Lure named Ambition!

Onto Wordpress..

2008-02-01T00:06:00.001-08:00

Readers who have been following my blog, I ve moved to Wordpress.You can catch my posts on:

http://lurenamedambition.wordpress.com/

See ya there!

Paranoid Android

2008-01-31T20:46:00.000-08:00

Two days ago,my app status at Darden changed from Complete to Pending along with the below message:

' Your application is now with the Admissions Committee for evaluation. You will be notified of your decision by email on the decision date assigned to the application round in which you applied.'

Now wasnt I supposed to get an Interview Call before this status?Or is it after?Applicants on BW seem to be saying the status updates on Darden seem to keep toggling between pending and interview call and I am yet to go to the brighter side of the toggle!

Also according to BW, interview invites from Chicago and Ross have started rolling out but I havent heard from them as yet and much as I am trying to stay calm here considering the interview invite slots end sometime mid-Feb, I would like some sort of a pacifier from some college indicating that I am a smashing candidate!

Now anyone just absolutely anyone, living, dead or godly,please send me a darn invite!

Argghhhhh

2008-01-28T22:24:00.000-08:00

I swear it I cannot take it!I jump at my inbox at weird hours of the night(thats when America is awake) to check if anyone has sent me an interview invite!Why oh why did I apply to 6 univs that all work on the Interview by Invite methodology?!Readers,I apologize, I just needed a place to rant.

Shot in the dark....well almost!

2008-01-28T21:22:00.000-08:00

Had my first interview(telephonic) this morning at about 12 am with UNC which last for about 40 mins.30 mins before the interview, power blanked out at my place thereby taking me to a heightened sense of anxiety and nervousness, I most definitely did not want to speak with Adcom in the dark!Thankfully the lights came back on just in time for the interview.

Interviewer made me feel quite comfortable and overall it was an enjoyable one.I had put in about 8 hrs of preparation the whole of yesterday, writing out my answers(obviously did not recite them out during the interview) so that I would have a clear idea of what I wanted to say.Questions were as follows:

(1)Walk me through your resume(a lot of questions on this one as I have a rather uncommon career path)
(2)Describe yourself
(3)What do you do for fun?
(4)What challenges do you see facing India's growth today?(I am from India)
(5)What books do i read, specifically on leadership?
(6)Where have you travelled(since I have done quite a bit of globetrotting in the last 2 yearas)
(7)A bit on my alumni contribution for my undergrad
(8)Why KFBS?
(7)What do you see yourself doing after an MBA?
(8)Do you plan on staying in US after your MBA?
(9)Any questions from me to him?

Thats about it, he was very kind and suggested a book on leadership that he thought I should read.All in all I think it went well, fingers and toes crossed(decision deadlines on Feb 4th)!

Next steps

2008-01-18T09:33:00.001-08:00

Now that essays are done, there seems to be too much time to wade into the nitty gritties of each college in hopeful anticipation of interview calls!While I have come across couple of blogs that host up their interview experiences, I do know only of one website that actually collates interview transcripts(http://www.clearadmit.com/wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page).I would be so grateful if any of you could send me your inputs on interview transcripts that you refer to for the schools I have listed.

One more question at the cost of sounding ignorant,what type of questions does one typically ask an interviewer, is it more of a how will your univ help me or more of a first-hand account on what they can offer in terms of courses and clubs etc?Send me your thoughts!

Its poll time!

2008-01-18T09:01:00.001-08:00

I think this feature of blogspot is simply amazing!I decided to put in two sets of polling tabs today for schools that I have applied to.In terms of my own preferences for various factors I have taken into consideration, I thought it was only fair to split my 7 schools into 4 + 3.Please do vote in for both sets!

Stern R3?

2008-01-16T12:08:00.000-08:00

I know R3 is the round that for all practical reasons colleges see as 'The Filler Round' but I must ask this, should I apply to Stern in R3?The location is perfect and I seem to be doggedly having a need to apply to this school.Couldnt apply in R2 because I didnt feel I was prepared enough for the essays it asked for.

Send in your thoughts!

