Saswati M. — Kellogg School, US: case study

Saswati came to UnivAdmitHelp with experience in development economics, policy research and business strategy. She held a Master's in Economics and had worked with J-PAL South Asia and Good Business Lab.

She then moved to Atlan, a SaaS company, as Program Manager to the Founder. There, she worked on company strategy, business processes and leadership coordination. She wanted to pursue an MBA to combine her experience in research and business with her goal of investing in ventures that create social impact.

Saswati had followed a career path from economic research to business strategy. The challenge was to explain how her professional experiences connected and why an MBA was the next step.

Her application needed to show that moving from the development sector to a technology company was part of her learning journey, not a change in direction.

She also needed to explain her career goals. She wanted to work in impact consulting before moving into impact investing.

We began by reviewing Saswati's work experience. Through storyboarding discussions, her UAH mentor helped her identify experiences that showed how her approach to solving problems had changed.

One story came from her work during COVID-19. Its findings informed communication campaigns across factories. We used this experience to demonstrate her ability to lead teams, adapt research methods and turn findings into action.

Another story came from Atlan. We explored how she transitioned from conducting research to influencing business decisions and managing teams.

Saswati and her mentor worked through multiple MBA essay drafts. They connected these experiences to her goal of joining an impact consulting firm. Her essays were tailored to each school's questions rather than repeating the same career story.

For recommendation letters, we worked on selecting examples her manager could discuss, including her work on company strategy, leadership coordination and her response to feedback. The focus was on helping the recommender present observations from working with her.

Our support also covered school selection, application planning and interview preparation. Post-admission mentoring included guidance on comparing offers, programme fit and career opportunities before choosing a business school.

Saswati's MBA application brought together her experience in economic research, labour welfare and business strategy.

Her essays showed how she had moved from studying the challenges faced by migrant workers to helping a technology company make decisions about growth and operations. They also explained why she wanted to develop management and investment skills through an MBA.

Her recommendations provided examples of her work with leadership teams, her ability to manage projects and her response to feedback.

The application presented a career direction: using business strategy and investment to support ventures that create economic opportunities for underserved communities.