Part-Time MBA Student Profile Pursuing MBA for Investment Banking and Healthcare with Savita Gupta

Savita grew up in Chicago and attended undergrad at Duke University, where she was a pre-med student. Savita had a passion for healthcare, but she was unsure how to best apply her skills in order to make a meaningful impact.

Her career began at a health tech startup, where she designed remote patient monitoring solutions for health systems across the country. She was excited by their ability to improve patient outcomes with data-backed insight. Savita’s interest led her to apply to the M.S. in Bioinformatics program at the University of Chicago.

Though business school was not yet on her radar, Savita signed up for the Polsky Center newsletter to learn more about UChicago’s startup ecosystem. There, she read about a seminar called “Toolkits for Analyzing and Financing Disruptive Concepts.” The course was offered to UChicago graduate students in science programs and taught by Professor Scott Meadow. This six-week course changed Savita’s perspective completely. She was particularly fascinated by how investors and entrepreneurs assessed fundamental economics of a business and how valuations could inform investment and growth strategies. The course provided her with a new way of thinking about problems and potential solutions in the healthcare space. Before the 6-week seminar even finished, Savita applied to Chicago Booth!

I arrived at Booth eager to explore a world-renowned finance curriculum and vibrant entrepreneurship ecosystem. But beyond academic goals, my plan for the MBA was a bit open-ended. Many of my fellow students already had a career pivot in mind. My first day of class happened to coincide with my first day of work as a healthcare consultant. I was excited about my job, but intrigued by my peers leveraging their MBA to pursue new opportunities. They introduced me to paths I hadn’t considered before. They were building businesses, starting search funds, serving on boards, and recruiting at some of the most influential firms in the world.

My ultimate career goal didn’t change—I still wanted to make an impact at the frontier of healthcare. But as I moved from accounting fundamentals into finance electives, I felt challenged and excited in a way I hadn’t experienced before. Those classes introduced me to the analysis underpinning the most influential decisions a company can make. Inspired by this new direction and eager to apply what we were learning in class, I began to pursue opportunities at the intersection of healthcare and finance.

Booth gave me the space to explore my options, an environment to develop an entirely new skillset, and opened doors for my pivot into banking. Breaking into this industry without an already established network or work experience was daunting. But, Booth offered significant support along the way.

Booth’s Evening MBA Program also introduced me to a wonderful community, within IB recruitment and beyond. Evening/Weekend students are some of the hardest-working people you will ever meet. They push through long days at work to come to class, give up their weekends to finish assignments, and somehow manage to balance all other areas of life. The friends I made at Booth helped me stay up late to study, texted me before every interview, and planned incredible trips to look forward to after months of work. There are many reasons to pursue an MBA, but the community here is the best return you can get from the degree.

Chicago Booth has one of the strongest finance programs in the country. With more finance electives than almost any other MBA program and esteemed faculty from around the world, I knew I could develop a solid technical foundation even without prior experience. My classes challenged me to build models from scratch, thoroughly research innovation across industries, and present to real investors.

Booth’s campus recruiting was also an important part of my pivot into investment banking. Over the course of four weeks, we met nearly a hundred bankers at firms nationwide. Those initial conversations turned into interviews, and after weeks of hard work and intensive preparation we received offers.

My pivot to IB would have been highly improbable without Booth. Co-chairs of the Chicago Booth Banking Club spent hours coaching us through every step of the process, from interview etiquette to technical analysis. Career Services helped us develop our recruitment strategy and organized professional treks to meet bankers from San Francisco to New York. Even Booth alumni were generous with their time and advice. Booth opened doors I never thought I’d get to walk through and made sure I was prepared once I got there.

My advice to prospective students would be to come to business school with an open mind. An MBA can help accelerate your current career path or pursue something completely different. Ask lots of questions. Look for inspiration outside of your industry. Don’t be afraid to try something new.