Why-o-why?

I am not sure, what am I doing on the blogger now when I should be writing my essays. Of course, I am relaxing. :) Come to think of it, I am slowly getting tired of the process which I started so enthusiastically a quarter back. Writing essays for different schools back-to-back can take a toll on the passion you have for the schools, you want to attend.

To my mind, the futility of the whole process keeps coming back. Repeatedly, I am trying to convince the Admission Committee why this or that course is the best for me OR vice versa. But, I think this state of my mind is temporary. Next morning I get up, I may be back to my usual self, obsessed about MBA :)

Since I am at it, let me update my blog of the latest on the application front. Columbia essays are being reviewed and I have heard from 2/3 reviewers and they all have plenty to say. I would need to work on this stuff. Meanwhile my application for Columbia is ready and the recommendations done. So, final touches to the essays and they should be ready to go.

I have started working on the Kellogg essays and am done with two. Uniqueness essay is a new one for me, which is kind a strange after having done three applications. Come Jan 10 and I would be done with my application process for Fall 2008 and hopefully for life. Hoping for a great new year, cheers!

Columbia Essays - An update

My Columbia essays seem to be going fine. I have been working on them for the last week and first three are ready to be sent to reviewers. Problem is that all my reviewers are not available right now except my primary one. :)

The fourth essay is a tougher nut to crack. Only 250 words on what I am passionate about. No idea what to write here. Think, think think!

On a more festive note,
Merry Christmas!!!

Kellogg Part I Submitted

Thats done and another 225 bucks of investment into future is done! :)

Now, I need to furiously work on the two applications of the seasons that are left. I need an admit decision by the end of March and I shall give it my best shot.

Cheers!

Waitlisted@Chicago

Yes, thats how my application has turned out. I really want some help as to how to navigate this wait list. Anybody and everybody who has an idea, please let me know if you have any information about the Chicago wait list.

I now have to go ahead with my Kellogg and Columbia applications. The Kellogg Part I deadline is in two days. I better get back to running.

Stern in or out?

I have thought over it, mulled over it and I am confused. I had decided to apply to Stern in R2 in addition to Columbia and Kellogg. But there is a problem.

Stern typically comes out with it's admit decisions around the beginning of May, which may be a little too late for an international, I being an Indian. I am not sure how much of this true though, am thinking of dropping Stern due to this and the fact that it has a really weird third essay. Is there anybody who has any idea on what can be done?

Missing motivation - gotta find it!

Its been a week that I have started to work on my R2 applications. But so far I have had little success. I have written barely a paragraph for Columbia's Essay #2. And it doesn't sound too great. And its getting high time I started doing some serious work on my applications.

I also need to finalize my list of target R2 schools. I am virtually decided on Columbia and Kellogg. However, am yet to decide on Tuck and Stern. I need to get a move on and quickly.

Chicago updates again!

I just received an email from Chicago Adcom, and it says that the revised decision deadline is Dec 19. Yes, a full 2 weeks before the original deadline. Thats so cool.....only thing is, I do not expect the result to be that cool.

Chicago interview completed and I feel.....

not really happy! :(

Yup, done with my Chicago interview. It did not go as well as I wanted it to. The interviewer was an executive MBA alumnus who had done his MBA after 12 years of experience. And here I was trying to convince him about my career plans and the need of an MBA after 2-3 years of work experience. I was good in core 'Why?' questions. But, some questions about failures and success at work did not seem to convince him entirely. I guess, he was looking for more experience and depth in these roles. Rest of the interview was reasonable and apart from some of my patented ramblings, I did hold his attention. He did not take any notes. He was writing about the candidate after the interview was over. I asked him questions in the end and he was impressed with my depth of research on my area of interest.

Now after analyzing and over-analyzing, I think it would be difficult for me to make the cut, given the fact that I did not have a very convincing interview. Although, I hope its not so gloomy as it seems to me. I am looking at my R2 schools now. They are on my blog sidebar and I need to shortlist them to 2-3. December will be hard work with renewal of essay writing spree. I sincerely hope something good comes out of the whole thing.

Your shipment delivered!

Yes, thats what the DHL Courier Tracking site says. My transcripts have finally reached the GSB after the Thanksgiving holidays! So, thats relief :)

Meanwhile, preparation for my GSB interview are ON and I intend to be well prepared before I appear in front of my interviewer. That reminds me, GSB has not communicated the details of the interview venue and interviewer information, yet.

Preparing for MBA interviews is not a very easy job, especially when you are not sure of who would take your interview. This is my first MBA interview for a US school. Hope I do well.

Wish me luck! :)

Transcript woes!

For some time, I have been struggling to send my transcript to Chicago GSB so that they can process my application further. But for two weeks, the registrar of my university was on leave. He finally came on Monday, sent out the transcript and it was supposed to reach me today.

