Passed!!!

I passed the CFA Level 1 Exam. :):)

Given the conditions I had given the exam in, it was really a very pleasant surprise.

Thank you, happybunny for encouraging me to apply so late, even after fully understanding my non-financial background. :) I hope this will help me cope with coursework at b-school better.

MBA application work has started in full force. I have written 2/3 ISB essays and they have been flayed by my first reviewer just a few mintues back. Need to rework on them and get my strategy right. After that, it goes to my second reviewer. I intend to finish this set of essays by the end of this month or latest by a week later.

Hope everything goes according to plan!

ISB Essays and the weekend

Its been a drag, this weekend. All the applications I am looking forward to are now live with the exception of Stern. Meanwhile, I have been working on my ISB essays which are of a wierd nature.

I mean, how can you convince somebody that you are the right candidate for the President of the student body in 300 damn words. That nears absurdity. Most schools will give a minimum of 600-700 words for each of these essays. Maybe, I need to learn the virtues of to-the-point answering.

Columbia is the next in line. I plan to leave for my hometown by the end of next week and hope to send my ISB essays for review by that time. Ten days at home would mean a lot of work on Columbia and Chicago applications, both of which are re-applications.

With Columbia, there is a different kind of problem. It does not give you enough space to write as a reapplicant. I have only one essay to pour out all I have this time. However, I am looking at the optional essay too. I have never used it before for any application. Now, I believe is the right time.

Where have I been?

Thats a difficult question to answer. Was busy fixing some work-related issues before the application season firmly sets in. So, have been talking to a company which is offering me a role which is going to be great for my career. Things should hopefully work out in a couple of days.

I have been reading blogs all this while. But, could not bring myself to write.

So, what brought me to writing something on my blog? Well this piece: http://goneguru.wordpress.com/2008/07/10/the-wall/

A superb piece of writing! Just take some time out and read it. Fabulous!

On another note, my ISB application is trudging along. The more I find out about the school, the more I like it. Only concern being a lack of internship in the one-year course. However, saving a year does not sound too bad, either!

Columbia gets back to me

I heard from CBS on my feedback request - guess what, they denied it. I was checking out the BW Forums and I see all of them have been denied with different letters. They say they have read my application and have put in some points in the letter.

However, my letter seems to be very generic. The first line is " Check out the class profile" followed by gyan about applying ED or early in RD. Although, the first line does seem to be a little negative. I am not sure what to make of it. Are they really suggesting that my profile does not match up to the guys who get admitted. It would have been great, if they had been more straight forward about it.

Ready for Essay Writing Part - II

Application season is on the threshold of a new beginning. One of my target schools (read ISB) has already gone live with its application. So, its essay writing time again. And this, most certainly will be my last shot.

I have for the time being decided to leave the choice of the sixth school open, which anyways is going to be my last application. So, the timeline for me would be something like:

Jul-Aug -> ISB and Columbia
Aug-Sep -> Chicago and Tuck
Oct -> Stern and XXX

All should end up in Round 1. I think it is pretty doable. Meanwhile, there is not much news on the job front. Peaceful it is, atleast for the time being. :)

Blog gets a new look!

New application season and a new blog look. I like this one more than the last. Changing the template has been my sole effort remotely related to the Fall 2009 admission process in the last two weeks. HBS releasing essays in May is the good news. Hopefully, others will also follow suite. I have not yet made up my mind on HBS. I have two doubts. One - it is super competitive and two - I don't know much about the school yet.

Another issue I foresee is that with TOEFL. None of my list of schools except Haas requires me to take the exam. Now, I have to be sure whether I will be applying to Haas before I take TOEFL. Otherwise, it may be an exercise in vain. Will have to figure this one out.

I have decided....

to REAPPLY. Well not exactly reapplication, as my list of schools is going to be altered significantly. But, I do hope to do extremely well this time round.

I am busy till May with work and other stuff so would not be as regular with my blog, but intend to be regular as soon as the application process for the year starts.

Bloggers for Fall 2009, I join your community!