Hello again and phew..

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!