Follow Arshita Malhotra’s journey from working for an HR-Tech Startup to Harvard Business School with +100% Financial Aid

After graduating from Shri Ram College of Commerce, University of Delhi, Arshita joined McKinsey as a management consultant. After gaining invaluable experience there, she felt curious to build hands-on experience and decided to move to Apna, an early stage HR-tech startup during the pandemic, in Bangalore. At Apna, she served as the Chief of Staff to the Founder and then led three business units, contributing significantly to the company’s growth while enabling job opportunities for millions of India’s rising workforce. 

Arshita has been determined to shape her career in building impact-oriented products, through the lens of entrepreneurship or tech operations. Currently, she is passionate about building for India and wants to spend time at HBS building her ideas into a successful company. She knew that pursuing an MBA would help her acquire the necessary skill sets and provide a platform for starting something new. 

Her desire to create a positive impact in the world comes from her upbringing, having faced significant personal challenges. As she grew up in a single parent household, she persevered and worked diligently, drawing strength from the values instilled in her by her mother.

For her MBA application, she scored slightly lower on the GMAT than the median score, leading her to postpone her application from round 1 to round 2. “I think the idea in my head was very clear that I wanted to give all of the input and the hard work. The outcome was truly not something that was in my control.” Throughout the application process, she approached her work with this spirit.

Prior to applying, Arshita was mindful of the financial implications, considering the large loans she would have to take out, and was ready to make that bet. However, she received an offer from the Harvard Business School with a scholarship covering more than 100 percent of the tuition fees and Wharton with a 100 percent tuition grant for both years. After careful deliberation, she decided to attend the HBS MBA program. 

Samriddhi, a fellow MBA Admissions Consultant from our team, recently sat down with her for a coffee chat to discuss her application journey. In this interview, Arshita shared her experience of working on her MBA applications, some interesting anecdotes, and things she learnt about herself in the process. So, let’s dive in.

Question 1. Please introduce yourself to our readers. 

“Hi everyone, I’m Arshita. I recently got admitted into Harvard, and I’m going to start my MBA in the Fall of 2024.

I worked with Admissions Gateway and had a great time with them helping me through my applications. I have five years of work experience. I worked for three years in an HR-tech startup based out of Bangalore called Apna as Chief of Staff and Head of three business units.

I also worked as a management consultant at McKinsey before that and graduated back in the day from SRCC at Delhi University. So that’s a little bit about me, and I’m looking forward to attending Harvard.”

Question 2. Could you tell us about your admits and the scholarships you received?

“I was fortunate enough to get an admit from Harvard Business School and Wharton. Harvard has a need-based scholarship process. So, after my admission, I was able to put in my application, and they were very generous enough to offer me a little more than 100% tuition, which I think will go a long way and help me go through the MBA journey with far less financial stress. 

I was lucky enough to get the Joseph Wharton Fellowship as well whichis equivalent to a 100% tuition grant for both years.”

Question 3. How did you decide you want to attend Harvard?

“I think my heart was always set from an early time. I just didn’t know that the result would come when I would have the option to exercise it. I’ve grown up since maybe the 10th grade wanting to either go to Harvard or Stanford.

It’s a big reason why I decided to go to SRCC. So I knew at the back of my mind that it was something I was passionate about. But I think specifically when it came to the choice, I knew that I wanted to shape a large part of my career path into entrepreneurship for which I felt Harvard was a little more conducive than Wharton.

I think Wharton is really great when it comes to making a career path in investing and finance and that’s not a space that I wanted to specialize in. One of my biggest aspirations is actually to work globally and I felt that the Harvard community and the brand is a little stronger which made the choice a little easier.

And I think the nail in the coffin was when the scholarship came through. They were a lot more generous than Wharton and that made the choice very easy.”

Question 4. Did you expect these massive scholarships when you were applying?

“I was dreading the massive loans in my head but I think I was still convinced that I wanted to do this. I truly did not expect the scholarships to come through, especially the Wharton Merit Scholarship. I think you don’t really go through a separate application process for the scholarship.

So you don’t know if you’re going to get it or not. In fact funnily enough, when I read my admission letter, I didn’t even know that there was a separate place you have to go and see for scholarships. So, for about two hours, I just knew that I had gotten into Wharton with no scholarship, and I was equally happy.

And then a friend nudged me and asked me, “Have you seen your scholarship letter?” And I was like, “Where is that?” And I saw it and I got to know that I got the scholarship.

