By the way....

....since I came to know that two applicants got their Tuck interview invites in their junk folder, I am focussing more on my junk mails rather than the inbox!!! ;-)

Working on my R2 essays and trying not to think too much....

My research on my R2 schools (Columbia, Ross and Yale) is done and I have started working on the essays silently.

Sometimes it is difficult to stay motivated, when you are anxiously awaiting an interview call and have already had a ding from two univs. Every time you hear about a fellow blogger receiving an interview invite you are happy, but then sad at the same time. "When will I get that much awaited call??" But then is there anything you can do about it?

As a very close friend of mine told my girlfriend- "Tell him to focus on the process and not on the results. Let him give his best and make the process better". I am trying hard to follow this advice. Though, easier said/blogged than done!

Let's see what future has in store!

Something Changed.....

Finally something changed after a long time. The status of my Darden application is now Pending, which basically means that someone in the adcomm is reviewing it. Lets see what lies in store for me at Darden.

I have just started working on my R2 apps after a two week break. Will be applying to Columbia, Yale and Ross. Wish me luck and guys!

Moreover, over the last two weeks my mind has been going through a flurry of emotions. What happens if I don't get through?.......What will be my next step?......Should I go for a safe school?(Neahhh).....What went wrong with Wharton and Chicago?..... etc etc etc. The next 6 months of my life are going to be filled with a lot of uncertainty, lets see how I handle it.

R2 Schools

After the R1 Chicago and Wharton Ding I thought for once to go for some safety schools. But then, what the hell! I don't want to. I definitely don't want to go to a school where I won't be happy or will always regret the fact that I joined. I know its a risk, but one which I want to take.

My original list of R2 schools had Stanford and Columbia. I am really not sure about Stanford though now, but am still contemplating. After some research I have also decided to add Yale to my list. Though it has a small class size and not in the same league as H/W/S....., its a great school. Moreover, it offers loan upto the full cost of attendance to internationals. A lil more research and I will finalise the school.

If someone in our blogger community has any inputs on Yale do let me know.

Tuck Application Update

Just saw that my Tuck application has gone complete. 3 Rec's recieved, official score recieved, transcripts recieved etc etc etc.........Hope vidi is also on the same boat now :)

Wharton Ding

Wharton too lost a great candidate!


Dear Bokaa,
Thank you for your application to the Wharton MBA program. I regret that the Admissions Committee is unable to offer you a position in the Wharton MBA Class of 2010.
As you may be aware, the Wharton MBA program receives as many as 7,000 applications annually. In a pool where virtually every candidate offers significant work experience or potential, demonstrates leadership ability, and submits persuasive recommendations, the Committee's job of selecting the entering class is extremely difficult. We are left with the unpleasant task of denying admission to many fine individuals who would, no doubt, succeed academically at the School and contribute to Wharton's standard of excellence.
Let me assure you that your application received a thorough review by several members of the Committee. As a policy, we do not pre-screen applications, but give each candidate full consideration. The fact that you did not receive an invitation to interview or offer of admission in no way reflects your intellectual abilities, personal achievements, or potential for a successful career.
The Admissions Office will keep your application on file for two years. If you plan to re-apply within the next two years and would like feedback on your application, please email us at mbafeedback@wharton.upenn.edu with your application login PIN and the words Schedule Feedback in the subject header. The number of feedback sessions we are able to provide is limited. Appointments will be offered, at random, only to those who have submitted requests to mbafeedback@wharton.upenn.edu by Thursday, 01 May 2008.
If you are selected to receive feedback, you will be notified by Monday, 19 May 2008. You may also check your online application status to verify whether or not you have been invited for feedback. Instructions on how to schedule a session will be provided at that time.
For instructions on the re-application process, please follow the procedures that will be included in next year's application (available online in August 2008). All reapplications will be reviewed within the context of the overall applicant pool at that time.
Thank you again for your interest in Wharton. I wish you success in your graduate studies, as well as in your personal and career endeavors.

Chicago GSB Ding

Chicago GSB just lost a great candidate! ( I really mean it)

Dear Bokaa,
Thank you for applying to Chicago GSB's Full-Time MBA Program. Your application has received the careful consideration of our Admissions Committee. Unfortunately, we are unable to offer you admission to the Class of 2010.
The superb quality of this year's applicant pool presented the Admissions Committee with some difficult decisions. Three members of the Committee reviewed your application in its entirety before our decision was made. Applicants are evaluated on several criteria, including academic preparedness, professional achievements, communication skills, extracurricular/community involvement, leadership, self-awareness, understanding the value of the MBA experience, and fit with Chicago GSB.
We certainly appreciate the effort you put into this process, and we wish you every success as you continue to plan for your future.

