In this blog I want to write about applying for UK visa, connecting with alums and in general preps before you travel to a different country.
This is one of my last few entries on this blog. I'm closing this blog and continue writing on my regular blog about my life in London. So my visa is done and tickets are blocked.
Steps to take once you have your admission -
* Make list of things to do and then put them in order. Examples -
- People to connect with at the travel location
- People to meet before you leave
- Things to do before you go
- Things to take with you
* Money calculations, account for -
- Visa fees
- Visa consultant (if you want one)
- Flight tickets
- Tuition fees
- Luggage (if you don't have big suitcases already)
- Laptop
- Clothes : formals are a must have
- Food items (specially if you're from asia)
- Phone connection
- Accommodation
- Books
- Monthly living cost
* Visa
- In simple language UK student visa asks for two things - CAS and Funds
CAS: This is a number you get from School/ Uni you're selected for. There are few things written on your CAS which consitute the documents to submit for Visa. This also helps calculate funds to show in your account.
1. CAS Number
2. Documents for your selection criteria (Degree/ work ex etc)
3. Course fee and how much is paid
4. Proof of English proficiency (Where applicable)
The above documents are all you need to submit along with your passport, visa forms and photograph. Now along with this use some common sense - if you have been working for long time and you are selected on degree, then its never bad to attach work ex certificates.
FUNDS: Funds are what is pending to pay as your course fee + maintainence funds. Maintenance funds are mentioned in the form - typical 800gbp a month if your school is in inner London boroughs and 600 if in outer. How many months will depend on your course duration. The funds can be shown in anything thats liquid or can be converted immediately (Things that don't work are funds with locking period, GPF unless there is approval on withdrawal). If funds are not in your name - use common sense and the details follow -
1. Funds in parents name: Proof that they are your parents (birth certificate or affidavit) and documents to support that funds are liquid (letter from bank manager/ property papers etc)
2. Joint Account: No objection certificate from joint account holder + their identity proof
3. Loans: Loan papers saying you'll get the money subject to your visa clearance
4. FD/ other savings: proof that its encashable. Letter from bank manager works the best.
To summarize, here are the docs you require for Visa -
1. Visa Forms
2. Passport + photocopy
3. Photograph
4. Print of CAS statement
5. Proof of degree(same as you have sent to your school/uni)
6. Work ex certificates
7. 10th and 12th pass certificates (for India, not sure about other countries)
8. Bank statement/ passbook/ loan papers
9. Birth certificate/ NOC/ affidavits (if required)
* Accommodation : Hostel or halls if there are available or temporary accommodation for a month to give you time for flat search and deciding on flatmates.
* Connect with Alumni : I believe this is always helpful. Find alums through facebook or just email your school/uni to share these details with you. I found alums very helpful. I'm in touch with only one who regularly responds to me and is friedly so it works.
* Connect with batchmates: This was the best thing that happened to me. We live in facebook world and should use that stuff! There is a group created for all Indians joining LSE this year and there is another group of all those joining my institute (social psychology) this year. We're all working through things together - collecting documents, applying for visa, booking flights, shopping, finding accommodation. so basically there are 160 people to talk about the entire cycle. Then the institute group helps stay connected with those I'll be studying with. I would highly recommend creating a group or find if one already exists. It helps to stay connected!
This is what I have done so far. The biggest items on my list are to sell off some of my belongings and to be able to pack my never ending stock of shoes!
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Comparing schools and courses
Now that I have to take my decision, I thought of listing down factors to consider to make decision when there are offers from more than one school and course.
There are two parts to this - school and the course and they both go hand in hand.
First step is to prioritize what is more important of the following and decide accordingly
1. Career aspirations - Do you want to work or go for further education
2. Methodology - More handson or more theory
3. Region of work - where do you want to work
4. Region of comfort - where do you have more friends, place familiarity etc
5. Food habits - availability of particular food choices specially if you're vegetarian
6. Social life - Do you want more community involvement or are happier on your own
7. Party life - Do you like to go out in the evening a lot
8. Commute - Are you okay with walking or have to take a bus or need a car
9. Reputation of the university
10. Reputation of School
11. Reputation of course
12. Peer group - Too many people or too less
13. Accommodation preferences - Do you want a hostel or are ok looking for something by yourself
These are just some I was able to think now... There can be lot specially if you have a family. Btw, most of the b schools have spouse community which has a lot more fun. If your spouse is working or if you have kids of school going age well u got to think a lot more.
An easy way to shortlist schools is to begin with your main focus. If it's finances then look for tuition, cost of living, scholarships available etc. If it's job security then region, ranking and placement data is important. If location then you know how to begin and so you begin with first cut.
Next comes your chances - typically everyone will say aim for 1-2 top ends, 3-4 wit fairly good chances and 1-2 sure shots. The problem is u never know where things go wrong or where they might click. In my case my sure shots dint work out either and i know of mor such stories. I also k ow people who were discouraged from applying to a school cuz it was out of his league and he made it through quite easily. My take on this is you know what you want, listen to your heart and then use some brains to self analyze your capability. When on doubt - outsource!