So yeah, completely, I wasn’t expecting it at all. I knew I wanted to put in an application to Harvard to explain my needs to them to see if they would accept anything, but yeah, I didn’t see it coming through at all, especially with a 720 GMAT.”

Question 5. Tell us a bit about your MBA application narrative.

“So, let’s take a step back. I think I was very clear that I wanted to do the MBA to move out of the Indian tech ecosystem, which I had been a part of for the last three years. Having worked in the HR domain specifically and very closely in the employment space, I actually got very passionate about a skilling idea for India that I wanted to effectively build out as a company later.

I knew that the MBA would let me learn some of those skill sets so that clarity I had coming in, and the idea was what schools I could apply to that could enable me to achieve that. Once I got to the application process, I pushed my applications to round 2 because I was trying to buy some time to re-attempt the GMAT. But with the time I had remaining, I was very clear that I wanted to be a very apt representation of who I am.

I wanted them to be able to read the application on paper, meet me, and realize that the two people were just the same. And that mattered to me a lot — being super authentic in sharing my journey with them and my motivations. So, that was the first thing I kept in mind through the application process.

The second was that I personally felt that there were some chapters or some moments that had happened in my life that really defined me to become the person that I was. And I just wanted them to know that person. Of course, there’s so much that you can talk about that has happened in your life.

But when I reflected, Rajdeep also really pushed me to narrow down on those 3-4 key moments. It really became about defining them. My core application narrative was the fact that there are these three values of my life that I consider almost like the strongest pillars of who I am, the kind of person I am, and how I look at life.

I wanted to talk about those three specific values and situations that happened in my life that actually got me to build those values. It comes from a very simple thought from my mom. Well, she always used to say that a tree can only grow as strong as its roots, and my roots were my values.

So, that was my core application narrative. It was the core of most of my applications to the schools. And then, of course, some schools require additional information, which I packed in the package.”

Question 6. Did your GMAT score impact your confidence in the application process?

“Yeah, I think, in complete honesty, it did. There were a lot of questions in my head because 720 is slightly lower than the median score for most of these schools. So, pushing out from Round 1 to Round 2 was to enable buying more time to give GMAT attempts.

But I think the idea in my head was very clear that I wanted to give all of the input and hard work. The outcome was truly not something that was in my control. So as long as I was satisfied that I put in my best attempt for the GMAT, got the best score I could, then, I was like, okay, fine, this is good.

I was doing this while working, but I just tried prioritizing part of my GMAT journey and knew I was gonna give my all to the test, and then we’ll figure from there. So I think that was one emotion. The other emotion was something specifically when it came to balancing GMAT versus the applications. I realized by speaking to some of my seniors and friends who had been through the same process that the essay writing part and the application part are actually the more fun parts.

It’s a more creative, reflective process. And so I was able to almost tell myself that this was going to be better after the GMAT got over. And I in general consider myself a slightly creative person, I enjoy writing a lot.

I was really looking forward to that part of the process, and I knew what I wanted to talk about. So, there was less stress in managing the two parts of the application. I think the third thing for me was that I saw two of my seniors get into HBS with a 720 GMAT score.

So it did induce some hope within me. I felt this is still possible, I don’t need to give up on this.

And I think when you’re very clear about the MBA, you realize that application rounds or applying in X year or Y year don’t really matter because you want to do it. So I was a bit chilled out. My mindset was that if it didn’t happen in round two, I’d apply in round one next year.

So yeah, that helped ease off some of the stress of a slightly low GMAT score.”

Question 7. How difficult was it for you to balance your work with the application process since you ended up putting together your essays in December?

“Yeah, I mean, thankfully, my company was really supportive. They let me put my work on a bit of a backseat and fully focus on my applications. My company’s founder had been to a Business school 10 years ago. He attended Stanford GSB admit.

He understood the intensity of the application process, so it was a lot more comforting to have my company’s support then. And yeah, honestly, I don’t recommend anyone do it in a month’s time, but I think for me, I was just very clear that I needed to get it done.

I also knew that if I just kept my head down every single day and did the small things eventually to make the application happen, it would happen. For example, I drew up a timeline with Rajdeep, and it didn’t feel impossible, so I think that helped.

Kudos to Rajdeep, specifically. I think he was super strategic and super sharp about how we planned our time. The blessing in disguise was that having limited time to work on the essays cut out all of the overthinking and second-guessing in the application.

Because I didn’t have time, the simplest way to do this was for me to say what I wanted to say without thinking, “Oh, is there a better choice?” “ Is there a more perfect story?”