Tuck Word Limit

This is the first school for which I am exceeding the word limit! Yes, I understand that Tuck does not have any word limit per se, but still they say that on an average the applicants have used 500 words in the past (diplomancy, typical of B-Schools!).

All my Tuck essays are more than 500 words but less than 600. Feels odd coz none of my essays for other schools (including Darden!!) exceeded by even a word. But none the less I think I can take that much leeway as long as my stories do not seem to drag.

4 Down and random musings!

As I hit the Darden submit button last night, my fourth application is done. By now I feel really tired......but with Tuck due on Nov 14th, I know I can't afford to relax.

But today is going to be party night...we are all gathering at a friends place and will drink and party all night. I am really looking forward to it as I my social life has not been in the best of forms for the past 4 months!

The bokaa inside me is anxiously waiting for the interviews. Infact as I type this I am visualising that when I get back from the party tomorrow morning, I l have an interview invite. Even the thought of it feels so good.....who knows, I may actually have one!!

I am also happy that by Nov 14th I will be done with 5 schools. That's one good decision I took- to strech myself. First, since the momentum has been set, it is always good to go with the flow. Second, I will come to know early whether the efforts I have put in my apps were any good. Depending on R1 interview invites I will decide on whether to apply for Columbia and Stanford in R2 or not.

Best of luck to all ya fellow bloggers for your interview calls. The MBA blogger fraternity seems to be second family to me these days!

Chicago GSB interview invites start today....

Chicago GSB will start sending its invites from today. God God God God God....!!!! I just pray I get one.

Resume, Online Application and Essays....

I was just wondering that no matter how hard you try their will be some overlap between what you mention in your resume, various sections of the online app and the essays.

Personally, I do not like to repeat information but sometimes you just cannot help. For example if in your resume you have mentioned, I do XYZ for organization ABC. In the online app you would also say something similar and shades of it will also be reflected in your essays.

I like the Wharton approach to be the best, "don't ask for a resume at all". I guess it is only then that the online application makes much more sense and adds value, rather than forcing the applicants to repeat info.

Doubt: Interpretation of Darden's "Professionaly" ?

As I am deep into my Darden essays, confusion is creeping in my mind. In essays 2) and 3) Darden wants to know that "Professionally" whether you have been and innovator, leader, entrepreneur, socially responsible, committed to diversity or globally involved. Now what is the scope of the word professionally???

Do I need to talk about instances only from my current full time job? Or I can also cite examples from my involvement in extra curricular activities beyond work where I have held professional (though unpaid) responsibilities?

I have a decent portfolio of achievements in my social life and I would love to highlight them in my 2nd or 3rd essay, but am not sure whether doing so would be a good idea.

Would love to know what stand other Darden Applicants are taking? Infact any clue from any of the applicant bloggers would be helpful here

Darden ED

I have taken a almost three day much needed break and am feeling refreshed....scared?? Yes! The Darden ED is due on 1st November and I am yet to start my essays. I am scared because Darden essays are slightly off the track when compared to other B School essays. So I cannot do much copy paste!

I have just 10 days left in which I need to churn out 3 essays.... I really need to slog. Best of luck to all other Darden ED applicants. Anyone in the same boat as mine?

Chicago ppt advice for R2 Applicants

Chicago for me was submitted on 17th, on time. My boss submitted his rec as usual at the nth hour. But I am getting used to it by now and kind of getting comfortable with it. I know he will submit his rec for sure, but just hours before the deadline!!

As far as the ppt is concerned my advice to all R2 applicants is to convert it to a pdf and then upload. I was lucky that just hours before submission I came to know the inconsistencies with MS PPT. There is an incompatibility between different versions of ppt (MS-2007 and MS-2003). Moreover, if a ppt is made on a certain resolution on one system, it may not look the same on the other.

I had designed my slides in MS ppt 2007 and viewed them on a friends system which had MS ppt 2003 and the presentation looked perfect. I then sent it to two other friends who also had the 2003 version and what they saw was scary! A couple of hours before submission you come to know that parts of your presentation are not visible clearly and there is a lot of overlap between icons....#$%$%%#%. I did some research and found out that this is a common problem with Power Point.

So I just converted my ppt to pdf and uploaded. There is hardly anything else you can do because on some machines your presentation will come up perfectly while on others it won't. There was also a very slight deviation in the quality on conversion. I was prepared for the trade off as the last thing I wanted was my ppt not showing up correctly on the ad comm's machines.

My apologies to the R1 applicants for not posting this earlier but all this happened 3 hours before submission and I was worried about turning in my app on time.

