Guest post: The Pros and Cons of Applying to Business School in a Recession

I’m honored to introduce you all to Ritika of Practical Bloggers. Ritika was fantastic in helping me out with a variety of Save My Cents initiatives in 2020. Ritika went through a high stress process I knew all too well – applying to business school during a recession. I personally applied first round for acceptance in 2010 which meant that my applications were due in fall of 2009, a time when many others from the Great Financial Crisis were also passing in their applications. For years I was bitter about not getting into my top school, without realizing or appreciating how great the odds were, or being grateful that I got into a top program with a scholarship. Like 2009, the 2020-2021 period is likely to be a time of record graduate school applications as people re-evaluate their careers. Ritika shares below her personal experience.

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I’ll be honest, I’m writing this piece as the first in my series of 40 consecutive articles, to make me feel better. I was one of those tens of thousands who decided to apply for MBA schools, as a respite from my career in business.
My intentions were not so noble, however. I had been stained by the pursuit for prestige, a checked item on the bucket list, and for the street creds. As if I didn’t have enough. Come on. Women need to give themselves more credit. Anyway, back to the point- it’s really hard to get into prestigious graduate schools now that admissions applications have skyrocketed! In some cases, class sizes have decreased due to the pandemic and with the application rates higher than ever, I understood it was going to be difficult for me to get into my top school.

Indeed, I was rejected.

I shed tears for precisely 10 minutes before I slapped myself into reality, so to avoid looking like one of those elitist-institutional weirdos.

My uncanny Indian mother came to comfort me with the most outrageous statement: “YOU DON’T NEED BUSINESS SCHOOL.” What now? This has been my goal for years: Attend the best business school before turning age 30. Why is she telling me NOW that I don’t need to go? Especially after 4 official retakes each of the GMAT and the GRE tests, and two application cycles. Well, I think there are definitely PROS in addition to cons of pursuing graduate school (specifically, business schools), so here are my thoughts. Take it or leave it:

THE PROS
The Network: From what I’ve gathered, you get to be in the midst of very enterprising and ambitious individuals. The alumni networks are supposed to be strong support systems, which are often found in all corners of the world. This was the biggest selling point for me.

The Credibility: It doesn’t hurt to have an advanced degree on your resume, especially for women in the workplace.

A Break: Oftentimes, we get burned out from the relentless economic slavery and we look for a respite. This, however, should not be your sole reason to pursue a graduate degree.

A Pivot: If you’re looking to change industries, roles, and/or location (or a combination of the 3). A 2-year program is often recommended to pivot within all the 3 factors above.

THE CONS

The Debt: The average loan for business schools is $66,300 (NCES). I’ve heard from Stanford Business School graduates, that they don’t even think about the debt incurred, and that it was all well worth the hefty ticket price. However, this does make the starting salary less attractive since your early post-MBA years will be spent offsetting the debt incurred. This point obviously does not apply if you have received a full scholarship, or come from a wealthy background, or even cashed out by selling a startup.

The Opportunity Cost: You’re going to lose 1–2 years of work experience. Wouldn’t you rather take a sabbatical? Experiment with life and live as a digital nomad in Thailand for a year?

It’s Probably Boring: After years of practical work experience, do you really want to sit down and balance accounting sheets or whatever they make you do? Not all classroom content is going to be conducive to practical application.

It’s Outdated: Industry will ALWAYS be ahead of the curve when it comes to innovation, in comparison to classroom-based learning. Yes, there are internships, workshops, and competitions that you can be a part of, but why not do that full-time?

This door is closed for me now. I may still come back to it later. There’s no need to be bitter and to disparage extremely viable options in life. I’ve now adopted the view that living just to check boxes makes the practice of living such a boring enterprise. It’s time to take more risks.

I’d like to reiterate that I have written this piece as a cathartic mechanism, to make myself feel better. I know that I will only evolve after this experience, and continue making a positive impact in the world. Please don’t take anything personally, especially if you’re currently an MBA/graduate school candidate.

You can find Ritika through her website, www.practicalbloggers.com. She’s on Instagram as @practicalblogger and loves talking about travel and self-care. Don’t hesitate to send her a message!