I didn’t have time for any of that. That played to my luck, and I got it done.”

Question 8. How was your experience in writing the essays? Did you expect in your essays you would need to be this hyper-vulnerable and you’d share so many of your personal anecdotes?

“I think it’s a very good question. I think something that every applicant goes through is how to shape a blank document of 900 words, right? The HBS essay is truly so free in how you want to do it.

Because they literally ask you to say whatever you want to say. I think for me, when I was going through the application forms, which I actually filled out much before I started writing my essay, I got a sense of what were the things I had already communicated to the admissions team. And then I think, there was a voice in my head that said, all of these are things that they see on my resume or achievements or experiences or descriptions that they can hear about me, but where do I shine through for them? Where do they hear my voice? And that became very important for me to share because it mattered to me to be very authentic and vulnerable.

It’s just who I am as a person, and I wanted them to see that side of me. And so, mostly in the essay, I already knew that I had spoken so much about my work, my achievements, and my LORs were going to speak to some effect on those two. And I thought to myself, “You know what? I don’t want them to know any of this. I want them to know what got Arshita to be like that.” 

And yeah, that’s effectively where the thought of the essay came. I don’t think I was over-indexing on being hyper-vulnerable or too personal. I think I just sat down and said to myself if there was a stranger sitting opposite a table with me and really wanted to understand me as a person, what would I fundamentally want them to know about me? And it could be a very simple thing, or it could be a very hyper-vulnerable thing, right? 

There were three things. One was super vulnerable about growing up during my childhood and some experiences from that. But the other two, I think, were things I would anyway tell someone who I would meet maybe for the first or second time. 

So yeah, my general suggestion is to just don’t let it be anything. Just follow your voice and the stories that you feel are critical to who you are and your growth. And yeah, I knew that going in, and I just decided to give it a shot.

I remember sitting in a cafe and taking my first shot at my HBS essay. And I remember I just started crying. And I actually messaged Rajdeep, and he was like, yeah, I think this is good because this is part of the process.

You’re supposed to feel these things because you will then be able to elicit that emotion from the reader and help them understand who you are. So, as long as you’re being true to yourself, sharing things that make you who you are, and not overcomplicating it, I think it’s fine.”

Samriddhi: Yeah, that’s well said because when I read the applications, I felt like this was somebody who I could instantly connect with and relate to, and that’s a feat. There is a delicate balance that you’re treading – not sharing too much, and you’re not letting it overshadow anything else. It’s still as much as it is about your inflection points. It is also about what you’ve made out of it, what you learned from it, and how these experiences shaped you. So it was focused on the strengths you possess from having faced the hardships or the challenges that came your way.

“Thank you so much, Samriddhi. I think there’s another thing I want to add. It just came to my mind that there is a certain notion that you should come across as a certain someone for your HBS essay.

There are certain values or attributes that HBS really cares for, and you should highlight them in your essay. You should talk about why you want to be at HBS and how that comes together in your life. My only suggestion would be that don’t be super indexed on what people tell you your essay should be.

If you truly follow the prompt of the essay, it just says, “What more do you want to tell us about yourself?” And so if you think that you don’t want to tell them about why you want to be at HBS because you’ve made that pretty clear in another part of your application, or maybe you don’t want to tell them, that’s completely fine.

And there is no wrong or right in the way you write this essay. That was my biggest realization and something that I felt I was just able to trust myself on, that I don’t need to make it a certain way, I’m just gonna go with what I think is right and if it happens, it happens.

If it doesn’t, then maybe the school and I don’t have the same principles or outlook toward life, and then it’s probably best that we don’t be together a year from now. So that was my approach, and I think thankfully, and luckily it worked out.”

Question 9. Did you connect with school alumni? What were those chats like and what did you learn from those conversations? 

“Yeah, absolutely. I think, in general, those chats were super helpful. They were a large source of clarity about wanting to do the MBA, a sense of motivation of how life looks like during those two years and afterward, and how to specifically tackle the application process.

So I remember speaking to a 2017 or 2016 HBS grad who dispelled the first big notion that most applicants go through when they think of US Business schools, which is the financial cost, and I was almost thinking of not even considering it. This was maybe about four years ago, but he actually broke down the cost for me, helped me understand how much aid in general developing nations and students from developing nations get, how much you’ll get in your internship stipends, your post-MBA salaries, and completely broke it down for me to realize that finance is not something I need to care about at all. So that was one big thing that I think many people tend to occupy themselves about, eliminated very early on in my journey. 