Wharton Submitted...Supervisor Recco goes in three hours before deadline

Submitted my Wharton application on the 11th. Unlike HBS, I have tried my best, not to make any mistake :)

The essays came out well and one of my friends found it even better than those for HBS. The only catch....my supervisor again sent his recco's at the last moment.

He completed it in an hour after constant reminders. I am slightly scared and just hope that he is doing a good job with it. I have given him as much information as I could and there is pretty much nothing I can do, except praying that he is churning out solid reccs. By the way, how much time do recommenders generally spend on reccs?

If get an opportunity to recommend someone in the future, I vow never to be keep someone in the lurch till the last moment.

I am working hard now on my Chicago ppt. I just hope I am able to do a good job with it, before the new week begins.

HBS adcomm says......

Thank you for your inquiry.

Please be advised that the Admissions Board is unable to accept additional application materials, corrections, or application updates other than contact updates. You may inform the Board of this update if you are invited to interview.

Thank you for your interest in the MBA Program.

Looks like an automated reply.....donno what to get out of it :) Just hope that I get called for an interview!

The HBS blunder.....

Bokaa was disappointed for the past two days...but he has to focus on Wharton and Chicago due this week and the next respectively.

I made a couple of REALLY silly mistakes in my HBS application :( In the Starting Salary section of my current job I added an additional zero! Though it will definitely be perceived as an unintentional mistake as my starting salary becomes 10 times my current.

In the self reported transcripts, I mentioned the term dates for two semesters incorrectly. One semester goes on for a year and another for two years based on what I have filled :(

I had put in a lot into my HBS app and such mistakes were the last thing I wanted. But, I realize that mulling over it will solve no purpose. I just hope the adcomm likes my essays and the overall application and gives me a chance to explain.....sometimes life just hits you hard on the chin.

Pray for me fellas....

HBS Submitted.......

.......And what a submission it was, considering the fact that I had to change my career vision essay, a day before the exam..get it reviewed and submit. Did I panic?.....you don't know my state of mind!!!

4 days before the deadline I got a review comment from an HBS alum- "You are not answering the question". Well now that I look back he was right. I has got the same feedback from a friend of mine a week or so back....but since everyone else had liked the essay and the writing style so much...I did not think too much over it.....

But the words of an alum count....don't they? :) I had to change my entire Career Vision! There was something so obvious in my background which would have gelled well with my vision but I was just not talking about that in the essay! The alum pointed that out to me and told me to change my vision as the dots would connect better......2 days for the submission to go...is he nuts.....I was disappointed and scared..I have put in a lot of effort into my HBS app and I did not want it to go waste...I took the call......

I tried that day, but was so attached to the words in my previous version that I just could not change anything much, even after wasting 6 hours on it. That's when nervous breakdown happened!! But I know I had to change it. I called him again for advice and he told me to start on a fresh piece of paper.

A day before the submission, I was up all night rewriting the whole essay....at 4:00 in the morning I called him...we were on the phone for an hour...thankfully he liked the essay this time around and suggested some minor changes here and there.....

But troubles never end, once they begin. Two of my recommenders had not turned in their rec, one was travelling and did not have access to the internet....the other my boss had been just too busy! Finally, my application was in 5 hours before the deadline!

I donno why, but I am seeing this as a sign from god. A day before submission my career vision was changed........there has to be a reason...god wants me to get through??

Doubts

I am sure all of us are going through a phase of mood swings. I am so much into the whole process that the thought of not getting through sends a chill down my spine.

All the people who have reviewed my essays are impressed by my writing style. Some of my friends feel that my essays reflect maturity beyond my years while others find them very well round.

However, I know they are far from perfect and am still working on giving them the best shape I can. Personally, I feel that my essays have come out well. But the element of doubt associated with big schools and the cliches( like IT professionals with below average work ex standing less chance) scare me.

If I just go by what the schools mention on their websites- I feel I really stand a very good chance. But if some of the cliches are true, I am really not sure.

A current student at HBS went through my essays at the surface level and amongst other things he said: "The best way to know, what chance you stand is to try it".

I know..I know.....

I know it has been a while since I wrote my last blog. But the last few weeks have been REALLY hectic. I have been eating, drinking and sleeping essays. My HBS essays are going back and forth different reviewers and I am changing something or the other every day :)- Yeah...I understand that only a few days are left, but for me last moment changes have always done wonders.

Wharton Draft is done and I have had three people review it. Once I submit HBS, I will focus on incorporating the changes. Chicago's "Whose Shoes Would You......" essay has been drafted and read by two people and I just sent it over to a third. I feel it has come out well :) So after HBS, apart from refining Wharton, I need to wrap up Chicago as well, which is due on 17th! A lot of work in the weeks ahead.