Let me go back to the shortlisting of school and course. There are times we are lost in the glamor of going to a top ten or twenty ranked b-school that we either not make it or fight it out at each stage - loans, school work, peer pressure, job hunt and then loan payback. You may sometimes find a lesser known school with great faculty n placements n less expensive too smwhere in lower ranks.
Similarly in glamor of MBA you might forget that all you care for is to get into a particular organization or field of work n miss out on looking at other courses that can take u same place. Like cfa for finance professionals, crm courses, ms courses on project management, SPHR for HR professionals. I'm sure there is a lot more out there in the market that we're not very familiar with.
My big tip on selecting school - know what you want to do, your studying is means to get somewhre MBA should not be the end goal!
Ohhh n also don't be a conformist, do wht u feel is right for u... Good luck!
There are two parts to this - school and the course and they both go hand in hand.
First step is to prioritize what is more important of the following and decide accordingly
1. Career aspirations - Do you want to work or go for further education
2. Methodology - More handson or more theory
3. Region of work - where do you want to work
4. Region of comfort - where do you have more friends, place familiarity etc
5. Food habits - availability of particular food choices specially if you're vegetarian
6. Social life - Do you want more community involvement or are happier on your own
7. Party life - Do you like to go out in the evening a lot
8. Commute - Are you okay with walking or have to take a bus or need a car
9. Reputation of the university
10. Reputation of School
11. Reputation of course
12. Peer group - Too many people or too less
13. Accommodation preferences - Do you want a hostel or are ok looking for something by yourself
These are just some I was able to think now... There can be lot specially if you have a family. Btw, most of the b schools have spouse community which has a lot more fun. If your spouse is working or if you have kids of school going age well u got to think a lot more.
An easy way to shortlist schools is to begin with your main focus. If it's finances then look for tuition, cost of living, scholarships available etc. If it's job security then region, ranking and placement data is important. If location then you know how to begin and so you begin with first cut.
Next comes your chances - typically everyone will say aim for 1-2 top ends, 3-4 wit fairly good chances and 1-2 sure shots. The problem is u never know where things go wrong or where they might click. In my case my sure shots dint work out either and i know of mor such stories. I also k ow people who were discouraged from applying to a school cuz it was out of his league and he made it through quite easily. My take on this is you know what you want, listen to your heart and then use some brains to self analyze your capability. When on doubt - outsource!
Let me go back to the shortlisting of school and course. There are times we are lost in the glamor of going to a top ten or twenty ranked b-school that we either not make it or fight it out at each stage - loans, school work, peer pressure, job hunt and then loan payback. You may sometimes find a lesser known school with great faculty n placements n less expensive too smwhere in lower ranks.
Similarly in glamor of MBA you might forget that all you care for is to get into a particular organization or field of work n miss out on looking at other courses that can take u same place. Like cfa for finance professionals, crm courses, ms courses on project management, SPHR for HR professionals. I'm sure there is a lot more out there in the market that we're not very familiar with.
My big tip on selecting school - know what you want to do, your studying is means to get somewhre MBA should not be the end goal!
Ohhh n also don't be a conformist, do wht u feel is right for u... Good luck!
Friday, May 20, 2011
NYU MS in HR
Last evening when i least expected i got an email from NYU that my results are now available for my application. And it was a positive...
I think i missed mentioning about my LSE and NYU apps in detail on this blog. Well these were two courses i applied to out of my interest in a course in Org Dev.
I could never be sure on which I preferred but I did expect to get through them. So i now have both results in hand and both positive. This is a good place to be in.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
I think i missed mentioning about my LSE and NYU apps in detail on this blog. Well these were two courses i applied to out of my interest in a course in Org Dev.
I could never be sure on which I preferred but I did expect to get through them. So i now have both results in hand and both positive. This is a good place to be in.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Location:,Hyderabad,India
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Post admission - preparing for the move
In the next few posts I'll write about my preparation to move - Visa, Loans, Travels, Connecting with alum, Summer job, Part time work options, Driving License, Accom etc.
The first thing that hit me is that I won't be earning for an year. Trust me the impact of this is much higher when you come closer to jumping in, nothing can prepare you for this feeling. The impact is worse if you have been working for long! Suddenly the entire life will change from earning and living lavishly to studying. Moreover, my course is lot more academic which is a huge transition considering last I went to school was 10 years back and that too I did not do much subjective work.
I always thought I would quit my job a few months earlier, travel India and then move out. The entire perspective is now shifted to working till last minute, take 20 days before travel to pack and shift to my hometown, spend time with my parents and then head out.
The first step is to make a list of things to do -
* Visa - Applications have to go 3 months before date of travel so I have to wait till July
* Loans - Doesn't look complicated as I don't have to fund a two year MBA at a big B-School. (For those considering going to B schools, think this over very carefully)
* Driving License - haven't even started to find out how this works
* Accommodation - Connected with seniors and applied for school halls (they look good)
* Travel tickets - haven't decided the date, planning to block tickets already
* Part time work options - no clue yet!
