Nisha Jain (Fuqua, ‘22) spent five years in the management consulting industry before realizing that she wanted to make a career switch to the Tech industry and pursue her MBA. Nisha chose Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business to help her transition into her new career. In this interview, Nisha spoke to us about her background, why she chose Fuqua, and her advice to admitted MBA students on how they can select the right MBA Program.
MBASchooled: What did you do before business school, and why did you choose to apply?
I was working with the Management Consulting Practice at KPMG for 5 years before joining Fuqua. Having worked on digital transformation initiatives for many of my clients, I realized I wanted to make a career switch to the Tech Industry. It was one of my primary reasons to pursue an MBA. The other important reason was to study in a diverse international institute and develop my leadership skills.
MBASchooled: What were the most important questions you asked in order to help make your admissions decision?
I considered three aspects in making my admissions decision:
- What is the school’s culture like? Does it align with the kind of experience I am looking for?
- What are the career prospects like?
- Class size, location and teaching methodology of the school
In terms of school culture, I have always thrived in a more collaborative environment, which is why Fuqua’s collaborative student-led culture was an instant pull to me. With regard to career prospects, I had some clarity on my career goal which included making a switch to Tech Industry. Having that clarity helped me evaluate schools that could help my career both from a recruitment as well as academic perspective. I remember as a prospective student, I would go through the employment reports of all of my target schools and look at their top hiring firms. This is usually a very helpful way of gauging the school’s core career competencies. And the last aspect I was evaluating was the class size, location and teaching methodology. I was looking for a university town with a smaller class size (400-500), because I think that helps foster more collaboration and build stronger relationships within the community. I also knew that I wanted a good balance between experiential and theoretical learning. Fuqua ticked all those boxes and more.
MBASchooled: What has been your favorite experience at Fuqua so far?
My favorite experience at Fuqua has been working with my C-Lead during the Team Challenge Day and beyond. C-Lead is your team (usually 5-6 people) for all the core courses. In our first month at Fuqua we had a Team Challenge Day that consisted of team-building activities that we had to do as a team. It was a unique in-person experience amidst the virtual world we were working in. We really enjoyed getting to know each other through the course of the Team Challenge Day and my C-Lead has been an incredible part of my first-year experience ever since. We worked together on all team assignments and supported each other throughout our respective recruitment journeys.
MBASchooled: After spending a semester at Fuqua, what’s something that you now know about Fuqua that you wish you knew when you applied ?
The enormous number of opportunities beyond Fuqua at Duke. As a prospective student I never fully realized the opportunities for any area of interest at Fuqua and at Duke. Beyond the clubs and core-curriculum, Fuqua has a number of opportunities to pursue depending on area of interest – there are mentored studies with distinguished Duke faculty, research projects across different disciplines in Duke university and opportunities to contribute to the larger Durham Community.
MBASchooled: Oftentimes, the word “culture” gets thrown around when talking about MBA programs. Can you characterize the culture at Fuqua ? Can you share an example of an experience that you think personifies what this means?
To me, Fuqua’s culture can be characterized as a spirit of altruism and collaboration that brings a diverse community of students, faculty and alumni together. I first experienced this when I reached out to a Fuqua Alumni who thoughtfully and selflessly supported me throughout my application process. One other example is when my second year mentor took time out from his vacation to prepare and guide me for my upcoming interviews.
MBASchooled: Now that you’ve been at Fuqua for a semester, is there a specific moment or highlight where you felt confident that you made the right decision?
Plenty of times, but I think most importantly when I was going through the recruitment process. It was a testing time but I felt confident that I had everything I needed going through the process because of the resources the career management center had provided, the advice from second years, the guidance from Fuqua Alumni and the constant support from my peers. Team Fuqua stood the test of character for me when we managed to be just as collaborative and supportive in the virtual environment as we would be in person.
MBASchooled: As an MBA Admissions Ambassador, you talk to many prospective MBA students. What questions should admits ask before making a decision?
I think the most important thing is to first understand what you want from an MBA school and then ask these questions to gauge if the school aligns with what you are looking for. Some of things I would recommend learning about include:
- Understand the culture of the school and if it fits what you are looking for from an MBA
- Recruitment statistics in your desired industry
- Where are the alumni (in terms of location and roles)?
- What is social life at the school like?
- Understand the impact of the school’s class size, location and teaching methodology on your overall experience – Does it align with what you’re looking for?
MBASchooled: What advice do you have for admitted students on how they can make the best decision?
- Talk to current students and alumni who were in your shoes to understand how they made their decision and if it aligns with your thought process
- Evaluate the school’s culture by attending admitted students events (such as Blue Devil Weekend at Fuqua) to assess if the school and the students “fit” the experience you are looking for
- Make sure you have clarity on your MBA goals and the school’s offerings can help you achieve them