As far as my recommenders are concerned, none of them have submitted the HBS rec's till now. All of them are the last moment kind of people and would be turning it in only this weekend :) I hope they do a good job with it.

Long Time fellas! Updates.....

Its been almost a week since I wrote my last blog and it already feels like ages! I was really trying to get my HBS drafts in shape and complete my Wharton first draft.

The HBS draft is in a pretty decent shape with no major changes needed. I just need to fine tune the essays slightly more before submission. Though I still waiting a feedback from two HBS alumni- I just hope that they don't suggest any major changes! The best part is that the word limit is in check now.

Just finished my Wharton draft a couple of hours back. Have sent it out to my dad for review- he is always my first line of defence! So now I need to focus on the Chicago essays and work parallely on the fine tuning of H and W. My target for wrapping up Chicago is next Sunday- hope I meet the deadline.

I am yet to start the application though for all my schools :( I guess I need to take a day off from work and finish the application part for my target schools.

I am now targeting the first round deadline for most of my target schools you see on the right. Since there is a decent gap between the deadlines of these schools and I have already written two sets of essays with so much of thinking gone into the process, I think if I work hard I can submit H/W/C/S/Darden/Tuck in R1. What do you guys n gals feel?

Career progress essay shared with my supervisor

Just sent an email to my boss- attached was my career progress essay. I was not sure earlier if I wanted to do that or not, but now I am happy I did it!

In addition to the recommenders packet I think this will help him write a rec which is in sync with what I have talked about in my essays. The last thing you want is that you say XYZ in your career progress essay and your boss ABC - you will be doomed!!

Since the supervisor rec is the most awkward amongst all- coz though he is giving you a rec he knows there is possibility that you may part with the organization soon- I am sending as much info as possible over email. Though I share excellent rapport with my boss, I find it tough expressing freely (face to face) what I want him to write in my rec. I thus send really detailed emails to him explaining all the nuances. Personally, I feel this is the best way to approach because you can think deep and pass the most relevant information.

Now I pray that while writing his rec he keeps all the info I gave sent in mind and gives me a stellar rec!

Key messages from the Stanford and Chicago Visits

This week Chicago, Stanford and Wharton visited Bangalore. Coincidentally (huh?) W and C were on the same day at the same time. I chose C to get a feel of the school since I do not know any alumni from there.

Apart from the usual stuff which we all know about "FIT", the schools culture etc etc.......there are some things which I would like to share with fellow applicants:

• Essays are the key. Trust me this is the message which was coming out clearly. GPA, GMAT even work ex are just data points. It is your story which matters.
• The MBA is getting younger. Both schools laid emphasis on this fact. In fact one of the admits for the class of 2009 in Stanford was a fresher! He had done his degree in Horticulture( which is unique) from Australia and wanted to pursue his family business in India after his degree.
• Though schools say that both R1 and R2 are similar in nature- they were subtly indicating that R1 is always better.
• Comparatively the Chicago team was much well organized and there were at least 6 alumni who were there till the very end- even after the stipulated time was over- answering the applicants queries.
• Stanford had just 1 alum and this current student which I talked about above.
• Though I did not expect this- but the C alumni seemed to be much much more confident- some even arrogant! It was amazing- I know I am reiterating- to see their turnout in such large numbers and their passion for the school.

That's pretty much it for now. If you guys have any specific questions, please feel free to ask.

Down :(

Is it only me? I donno why but I am feeling down since the past two days. Suddenly I feel the anxiety and the dreaded though is crossing my mind- what if I do not make it?

Till day before yesterday I was so happy and confident and suddenly everything seems so negative. My essays look shitty to me, my below average work ex has started haunting, every one else's candidacy appears so much more stronger to me :(

I have been having these mood wings off and on. Today, as I type this blog from I office, I know I have not done anything at work. Don't feel like. Have been reading blogs , visiting orkut profiles of successful candidates and praying....god god god god god..please bless me with an MBA admit next fall!

I will be attending the Chicago GSB reception this evening. Will post everyone on the happenings. Oh my god..I typed this blog in three minutes flat!

HBS- 5 down!

Finally! I have just completed the first draft of my HBS essays. I feel some of them have come out very clearly while some have not. For three of them I have exceeded the world limit by around 50 words and for the other two by 200.

Overall I feel that the essays give a holistic picture of me. I am happy that I have another month to polish my essays and redraft them as I start getting feedback. After spending a couple of months on my life sketch and the first draft for HBS, I am sure it is high time to show it to others. An outsiders perspective will offer a lot of insight.

