Real Humans of the Drexel LeBow Class of 2019
Joe Dipre, LeBow MBA Class of 2019
Age: 24
Hometown: Surrey, England
Undergraduate Institution and Major: University of Delaware, Finance
Pre-MBA Work Experience: Primarily in commercial lending, working as a credit underwriter for a small business funding company named, Swift Capital.
Joe Dipre, LeBow Class of 2019
Why business school? Why now? Ambition. I want to work in an environment where I can have a greater impact on a company’s success. An MBA will give me the credentials and the knowledge to be able to take on more responsibility in the workplace. There are drawbacks to taking an MBA at a relatively young age, but I believe the pros outweigh the cons. As LeBows’ slogan states – “Ambition can’t wait.” I have career goals I want to achieve and believe I can reach those goals more quickly with a completed MBA, so why wait?
Why LeBow? What factors figured most prominently into your decision of where to attend? LeBow is a fantastic school with a great reputation, especially in the Philadelphia region. Their connections to employers are stronger than many other schools in the area, partly due to the summer internship opportunities which are integral to their program. Drexel is very involved and helpful in their student’s search for a compatible job, which is one of the reasons I considered LeBow. After visiting the school and meeting some faculty members, I was sold! Additionally, the 18-month accelerated program appealed to me more than the standard 2 year programs that other schools offer.
What do you think is your most valuable or differentiating contribution to the Class of 2019? The Lebow MBA class is filled with extremely talented and hard-working individuals, so this is a hard one! I would like to think that my most valuable contribution is my positive attitude. I think I deal with stress very well, which is a great asset in the often-stressful life of a grad student. Sometimes, the workload can seem overwhelming, and I hope my positive can-do attitude rubs off on my peers, especially in group work. I am rarely faced with a task where I don’t have full confidence in my ability to complete it.
Fun fact that didn’t get included on your application? I once spent a week in Madagascar exploring the rainforests!
Post-MBA career interests? Upon graduating, I hope to find a role in private equity, venture capital or merger and acquisitions. Finance is a strength of mine, and I very much enjoy the analytical side of business. PE, VC, and M&A appeals to me as it gives me the opportunity to utilize my analytical skills in a fast paced, competitive environment.
Advice to Prospective MBA Applicants
One thing you would absolutely do again as part of your application process? Visit the schools. Visiting the schools allows you to get a better understanding of each school’s culture and values that you wouldn’t necessarily find from online research. Additionally, talking to current students in the program can be immensely helpful. I suggest reaching out to them (maybe on LinkedIn)! They are often more than willing to help and give advice.
One thing you would change or do differently? I would have liked to explore the opportunity of getting a dual degree a little further. In my case, I would have most likely pursued an MBA and an MS in Finance. Obviously, there are significant factors that must be considered before undertaking a dual degree (i.e., cost and time), but I wish I explored and researched it a little more.
Part you would have skipped if you could—and what helped you get through it? The GMATs – studying for the GMAT is a long and tedious process. A lot of the material I hadn’t covered in years, and I didn’t see much practical use in it. However, given I had less work experience than most MBA applicants, I knew the GMAT was an important element of my application. I was working full-time while I was studying for them, and I can tell you now that it is not fun coming home from a hard day’s work to immediately hit the books! I motivated myself by telling myself continually that it will be worth it in the long run, and it was.
Greatest highlight so far at LeBow? Four of us in the MBA class decided to apply for a national case competition hosted by the University of Buffalo. After many hours of hard work, we were selected for the finals where we presented our strategy to industry experts. The team finished in second place and I was honored to receive the individual prize of “best presenter.” It was an incredibly enjoyable experience and I recommend that all graduate students apply for a case competition.
One thing about LeBow that you didn’t expect before arriving? The diversity of our cohort. Although LeBow communicated to me that diversity has always been a strength of theirs, I was still surprised. We have students of all different ages, industries and countries, with vastly different outlooks and experience. This enhances classroom discussions and allows you to work with all kinds of people.
Thing you are most anxious about in your first year? Most of my anxiety has revolved around finding an internship. Drexel has a great internship/co-op program that allows you to work full-time for 10-12 weeks over the summer, but with that comes the stress and pressure to find a job! Fortunately, Drexel Career Services helps you in every way they can, and I have been lucky enough to be offered some great roles for some great companies. When it comes to a job search, I’m a firm believer in showing the initiative – if a company you like doesn’t show any job listings, reach out anyway! Send them a resume and a cover letter and see what comes back – I’ve had lots of success (and failures!) with this method.
Thing you are most excited about in your first year? I’m excited to take some of the more advanced classes. The first few months of the program include more basic classes. These classes help ensure everyone has a strong foundational knowledge of business. We’re coming up to the period where we will be taking more and more challenging classes that require more expert knowledge. I love to be challenged so these are the classes that really excite me.
About the Author
Matthew Korman
Matthew Korman is a writer on MetroMBA. Since graduating from Rowan University with a degree in journalism and political science, Matthew has worked as a music industry writer and promoter, a data analyst, and with numerous academic institutions. His works have appeared in publications such as NPR and Sports Illustrated.