* Alumni connections - already started on this, they are very helpful
* Sell my stuff - I have loads of things I'll have to sell before I shift including about 200 books! Will have to hold this till I get my visa and then go through the last month selling mania
* Meet people - family and friends I want to meet before I travel
The first thing that hit me is that I won't be earning for an year. Trust me the impact of this is much higher when you come closer to jumping in, nothing can prepare you for this feeling. The impact is worse if you have been working for long! Suddenly the entire life will change from earning and living lavishly to studying. Moreover, my course is lot more academic which is a huge transition considering last I went to school was 10 years back and that too I did not do much subjective work.
I always thought I would quit my job a few months earlier, travel India and then move out. The entire perspective is now shifted to working till last minute, take 20 days before travel to pack and shift to my hometown, spend time with my parents and then head out.
The first step is to make a list of things to do -
* Visa - Applications have to go 3 months before date of travel so I have to wait till July
* Loans - Doesn't look complicated as I don't have to fund a two year MBA at a big B-School. (For those considering going to B schools, think this over very carefully)
* Driving License - haven't even started to find out how this works
* Accommodation - Connected with seniors and applied for school halls (they look good)
* Travel tickets - haven't decided the date, planning to block tickets already
* Part time work options - no clue yet!
* Alumni connections - already started on this, they are very helpful
* Sell my stuff - I have loads of things I'll have to sell before I shift including about 200 books! Will have to hold this till I get my visa and then go through the last month selling mania
* Meet people - family and friends I want to meet before I travel
Sunday, May 8, 2011
London School of Economics
7 weeks after submitting application, 3 days of super intuitive anxiety... An emil in the mailbox on the busiest day at work late in the eve... 5 minutes before an extremely important meeting. the first thot another reject and then before clicking... I need to be positive and the first line... "i'm pleased to inform you..."
LSE it is... Masters in organization and social psychology. Still time before i decide whether i hit this or pursue the more sought after MBA greens. But for now i know i have what i need.
Like i mentioned in my earlier blogs, MBA is not the end its only a means for me to get where i want to. If its not my top choice of London Business School, well... London it still is!
Will write more on what i consider to decide and what my final decision will be.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
LSE it is... Masters in organization and social psychology. Still time before i decide whether i hit this or pursue the more sought after MBA greens. But for now i know i have what i need.
Like i mentioned in my earlier blogs, MBA is not the end its only a means for me to get where i want to. If its not my top choice of London Business School, well... London it still is!
Will write more on what i consider to decide and what my final decision will be.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Location:Hyderabad,India
Thursday, May 5, 2011
TOEFL results and after reject plans
So I took TOEFL finally. I can't comment on how to prepare for it because I never prepared. I registered 6 weeks in advance and couldn't prepare. 5 days before the date I thought of rescheduling but couldn't due to internet issues. And the rescheduling does not happen 2 days before the test. So I decided to jump in. In two days all I did was to look at question patterns, go through some online resources and went for my test. And to top it all I went for speaking test with bad throat.
After the plush GMAT center TOEFL test was a huge disappointment. My story of TOEFL center isn't as bad as many I have read online. People there were courteous, we got a locker. During the speaking section everyone around is audible and gets the same questions. I was able to hear what others were replying.
Well for as bad a prep as I had I got a 102 which is good enough for me to apply to courses that I want to. I would not be able to give tips as I did not really put in effort.
Now also comes time to start looking at what am I doing this year.
First step - Request feedback from schools from last year
Second step - Relook at feedback from people who reviewed my essays and applications
Third step - Re evaluate goals and aspirations
Fourth step - Do I still want to do an MBA?
Fifth step - School selection
Sixth step - Hunt for recommenders and start socializing with them... second most dreaded one
Seventh step - Apply! the most dreaded one for me
My checklist
First step done
Second step - in process
Third step - this is easy cuz my aspirations remain
Fourth step - hmmm... this is a tough one cuz I have made tremendous progress at work and that changes well not everything but a lot! Do I still need an MBA - I do need some form of higher education. I'm lost on options out there in the market. Also age plays a role as I'm growing older.
So its time now for self exploration reflection! more as I decide my path...
After the plush GMAT center TOEFL test was a huge disappointment. My story of TOEFL center isn't as bad as many I have read online. People there were courteous, we got a locker. During the speaking section everyone around is audible and gets the same questions. I was able to hear what others were replying.
Well for as bad a prep as I had I got a 102 which is good enough for me to apply to courses that I want to. I would not be able to give tips as I did not really put in effort.
Now also comes time to start looking at what am I doing this year.
First step - Request feedback from schools from last year
Second step - Relook at feedback from people who reviewed my essays and applications
Third step - Re evaluate goals and aspirations
Fourth step - Do I still want to do an MBA?
Fifth step - School selection
Sixth step - Hunt for recommenders and start socializing with them... second most dreaded one
Seventh step - Apply! the most dreaded one for me
My checklist
First step done
Second step - in process
Third step - this is easy cuz my aspirations remain
Fourth step - hmmm... this is a tough one cuz I have made tremendous progress at work and that changes well not everything but a lot! Do I still need an MBA - I do need some form of higher education. I'm lost on options out there in the market. Also age plays a role as I'm growing older.
