Sabrina Dorisca, Washington Foster’s MBA Class of 2027
Age: 24
Hometown: Orlando, Florida
Undergraduate Institution and Major: University of Central Florida, Business Economics
Pre-MBA Work Experience: Consultant, Government, Deloitte, 4 years
Why did you make the decision to attend business school? Why now?
While I liked my time at Deloitte, I felt like working only with government clients limited the experiences I could have and the impact I wanted to make. I wanted to get in at the ground floor of projects a.k.a. strategy and I didn’t have much room to maneuver in the current climate within government consulting. So I decided to go to business school so I could pivot into a strategy based role. Why now? Why not now, is what I thought. I talked to so many women in position higher than me before I made the decision and they all said the same thing, do it now when you don’t have a lot of competing priorities or responsibilities in your life.
Why did you choose Washington Foster? What factors figured most prominently into your decision of where to attend?
When choosing schools I knew that I only wanted to apply to schools through the Consortium that were in the top 25, and had coursework surrounding social responsibility. Foster offered me all those things. Plus, I was able to visit for FOSTERing MBA Access, the diversity weekend, and absolutely fell in love with the culture-open and supportive, coupled with a generous scholarship Foster was a no brainer for me.
What do you think is your most valuable or differentiating contribution to the Class of 2027?
Coming from a government consulting background, I have this community based lens that always has me looking at the bigger picture and all I did for four years was work on teams. Foster is super team oriented and I think this background of mine allows me to thrive in team environments, know how to support my peers and constantly bring in the “so what” to analysis and brainstorming discussions.
Tell us a fun fact about yourself that didn’t get included on your application:
I absolutely love learning about new cultures especially through their media outlets. So I’m all over the map when it comes to favorite movies, music and tv shows. Nollywood, Hallyu, C-Drama’s, telenovela’s or Bollywood movies. I have a recommendation for everything. I’ve used it to help me learn languages so I’m pretty confident I can meet new people and make friends in a few different languages.
Advice for Current Prospective Applicants:
–What is one thing you would absolutely do again as part of your application process?
Use Magoosh to study for the GRE, the plans were easy to follow, the test were accurate and much more affordable than private coaches (but they have that if you want).
–What is one thing you would change or do differently?
I’d start preparing and saving up way earlier than I did. I really got serious about applying around 4 months before applications opened and it was stressful catching up. I would definitely take a full 6 months just to study before taking the test, and be saving up to make the transition from career to jobless grad student smoother.
–What is one part you would have skipped if you could—and what helped you get through it?
The stress of interviews would be an easy skip if I could. It was difficult hyper-fixating on my answers, if I was coming off humble, yet confident, successful and happy, yet ambitious, and at the very top, likeable. The process really forces you to take a deep self inventory. What got me through it was leaning on my faith and my family. I at some point had to tell myself that all I can be is myself and whether that’s enough is up to the recruitment team. My value at the end of the day was inherent and it came from God and my loved ones not my MBA admissions.
What is your initial impression of the Foster students/culture/community?
Foster’s culture is unique when compared to rumors you hear about top MBA programs in the reddit trenches. As students we share a lot about our goals, our struggles, our triumphs and it’s all met with support. Everyone wants to succeed and we understand that we’re partners in this not adversaries. The professors really round out the experience, they all are absolute rockstars in their fields and they do their best to simplify complex concepts and frameworks so that we get it.
What student organizations have you joined/are you hoping to join and why?
I am scoping out Consulting Society, Strategy Club and Women in Business, Diversity in Business, Challenge for Charity. I think all these clubs cover my career goals, and also what I find most important is bolstering diversity in the business space and giving back to my community.
What is one thing you have learned about Foster that has surprised you?
Your team is the literal backbone of your quarter. It’s integrated a lot more than I thought it would be so that was surprising. How that experience works for you really depends on the person, but I was blessed with a great team so I’m happy.
What is one thing you are most excited about in your first year?
Signing up for the FIN 579 — The Power of Access: Impact Lending to Underserved Communities class in my spring quarter so I can help BIPOC businesses obtain bank financing, and of course of my internship.