I will be sending out the essays for review in phases.

• My GF is having a look at my essays and giving regular feedback as I write them- so she qualifies as my first reviewer!
  
• Other than her- The first round of reviews will be done by a friend and my father. I want both of them to first let me know if the flow is smooth, the story interesting and the ideas coherent. I would also request them to give suggestions on reducing the word limit as both of them happen to be prolific writers.
• The second round will be done by a friend who knows me very well and has achieved great things in his own life. He will offer a fresh perspective to my essays and give candid feedback for sure.
• The last round will be done by two HBS graduates whom I know and have been in touch with. They will help me add finishing touches in addition to giving me a fair idea of where I stand.

I need to forget the HBS essays for now and get cranking on the W essays. Wish me luck!

Darden Essays

Darden Essays are out. I was surprised to see the change in pattern. There is hardly any space to express yourself- there are three questions and a total of just 1100 (500+300+300) words!!

Moreover the questions are unconventional. The first question is open ended and the other two want you to talk about your professional side but in a unique way. I found the topics completely one dimensional.

My concern is that what insight will the admissions committee get about an applicant in such few words and the limited scope which the applicant has to express himself? I know it is a good trait to express your thoughts in a few words- but this is TOO much.

I am really confused what the ad comm is trying to prove here?

3 Down

Well yesterday I completed the first draft of my 3 HBS essays. Nothing to be very excited about as they are far from perfect and I know that some of my fellow applicants are ahead of me in the process. But still......I am happy.

I plan to complete the remaining two before this weekend is over. Yesterday, like lightning, a wonderful idea struck my mind for the other two essays and I am excited to put it down in words. I just pray that today and tomorrow I am focused and work hard towards the essays. I know I will have to do multiple iterations once the reviewers comments start coming in. So, I want to send it out for reviews ASAP now.

Let's hope I soon post another blog "All 5 down" very soon........

Recommenders Packet Sent

Finally I sent out a recommenders packet to my both my recommenders! It was not as easy as I thought. It took me the entire day, yesterday, to get it done and send it out.

The biggest challenge was to squeeze in as much relevant information as possible without making it too lengthy and boring . It is important that they go through it and understand the entire recommendation process and know what is expected from them. This will help them in turning in a stellar recco- at least that's what I hope!

I will list the topics which I covered in the document in case it is helpful to others:

• Schools which I plan to apply to and their Application/ Recommendation deadlines
• Parameters on which the B- Schools evaluate candidates
• Career Goals
• Important things to keep in mind
• List of anecdotes which I thought they should quote

Though it is just a few topics, the choice of words was important and thus it took a lot of time.

On the essays front I am STRUGGLING. I am really slow and am not even midway with the HBS first draft :( I have a complete life sketch with me but keep getting confused on what aspects should I highlight on - I need to speed up!

What to....What not to?@#$$%

As I am trying to write the first draft of my first HBS essay ( 3 most significant accomplishments), I face a dilemma. Those who have been following my blog know that I have a 17 page sketch of my entire life which I had finished a few days back.

The problem is that in all my stories I am finding it REALLY difficult to decide on what to include and what to omit. Each of my stories in itself is in excess of the 600 words which HBS has specified for three stories! With so many interesting things to tell the ad comm, this filtering process is getting really painful.

I guess it is an art squeezing so much information into sooooooooo few words- I wish I was winzip!!

Milestones....

So finally I have a couple of small but important accomplishments to be content about!

First, I am all set with my three recommendors. I was already sure about one of them and had talked to him earlier about giving me a solid recco. However, though I had the other two in mind, I was yet to break the ice with them till last week.

I had sent an email to one of them who is not based in India and was waiting for a response. He is a REALLY busy person and thus I had been patient for a week. Finally, I got a response from him on Monday saying -" I thought I had already responded to your request. I will be delighted to recommend you!". The other recommendor my boss had some clue about my MBA dreams, as I had informed him about my GMAT score right after my exam- I didn't want him to get the news from a third party! So last Friday, I walked up to him and asked him if he was okay with the idea of giving me a solid recommendation? He said "Sure".....sighhhhhh! He wanted to know what will it take from him to which I responded that I will get back to him shortly. I let him know that this meeting was primarily to know if he was willing to give me a solid recommendation. I wanted this meeting short to give him some time for the idea to sink in.

I always knew that these were the three people who I wanted a recco from. All of them really like me a lot but I did not want to assume that they would be equally willing to recommend me as well. Now, that all of them have confirmed I am happy.

I think the toughest person to ask a recommendation is your boss. No matter how much he likes you, it becomes really awkward to walk up to him and ask for a recco. After all if you are good resource , no one wants to loose you. But guess it is a part of this roller coaster journey.