Schedules - Interviews and Decisions

2008-01-16T11:27:00.000-08:00

Jotted down all the important dates that I will be anxiously counting the days to.Now that applications have been sent, theres a strange feeling of restlessness and anxiety that has set in which I am sure will continue until March 28th!Except for UNC, all others are interviews on invitation.UNC give you the option to schedule your interviews before they evaluate your app.

UNC - Jan 28th(I) ; Feb 4th(D)
Duke - Feb 23(I) ; Mar 7th(D)
Ross - Mar 15th(D)
Wharton - Mar 22nd(D)
Darden - Feb 20 - Mar 4(I) ; March 24th(D)
Chicago - Feb 20(I);March 26th(D)
UCLA - Mar 28th(D)

I am so glad Wharton and Ross have early decision dates as they are two of my 3 dream schools(the third being Chicago obviously!).But Id be happy getting into any of the above schools, as I think I have chosen well according to what I have achieved so far and where I see myself going in the next couple of years.Anyways,off I go to peruse interview experiences that must be floating in tiny bits in cyber world.

Hello again and phew..

2008-01-15T09:39:00.000-08:00

After many months I've resurfaced again,been bogged with preparing for GMAT,writing my essays and applying to my 7 colleges.Its been a mad mad 6 months and no amount of reading blogs or websites can give anyone an estimate of how much effort actually goes into the B-School application process.

Overall I think one needs a year's time of introspection and a solid case to build up toward a stunning app packet!Going into what I ve been doing the last 6 months:

(1)Prepared for my GMAT in all of 8 weeks,scored a 650(I know its not great but in the time I had and the kind of work hrs I keep, I was moderately happy).Contemplated re-taking the GMAT but I really think I would like to do my MBA now.I ve worked quite a bit and I do see a clear need for an MBA at this point in my career.

(2)After many many hours of thought, I decided to apply to 8 colleges in R2.Ross,UCLA,UNC,Wharton,Chicago,Darden,Duke and Stern.The first app is always an eye-opener as you get a real feel of how much you dont know of yourself.As my friend often reminds me, applying to a B-school is a rediscovering of oneself in every dimension.The essays need to be the right fit,the school needs to be the right fit but one finds all this out only in the thick of applying.No amount of reading opinions is going to show you which one is right for you.Decided to drop Stern as of now, maybe I ll still apply in R3.

(3)Reviews,reviews and more reviews.Let me tell you, I cannot stress on the importance of a critical reviewer of your essays.My reviewer got on my nerves one too many times by pointing out the weaknesses in each essay, but I could not have brought out a good set of essays in the end that I was confident of without a critical eye reviewing them!Please try and finish your essays at least 1 week before the deadline so that reviewer can go over them several times before you make the cut.Being a classic last-minute case myself, I struggled through many apps but I work best under pressure so i am satisfied with my work.

(4)Spent many days and nights thinking about my long term goal.I was very unclear to begin with as may be the case for many applicants who like to live life by the day and grab opportunities as they come by, but that doesnt work for a B-School.You need to be absolutely sure of where you want to take your life to, so be prepared,start introspecting!

(5)Recommendors need some pushing from time to time as the best ones to recommend you are in top positions as was in my case and they were awfully busy and I had to politely but firmly keep sending them reminders.Notifying them 1 month in advance of deadlines would be a good way to ensure the reccos are done on time.

(6)One sore point that I wish I could have done something about is the fact that I couldnt visit any colleges, which is true for most international applicants.But if possible please do attend MBA Events and fairs as they seem to carry quite some weightage in the background application questions.

Anyways that being said, I hope I ve done a good job.All I can do now is to wait and see and keep my fingers crossed that I do get an admit!

Toughest bike ride yet..

2007-10-13T13:36:00.000-07:00

Just back from a work trip to Europe, and I was totally wrung out by the time I headed back home, such was the work load...keeping timings from 8:30 am till 12:00 pm sure aint a piece of cake!I had taken my books for studying and alas, all I could manage was poring over my Kaplan during 2 hr transits!I did get my GMAT dates done though, Nov 20th is the golden date and I fervently hope I am ready to give it my best shot that day.

