Here in admissions at the Darden School of Business, we know how stressful (and empowering!) it can be to discern whether business school is the right fit for your future. We asked Darden MBA alumna Betsy Frost to share a reflection on how she managed the decision.
Continue reading for helpful tips and advice for prospective MBA candidates!
Betsy Frost (MBA ’05)
There have been several times in my life where I felt like I was at a crossroads and the decisions I made were going to set a path or create differential outcomes. Yesterday, I spoke with a Second Year MBA student who was feeling the weight of her first job out of school and was worried about “getting it right,” as if there is only one path that will return the future she is hoping for.
Why Darden
When I was looking at business schools, I was looking for something enabled interaction with professors, had a practical real-life application, would open doors and have a strong alumni network and would help me jumpstart my entrepreneurial vision. I was considering Stanford, Harvard and Columbia, alongside Darden. Each one had pros and cons against my wish list, but when I walked onto the Darden campus and Professor Fairchild stopped while literally walking across the campus and talked for me for 15 minutes, I was hooked.
I wanted to be someplace where the professors wanted to be, in the classroom and making connections with students. As I was in my final decision stages, my boss at the time, who was a Darden alum, activated his network to reach out to me, offer perspectives and share their journeys. While Darden didn’t have the same reputation as the other programs I was looking at, I knew that the experience here was going to be personal, developmental and a lifelong community.
What I didn’t know at the time was the doors that the Darden MBA was going to open for me. I had a one-track mind on running a smaller company or starting my own thing, but the head of career services and a number of my professors pushed me to go to a larger CPG (consumer package goods) company and take a brand management role, if only for one or two years. They believed that getting a big name on my resume would open options for me in the future and that my skill set would differentiate me as a leader. I have always been so thankful for the push and that such amazing people took the time to know me and develop the insights that would jumpstart my future.
Post-Darden Experience
I ended up spending 14 years at General Mills, running brands from Cheerios to Yoplait, but also getting to start a disruptive innovation group and run the Women in Leadership program for the international organization. I had incredible support from other Darden alumni and when I was ready to go do my own thing, the Darden network was a huge part of my support and connection network.
I have found my way back into running entrepreneurial ventures as the President of DRY Soda, CEO of Hoplark and now CEO of Q Mixers. I am a purpose-driven marketing and P&L leader who combines CPG experience with an entrepreneurial mindset to build businesses, brands and big ideas. I believe that ideas without action are worthless, and collaboration takes us all farther, faster. All of these are reflective of what Darden gave me — a real-world approach to business problem solving, the learning team structure and desire to raise your hand and get involved.
These values are also inherent in me. Looking back at the last 20 years and the “crossroads” big decisions, I have learned that the decisions are important, but the fact that you get to make them is the real moment of success and the best fit for me has been the one that amplifies the things I care about. A huge thank you to the Forté Program and Darden for helping me find what makes me tick.
Advice for Decision Making
I remember the paralysis of the “big decision,” whether it was deciding what MBA program to pursue or what that first big job was going to be. I have received a lot of advice over the years, but the following pieces of advice have guided my big decisions since those first two big decision points:
- If you know where you are going, think about how you are going to get there and know it’s a path and your job is to take the first step and get moving.
- If you don’t know where you are ultimately going, walk through the door that interests you and keeps the most options open.
- If you’re making hard decisions between amazing options, there isn’t a good or a bad decision — you’ve already won! It’s more about finding the better fit.
- If you’re stuck between two decisions, put Decision A on “heads” and Decision B on “tails” and flip a coin. You’ll either feel a little bit of relief or disappointment when the “winning” side stares at you. Regardless of what the long list of pros and cons is telling you, you actually know in your gut what you want to do.