Another helpful conversation was with one of my seniors from my previous consulting firm. He was also at HBS, and he told me something that stuck with me and helped me power through the bad days. He told me, “Arshita, this process is designed to break you. So if it is breaking you, just know that the process is working.”

It’s not just about people who are able to submit a solid application that matters to the school, but also the people who are able to go through that drill and the anxieties and fears that come through that application process and still emerge from it. Because that’s how your two years in the school and the kind of career paths that you’re going to sign up for after school also look like. So, it is a scientifically designed process.

And whenever it feels like it’s breaking you, or it’s getting too much, or you care about it too much, just know that this is part of the process. I think that knowing that really helped me power through some of the bad days – just knowing it’s supposed to be tough. 

I remember one of the alums I connected with told me that there was absolutely no difference between round one and round two when I was contemplating moving to round two and that your strongest application is when you should be submitting, not when it’s round one or round two or round three.

So, being mindful of your career journey, your priorities, and when you can make the strongest application—I think that’s critical, as opposed to timing round one and round two. There was a lot of chatter around that, too, during my time, but I think that advice came very handy because I decided to move to round two, and I personally did not feel any difference at all in outcomes.

I’m glad that I got a little more time to strengthen my application. So yeah, I think that in general, students, alums, even incoming students, I think speaking to them, picking their brains, understanding what the experience has been like, and getting guidance from them because they’ve been through a very similar application process is very, very helpful and something that I rely on quite a lot for just support through my application process.

I also want to add one more thing. There are some folks who I realize may not be super connected with people who are students or who have been alums of their target schools.

My only recommendation is to not hesitate to reach out to them on LinkedIn or find people who know them. I was oddly surprised in some of the schools where I didn’t know anyone just how forthcoming people are to help. It was mind-blowing to me how people were, let’s say, traveling but took the time to send me voice notes or long texts, explaining the things that could be done if they were too busy to jump on a call.

You will be surprised by the amount of people who will come forward to help. And the only way to do that is to be really proactive and non-hesitant in reaching out. Even if you don’t have a community of people you already know.”

Question 10. Tell me about your interview process. When did you hear back from the schools what was the whole preperation like and how was the actual interview?

“Applications for me typically ended in the first week of January, and then I think somewhere around the first week of February to mid-February is when I started hearing back on interview decisions. Eventually, I did my interviews through the end of February and the first week of March, and then I got results by the end of March.

So, those are the timelines. I think the interview process was really fun. A large part of the hard work is done when you’ve actually thought through your application, your story, your goals, etc.

Because then it’s about communicating that with a great amount of energy and passion that someone on the other side can effectively receive. At the same time, for them to know who you are as a person, are you the same representation as what they’ve read about you on paper? Are you someone who can communicate very succinctly and strongly? This is what’s needed in the MBA classroom for those two years.

So yeah, I think the interview process for me was super fun. I think I prepped for maybe 7-10 days prior just to get some of the basics in order, the stories I wanted to talk about, and some of the formats in which you’re typically supposed to answer questions. 

I’m a bit more chatty, so I had to dial down, be a little more structured in answering my questions, and be a little more succinct. So I think I did a bunch of that. Rajdeep and the AG team, as well as a bunch of the recorded sessions, came in very handy.

So I just relied on that. I did a couple of mocks, which I really recommend doing with your consultant because they know you and are able to catch some of the things that you can do better as you do those interview mocks with them. And yeah, eventually, I got to the interview process.

Different schools have different interview processes. For example, HBS has a 30-minute interview process in which the interviewer has actually read through all of your application. They have a set number of questions and a set sequence of questions they want to ask you.

And they’re not your traditional MBA questions, which are very behavioral and personal in nature, so HBS has a very typical interview process. Then there’s, of course, Wharton, which is actually not even an interview.

It’s a group discussion where effectively five, or six of you come together and test your ability to collaborate in a cross-cultural setting to reach an answer, and so that’s what they’re testing you on. And then Kellogg, Booth, and every other has a slightly more behavioral-oriented set of interviews, I think.

So yeah, I think in general, it is quite a simple process. Again, the advice is to just be yourself, make sure that you’re consistent with what your application was and what you’re really showing to them as the person you are, and communicate effectively, being able to set a rapport with them. I think that went a long way for me.”

Question 13. You shared an interesting anecdote about when you received your Wharton admit. Would you like to share it with others?

“Yeah, so this is the one where I didn’t read the letter. So basically, I didn’t expect scholarships to come through to the extent that when my Wharton result came out, it actually comes out on a portal.

