Vacations & Housing

First post of the new year!

and I have already had two mini-vacations. The first one was an extension of my year-end vacation and I had a quite time at Ranchi, where my parents have lived for almost two decades. It was good to be away from work and everything else. Small cities can give you that freshness which is difficult to find in Bangalore life. Fast forward to the republic day and I made a short trip to Ahmedabad to meet some friends. And I had a pretty cool time. Although, Ahmedabad is in the only "dry" state of India.

I have hastened my search for an internship for the summer but looks like its a big ask, given the financial turmoil all around us. I read an article written by Swaminathan Aiyer today about how this recession can be the Hykenian kind instead of the Keynesian one and how both kinds need very different treatments. The more dreadful thought of the article was the fact that it may take more than a couple of years to settle this one up. That's not good news. With a scholarship always unlikely, its going to be a $150k loan on my head when I graduate and I better have some good opportunities at that time. Coming to back to India immediately after MBA is also an option.

There is constant talk in the country about whether India will be hit by the recession. I think it will be. For whatever may be the reasons, India has seen a lot of export-led growth over the last few years. Now as the west sees a much stronger urge to save and consumer spending dries up, India will be hit sooner or later and probably to the same extent as the US. The Indian stock market is already hit rock bottom and its unlikely that its going up anytime soon. Plenty of problems to think about.

There is nothing really happening on CBS front. I received a mail from Linda welcoming me to the class of 2011 after she tried calling me up several times. Although, its been nearly 4 months since I got the admit, it still feels good to be congratulated ;) Housing applications start sometime in February and thats one area where I need to do more research. Have been trying to figure out what would suit me the best.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

I am leaving for my hometown in another 10 hours. Before I leave, to spend a couple of weeks with my family, I would like to wish all the blog-o-sphere Merry Christmas and A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR!

May the year 2009 bring happiness to all of us!

Updates

Its been a long time since I posted on my blog and makes me wonder what is going to happen once I do reach b-school. All hell has broken loose at my workplace. Layoffs have meant that there is more work pressure on the teams that survive and its been pretty busy few weeks.

On CBS front, I am trying to get in touch with some alums in India to try and figure out some concrete plans for my future. Almost everybody I could manage to talk to has been very supportive of my plans.

As I probably already mentioned here, I plan to work till some time in June to collect all the cash I can. I have received my CFA Level 2 course material. So that is going to take up significant portion of my free time in the coming months. I also plan to travel - when and where is completely undecided. There are a couple of options - exploring south India or south-east Asia. Both of them look pretty neat at the moment.

I am little worried about how to get the Kroll scheduled. I don't want my company to know of my impending departure till around Mar/April. However, as far as I understand Kroll actually talks to the company HR or managers. On the other hand, I do not want to delay the verification that long, which may cause hassles in loand and visa applications. I have no recommenders from my current company though. Need to figure this out.

Lately, CBS has been issuing invites in bulk and I have been trying to be of help to all the prospectives. I seriously hope that a lot of them make it to CBS and am sure I will have a great time with them at the school in NY.

I have been doing a pretty bad job of keeping my blog updated. Infact, tieny has been doing a great job! Given that the work pressure is not going to subside anytime soon, I am not sure if I can improve. Lately, I have been contemplating about writing a series of posts about the application process and my perspectives on the same. There are several in the blogosphere already. I am not sure if any more are needed ;)

Thats pretty much all the updates I had. All the very best to Soni for his C-Booth interview and all other who are waiting for their final results!

Admit Packet

I received my admit packet by FedEx today.


And it has my official letter of admission signed by Linda. It also has a copy of the Hermes magazine and some other pamphalets containing information which is all over the website. Hermes is interesting and has a lot of information about students and alumni. The Class Notes section is particularly fascinating. Reading through it. The packet also has a note which says that the school, as of date, does not have a no-cosignor loan for international students.

On to other things, my Columbia ID activation hasn't happened yet. That means I cannot browse through CBS' amazing online resources for another weekend. I am using my time to read. Currently reading Kafka'a short stories. One of my friends, who shares the apartment with me is leaving for London tomorrow morning. He will be there for atleast a couple of years. So, its going to be a last night celebration tonight. That leaves only 3 people in our large mansion. :(

Matriculating!

My wire transfer of deposit reached Columbia yesterday and I am now officially enrolled in the school roasters. As soon as that happened, my status changed to "Deposit Received" and the to-do list expanded from a 17 point list to a 30 point list. And this is supposed to be the beginning. Phew!

The new to-do list however, also gives me access to the Columbia University ID and the email account. Thats exciting! Besides, there is a admitted student's reception on Dec 3. I don't think I can be there even if I really want to do that so much.

I am envious of Tieny who seems to have figured out his plan for the next 10 months. I will be in all probability be working till the end of June. I have my CFA Level 2 to study for and then prepare for school. Three important to-do things amongst the millions I can see right now are - Kroll verification, loan confirmation and F1 visa. None of them begins before January.

Time to relax, I guess!


PS: All the best for HappyBunny for her final result @Columbia!

Sinking In!

Its taken some time, but its now sinking in: I am attending Columbia next Fall! MBA has been a long time dream and I, finally, have some concrete progress on that front.

However, my weekend was terrible. Was on the bed with cough, cold and high fever for three consecutive days. Its a little better now. Meanwhile, I have been going through the admitted students website to get information about tasks for the next few months. I realize its a little too early in the process and the website itself is not really up-to-date for the Class of 2011.

I went to my bank today to find out a way to wire my deposit to Columbia. The lady handed over a 9-page :O form which I need to fill and attach it with some photocopies and submit. She said it takes 48 hours, which is not so bad. Columbia's $6000 deposit is huge, I must say. :D

I am not sure when am I suppose to receive an admit packet: now, after my deposit or even later?

Meanwhile, I have been checking a lot of stuff about the university and the school and that has got me even more excited. I can't wait for next fall! :)

PS: Thank you all for your congratulatory messages. I really appreciate it. Hope to see a lot more admits from the blogosphere! Go guys!

Admitted to Columbia Business School!!!

I can't believe it :) :) :)