So its time now for self exploration reflection! more as I decide my path...
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Dealing with Rejections
I have already written about it, thought of expanding a little more on this. Its never easy to deal with rejections. When others know you're applying, there are eyes on you. Some are hopeful and more confident than you are - you should've applied to better school, Wharton Booth Kellogg are better options. Some are waiting for you to fail - She can't get through, let her touch reality in some time. Others - She would've never made it to these schools, remember how she was in school this was so out of reach for her; She has no skills (analytical, comm, etc etc)wasn't deserving enough; If she can get through this school then I can get through Harvard and Wharton with all the scholarship I want.
Other things that run through mind are answering your recommenders, specially if you asked for too many from same person. Answering bosses when you put your promotion at stake and kept telling your boss that I'm only staying until I get R1 results - R2 and so on.
Then comes the money factor. At the beginning of application it is GMAT and Application fee for 2 schools. This grows to 5 schools, then TOEFL, then mail costs of sending transcripts, transcript evaluation, essay review, consultant fee etc etc. This varies from person to person. In my case it has extended only to TOEFL. No plans to use consultant yet.
The first step is that if you researched and prepared well, you would know that MBA is not I have to get through this year or its gone. MBA is not the plan, its a means to achieve a plan. If that plan is as short as 2-3 years, then well look at your plan B.
I have heard many people say I have to go for MBA this year, I will complete it by the time I turn 26, work for two years, get married by the time I'm 28 and then first baby by 30. Or the story is I got married last year, will do MBA by the time I turn 29 and then first baby by 30. Or I have a child who is two years old, will do my MBA by the time he/she is 3-4 and then need to think of his/her school, savings etc etc.
There are many such stories I've heard. In fact one such story was why I let of Asian Institute of Management in 2007. I'll never know how that would've turned out for me, I do know that I will never regret not trying for other schools even if I failed at most of them.
If you don't get admmitted in the first year of application, first off, don't lose heart. Second, take a short break to rejuvenate. Spend time with family, go travel, get pampered, sit at home and get drunk. Whatever it may be take a break from regular MBA plans and preps. This break can last anything between a week to a month or two.
Now ask some more questions -
- Why did you apply for MBA in the first place
- What is your long term goal
- What is your short term goal
- What are your essentials for the schools you go to (gmat, age, placements, location etc)
- What is changing this year for you (at work, extracurriculars, personal life etc)
- Do you still need MBA
If you still want to do MBA then you should now get into analysing your apps -
- If you have feedback from schools, take a look at that
- Look at your essays
- Who recommended you and do you know what they wrote (specially weakness, are you working on it already)
- Who reviewed your application
- Did you spend sufficient time on your applications and with recommenders
- Who can recommend you next year, have you built more bonds with people
- Which schools you thought are good but never got around applying to them
There are more questions that will offset from the above. Write them down, even if its in a word or two so that you can refer back.
Now -
- Evaluate if you need to retake GMAT (this is the easiest to do)
- Do you want to reapply to some schools
- Do you want to explore other programs besides MBA
- Which schools and which round do you want to apply to
- Do you want to use any previous recommenders
- Restart the application process
Now these are the starting points. I'm sure you'll find many articles on reapplications. To me MBA was just a means and my goals haven't changed. As I explore options, I will post if there are some I feel might be helpful to others.
Other things that run through mind are answering your recommenders, specially if you asked for too many from same person. Answering bosses when you put your promotion at stake and kept telling your boss that I'm only staying until I get R1 results - R2 and so on.
Then comes the money factor. At the beginning of application it is GMAT and Application fee for 2 schools. This grows to 5 schools, then TOEFL, then mail costs of sending transcripts, transcript evaluation, essay review, consultant fee etc etc. This varies from person to person. In my case it has extended only to TOEFL. No plans to use consultant yet.
The first step is that if you researched and prepared well, you would know that MBA is not I have to get through this year or its gone. MBA is not the plan, its a means to achieve a plan. If that plan is as short as 2-3 years, then well look at your plan B.
I have heard many people say I have to go for MBA this year, I will complete it by the time I turn 26, work for two years, get married by the time I'm 28 and then first baby by 30. Or the story is I got married last year, will do MBA by the time I turn 29 and then first baby by 30. Or I have a child who is two years old, will do my MBA by the time he/she is 3-4 and then need to think of his/her school, savings etc etc.
There are many such stories I've heard. In fact one such story was why I let of Asian Institute of Management in 2007. I'll never know how that would've turned out for me, I do know that I will never regret not trying for other schools even if I failed at most of them.
If you don't get admmitted in the first year of application, first off, don't lose heart. Second, take a short break to rejuvenate. Spend time with family, go travel, get pampered, sit at home and get drunk. Whatever it may be take a break from regular MBA plans and preps. This break can last anything between a week to a month or two.
