From Singapore to WHU Otto | MBA Success Stories

Dalvin Gill and I meet in the gleaming jewel of London’s skyline - Canary Wharf. She is 15 minutes late, but I’m the one to blame, having chosen a cafe tucked away into the corner of one of those sparkling supermalls that feels like it’s been teleported into 2,000-year old London from a different age entirely.

Dalvin, too, stands apart from the sea of scruffy, sweaty suits of the business district crowd - dressed as if for a picnic on Hampstead Heath, because for her this summer is all about catching her breath ahead of her greatest professional undertaking yet: an MBA from the WHU Otto Beisheim School of Management, home to Germany’s top-ranked full-time MBA program.

Yet, from the moment we start talking, Dalvin does not strike me as someone who’s comfortable ‘taking a break’. She’s passionate about her reasons for leaving Singapore, choosing WHU, and establishing the business school’s first dedicated Investment Banking Club on their Düsseldorf Campus, targeted at the MBA cohort, in preparation for her own career pivot into IBD.

Our conversation is at once positive and harrowing - a kaleidoscope of the constraints, anxieties, and unrelenting resilience of so many international business school applicants now trying to figure out their path in a world whose borders feel increasingly impenetrable.

First things first - when and why did you decide to apply for business school?

It’s funny actually - I was in NYC at the end of last year, and on December 31 remember vividly sitting alone in sunny Central Park on the Umpire Rock, overlooking scenic and iconic New York skyscrapers before the evening’s festivities, reflecting on my life to date. I’ve spent time in six countries across the globe, but returned to Singapore a few years ago thinking maybe it was time to settle down in the place I’d grown up. But sitting there looking up at the NYC skyline, and hearing the city’s growing buzz as the night approached, something clicked inside me - my future was not meant to unravel back where it all began. I decided there and then that 2025 would be the year of a big life pivot into a more dynamic, risk-tolerant geography and focused, high-reward career path - and that business school would be my launchpad.

How did you come across Leland?

As a Singaporean MBA applicant applying exclusively to business schools overseas, I knew from the start that I’d need an MBA admissions coach to help me navigate not just the application process but everything including school choice, GMAT prep, essays support, and final decision-making. I looked for MBA coaches online and came across Leland, immediately impressed by the high caliber of business school coaches available. Where else can you find such a wide selection of MBA coaches who have been through it all themselves - dealt with the same questions and worries, and ultimately got offers at your own target schools?

How did you choose your admissions coach?

My coach Hadi H. had himself received offers at LBS and and CBS - two of my top-choice schools at the time. Seeing that he was a full-time coach now with a great track record of getting other clients into top international schools as well as US M7, I knew he’d have the global experience to help me answer some of those more strategic and existential questions about where I should apply.

How did you settle on your target schools - and, ultimately, on accepting a place at WHU?

Although Columbia and other top US business schools were in my target list to start, talking with Hadi about all we had seen unravel on the world stage in recent years opened my eyes to the fact that the ROI of a US MBA just isn’t as clear as it used to be for foreign passport holders. It’s a huge investment to gamble on being able to stay working long-term in a country where your brand will open all the doors you need.

Ultimately, I decided to consider the host country’s visa policies and recent politics alongside all the MBA program-specific criteria I was using to pick between schools. Since I knew I wanted to pursue a pivot into a more finance related career such as venture capital or investment banking, triangulating all those criteria led me to identify a German MBA as the clearest path to immediate job security, a smooth immigration process, a quick loan payback, and ultimately long-term professional success and personal satisfaction. In light of all that, WHU - as one of the best finance business schools in Germany, having successfully led many MBA graduates into careers in corporate finance, VC, IBD, and PE, especially in Frankfurt and London - was an easy ‘yes’.

What advice would you have for other Singaporean MBA applicants looking to apply to business schools abroad?

I’d say make sure to speak to folks who have been through the same crossroads as you before - and don’t worry too much about them being Singaporean like you, or having worked at exactly the same companies, etc. Ultimately, everyone’s different - but those with a global mindset, willingness to relocate, and specific school admissions experience will often have looked at things in a similar way to you, regardless of where you’re from. Hadi H., my Leland MBA coach was an absolute godsend - excellent and pivotal in helping me in my MBA journey. I wouldn’t have found him without Leland!

I do think it’s important to look at things like whom you’d be up against if, post-MBA, you plan to enter a competitive industry in your host country. How well will your undergrad stack up versus, let’s say, the Harvards and Stanfords of the world? The political environment we’re living in right now is so different to the one we graduated into 10 years ago, so it’s important to re-evaluate risks, odds, and opportunities in light of the new normal.

Finally, once you make a decision that feels at least 80% right, I’d suggest just knuckling down and sticking to it. Once I made my decision to apply for an MBA, it has felt like doors have been flying open everywhere I go. It definitely takes a bit of courage to make a choice that might feel less obvious to your American peers, or on the global stage at large, but the confidence of knowing you’ve made the right call to maximize your chances of meeting your own goals whilst optimizing for the greatest odds of happiness, will keep you powered up and pushing forward.

Thank you Dalvin, and best of luck at WHU! We can’t wait to see you thrive.

Check out these stories next:

• How I Got Into Wharton as an International Applicant
• Defining a Narrative of Capability: To Harvard Business School and Beyond
• No One from My Hometown Went to GSB – Here’s What I Did