How an Indian chartered accountant got over ₹3 crores in scholarships from top business schools in USA

The option to get an international MBA after CA is becoming popular among professionals who were earlier happy to build their career on their chartered accountancy qualification.

Janak Daswani joins the small but growing list of chartered accountants from India who have successfully cracked the international MBA admissions process.

In fact, it wouldn’t be wrong to say Janak has done way better than most Indian applicants (not just CAs) in the scholarships department. He explains how he accomplished the impressive feat.
 

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How I got $357,000 in scholarships from top business schools

MBA After CA

by Janak Daswani

 
From a young age, I was captivated by the world of business and finance. In 10th grade, I knew I wanted to pursue Chartered Accountancy (‘CA’) and follow it up with an MBA from a top international B-school a few years later.

During my CA journey, I completed three years of articleship at BDO India LLP, starting at the age of just 19, which provided me with a foundational understanding of financial statements and business operation.

On becoming a CA, like most members of the fraternity, I had a dream to work at one of the “Big Four” accounting firms. I joined the transfer pricing department at KPMG network firm, where I consulted multinational corporates on intra-group transactions.

After a couple of years, I decided that it was time to start preparing for the GMAT and take up a role more aligned with my post-MBA goal of management consulting.

It was my keen interest in advisory, my inclination towards business and finance, and the booming domain of M&A that prompted my shift to the field of transaction advisory.

I joined KNAV Services Private Limited, a boutique accounting and advisory firm, as an assistant manager in their financial due diligence team. Leading the financial due diligence for over 5 M&A deals in the US has enhanced my financial acumen and client management skills.

The GMAT experience

I gave my first GMAT attempt in the few months I had between leaving KPMG and joining KNAV. My exam turned out to be a disaster as I struggled with nerves and time management, scoring only 610 despite averaging 700 in the mocks. But I did not give up as I knew I was capable of a far better score.

Working during the week and devoting my weekends to studying, with a lot of focus on managing my exam time better, I gave the exam three more times over a course of 5 months with an improvement in each attempt.

I found that taking the third and fourth attempts at home, where it was quieter, helped me focus better. My perseverance paid off, and I finally scored 750!

I was ecstatic! Unlike the exam center, the online exam doesn’t provide a printout of the score, and it only shows for a few seconds. I just couldn’t believe my eyes and kept wondering if I made a mistake.

The MBA application process

I then started my MBA application process in March 2023. I initially signed up with a reputed consultant who has been in the business for many years.

But in four months I made barely any progress, and I did not find any value addition.

Panicked about losing my head start, I reached out to a friend (who has also gained admission to a top U.S. business school this year with MCB’s help).

He had already signed up with MBA Crystal Ball (MCB) and had glowing reviews. He took me through the MCB process in detail and highlighted their value addition as I was a bit hesitant since I had already spent a lot of money.

At MCB, Vibhav was the consultant I worked with. We started right from scratch again. I initially signed up for the MBA MAP assessment + 6 schools (including ISB).

The MAP assessment provided valuable insights on my strengths and weaknesses and helped devise a strategy for me to cover schools from all categories – ‘Ambitious’, ‘Stretch’ and ‘Practical’.

As I was very happy with my experience, I decided to sign up for 2 additional schools after the round 1 decisions. At this point I chose schools that had different essay topics and were better than the admissions already secured.

Vibhav advised me on what universities look for in applicants and emphasized the importance of showcasing my distinct skills and experiences.

For the essays, I worked with both Vibhav and Maitabi. The brainstorming sessions to address each school’s essays helped add a lot of value. Instead of offering direct ideas, they guided me in the right direction and encouraged me to deeply reflect on my professional and personal experiences. This approach helped me articulate my story and abilities more effectively.

The personal essays were particularly challenging, requiring a deeper level of introspection. Maitabi and Vibhav’s thoughtful feedback and guidance during our brainstorming sessions were pivotal in helping me uncover and present my authentic narrative in a compelling and impactful way.