Now ask some more questions -
- Why did you apply for MBA in the first place
- What is your long term goal
- What is your short term goal
- What are your essentials for the schools you go to (gmat, age, placements, location etc)
- What is changing this year for you (at work, extracurriculars, personal life etc)
- Do you still need MBA
If you still want to do MBA then you should now get into analysing your apps -
- If you have feedback from schools, take a look at that
- Look at your essays
- Who recommended you and do you know what they wrote (specially weakness, are you working on it already)
- Who reviewed your application
- Did you spend sufficient time on your applications and with recommenders
- Who can recommend you next year, have you built more bonds with people
- Which schools you thought are good but never got around applying to them
There are more questions that will offset from the above. Write them down, even if its in a word or two so that you can refer back.
Now -
- Evaluate if you need to retake GMAT (this is the easiest to do)
- Do you want to reapply to some schools
- Do you want to explore other programs besides MBA
- Which schools and which round do you want to apply to
- Do you want to use any previous recommenders
- Restart the application process
Now these are the starting points. I'm sure you'll find many articles on reapplications. To me MBA was just a means and my goals haven't changed. As I explore options, I will post if there are some I feel might be helpful to others.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
ISB doesn't want me
Or watch the things you gave your life to broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with wornout tools;
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
From my fav poetry well it is fav poetry of I guess half the Indians. So I lost ISB... To be honest as much as I whine n crib I did think I'll make it to ISB. Funnily this was my safe school at the same time I was never big on it.
It may be easy for some to say well if ur heart wasn't in it then may be that showed. Well it did not, I just suck at being expressive about myself which means essays interviews take a lot out of me.
But today I'm not analyzing what went wrong at ISB, I want to talk about how to handle failures.
I'm not the only one out there. First off anything requires a backup plan. The better your backup plan, the safer you are and quicker you recover. When I said in ISB interview that I have back up plan... Well I do. Its good to be confident but it is equally essential to stay grounded. I've heard counter arguements to my theory that if u begin with thinking I might fail then chances of failure increase. The point here is to begin with success in mind and still keep in mind the what if sky falls... Impossible itself says its possible.
As important the backup planning is, it has to be achievable and yet something that will make u happy. My applications started with schools I yearn for and I've had back schools at every stage and no I'm not giving up, not just yet.
Even with the realistic school planning, I have looked at other courses that I can go for besides MBA. All said and done MBA to me is means to achieve something. So yes I have looked at other easier to get into courses which won't pay me so well but will also cost me a fifth of what an MBA would. And yes I have even thot of situation where I don't go for full time studying or studying at all.
The other thing while applying for MBA is that some of us leave everything else. Remember this is only a part of your regular life not the only thing you do for 6 or 8 months. After spending time with extra focus on MBA apps, I have now started applying for jobs, because if not MBA I do need shift in work I do. I have also taken additional responsibilities at work, and am glad my boss didn't hold them from me. I also built trust with him that even if its ISB and I have to go, i will ensure my work is stabilized before I leave.
All said and done its never easy to deal with failures and when it's continued for quite a few months. I had ppl ask me 2-3 times when I said I dint get ISB. Yes it did make me feel worse but now when I think it sounds like ppl believe I deserve it. If I deserve to be at ISB then well there are other competitive schools.
Aomfirat I blabbered about back plans n MBA as means to something. Now let me blabber on what I did to cope with the huge setback.
First, I had a hunch ISB will be negative since two days before the result were due - my intuition isn't all that bad. I kept wishing n willing it to be positive.
When I did see it's negative, I came home n got into bed at 8. I dint want to talk to anyone so informed ppl of result over text msg n asked them to not call. Then I went on overdose of chocolate for two days. It did help a bit.
Next day there was too much work in office and I cudnt bail out. Unfortunately my work is all ppl interaction. It weirdly worked to help me, nothing gives a better kick to a trainer than to see ppl find benefits from my work. And I did a fairly okay job with my trg program. In t eve I knew I needed vodka and some break. Bryan adams came to my rescue. Went to a friends place to listen to Bryan adams concert with vodka n munchies n random conversations. He stays near the concert venue so we sat in his balcony and stayed away from the mad crowd. Late nite dinner back home. Took a day off to rest and ease my head.
Redefined my backup plans. Emailed previous school for feedback. Emailed all my friends who have and can help me plan next steps and scheduled phone time with them.
Thats what is surviving me thru yet another failure... A rather unexpected one. Do I feel okay yet, not completely but I can manage thru anything and will be fine in a few days.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
And stoop and build 'em up with wornout tools;
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
From my fav poetry well it is fav poetry of I guess half the Indians. So I lost ISB... To be honest as much as I whine n crib I did think I'll make it to ISB. Funnily this was my safe school at the same time I was never big on it.
It may be easy for some to say well if ur heart wasn't in it then may be that showed. Well it did not, I just suck at being expressive about myself which means essays interviews take a lot out of me.
But today I'm not analyzing what went wrong at ISB, I want to talk about how to handle failures.
I'm not the only one out there. First off anything requires a backup plan. The better your backup plan, the safer you are and quicker you recover. When I said in ISB interview that I have back up plan... Well I do. Its good to be confident but it is equally essential to stay grounded. I've heard counter arguements to my theory that if u begin with thinking I might fail then chances of failure increase. The point here is to begin with success in mind and still keep in mind the what if sky falls... Impossible itself says its possible.
