18 Comments
User's avatar
Grace Ryan's avatar

Fellow MBA — alllllll of this resonates. Especially the “if you make friends in places that don’t feel like you, it’s no surprise it doesn’t work out”

Expand full comment
Danielle Robinson's avatar

Thanks so much Grace! Glad it resonates :)

Expand full comment
Folu's avatar

starting RC year in <2 months and this was exactly what I needed to read — thank you so much for sharing your reflections! I took so many screenshots to re-read later haha

Expand full comment
Danielle Robinson's avatar

aww glad you enjoyed!! good luck with HBS!

Expand full comment
Alexandra Helfgott's avatar

Your piece really resonated with me. I’m a soon to be 2nd year MPP student and spent the whole first year fighting off FOMO. Glad to read your perspective and hear your insights

Expand full comment
Danielle Robinson's avatar

Thanks so much Alexandra! Hope your second year is much better!

Expand full comment
John Cinncinatus's avatar

This makes getting an MBA sound insufferable.

Legitimately how do people afford this (yacht parties in Croatia)? HBS attendees obviously tend to have more of a financial means - do those without a rich family just have to spend insane amounts on networking?

Expand full comment
Danielle Robinson's avatar

Right! It's definitely a unique experience. Funding typically comes from 1) savings people had from their jobs pre-MBA (which tends to run out pretty quickly) and 2) student loans. Of course there's a large percentage that come from wealthy families too, but many take out as much as they can in loans with the idea that they'll get a very high-paying job after

Expand full comment
Jay Gibson's avatar

I am strongly considering an MBA in the next couple of years. Thank you so much for sharing! This helps a lot in understanding what it’s really like past what they show you in the admissions decks.

Expand full comment
Danielle Robinson's avatar

Thanks Jay!

Expand full comment
s.a's avatar

Thank you for this insight! And congrats on your MBA!

Expand full comment
Danielle Robinson's avatar

thanks so much!

Expand full comment
Anita P's avatar

Thank you for sharing such a nuanced take. Congrats on your MBA!

Expand full comment
Danielle Robinson's avatar

Thanks Anita!

Expand full comment
Rilwan's avatar

Amazing. Thank you for always sharing the real, honest and unfiltered truths, and Congratulations on graduating!

Expand full comment
Danielle Robinson's avatar

thanks so much Rilwan!

Expand full comment
Lena Tavitian's avatar

Thank you so much for this!! I've been mulling over whether to apply to an MBA for the better part of a year; your post has already given me more clarity.

Expand full comment
Danielle Robinson's avatar

That’s great, Lena! Thanks for reading and supporting, as always ☺️

Expand full comment