Khyati Kakkar is Relentlessly Practical.
Khyati was working in a marketing team at Times Internet when she started applying to colleges but she says even in school, she knew she would get an MBA. She wanted to live and work in the US and an MBA was a means to that end. Khyati attended Duke’s Fuqua School of Business and now works for BCG in Seattle.
Khyati was raised in Benin in West Africa where her parents ran a family business. They moved to India when she was eight. Though her family ran a successful business, she says she was always encouraged to do her own thing.
In school, Khyati wasn’t interested in Arts or Science so she got a B. Com. Honours degree from Delhi University. Upon graduating, she joined Urban Clap, (now Urban Company) an online home services startup, as employee number 30. After two years on the marketing team, Khyati felt she had enough startup experience and was stagnating.
She also wanted a role that would give her more time to study for the GMAT and start preparing for MBA applications. Khyati had attended an Admissions Gateway seminar while she was in college and spoke with them now to discuss applying for an MBA but they recommended that she get a couple more years of work experience first.
To experience an organisation at scale, Khyati joined Times Internet; the digital arm of Times Group, the largest media conglomerate in India. As a member of the central growth marketing team, Khyati acted as an internal strategy consultant, helping drive growth at the many internet properties the group owned. With another two years of experience under her belt, Khyati reached out to Admissions Gateway again and they started the applications process together.
Khyati says Admissions Gateway brought structure to her applications; packaging her past experience, tying it to her future goals and selling it to the schools. Khyati also says she appreciated the honest feedback they gave her.
“Sugarcoating things will not help me.”
Khyati applied to four business schools but accepted Duke-Fuqua’s early admit offer. Khyati says that while the school is well regarded, the program she chose isn’t as well known, yet she stands by her decision, saying there isn’t as much difference between the Top 5 and Top 15 business schools as some people think there is.
“Five years down the line, the school doesn’t matter as much.”
Khyati recommends taking at least a year if not more for applications as getting back into the groove of studying for the GMAT is not easy. She also says the application process takes time and is mentally, physically and emotionally exhausting.
“You learn a lot about yourself and reflection cannot be rushed.”
She also advises reaching out to students and faculties, to get a feel of each school’s community, to help with writing applications and to get generate some recall for your name when admits are being offered.
Khyati asked for and received about $40K in scholarship at Duke and she says MBA applicants should always actively ask for scholarships.
“Only the baby that cries, gets milk.”
Khyati’s last piece of advice is characteristically practical.
“An MBA is a means to an end. Be clear about the purpose of an MBA in your life.”