As important the backup planning is, it has to be achievable and yet something that will make u happy. My applications started with schools I yearn for and I've had back schools at every stage and no I'm not giving up, not just yet.
Even with the realistic school planning, I have looked at other courses that I can go for besides MBA. All said and done MBA to me is means to achieve something. So yes I have looked at other easier to get into courses which won't pay me so well but will also cost me a fifth of what an MBA would. And yes I have even thot of situation where I don't go for full time studying or studying at all.
The other thing while applying for MBA is that some of us leave everything else. Remember this is only a part of your regular life not the only thing you do for 6 or 8 months. After spending time with extra focus on MBA apps, I have now started applying for jobs, because if not MBA I do need shift in work I do. I have also taken additional responsibilities at work, and am glad my boss didn't hold them from me. I also built trust with him that even if its ISB and I have to go, i will ensure my work is stabilized before I leave.
All said and done its never easy to deal with failures and when it's continued for quite a few months. I had ppl ask me 2-3 times when I said I dint get ISB. Yes it did make me feel worse but now when I think it sounds like ppl believe I deserve it. If I deserve to be at ISB then well there are other competitive schools.
Aomfirat I blabbered about back plans n MBA as means to something. Now let me blabber on what I did to cope with the huge setback.
First, I had a hunch ISB will be negative since two days before the result were due - my intuition isn't all that bad. I kept wishing n willing it to be positive.
When I did see it's negative, I came home n got into bed at 8. I dint want to talk to anyone so informed ppl of result over text msg n asked them to not call. Then I went on overdose of chocolate for two days. It did help a bit.
Next day there was too much work in office and I cudnt bail out. Unfortunately my work is all ppl interaction. It weirdly worked to help me, nothing gives a better kick to a trainer than to see ppl find benefits from my work. And I did a fairly okay job with my trg program. In t eve I knew I needed vodka and some break. Bryan adams came to my rescue. Went to a friends place to listen to Bryan adams concert with vodka n munchies n random conversations. He stays near the concert venue so we sat in his balcony and stayed away from the mad crowd. Late nite dinner back home. Took a day off to rest and ease my head.
Redefined my backup plans. Emailed previous school for feedback. Emailed all my friends who have and can help me plan next steps and scheduled phone time with them.
Thats what is surviving me thru yet another failure... A rather unexpected one. Do I feel okay yet, not completely but I can manage thru anything and will be fine in a few days.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Location:KPHB Rd,Hyderabad,India
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Sharing Stern MBA Essay3
While I wait for the Stern admission committee to look at my essay 3, I thought it may not be so bad sharing it at my blog... here you go whoever bumps into this blog -
Anxiety
In the last phase of my apps (self decided) my anxiety levels are running high.
ISB - The more I see profiles of people who've made it, it seems more and more competitive to me... it scares me and the result is not until the 15th
Duke - they don't want to interview me. 'Not Invited' for interview. Interestingly many people I met during ISB interview had applied to only one US school which was Duke! I wonder what the fascination is, I guess everyone has their own reasons and Duke does have one of the highest percentage of international candidates.
Cornell - One of the visitors to my linkedin profile in last one week was 'someone from cornell'. They have sent first round of interview invites including to some Indians. I don't know if I'm getting any now.
NYU Stern - They seem to have rejected many Indians from round 1 and many international are waitlisted without interviews. Also no one has taken a look at my youtube essay 3 till now so I don't know what will happen thr.
I'm anxious and depressed and working on plan C all at the same time. To keep myself occupied I'm doing salsa, tennis and spanish regularly. And I still have time at hand!
Can't sit idle. For all those who're reading my blog, if you need any tips on preparation, help with school research or essay review - just drop me a line and I'll find time to help you with it.
ISB - The more I see profiles of people who've made it, it seems more and more competitive to me... it scares me and the result is not until the 15th
Duke - they don't want to interview me. 'Not Invited' for interview. Interestingly many people I met during ISB interview had applied to only one US school which was Duke! I wonder what the fascination is, I guess everyone has their own reasons and Duke does have one of the highest percentage of international candidates.
Cornell - One of the visitors to my linkedin profile in last one week was 'someone from cornell'. They have sent first round of interview invites including to some Indians. I don't know if I'm getting any now.
NYU Stern - They seem to have rejected many Indians from round 1 and many international are waitlisted without interviews. Also no one has taken a look at my youtube essay 3 till now so I don't know what will happen thr.
I'm anxious and depressed and working on plan C all at the same time. To keep myself occupied I'm doing salsa, tennis and spanish regularly. And I still have time at hand!
Can't sit idle. For all those who're reading my blog, if you need any tips on preparation, help with school research or essay review - just drop me a line and I'll find time to help you with it.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Comparing IIM and ISB
I keep wondering if we had to compare these two, is it possible or does it even make sense. Through application process, I have looked at the two - IIM Ahmedabad and ISB. I do have some thoughts on IIM Bangalore but I'll leave that for later. Right now its IIMA and ISB.
First off, IIMA has been around a real long time and has established its legacy. ISB is new, fresh and energetic and is agressive. IIMA has its huge alum scattered across India and South East Asia while ISB is still growing its alum and is striving to go international as much as possible.