On the one weekend that I had free during my trip, I treaded the dangerous ground of asking my boss to be one of my recommendors.What began at 10 am went on till 6 pm where I was primarily telling him why and where I wanted to do an MBA etc.The difficult part was, he wasnt too pleased to let me go from my job if I did make it to a B-School....so much for being good at work eh!We went out on a terrain biking spree that afternoon, where apart from me trying to huff and puff my way through woods and meadows in the pristine countryside, I had the challenge of convincing him to be a recommendor of mine.It was tough convincing him but got an assurance from him finally...and I thought to myself, being good at work is certainly a double-edged sword!

This experience of mine certainly addresses the topic of 'how can I ask my current boss for a recommendation...isnt that like treading on broken glass!' Well , how I did convince him in the end to be my recommendor was by really driving the point home that I was passionate about doing an MBA.One down, one more to go people..

I ran my first essay by my reviewer and he was quite positive about it..a silver lining eh :)!I plan to pack in some solid hrs of studying and drafting as many essays as possible.Thank god that I have a pushy reviewer to keep me on track!

And some more culling out....

2007-09-24T23:04:00.000-07:00

So after a reality-check kind of a conversation with my friend, philospoher and guide(strictly for the apping process:)), I chopped off 3 schools from my large list of 10 schools.Reasons why I decided to do so...with the number of essays per school at 4, I might end up writing very tepid essays if I hurry up and try to finish all of them in my eagerness to apply to all the million schools I fancy!I would rather not do so and focus on my essays with dedicated effort!Remember people,quality and not quantity matters...and do start with those essays at schools where you think you have the best shot at getting in.

Another reason being,few of the schools had deadlines too close to my GMAT and I dont think I should attempt at giving them a shot even though they might be very choice schools!So heres my new shortened list(a firm advice from my alumni being keep at least 7 or 8 schools as shortlist).Of course for those of you have a 4.0 and a 750, you could probably just keep it at your top 4 or 3!

(1)Wharton
(2)Kellogg
(3)Darden
(4)Ross
(5)Stern(Will I become a pauper if I get through here taking into account insane living expenses at NYC??Hmmmm....)
(6)UCLA
(7)Kenan Flagler

I am toying with the idea of Duke though...somehow, I dont know if I want to apply there instead of Stern...Sigh,the brain must stop deliberating!

Strong cuppa perseverance laced with the joy of cricket!

2007-09-24T22:53:00.000-07:00

So weekend was a hectic hectic one for me, with me putting in 11 hrs per day on studying for my GMAT which I will give by the end of October.I ve read a lot of lukewarm reviews on Princeton Review as a good GMAT book to consider.I tend to disagree.This may not be a toughie, but is certainly an interesting read in terms of the step-by-step dissection of how to handle each type of question,it hones into a methodology for solving the questions and is a great refresher for people who have been working for a while and have no memories whatsoever of how their high school math was!Also, the style of writing is very engaging..kudos to the author!I truly love this book!One must start with this book to ease into the strain of the toughies like Kaplan800 etc.

While I thought I had turned into a full fledged nerd with no life for the next couple of apping months,yesterday was a terrific break for me!India won the Twenty20 World Championship against Pakistan!!!And what a match that was!!Wowee ,there's nothing like de-stressing with a good dose of screeching and screaming in front of a TV with 200 other office employees for support :)!

On math extension courses

2007-09-19T07:16:00.001-07:00

I spent some time today trying to hunt up online courses which I can take up to improve my quant scores.I did find couple of univs that offer these courses.Some of them are UCLA,UCB,HBS etc. but alas, they are really expensive...averaging $500 per course!If I put in money here, I am doomed for investment for apping! :(Sigh, I really think I want to sit down and cry!

I did come across this course called MBA Math that apparently is a great course and is accepted by most of the top univs as a pre-MBA refresher math course.Seems reasonably priced too....anyone gone through this one?

Low GPAs - There's still hope!

2007-09-19T03:16:00.000-07:00

The question that haunts me day and night is this one thing, why did I not know anything about the importance of having a stellar GPA for a top B-School while I was attending undergrad?The odds just stack up against you when you realise GPA is so darn important 4 yrs down the line after you completed Bachelors!