A standout aspect of my profile was my strong extracurricular involvement, particularly my volunteer work with ‘The Lighthouse Project’, where I mentored students from low-income families to enhance their academic and interpersonal skills.

Under Vibhav and Maitabi’s guidance, I drew upon my experiences with ‘The Lighthouse Project’ to create compelling narratives that showcased my commitment to inclusivity and social impact. These stories not only highlighted my unique perspective but also helped distinguish me from other candidates.

Major challenge in my MBA application

During the MBA application process the biggest challenge I faced was justifying the significant gap between the end of my articleship and first job post CA qualification. My CA journey was a difficult one. It took me a few attempts to clear the CA final exams.

While I believe I had a good profile from an MBA admission perspective —strong work experience, extracurricular involvement, and a solid GMAT score —I was concerned about how schools would perceive the gap in my employment, despite having a legitimate reason for it, which was managing a significant health challenge faced by a family member.

Vibhav and Maitabi carefully understood the hurdles I faced. They helped me build a persuasive narrative for the optional essay and showcase the personal qualities developed from my experiences.

I believe we were able to turn a weakness in my application into a strength!

MBA application outcome

I applied to ten schools across 2 rounds and appeared for interviews at 7 of them (UCLA Anderson, Dartmouth Tuck, Michigan Ross, Vanderbilt Owen, UNC Kenan Flagler, Texas McCombs, ISB).

Understanding the need to be thoroughly prepared for interviews, I sought out MCB’s expert guidance once again to help me get ready. Vibhav and Maitabi were crucial in assisting me with crafting compelling stories and structuring my responses.

Through mock interviews they helped me build confidence, improve my body language, maintain eye contact, and adopt a professional tone.

Finally, the results – I received admits from three schools – UCLA Anderson, Vanderbilt Owen, and UNC Kenan Flagler with a total scholarship of $357,000 (each school offering $100,000 or more). That’s around ₹3 crores in Indian Rupees!

After much deliberation, I chose to accept the offer from UCLA Anderson, which came with a $100,000 scholarship distributed over two years.

UCLA Anderson’s diverse cohort, great consulting program, and proximity to business hubs on the West coast made it my top choice!

Beyond the excellent results, navigating the admission process with the MCB team has significantly contributed to my personal and professional growth. I strongly believe that choosing to work with them was a great decision!

For those concerned about affordability or Return on Investment (‘ROI), I’d like to address this briefly. While it’s uncertain whether I would have gained admissions without the MCB team’s help, I certainly believe that I would not have secured such substantial scholarships.

Further, looking at the long-term perspective, MCB’s support drives you to push your limits, learn in the process, and ultimately gain admission to a better school, which significantly enhances your long-term ROI.

Life at UCLA Anderson

It’s been about five months since I began business school, and this experience has been truly transformative. UCLA Anderson has introduced me to a dynamic, diverse community where every interaction offers new perspectives.

Whether it’s case discussions or group projects, I’m constantly learning not just from professors but also from my incredibly talented classmates.

Outside the classroom, social events and club activities have been fantastic opportunities to build connections and friendships.

I am a member of several clubs including the management consulting association, healthcare business association, South Asian business association, basketball club, and wine club. From cultural celebrations to networking mixers, the sense of community here is truly unparalleled.

Additionally, Los Angeles is an amazing city, and I absolutely love being here. The city’s vibrant culture, great weather, and endless things to explore make it a fantastic place to live and study.

These five months have been incredibly rewarding, and I look forward to the journey ahead.

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Reach out if you’d like to join forces with the MBA Crystal Ball admissions consulting team to maximise your odds of getting that dream admit…hopefully with scholarship!
info@mbacrystalball.com

Also read:
– CA rejected by ISB, admitted in second attempt
– MBA after CA from IIM, ISB vs abroad
– Benefits of MBA abroad after CA
– How this chartered accountant got into ISB with a low GMAT score of 600
– MBA after Big 4 Audit for CA