Second, I have finally finished my life sketch. Its a whooping 17 pages on MS Word!! With everything in front of me, its high time I start my actually essays. I am assuming this will make my life a lot easier with the essays- let us see :)

Oh my god.....it is already August 8th! Miles to go before I sleep...and time is flying by!!

Where are you in the Journey?

For those like me who have started thinking about the essays, outlining or actually pinning them down, it is important to know where fellow applicants are in the journey.

Would love to hear the experiences and progress of fellow bloggers with the apps?!

The thin line between "WE" and "I"

While still in the process of sketching my entire life I have made an interesting observation. As one starts writing down about personal accomplishments, it gets really confusing where to use "We" and where "I".

Excessive use of "We" fades out your contribution while too many "I's" result in you sounding arrogant and self obsessed! An irony, but true!

Thus, it becomes very important to take a call and decide where to use what.......Man! why is the entire application process so complicated but exciting at the same time!

Why is writing about yourself so time consuming?

I was just wondering that is it only me or everyone on the MBA apps boat is going through it? When I start writing, time flies by so quickly. Before I know, couple of hours have gone by and I have ended up writing just 200-250 words :(

Is this happening only to me? I think and think and think and think.....and then end up writing a few sentences. Then, I keep staring at what I wrote and somehow it does not seem right. I end up restructuring or rewording the same thought.

Considering the fact that I am just trying to complete a pen picture of my life and am not even down to the essays yet, am I being too hard on myself? Am I trying to be a perfectionist? Or is this the way I am?

Any thoughts or a similar experience??!

Almost done chalking out my whole life on MS word :)

I was supposed to be done with my HBS first draft by this month end (read). There are four more days to go for that and I don't think I will be able to make it! Why do I always miss deadlines?!

Last ten -fifteen days have not been very productive in terms of the actual essays per se. But one good thing which I have been able to accomplish is jotting down all those small stories (which I could think of) from all stages of my life, which I may consider putting in my essays. There is just this aspect of my life, which I am yet to outline, after which I will be all set to actually start writing the essays.

I feel it is really important to first have a sketch of your entire life in front of your eyes, in a document, and then pick and choose from there. Writing down all instances from my life, which I thought maybe worth mentioning in my essays, has added much more clarity to my thoughts.

I plan to finish structuring this one aspect of my life, which is yet to be documented, today and then get going with the actual essays. Wish me best of luck!

Added to Applicant Bloggers List!

Finally, after about a month of blogging on various topics related to my MBA journey, I find my blog listed on Hella's list! It feels good :)

This way I will have the satisfaction that at least someone may benefit from my posts. Moreover I will be able to connect better with fellow applicant bloggers with whom I can share my fears and anxieties along the way.

My Father..My Hero...

I have had this habit of worrying about things all my life. I have done great things in my life. Yes! I will leave modesty apart for sometime :) But the journey to all my achievements has been full of instances when I have completely doubted myself, worried myself sick over so many small and petty issues, and kept pondering over things when I should have been working with single minded devotion and focus.

The week ending today has also been like this. There was something which got into my mind (still is) regarding my MBA apps and I wasted a lot of time thinking of so many hypothetical situations which may result because of this.

Like always I was talking to my dad about my MBA journey and he said what he always tells me. Son, keep one thing in mind- Your essays will come out best when you approach them with an open mind. Worrying about this and that is not going to take you anywhere. My dad has been my ideal throughout my life. And this is not a cliche. He has lived his entire life setting an example for me to follow.

I have never seen him worrying ever. I have seen him handle the most difficult of times with a rock solid attitude and never say die spirit. He told me once, son- I have never shied away from any responsibility in life, whatever challenges life has hurled at me, I have accepted them and tried my best to resolve them. This gives me the maximum satisfaction in life- trust me this is as true as it can get, I have seen him do this all his life.

I was once reading the first interview which management guru Ram Charan gave. He had said that he never expected anything in his life, things just took course, he just kept doing what he liked doing. It immediately reminded me of my dad, today he holds a position of very high responsibility. But I have never seen him worrying about his career. I have never seen him compromising on his values just in order to get a promotion. He is the epitome of integrity and self confidence for me. He has never carried work home and when at home he just does what he likes doing he most, reading or spending time with us. I have never seen him sulking about his work or his responsibilities. I have never seen him weak.

Without giving me extensive lectures but just by leading his life the way HE IS, he has taught me so much.

