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?
Saturday, August 25, 2007
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........
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........
Sunday, August 19, 2007
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:
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!
Saturday, August 11, 2007
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!!
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!!
Tuesday, August 7, 2007
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!!
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!!
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
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?!
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!
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!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
