Multi-Racial Teacher Admitted to MBA Programs at Berkeley Haas, Cornell Johnson, Dartmouth Tuck, and USC Marshall with Scholarships, Despite Low GRE Scores
After graduating from college in 2014, Kaitlyn became a teacher with Teach for America. Kaitlyn taught middle school for four years in the Bronx, New York, before becoming a teacher in a prison. She then transitioned to fundraising for an education nonprofit. Kaitlyn discovered her passion for corporate social responsibility and knew she needed an MBA in order to reach her dreams of helping people who were formerly incarcerated find work at private sector firms.
“I was six years out of school when I started this application and I had no idea what I was doing,” Kaitlyn explains. “I just felt completely lost. I knew nothing about MBA programs and I knew nothing about what to apply to. It was completely foreign to me”
Kaitlyn had taken the GRE once in 2017 and took it again in 2019, but still didn’t have the scores she wanted. Even after taking the test several times when she began working with The Art of Applying®, she still didn’t reach her goal GRE score.
With the help from her coaches and advice from Kaniesha who always says, “You’re more than a test score,” Kaitlyn preserved.
Kaitlyn knew she was more than her score and that she had a unique story to tell. Working with us, Kaitlyn developed a full picture of who she is and what she has to offer her future MBA classmates.
“I am multiracial. So, my mom was born and raised in Hong Kong and my father was a ‘good ole boy’ from small-town Texas,” Kaitlyn says. “That is something that I also brought to light in my applications. I am multiracial, and this informs my personal and professional work and I really appreciate that at The Art of Applying® that was encouraged.”
Even though Kaitlyn was insecure about her GRE scores, she knew her story was valuable – she just needed the support communicating it. And, we are so glad she asked for help! By investing in herself and joining The Art of Applying® family, she is confident in her future.
“I just hope for anyone listening to this call, even if you come from an untraditional background in your career, I think that may even work to your advantage because you are more of like a diamond in the rough,” Kaitlyn says. “This process is ‘Hey, put yourself out there’ – and that’s the win. I feel as if me investing in myself was me saying ‘Yes’ to asking for help.”
We wish you the best of luck at Tuck, Kaitlyn!
Start Date: March 2019 | End Date: May 2020
Applicant Information
- Undergraduate GPA: 3.8
- GRE: 317
- Experience: 6 years as a teacher
- Undergraduate: Large Texas University
- Major: Liberal Arts
- Masters in Education GPA: 4.0
Acceptances & Scholarships
- Cornell University SC Johnson of Business – $30,000 scholarship
- Dartmouth Tuck School of Business – $60,000 scholarship
- University of California Berkeley Haas School of Business – $140,000 scholarship
- University of Southern California Marshall Business School
Notable Quotes
How the Breakthrough Call inspired Kaitlyn to work with The Art of Applying®:
“It’s a perfectly named breakthrough because I felt like after that call I was like ‘I have help, I can maybe do this, and someone else thinks I am capable of achieving this!’”
How Kaitlyn’s consultant and The Art of Applying® team were able to help her articulate her story:
“I have been very fortunate to be able to serve the populations that I care about, which has been middle school students in the Bronx and folks who have been incarcerated. I did not even know how to talk about ‘Here’s where I’ve been and here’s where I am right now, and here’s where I would like to be, and here’s why I need the MBA to do that.’ I wasn’t clear on how to articulate all of those things succinctly, and compellingly and that’s what I worked back and forth with my consultant with. [My consultant] was so amazing!”
How she felt about making the investment in The Art of Applying®, and how she paid for it:
“It is 1000% worth the monetary investment. When I was deciding, I listened to a call like this about someone who was also a former teacher who got into Wharton and thought if she could do it, I could at least apply.”
The Art of Applying® can’t do it for you, but we can offer a wealth of resources and support:
“My consultant and the folks of The Art of Applying® don’t do anything for you. The Art of Applying® acts as this incredible wealth of resources and it’s up to you as the client to get what you need.”
How Mindset Coaching was an essential part of the application process:
“I felt so stressed and felt like I had no time, so those one-on-one mindset calls helped me talk through it and were specific to the application process… The group mindset calls were so helpful. And, I say that because you are with other folks who are going through the same process. It was a reminder… ‘I am not doing this alone, this is very common.’”
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