These essays are just the beginning of a long journey which lies ahead. Is getting an Harvard degree the be all and end all of life? More than an MBA degree from a top B School, what will truly help me in leading a fruitful and complete life is my attitude. It is the attitude of a human being which decides their course in life. It is so easy to write this, but trust me it takes so much more to inculcate some of the virtues which I have talked about above.

Dad, you are my idol!

Anything but satisfied.....

Last few days have been really a waste in terms of my MBA apps. There were some other things going on and I have been unable to focus on my HBS essays. I was supposed to start the first draft of my HBS essays yesterday night, but could not.

Today also I am sitting in office with nothing much to do, but I can't leave since I have a call with a senior manager in the US. Man, that's the reason why attrition is so high in the software industry!

I REALLY need to speed up now. I have set this month end as the target for completing my HBS first draft. Lets see how it goes. To add to the woes, I have to travel this weekend :(

Its all about being yourself!

I have been reading a lot of articles/blogs of B School students from the top schools lately. One common message which I could extract from all of them is that- It pays to be who you are.

From your essays during the application process to your time spend at school, what really matters is that you be yourself. I have decided one thing for sure. In my essays I am going to be myself.

People have loved me always for my enthusiasm and energy. Friends and superiors like me for my passion and commitment. Juniors from college and subordinates at work love me for my sensitivity and willingness to help others. My ex managing director feels that I am destined to do well in life. So many people have faith in me...there has to be something about ME??

As my father says...if the B-Schools do not select me, it is their loss, not mine!!

Interesting outcome of conversation- Why so much fuss about GOALS??

Day before yesterday I was having a talk with a HBS alumni. He also happened to be in the ad comm during his school days.

He told me something which is REALLY interesting and contrary to popular belief. I was telling him that I really don't know what my long term career goal is and am worried that how will I handle it in my essays. I was worried primarily because my research from various sources always pointed me to- Dude, you need to have your goals absolutely clear! Ad comms are looking for candidates who demonstrate utmost clarity about their future.

He told me that it is ABSOLUTELY normal if you don't know for sure what do you want to do in the long run. Even if you have some clue but do not know the HOW, its fine. It is okay to mention this in your essays as well.

In fact this had to be true. I don't know why everyone focuses on the GOALS so much. I agree that you need to have a rough picture about where you want to land after an MBA, but being crystal clear is not every ones cup of cake. It is a fact that a majority of B School students do not know initially what they want to do . But still everyone creates a fuss about goals.

After all most of us want to do an MBA to switch careers and to find out our calling. B Schools are supposed to clear the dust and make you think hard as to where do you truly belong .

What did I do this week...

This week was a really busy one for me. Other than finishing those career related questions on Monday, reading a few pages from the Montauk Book, thinking a little more about my short term and long term career goals and random reading on a few forums and applicant blogs I did pretty much nothing substantial.

One of the reasons for this is that I was extremely busy at work as well as in preparations of a skit competition in which I participated. The best part is that my team won!! The feeling was just so amazing, specially so because a lot of other teams had put up a good fight as well. Such small accomplishments add so much more meaning to your life and the learning which you get cannot be taught in any book.

This makes the weekend really crucial for me. I really need to wrap up a lot of things before I get cracking on the actual essays. I really am running late :(

Got my Richard Montauk Book!

I had ordered this book a week back. Finally it is in front of my eyes, as I type this. I just got it this evening. I have heard only good things about this book and I definitely don't want to miss out on reading it!!

The only thing which is worrying me is its size. Its really thick. Now, since I am planning to apply to 4 schools in R1, I have a time crunch. But what the heck! I don't want to be impatient, what if I am not able to apply to all schools in R1? I will defer some to R2. After all R1 and R2 hardly make a difference.

I don't wanna apply just to satisfy my ego! I will do so only when I feel I am there.

Finished answering the career questions

I finally finished writing the answers to the career related questions which I had been trying to answer for a long time. Sunday was when I started making bullet points and then connected the dots last night to at least come up with something.

I have sent it to the good Samaritan who has agreed to review it. These questions I had asked myself are not directly part of any essay questions for any of the universities I plan to apply. However I was really keen to find answers to them so that I have some clue as to what have I been doing at work. Writing things down really helps clear your mind and you have at least something on paper.

I am not worried much about my career progression, rather I am more worried about what I am doing at work. Being from the IT industry you really have to think hard on how to make your work sound interesting. I am happy at having completed my first written exercise!

A valuable lesson learnt

Today I was going through the blog of an applicant from last year who got into HBS and Stanford. One thing which came out clearly from her experience was that being honest and YOURSELF matters the most.

You may try and be someone else but then your thoughts will flow best when you just be what you are in those essays. I mean after all it is important to enjoy the whole process, which I am sure all of us will, if we just be who we are. This way at the end of the journey we can look back at our essays and learn a great deal from them about ourselves.