The comparison is difficult because the have different audience for their courses. Taking a look at their programs-
IIMA PGP -> for fresh graduates or 0 to 2 years experience, gets them good placements. puts them in a senior role without much experience, which works well for some and others struggle. I feel this is ideal for engineers from smaller institutes looking at some brand on their resumes and for non engineering grads looking to build credibility of learning.
ISB PGP -> has a varied audience. Its on the lines of international MBA programs. Takes in people with at least 2 years of work ex without any upper limit. Interesting combination of practices from US and European schools. Its a short year long curriculum like European schools and admission process which seems to evolving. They scrapped off creative essay which is practiced in some US and European school. Now they have admission process which is straighforward and has more originality. I give them credit for this because they're still pretty young and evolving.
IIMA PGPX -> The minimum work ex required here is 7 years and the course is for mid level executives. In fact I haven't seen many people getting admitted at the lower end of work exp. IIMA has cashed a lot of placements with this program. Another interesting thing about this is that it has a lot more diversity than PGP and ISB PGP. There are too many engineers but they have been able to strike a balance given a small class size. The program is also aimed at people with international exposure, gets international placements and fat pay checks.
ISB PGPMAX -> Now this is a new program in its first year so we're yet to see where it goes. It is meant for mid to senior level executives. Infact when ISB came with this program to my company, they were only looking for Vice Presidents. Yet to see how it turns out. The program does provide a good platform to senior management to interact with their peers from other organizations.
IIMA seems to have courses for fresh grads and then for mid level with the Management Development programs available for individual topics. I have a feel that eventually they will end of evolving their programs to stay progressive.
ISB needs decades to establish their legacy but are doing well by playing their strength which is young and energetic and collaboration with top schools worldwide.
IIMB has launched several programs and its good to stick to stay with their strength which is developing managers in IT. There is a huge need to develop management in IT organizations. Most of the engineers get early promotions and struggle with people management. IIMB's work in this space is good. They have several programs, a one year residential, weekend program etc, which I think works well for them. I do think how will it work out for them in the long run. The market is huge at the moment and I feel if they are progressive and look at providing customized management solutions to IT companies, they have their market space defined.
The recent FT rankings will also benefit IIMA and ISB - 11 and 13 are awesome rankings. I'm also hoping these rankings will encourage more international students improving global learning for Indians who cant go abroad.
Which one do I prefer? can't truly decide. Rejected by IIMA and waiting for ISB result so I guess its ISB for me for now.
First off, IIMA has been around a real long time and has established its legacy. ISB is new, fresh and energetic and is agressive. IIMA has its huge alum scattered across India and South East Asia while ISB is still growing its alum and is striving to go international as much as possible.
The comparison is difficult because the have different audience for their courses. Taking a look at their programs-
IIMA PGP -> for fresh graduates or 0 to 2 years experience, gets them good placements. puts them in a senior role without much experience, which works well for some and others struggle. I feel this is ideal for engineers from smaller institutes looking at some brand on their resumes and for non engineering grads looking to build credibility of learning.
ISB PGP -> has a varied audience. Its on the lines of international MBA programs. Takes in people with at least 2 years of work ex without any upper limit. Interesting combination of practices from US and European schools. Its a short year long curriculum like European schools and admission process which seems to evolving. They scrapped off creative essay which is practiced in some US and European school. Now they have admission process which is straighforward and has more originality. I give them credit for this because they're still pretty young and evolving.
IIMA PGPX -> The minimum work ex required here is 7 years and the course is for mid level executives. In fact I haven't seen many people getting admitted at the lower end of work exp. IIMA has cashed a lot of placements with this program. Another interesting thing about this is that it has a lot more diversity than PGP and ISB PGP. There are too many engineers but they have been able to strike a balance given a small class size. The program is also aimed at people with international exposure, gets international placements and fat pay checks.
ISB PGPMAX -> Now this is a new program in its first year so we're yet to see where it goes. It is meant for mid to senior level executives. Infact when ISB came with this program to my company, they were only looking for Vice Presidents. Yet to see how it turns out. The program does provide a good platform to senior management to interact with their peers from other organizations.
IIMA seems to have courses for fresh grads and then for mid level with the Management Development programs available for individual topics. I have a feel that eventually they will end of evolving their programs to stay progressive.
ISB needs decades to establish their legacy but are doing well by playing their strength which is young and energetic and collaboration with top schools worldwide.
IIMB has launched several programs and its good to stick to stay with their strength which is developing managers in IT. There is a huge need to develop management in IT organizations. Most of the engineers get early promotions and struggle with people management. IIMB's work in this space is good. They have several programs, a one year residential, weekend program etc, which I think works well for them. I do think how will it work out for them in the long run. The market is huge at the moment and I feel if they are progressive and look at providing customized management solutions to IT companies, they have their market space defined.
The recent FT rankings will also benefit IIMA and ISB - 11 and 13 are awesome rankings. I'm also hoping these rankings will encourage more international students improving global learning for Indians who cant go abroad.
