Florida because I went home for the holidays. I don’t remember being nervous. I just knew I had to do what I had to do and that this was likely the last time I would take the GMAT. When the test ended and I saw my score, I was relieved. Not because I had become GMAT Final, but I had become my own version of GMAT Final and achieved a score I could be proud of. And we know how the rest of the story goes: I graduated from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania debt-free in May 2019.
I share this story with you all to say:
- Don’t give up on your dreams
- Don’t suffer in silence or go through this process on your own
- Strategize and plan heavy upfront before you dive into executing your dreams
- Remember you are more than three numbers. The GMAT does not/will not/could never define you or your capability (*z-snap*)
If you are considering starting the business school journey, connect with me. I’d love to help you reach your goals and plan for YOUR success.