Anyways, so while I was morosely going through Dave's blog, I came across an article from BusinessWeek that had a low GPA admit thread running...its inspirational I can say!Wharton sure seems fair and forgiving to those who can prove why they should not be judged or chopped off based purely on their low GPAs!This thread is very helpful to go on with a tiny smile at least that I am not spending time, effort and money in vain.

Min GPA admits into various top schools from MBA Buzz(though I have come across certain stories with lesser GPAs who have got into some of the schools.)

Berkeley - 2.8

Carnegie - 3.2

Chicago - 3.2

Columbia - 3.0

Cornell - 2.6

Dartmouth - 2.6

Duke - 2.7

HBS - 3.4

Indiana - 3.3

Michigan - 2.5

MIT - 2.8

Kellogg - 3.1

NYU - 2.9

Wharton - 2.8

Stanford - 3.3

Texas-Austin - 2.8

UCLA - 3.2

UNC - 3.0

Virginia - 2.5

Yale - 3.0

Bottom line, you can still get into great schools with a low GPA. Off I scamper back to my preps with renewed vigor!

A math course now?

2007-09-18T05:13:00.000-07:00

Do I take an online math course to pump up my avg. quant scores?Do i or should i is the million dollar question!

Anyone know any great online courses that can be done within 2 months?

Million months of scrutiny & finally a shortlist of B-Schools!

2007-09-17T07:08:00.000-07:00

Been trying to shortlist schools forever and ever now..after much wading through Princeton Review,US News,forming intricate xl sheets complete with color coding in all shades of the rainbow,I ve finally settled on the list
The primary factors in choosing B schools were the following:

(1)A considerate GPA acceptance
(2)Consulting as its main focus
(3)Tuition fees

And of course I am trying my best to stay away from the West Coast thanks to their tax rates!So far I am still dreading the thoughts of being rejected with one look at my GPA, but I ve had a rather smashing career and I am praying and hoping that I will really make a winning statement with that.

I ve narrowed it down to 10 univs(and not 8 as I had hoped)..why such a large number?Well I want to be really really sure on getting through and not making the mistake of applying to high end colls that might reject me at the instant sight of my GPA!After some thorough research on univs, accpetance rates,location,consulting focus etc., Ive slotted 2 in Dream(2 - 3% chance of getting through),3 in Reach(10 - 15% chances),3 in Mid (> 50%) and Safe(>90%).See below my choices(in no particular order)

(1)Chicago GSB
(2)Yale
(3)Darden
(4)Ross
(5)CMU
(6)UCLA
(7)Duke Fuqua
(8)Cornell
(9)Kelley
(10)UNC Kenan Flagler

I was torn between Stern and Tuck, but Stern was dropped due to high cost of living in NYC and the fact that it is primarily a fin college.Tuck was ideally my dream college but the app dates will be too close to my GMAT dates and I really wont have time to send them out so I settled on Cornell instead.

I am yet to delve into the finer nuances of each univ, their curriculum etc which I will be doing in the following days.I plan to give my GMAT by mid-end October since I am currently preparing as well as juggling essay writing/shortlisting etc. all at once...its a rather tall order but I seem to work best under higher levels of stress and pressure so I hope all will end well.

Any comments on the above choices are quite welcome from readers....and in case anyone has an opinion on how to substantiate for the non stellar GPA, I d be very happy to hear about that too!

My journey begins......

2007-07-18T05:26:00.000-07:00

Here is the first of my journal to my MBA dream in a premier US B-school.I have been trying to get myself to pick up the books and study but alas!Nevertheless I have been wading through tons and tons of blogs of hopefuls and learning a lot from them...I would say clearadmit is one blog that really shows the path!All of you beginners who are in a similar situation as me, try that to begin with as well as throughout your journey.

I plan to put up all the blogs that I refer to as of today as soon as I am done with this post.My intent of this blog is two-fold, one to streamline myself and two, to get comments from other applicants such as I trudge on toward my goal.

After some massive research on what books I need to start my preparations(yes I know, July is probably way overdue to start prep but nevertheless, if not R1, i ll make my peace with R2!), I ve settled on the following:

(1)Official guide - 11th edition
(2)KAP 2007(Book + S/W)
(3)KAP 800

Off i go for the day, for a cuppa tea and some book buying!