Life can get quite busy here for all the right reasons. No matter how demanding it gets, I try my best not to take my time here for granted because these few years have truly been special. This experience has been made possible by this generous institution.
I was admitted to HBS as a 2+2 admit during my senior year of university and decided to rejoin Goldman Sachs full-time after having spent two summers there. I quickly realized that, although I thoroughly enjoyed my time at the firm and working in finance,I wanted to work in a role that would allow me to have more of a direct impact on my immediate community.
The 2+2 program gave me the confidence to more boldly seek an opportunity that I may not have considered otherwise. In an attempt to find a role that would allow me to give back to the city I was born and raised in, I left banking and jumped on an offer to join as an Associate Director of Strategy and Analytics at the NYC Department of Education.
I learned more about the amazing change that can be catalyzed from the intersection of business and government. It was then that I also decided to apply and was fortunately accepted to the joint degree program with the Harvard Kennedy School.
As much as I enjoyed my time working for city government, I was concerned with how a lower salary would affect my ability to pay for the joint HBS/HKS degree program, let alone HBS. As a first-generation American growing up in a modest middle-income family, the thought of carrying a six-figure debt burden left me feeling uneasy.
Shortly thereafter, I learned that HBS has an incredibly generous and equitable financial aid program. They operate under the assumption that all the students they admit are equally qualified and instead of offering merit-based aid, they go against the grain by offering generous need-based aid.
What could have easily been cost prohibitive proved to be more affordable than I could have imagined due to the generosity of the school and its alumni. If you are interested but are concerned about your ability to finance your education, I implore you not to take yourself out of consideration - HBS is committed to making the school affordable and accessible for the students it admits.
Unsurprisingly, the support does not stop there. For those seeking summer opportunities in the entrepreneurial or social sector sphere, which may not be able to compensate as well as traditional summer internships, HBS also offers financial support through its Summer Fellows Program.
I was fortunate enough to secure an internship with the National Economic Council at the White House, which unfortunately did not pay. Thankfully, I received funding as a Fellow which allowed me to partake in one of the most memorable personal and learning experiences of my life.
I am exceptionally grateful to this institution which goes out of its way to enable its students in all they aspire to do – and hope that you get to experience this support firsthand as well!