After all how many times will we get an opportunity to do the post mortem of our entire life?!

Notes from a long talk with a Wharton Graduate.

Around a week back I had this long conversation with a Wharton Graduate, who happens to be an alumni of my college. I am just pasting my rough notes from that call.

· Most of the people do an MBA for switching careers. So not having a major in that subject does not matter much. It may matter though for streams like finance.
· HBS specializes in Strategy. People do a set of courses which are across different areas of business. Thus, it touches all aspects of business.
· Wharton looks at a little higher work experience as compared to HBS and some other schools.
· Wharton looks for candidates who are intellectually strong. Have a vision about where they are headed, have a solid work experience and have the ability to contribute to the society.
· For people looking at a career in Biz Dev and marketing the bigger issue is not that you don’t have relevant work experience but, how much knowledge of the market(in which you are gonna work after graduation) you have?

Hope it helps some fellow applicants.

Sunday morning..running behind schedule...

I was supposed to finish this task yesterday itself...I am a day behind schedule :(

One crucial piece in my application would be my career progression. Since I have less than average work experience, I need to handle this part intelligently. Moreover being from the IT industry my responses need to be clear, concise, unique( I need to find the uniqueness somehow!!) and I cannot afford to take the generic route.

Now though the above is good to read, trust me when I start thinking of what I am gonna write, I can't think of the right words. Hmm..the solution.. I need to have answer some basic questions which will clear my thoughts , give me direction. I need to have the answers to the following on paper( MS Word!) by tonight.

• What are my job responsibilities/ What do I do at work?
• How does it fit into the bigger picture of my company?
• How/Why is this role crucial/important for the company?

If I am able to have a rough draft at least by end of day today, I would be delighted. Someone who I have known for around a couple of years now and is a big shot in my industry has agreed to review the answers to these and fine tune them. Thanks to all the good samaritans who will be guiding me in my journey.

Target Schools

As with all decisions in my life I have been really confused in deciding what schools to target in the first round! As of now I think I would be applying to 7-8 schools split between R1 and R2.

My confusion was that whether I should be applying to all schools I REALLY wanna attend in R1 itself or split it over 2 rounds! I have finally taken the decision....I guess?! I will be going for all my dream schools in R1.

• HBS
• Stanford
• Wharton
• Chicago

Unike many other applicants, my school choice is solely based on gut feeling! Yes, I have done my share of research, going through websites, forums..etc etc etc. But in the end what I noticed was that if you are aiming for any of the following as a career, you will definitely find all "TOP/GOOD(read top 15!)" schools interesting:

• Consulting
• Finance
• General Management/Strategy

The only school which I didn't find somehow, as they say, a "FIT" was Kellog. I could infer from their website that they are too formal for me! And I did not find them encouraging candidates with lesser work experience.

Other than the schools I have talked about above, there are some others which are in my mind. I would finalise on some of them as I progress in my journey. These are:

• Darden
• Tuck
• Duke
• MIT-Sloan
• INSEAD

As I progress in my journey, some of these choices may change and I will definitely keep everyone posted.

Who are you?

This is the first question which fellow/future applicants want to have an answer to. Well as with most other applicants, I would prefer not to disclose my name or the company which I work for!

A little more about me follows:

• I am from the largest demographic pool of applicants.....Bingo!! You guessed it right. Male-Indian-IT
• To add to it, I have less than the average work experience in most B- Schools. Though I take my lesser years of work-ex as an advantage considering the fact that a lot of B -Schools these days prefer younger candidates. But again, do I have a choice if I am not positive about it?!!
• I have a 700+ GMAT score, atleast that is out of the way. Enough for schools not to reject me based on GMAT alone.
• I plan to apply to the top US B-Schools in R1 and R2.

Thats pretty much it about me in a nutshell.

Finally the decision is made....

After a lot of thoughts went into... To blog or Not to blog about my entire MBA applications journey, I have taken the decision in favour of "TO". I was not very sure whether I want to BLOG it out, but then as my research started, I thought I would be a fool not to . Why?? Here it goes:

• I know it is going to be one hell of an experience , something which I would want to look back and smile at, learn from and maybe, be proud of myself someday.
• To clear my thoughts and track my progress. I strongly feel that writing down your mind makes it a lot lighter and focused.
• Thirdly and lastly since I myself have received a lot of help from applicant blogs of previous years, I feel that my 2 cents MAY turn out to be useful for some.

I will make it a point not to be very long in my posts as I have felt often that somewhere along the line people loose focus in longer posts. Lemme see if I am able to stick to it in future posts!!