BUT, it has not reached me for I had given an incorrect Postal Code in my address to the university. I discovered this on the delivery status report at the website of the courier service. I have mailed them and will call them tomorrow morning. Hope to get this sorted out as soon as possible and send it to Chicago at the earliest.

On the preparation front, I am done with CAT. Pretty ordinary, the way it went. Now, hope to pack some punch in my interview preparation for Chicago. ClearAdmit Wiki, here I come.

Dinged at Wharton :(

Yeah, after my first interview invite, I received my first Ding today. And that too without an interview. I had seen this coming for some time now and feel rather relieved that the agony is over. All the best to all fellow bloggers who received an invite from Wharton!

Meanwhile, CAT is round the corner and I have shifted focus for the next week to prepare for the exam. After that its preparation time for the Chicago Interview. I have scheduled it on December 1 at Bangalore! Post-interview, I will focus on my R2 schools. Thats the plan as of now.

Chicago GSB invites for interview!!!

Yes, Chicago GSB extended an interview invite right on the first day of their window. And I am elated!!!! Got to get it scheduled at the earliest. I am at my hometown, so will have to figure out a way to send transcripts to them.

Relieved to find that somebody from the Adcom actually liked my essays :)

Cheers!!

Whiling away.....

Things have been pretty slow since the time I submitted my two applications. I am also appearing for CAT - a test for admission to Indian business schools. Its a highly competitive exam. But, I don't feel like studying. :)

Wharton has started giving out interview invites. I got my application complete even before the deadline. So, its likely that they will review my application quite early. That makes me even more jittery with every passing day.

I also need to start looking at my Round-2 schools. However, I don't know why I can't look beyond Wharton and Chicago, I really love them. All other schools in my list are great too, but they don't appeal to me the way these two do. I sincerely hope that I get the chance to interview with one of them. I hope.....

GMAT - A Test of Nerves - II

And here is my GMAT Test experience....

Date: 16-Aug-07
Venue: Pearson VUE center, Bangalore

Had relaxed completely the previous day. So, got up early in the morning at 7. Reached the center at 8:20 for my 9 am slot. The center was very nice and calm. Helped me soothe my nerves a lot. After some formalities, started with the test at around 8:45.

The test after the selection of schools started with AWA. Wrote decent essays. Both of them, used all the 30 minutes in each. One thing, I feel everybody should keep in mind is that after the first 20 min, we should ensure that we complete the intro, conclusion and basic structure of the essay. More points can be added later, if time permits. After AWA took the break, had a couple of chocolates I had taken and got back.

Then started with maths. And I started very very cautiously. I was very slow, although the questions were pretty easy. By the time I reached the 20th question i had just a little over a minute per question. However, I speeded up after that. Still, I had to make a calculated guess in the final question. After the maths section, I had a very honest feeling that I had screwed up the section because of my cautiousness.
On hindsight, its important to always finish sections before the alloted time when we practice during mock tests. Because, during the actual test, you are bound to be a little more cautious leading to shortage of time.

Took the break again. This time had a juice. Felt a lot better after the seemingly debacle in math. Got back at answering the verbal section. Now, here is a bit of trouble. After writing two essays, and doing maths, the mind gets a little tired. Its easy to lose concentration. I faced this problem around the 6-7th question. Waked myself up and tried concentrating hard. Thats the key. The verbal section is more of a reasoning section. So, concentrate hard during the final few minutes of the test. Also, try and practice a couple of full tests along with AWA before writing the GMAT. It will help you maintain the concentration levels throughout the 4 hour period.
After the test got over, I realized that I had a lot of concentration lapses during the verbal section and hence, I must have screwed this one too. Filled up the background information questions, and clicked on report score apprehensively.

Saw 770! Was quite an unbelievable sight especially after the feeling I had after completing the test. Instinctively punched my fist in the air and then raised it to call the invigilator. The invigilator smiled and took a print of score report. Got out of the center, made some wild exclamation and got busy on the phone.

I got a 51 in maths, but I still feel I made more than a mistake in the section. Guess, you can still get a 51 after making >1 mistake. However, verbal was the real surprise. I had never scored a 44 in any of the mocks. So, that was great. It seems the scoring algorithm of the GMAT is lenient
Also, the calm atmosphere at the center keeps your concentration levels high. This also helps you boost your score.

After the test, I felt GMAT is a lot easier than its seemed at the start. If you practice diligently for 4-6 weeks and work on your weak areas, you can get a good score. Also, balance out the time very efficiently during the test. That is important. Your mock practice can go haywire because of the pressure you are under during the test.

But, the test is overall a lot more chill than the CAT. Two breaks ensure that the stress levels do not grow above a point. And the earplugs they provide are very very good to maintain the concentration levels required to crack it!

With this, I wish all the future aspirants, All the Best! Believe me, it is not really tough. Enjoy the whole process.

GMAT - A Test of Nerves - I

Here is my GMAT preparation experience for the benefit of all future applicants.....

