The Answer is YES: My Journey to HBS

The answer is YES! Four words that could change the trajectory of my future. I shouted, “Yes, I got in” and hugged my sisters and niece.  A year prior to receiving my acceptance, I had no plans on applying to HBS after visiting in February 2020. However, that changed after being in MLT. Almost every fellow applies or secretly applies to HBS, Stanford, or Wharton. Let’s rewind and revisit the path before “The Answer was Yes.”

In September 2018, I applied to Management Leadership for Tomorrow (MLT)’s MBA Prep program. I received my acceptance in February 2019, but I realized I was not ready for my MBA journey, so I declined my acceptance and waited until fall 2019 to reapply. The biggest hurdle was the GMAT. As the confident person that I am, I knew I had the business acumen, leadership, and x-factor to get accepted into a top MBA program; however, the GMAT was the missing ingredient and the slice of humble pie that I may or may not have needed.

On November 11, 2019, I sat for the GMAT for the first time in 5 years. After 4 hours of deciphering permutations, correcting already correct sentences, and integrating reasoning, I received a score that I was comfortable starting with but not applying with. When I got home from the testing site, I emailed my score to MLT and took a mental break. In January 2020, I received my acceptance from MLT, and this time I was ready for my MBA journey. I started registering for diversity days and booking hotels for my school visits.

My first and last school visit was at HBS. I was attending HBS’ annual H. Naylor Fitzhugh Conference. At the conference, I was blown away by the fact that students were able to put on this grandiose conference that featured leaders from every area of business. Additionally, I met some of my MLT classmates and scores of students. By the end of the conference, I was impressed, but I knew that HBS was not the place for me. I did not feel like I would have a community that understood or embraced me.

In MLT, fellows are assigned to cohorts based on location and are required to attend three in-person seminars. When I think of MLT, I think of networking, Black and Brown excellence, and networking again. I was excited to travel and meet my MLT classmates. However, COVID said, “nah.” My MLT experience was completely virtual, an experience that was new for coaches and fellows alike.

Despite having a virtual experience, fellows were still required to take the GMAT until we were GMAT final, some of us driving over 100 miles only to get to the testing site and realize that it was closed. Applying to business school during COVID was a beautiful nightmare; we saved money from not having to travel for school visits, but we could not truly assess the schools' culture.

While in MLT, I was still employed, and I was staffed on a series of intense projects that left little room for studying. I would wake up at 7 am, review GMAT materials from 7:30 to 8:00 AM, and then have a group study session with my MLT Atlanta family from 8 – 9 AM. I took the GMAT again in May 2020 only to see my score drop by 40 points; I was devastated. My practice test scores were great, and I felt extremely confident. After this major blow, I decided to take the test again and again, only to get the same score over and over. I decided to take a break from studying to focus on the other parts of the application process (filling out demographic information, requesting recommendation letters, and essays).

By this point, the round 1 fellows were wrapping up applications. HBS still was not on my radar, but I began to waver in my stance as most of my friends were applying in round 1 or planning to apply in round 2. Normally, I do not have FOMO (fear of missing out), but I was slowly but surely developing the syndrome. One night, while I was watching “Handicapping Your Odds” on Poets&Quants, I decided to look at the HBS essay, “As we review your application, what more would you like us to know as we consider your candidacy for the Harvard Business School MBA program?” I immediately pulled out my phone and began to free-write in my notes app. By the end of the night, I was 75% sure I was going to apply.

Over the Christmas break, I began to finalize my list of schools and essays. I decided that I was applying to seven schools: Wharton, Columbia, Yale, Haas, Ross, Stanford, and HBS. Yep, I was fully committed to applying to HBS. At first, my essay was biographical. I walked through every event that was important to me in my life. I did not have a clear theme, but I had a starting point because I documented impactful events that shaped the way I saw the world. I wrote at least 10 versions of my essay, and I received diametrically opposed feedback from my various reviewers. After receiving the conflicting feedback, I was confused and annoyed, so I stopped focusing on the HBS essay and began finalizing other essays.

On January 4, 2021, a day before the HBS application deadline, I wrapped up my essay after incorporating feedback from one reviewer and going with my gut. My essay was in my voice, and it communicated the true essence of Jerome Fulton, Jr. I had a clear theme, and I was comfortable submitting my application. However, the perfectionist in me would not let me submit my application on January 4. Instead, I read my essay over and over again, making minor edits and finetuning my conclusion.