There’s a separate area that you have to look at to see what your scholarship grants are like. And I didn’t even know that. And so, for the first two hours, I was just happy that I had gotten into Wharton.

And I thought that the scholarship, if any, would come on the admission letter itself. So I thought, “Okay, there’s nothing mentioned. Maybe there’s nothing happening, it’s fine.”

And one of my friends, who had gotten in the previous round, actually asked me, 

‘Have you looked at your scholarship letter?’ and I thought, ‘Where even is this scholarship letter?’ and when I went and saw it, it took me a while to figure out what it meant.

And then I eventually realized, oh, wait one second, this is a scholarship, this is a merit scholarship that I’ve been able to get. And I realized that much later. So that’s quite funny.

Also proves my point on just how much I didn’t expect any scholarship to come through, but I feel very lucky and very fortunate to have gotten access to that kind of support from them.”

Question 15. A lot of people have really high scholarship expectations. Did you trust the process and did not think too much about scholarships? 

“Yeah, no, I think you’re absolutely right. So maybe I realized early on that a large part of MBA admissions is a bit of a black box. You don’t know what will be on the other side.

You could have the strongest application for you, but something still doesn’t work out. And you could think that someone has a really weak application, but for some reason, it still does work out, right? So, I think indexing on outcomes through a process that you really can’t control after a certain point calls for unnecessary anxiety and stress, which I don’t think is needed.

For me, especially for that one month, which I think was almost like do or die at that point. I think I just found a large part of my confidence and support and just surrendering to the process. Like showing up – just day in day out, moving my applications ahead, getting small things done one by one.

And I think, as long as you’re engrossed in doing that with as much diligence and as much honesty and as much passion as what you feel for the MBA, I think it eventually works out. This is something I have been sharing with one of my juniors very recently. I was telling him that I think the best strategy is for you to truly be the best representation of yourself as much as you can be on paper to the school.

And if they still don’t see an interest in having you as part of their community, then it’s probably not supposed to be. You’re going to go there, and you’re going to be unhappy for two years because you don’t vibe with the school, their principals, their approach towards education, and I don’t think that’s needed. So, as long as you have been the most accurate version of yourself if that’s something that the school doesn’t appreciate, then it’s probably the best thing that the two of you don’t come together.

Maybe there’s a better school that understands your journey, and it’s great for you to be with them. That’s how I rationalized the whole process for myself.

And yeah, I think through both the failures as well as the successes, I just felt quite at ease and happy.”

Question 16. Lastly, do you have any advice for people who are applying this year?

“I have a bunch of advice, but maybe a couple of things that I would specifically share. I think one should always start early. And I mean, the starting early in terms of your thinking about what you want to write about, what’s your story, starting early with your tests and your test preparation, or even like your application forms, I think I did push it towards the end, and I really felt that it was an unnecessary, very compact month of preparation, which could have been avoided. So I really recommend starting early for everyone. You think you have time, but you actually don’t. So that’s one. 

The second thing I would say is don’t try to be anyone but yourself. I know that it’s super difficult when you have a certain impression of the kind of people who go for an MBA, the profiles that have been successful in the last year. But you can only connect the dots backward in your career and your personal journey. You are the strongest applicant if you’re just being your truest self and helping the school understand you for who you are.

And I think even from the school side, I did end up having a chat with one of the ex-admissions team members. And they were just telling me that we just really appreciate people not trying to fit into a mold. And just telling us who they are, like, they’re just so refreshing for us. Don’t try to convince us that you are a certain type because we’re not really looking for a certain type. So that’s my second big advice. A great way to make this happen is to find a few people from your close-set, like family or friends, or even your consultant, who can keep you in check on this.

They can tell you if this does or doesn’t sound like you or if you’re trying to be someone else. And in the thick of the applications, because you’re writing so much and doing so much, you won’t understand it day in and day out. But I think my best friend from school was fully involved in my applications and gave me perspective from time to time.

In my essay, she was able to push me to be like, this isn’t you. So don’t try to be this person; just come back to who you are. That’s my second big advice: find people around you who can ensure that you are the truest to your application.

The third is just power through the tough times. As I said, the application is designed to break you. And the sooner and faster you realize that, when it’s breaking you, you don’t give up.

Or you can just power through the tough times when you feel like you’re having writer’s block or your essay is not shining through because it will eventually make sense.

Those are my three pieces of advice. At any point, if anyone feels the need to know more about my application process, I’m more than happy to see you. Please feel free to reach out to me on LinkedIn, and I’ll be happy to help.”