I started looking at the GMAT option in the beginning of this year. I was looking at it primarily for ISB. But the more I browsed the internet the more I got inclined towards an idea of doing my MBA from US. Still have not completely figured out what I plan to do, though.

As soon as the Indian MBA admissions season got over, I started browsing the net and PG for information on the GMAT. Unfortunately, there were very few people I knew, who had taken the GMAT. I registered around end of May without having looked at the structure of GMAT. Then called some people, browsed the net and found huge amount of preparation software on e-snips. I know it's copyrighted material, but once in a while, its ok.

The first things I bought for the GMAT were OG11 and Kaplan 800. I had given CAT before so my basics to a large extent were in place. Started my preparation in June and finished Kaplan in 10-12 days. The book is challenging, but not sure how much of it helps you take the GMAT. Some verbal questions are very very tough. So, do it, but don't get disheartened by it.

Amit told me about a software called GMATTer which is an online GMAT-style software with verbal questions from the OG-10 with their explanations. I found that to be very good. So, the next thing I did, was to complete the OG-10 verbal. later, I found it to be of a little better level than OG-11.

I found out very early that SC were my weakness. I would get an accuracy of around 60% while I got 90% odd in RC and generally 100% in CR. Heard about about Manhattan SC guide and found it on e-snips. The book helped me structure my thoughts on SC. I used to rely a lot on my ears to do questions on SC. This book taught me that it is not always a correct approach. I would recommend this book to anybody who is facing difficulty in SC.

Then, somewhere around beginning of July, I started doing OG-11. I found that the book is a little over-hyped. It's good for practice, but does not have as many challenging questions especially if you are targeting a 720+ score.

The other thing I did was to take up a lot of tests. I took 4 tests from Kaplan, 4 from Princeton, 2 PowerPrep and 2 times each of the two GMATPreps. Most of them had useless scoring algorithms. Nevertheless, they are a valuable source of practice questions.

Here are my test scores in chronological order:
9-Jun GMATPrep-1 690 (34;49)
17-Jun PowerPrep-1 750 (40;50)
23-Jun PowerPrep-2 740 (40;49)
2-Jul Kaplan-1 640 (35;50)
7-Jul PR-1 650 (38;42)
12-Jul Kaplan-2 630 (33;44)
18-Jul PR-2 690 (41;45)
21-Jul GMATPrep-2 750 (42;49)
26-Jul PR-3 700 (39;4
28-Jul Kaplan-3 640 (33;50)
2-Aug Kaplan-Online 720 (42;45)
4-Aug PR-4 670 (41;42)
7-Aug Kaplan-4 600 (30;50)
9-Aug PR-Online 700 (33;47)
11-Aug GMATPrep-1 (R) 760 (41;51)
13-Aug GMATPrep-2 (R) 760 (41;51)

Got identical scores in my last two GMAT Prep test which I had re-installed and I was pretty pleased with myself. I found Princeton quant very basic and their scoring algorithm outright ridiculous. However, their verbal questions were good. Kaplan was the other way round. Its verbal was so tough, that at times, it did not make sense to do them. However, I persevered because I was getting practice, nonetheless.

GMATPrep software is a very good indicator of your performance. I would say, if one has time use it to the maximum. Install it 3-4 times and do all its questions. The look and feel of the main exam is also exactly the same as GMATPrep software.

This was about my GMAT preparation phase. The test-day experience and strategies follow.

Chicago submitted!!!

I have completed my Round-1 applications. Submitted my application for Chicago today and there is a strange sense of calmness ever since I hit that button.

I owe this blog an explanation for the extended absence and update it of the latest happenings in my life. For some reasons, this blog had to go underground for some time. Now, its back and has been refurbished. So, time to update it!

It all started in May when I decided to give GMAT and explore MBA options in the United States. Gave the test next to the Independence Day and scored high :) Exploring schools gave me a list of 5 schools which I wanted to apply to:
- Wharton
- Chicago GSB
- Kellogg SOM
- Stern
- Columbia

I have decided to push the last 3 to the second round because I cannot do justice to them due to paucity of time. This is on the application front. I very seriously intend to keep this blog updated from now on.

Why am I back...?

Difficult question to answer. Probably this MBA thing makes me go back to this blog. My Wharton application has today turned 'Complete-Round 1'. It is under review and somebody is going to read my essays pretty soon. I hope he likes them :)

Submitted Wharton!!

Yes, this comes out of the blue. Will explain my actions in some time. Till then, the news is I have applied for Wharton's MBA program. And Chicago GSB is next in line.

Vision-less at an amusement park!

Well last weekend, something happened! And it was my worst of all fears. I lost my spectacles. Being a person with minimal eyesight, I was forced to sit at Wonder La for close to two hours doing nothing while my team had all the fun! on second thoughts I had fun too......

The wait continues........

XLRI did not give me admission to BM Programme 2007-09.