Today was the big day, January 5, 2021. At approximately 10:30 AM, I received a text from a friend asking if I submitted my HBS application. I replied, “No, I will submit it tonight.” My friend said, “How? Applications are due in about an hour.” He then sent me a screenshot from the HBS website that showed that applications are due January 5, 2021, at 12 PM. I immediately logged into the application portal and began submitting my application. Lo and behold, my computer froze, and my web browser was not responding. I started freaking out, and I restarted my computer. The restart was only about a minute, but it felt like an hour. I thought to myself, “Am I really going to miss the application deadline?” 

Eventually, I logged into the application portal, submitted my application, and paid the $250 application fee. My application was complete, my nerves had subsided, and I submitted my GSB application shortly after because I could not go through this again. Now, it was the interview waiting game. On February 4, 2021, at 12 PM EST, I checked the application portal, and I was ecstatic to see I was offered an interview. I quickly clicked through the calendar, so that I could grab a March interview date. I wanted to interview as late as possible to reduce the lead time between my interview and my admission decision. I was lucky enough to get a March 4 interview date.

I had exactly a month to prepare for a 30-minute, rapid-fire interview. I kept saying to myself how is HBS going to assess my candidacy in 30 minutes? Everyone I know that interviewed with HBS said that it was the hardest interview. Therefore, I was planning to overprepare. I scheduled 10 mock interviews (I don’t recommend this) with current students, admitted students, and current interviewees and took the week of March 4 off from work. I could not blow this opportunity. I wanted to have a 100% success rate by the end of the application process; I wanted to get into HBS.

March 4 arrived. I wore my navy-blue power suit and infamous blue martini tie. I was confident and my afro was on point. I logged into the Zoom waiting room at 5:25 PM as my interview was at 5:30 PM. After a few minutes, my interviewer let me into the main room and greeted me with a smile. I won’t divulge all the details from my interview, but those 30 minutes felt like 5 minutes, and before I knew it, the interview was over. The interview felt like a conversation, a pleasant exchange. After the interview, I wrote a mini recap of the interview, so that I would be prepared to write my post-interview reflection (PIR). Instead of immediately writing my PIR, I took the night off to relax and reflect on the experience. The following morning, I wrote my PIR and submitted it, got my battery replaced in my car, and drove to Atlanta, GA, to be with my family.

Throughout the month of March, I received several acceptances. I was happy with my performance throughout the application process. However, I could not wait for March 30 to come, the day round 2 HBS admission decisions were released. March 29 is my niece’s birthday, so I celebrated her which took my mind off the admission decision. The next morning was the big day. I was so anxious, and it felt like time was not moving at all; 12 PM could not come fast enough. A friend of mine recommended that I watch Operation Varsity Blues: The College Admissions Scandal to allow time to pass and to reinforce that when I get into HBS, it will be based on merit and not money. I laughed at this suggestion, but I watched the documentary anyway.

At 11:58 AM, my niece and two sisters surrounded me with their phones on video record mode, and I logged into the HBS application portal. It took me about a minute and a half to log in. I’m guessing the site was slow because hundreds of applicants were logging in simultaneously. At 12 PM, I clicked "view admission decision", and I saw "THE ANSWER IS YES!" I yelled out, “Yes, I got in” and hugged my family.

By this time, the MLT slack channels were going crazy. I was happy to see so many of my MLT brothers and sisters get into HBS. We congratulated one another, took virtual shots via FaceTime, and celebrated with our family members. I texted everyone who supported me during the application process to let them know I had gotten into HBS. March 30, was a good day, and I did not think it could get any better. Instead, it absolutely got better when I received a call from a northern California number. I answered the phone, and I was told that I had been accepted into Stanford GSB. That night, my MLT Atlanta family and I went to Juicy Crab (I love seafood) to celebrate my success. March 30, 2021, is a day I will never forget.

After reflecting on the application process, I realized it was all worth it. The MLT assignments, the admission events, and the GMAT retakes were all worth it. Now, I had champagne problems, and I had to make a decision. Though the decision-making process may seem like it was easy; it was not at all. I came into MLT with a focus on one school that was not HBS. Ultimately, I chose HBS, a school that I said I would never entertain. It is now the beginning of my spring semester, and I have no regrets. No institution is perfect, but I love the people I have met, and HBS has exceeded my expectations. Yes, we have class on Fridays, and yes, we read a lot of cases, but I would not have it any other way. The answer is YES!