Thinking MBA? Meet Three Women Who Are Glad They Did It

In 1999 Darys Estrella was married, the mother of a young son, pregnant with baby number two and working at a small asset management firm in Manahattan. She was working “crazy Wall Street hours,” but still not advancing professionally. Estrella, who had a degree in Hispanic studies from Vassar College, knew she needed more financial expertise. She decided to apply to business school.

The decision to go back to school isn’t an easy one, especially for women who have families. After all, getting an MBA is a huge commitment of both time and money. (To learn more about the cost of an MBA, read related story, “Thinking MBA? Here’s How to Pay For It.” For more on different types of programs, including part-time and virtual, read “Thinking MBA? Have It Your Way.”)

Despite the challenges, we found three women who say they are glad they earned their MBAs. Some enjoyed major career growth. Estrella, for instance, is now a vice president at Goldman Sachs & Co. For others, the benefits are not as easy to quantify, but the advanced degree still is valuable to the women. Here are their stories.

For Estrella, applying to business school was particularly daunting because English is her second language. Still, the Dominican Republic native accepted the challenge of studying for the GMAT, researching schools and applying only to four top-tier business programs. She asked friends with MBAs to critique her essays. The application process was grueling, she says, but “rather than getting discouraged, I took it as a challenge.” She got into three of the four and chose the University of Michigan’s Stephen M. Ross School of Business.

How did Estrella and her family afford her stint as a full-time student? The Consortium for Graduate Study in Management paid her tuition with a merit-based fellowship, but moving her family from New York City to Ann Arbor, Mich., took savings and loans. Was it worth it? No question, says the 2002 graduate. Today, she is  responsible for all initiatives pertaining to the Hispanic community at Goldman Sachs.