Client Case Study: Malcolm

Accepted into MBA and MPP Programs at Yale, HKS, Chicago Booth, and More with $250,000+ in Scholarships

By the time our client Malcolm started working with us, he already had a great GRE score, and he knew that he was interested in MBA and MPP programs. However, telling his story was not his strong suit and he wanted help crafting his narrative.

A friend of his had worked with The Art of Applying® and referred him to us. Malcolm signed up for a Breakthrough Call and enjoyed the experience. About that initial call, he said, “I was able to share my background, the strengths I had, and the things I’ve gone through. The person who ran a conversation was really phenomenal and got me excited to work with The Art of Applying®.” 

Malcolm decided to sign on with The Art of Applying® as an Hourly Coaching client. Hourly Coaching is designed for applicants looking for a more flexible option than the Application Accelerator® or who want targeted help on a particular part of their application. Because Malcolm already had a strong test score and wanted to focus on storytelling, Hourly Coaching was the perfect fit for him.

Malcolm said, “We all have incredible individual stories. No one has the same story, so understanding how to articulate your story in a way that business or policy school programs will understand and [in a way that] aligns with your personal passion is something that The Art of Applying® most definitely helped with.”

Investing in telling his story paid off for Malcolm. He is now celebrating acceptances and scholarships to several MBA and MPP programs, including HKS, Yale, Chicago Booth and more! 

For others who are figuring out how to articulate their own stories, Malcolm shared some perspective: “Know your truth, understand your story, understand what type of career you want to have in the future. Seek it out, and if you truly feel after some due diligence that an MBA or an MPP can help you get there, do the steps that it takes for you to be able to get there. It is tough, it is a long journey but many, many people have gone before. But they’ve never done it [by] themselves and The Art of Applying® can be that resource for you”.  

Whether you’re interested in Hourly Coaching like Malcolm, or looking for a different type of help on your application, our team is here to help! Book a Quick Call to discuss your needs: https://theartofapplying.com/quick-call/ 

Start Date: August 2020 | End Date: June 2021

Applicant Information 

• GPA: 3.6
• GRE: 320; 160 V, 160 Q
• Work experience: Consulting 
• Major: Business 

Acceptances 

• Harvard Kennedy School
• Dartmouth Tuck
• Chicago Booth
• UC Berkeley Haas
• Yale School of Management
• University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy

Scholarships  

• University of Chicago Booth School of Business (MBA) – $100,000 
• University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy (MPP) – $70,000
• Yale School of Management (MBA) – $80,000

Notable reflections from Malcolm on his application experience: 

Malcolm’s thoughts on deciding to invest in his application: 

“It’s a tough, tough decision…it’s not cheap, it’s a financial commitment. But I guess the biggest thing overall was just me, looking within myself having a Breakthrough Call and thinking, am I going to make this bet on myself? Is this something I truly want in terms of getting accepted into MBA and MPP programs? Is this something that I actually want that will help me advance my career for my ambitions and my future goals? And at the end of the day…this is about myself and I want to be able to make that commitment, and [the cost] was extra motivation to make sure that I had that return on that commitment.” 

The best part of Malcolm’s Hourly Coaching experience: 

“I think it was the iterations working with my consultant, in terms of first, overall, sharing my story and then being able to see ways I could bring out the best of my story just through conversations or through suggestions for my consultant and having that partner throughout the entire process was really valuable and the best part for me.”

What changes for Malcolm now that he has been accepted to these programs and been awarded these scholarships: 

“I think it’s just being more aligned with my story, and my mission. This is something that now I will, of course, have to take to MBA schools and policy schools, but when looking for internships or starting those conversations…my story is something that [I] continuously bring to the table and throughout the MBA and MPP application process I grew and I became more confident with that story. And I’ll continue to push it forward as I head into school.”