By Farrah Bhimani, MBA’22
When I was researching which full-time MBA programs to apply to, I started with the list of The Consortium member schools. Diversity, equity, and inclusion have always been strong values of mine, and I wanted to spend two years in a program that shared that value. This narrowed down my search to a few schools, and truthfully, I hadn’t considered Kelley at first. I had lived in Dallas, Atlanta, New York, and Austin previously. I wasn’t sure in the beginning if Bloomington, Indiana would be the right fit for me. But in the spirit of doing extensive research before committing to a program, I spoke with Kelley students and alumni about their experiences. I discovered that everyone I spoke with at Kelley was kind, helpful, and hardworking. It was truly striking.
My journey then became one of introspection. Did I want to go to a larger school or a smaller school? What kind of leadership opportunities would I want to pursue? What would I want my major to be? Every school offered an abundance of data online, to an overwhelming degree. The problem wasn’t finding a good program; it was choosing the right program for me. In order to make that decision without any regrets, I had to look internally first. I needed to know what I wanted the next two years of my life to look like, and then choose the program that would support that vision.
Ultimately, I realized Kelley was the perfect match for me. I wanted camaraderie among my peers and a tight-knit community, and Bloomington became more appealing than any other city. I wanted some structure to learn business foundations rather than two years of choose-your-own-adventure, so CORE became the perfect fit. I wanted multiple leadership opportunities that matched my long-term interests – Consulting Club, Consulting Academy, Leadership Academy, and Hoosier Hosts offer a range of extracurricular ways for me to build skills I wouldn’t necessarily get in a classroom setting. I wanted a close Consortium Family, and my Kelley C-Fam has offered support in every step of my journey.
It’s counterintuitive to think asking yourself a million questions will offer more clarity. But introspection forces you to answer those questions and be decisive about your priorities. It helps you discover the distinction between an MBA Program that sounds great versus the one that will unequivocally help you reach your personal goals. Reflection gave me confidence in my decision, in knowing that Kelley is more than a great MBA program. Kelley has helped me thrive because it’s where I belong.