What happens when everything seems to work against your MBA dream? Kofoworola Toriola says you keep going — and keep believing.

Kofoworola faced setbacks at every stage of her MBA journey: GRE struggles, rejections from top schools, and doubts along the way. But today, she’s a lawyer-turned-business strategist and incoming Associate at McKinsey’s Lagos office, proving that persistence pays off.

A proud IESE Business School (Barcelona) alumna, she served as Co-President of the Africa Business Club, leading initiatives that showcased Africa’s potential on the global stage.

Before business school, Kofoworola spent over seven years as an Associate at a top-tier Nigerian law firm, advising local and international clients on complex legal matters.

She’s also an Amazon-published author of Love Notes, a passionate advocate for mentorship, and a champion of African professional growth.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

- How to stay motivated after MBA rejections

- Real strategies to bounce back from low test scores or setbacks

- What it’s really like to transition from law to strategy

- How IESE Business School shapes global, values-driven leaders

- Tips for landing consulting roles at firms like McKinsey, BCG, and Bain

If you’ve ever felt like your MBA dream was slipping away, this story will reignite your belief that it’s still possible.

🎙️ Business 101 Podcast: Inside IESE Business School with Kofoworola Toriola

Getting off the MBA waitlist at a Top Business School is tough — getting funding after that? Almost unheard of, but Tolulope Ogunsola (Ross MBA ’25) did both.

Tolu was waitlisted at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business, then turned that into a full admission with major funding. In this episode, she breaks down exactly how she did it.

Before Ross, Tolu spent four years as a Data Analyst at PwC, building a foundation in analytics and business strategy. During her MBA, she recruited for consulting and led as VP of Communications for the Africa Business Club, Nonprofit Board Fellow, and Student Ambassador. Today, she’s a Consulting Manager at Visa Consulting & Analytics.

💡 In this conversation, Tolu shares:

- How to get off the MBA waitlist and still secure funding

- The exact strategies that helped her craft standout essays & recommendation letters

- How to network effectively as an international student

- Step-by-step tips to land internships & full-time roles at top firms like Amazon, McKinsey, Visa, and Goldman Sachs

- What life at Ross is really like for international MBAs...

If you’ve ever worried that being waitlisted kills your funding chances — this episode proves it’s possible to turn it around!

#Business101Podcast #RossMBA #MBAwaitlist #MBAjourney #BusinessSchool #M7MBA

Inside Kellogg School of Management with Jibikeoluwa FaborodeEver met one of those people that your parents ask if they have 2 heads? Well, let me introduce you to one!Jibikeoluwa is a proud Nigerian, a business strategist and an international policy expert. After completing her MBA at Kellogg, she's now an incoming Consultant at EY-Parthenon’s Houston office. At Kellogg, she served as Vice President of Global Affairs for the Kellogg Student Association and worked to deepen student’s access to global experiences, geostrategy learning and community building in a world with growing divides and intense competition.Before Kellogg, Jibike spent close to a decade in global strategy, foreign affairs, and climate finance roles across Africa with the UK foreign, commonwealth and development office, African Development Bank, and Huawei Technologies. Asides her MBA from Kellogg, Jibike holds an M.Sc., in International Development Policy from Duke University, another M.Sc., in Energy Economics from University of Port Harcourt and a B.Sc., in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from Obafemi Awolowo University.She’s passionate about development in emerging economies, in particular across Africa and Asian markets.In this brutally honest conversation, she talk through:- The Kellogg MBA application process- How to land and/or increase scholarship awards- Tips for getting highly effective recommendation letters- How to navigate coffee chats, networking and everything else that scare international students- Simple strategies to land your dream internship & full time offer at firms like Amazon, Tesla, SpaceX, McKinsey, Goldman Sachs & Open AI- …and other specific things to do to get into your dream business school and enjoy your 2 yearsIf you want step-by-step guidance on how to get into Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, or you just wonder what it's like to be an Kellogg student, this episode will give you an exclusive look INSIDE!🎬 𝐖𝐀𝐓𝐂𝐇 𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐎𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐕𝐈𝐃𝐄𝐎𝐒:▶Inside Harvard Business School: https://youtu.be/qvIqmu3sRFA▶Inside Booth School of Business: https://youtu.be/1Yopl7VSyNg🔔 𝐒𝐔𝐁𝐒𝐂𝐑𝐈𝐏𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐊: ▶ https://www.youtube.com/@business101pod/videos?sub_confirmation=1 @business101pod