Which one do I prefer? can't truly decide. Rejected by IIMA and waiting for ISB result so I guess its ISB for me for now.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
ISB interview
Back to blog after long, was getting some rest, focusing on work, joining tennis n Spanish classes. And some prep and lots of stress over ISB interview.
I got the invite when I was least expecting, which was pleasant.
My prep for interview-
- spoke with current students n alum I know
- read thru forums on common questions
- spoke wit my frend who got thru r1
Output- know yourself and be yourself
They begin with writing on a topic. For our group it was 'back to the future'. I have a feeling they saw it yesterday on prime tv, I saw it playing :p
I compared the movie with the indian copy - action replay. A few quick sentences and took a stand on what I liked and concluded with how I feel for 'inspired' hindi movies. One the panelists took a glance at it but not much.
Questions-
I was extremely nervous, our interviews started late. That made me more and more nervous.
- they begin with ice breaker. They thot i was from bglr. Evyone in my group was from bangalore
Since i was local a different conversation beginner and ice breaker -
tell us about itself
- Interrupted and asked about my work. I moved on to my work and explained. I got visibly nervous at this point
- another ice breaker which did eventually calmed me. they picked on one of my interest and spoke about it for a while ( this wasn't easy either, they had questions to challenge my belief)
- if you were to setup this dept for a new company how would you begin ( lots of interruption, they dint say they were convinced but I stuck to what I was saying and then offered to explain with one of my past experiences)
- more questions on above answer and around my work
- do you also deliver training programs, which ones. Told them and no questions here.
- you've mentioned you liked 'good to great' book tell us what did you like, more questions on isn't it understood what's so special about it. I explained and kinda interrupted, later apologized for interruption and continued with my answer
- more on something I had done at work, how do you do this. After this lots of questioning.
- Tell us whats the flaw in this model, I said it doesn't give tangible results. More on measurement techniques. Gave example of how we had measured and that it was incomplete. Later the panel member agreed with me.
They slowed down at this point, turned thru page of my apps to see what to ask next. They were probably either going to reject and were giving me more chances
- you're a reapp, did you seek feedback. I had not, so mentioned I didn't, but knew what was wrong and told them about it a bit when they interrupted and moved to next questions
- something from my field, and then one of the guys was against it. I tried explaining but he cut me and suggested something I should look up online... I said I will but dint go back on what I had said
- why MBA, they challenged and said you've done smthing at iima then why MBA. I explained more on it and lot more on it. I gave example of the difference it will make to some work I had done. (proud of myself to think of the example on the fly, wasn't prepared for this)
- any questions for us, I said no I don't
Again a lot of thinking and then
- what if you don't get thru, I said I have a plan b and c. To this they finally smiled and said most of the people don't even have a plan b and you have b and c. Told them plan b was other schools, they asked. I was honest on insead reject and mentioned ores I've applied to. They asked but the results are out, to which I was again honest and said I did for r2 and am waiting for interview calls. Mentioned I plan to apply for HEC with deadline in next week. (not sure if this is the right thing to do)
The other guy asked what's plan c, to which I mentioned I hope to get the role I'm seeking, in next 2-3 years if I don't do MBA and some courses I wish to take to upskill.
My tips for interview-
- know what you want, personally and professionally
- know your work and prepared to share examples
- don't stress, they are supposed to be straight faced
- stay firm to your beliefs
- don't ask a question just for the heck of it, it won't go against you if you don't
- have a plan b, you're big enough to have contingency plans in place
- relax
- practice some responses for typical questions, doesn't have to be mock. I would talk to myself in the morning out loud on what I would say. This helped me cut down the negative statements I could've made.
- keep away from strong statements, at the same time stick to your beliefs
- don't analyze your interview later
- you'll never be able to tell them all you wanted to but remember they get what they need to take decision even when you're nervous or fumbling
Hope this is helpful to some people out there!
After interview, I met some of my frends from current batch to catch up and talk about their aspirations placements etc... It made me think less about interview which is good
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
I got the invite when I was least expecting, which was pleasant.
My prep for interview-
- spoke with current students n alum I know
- read thru forums on common questions
- spoke wit my frend who got thru r1
Output- know yourself and be yourself
They begin with writing on a topic. For our group it was 'back to the future'. I have a feeling they saw it yesterday on prime tv, I saw it playing :p
I compared the movie with the indian copy - action replay. A few quick sentences and took a stand on what I liked and concluded with how I feel for 'inspired' hindi movies. One the panelists took a glance at it but not much.
Questions-
I was extremely nervous, our interviews started late. That made me more and more nervous.
- they begin with ice breaker. They thot i was from bglr. Evyone in my group was from bangalore
Since i was local a different conversation beginner and ice breaker -
tell us about itself
- Interrupted and asked about my work. I moved on to my work and explained. I got visibly nervous at this point
- another ice breaker which did eventually calmed me. they picked on one of my interest and spoke about it for a while ( this wasn't easy either, they had questions to challenge my belief)
- if you were to setup this dept for a new company how would you begin ( lots of interruption, they dint say they were convinced but I stuck to what I was saying and then offered to explain with one of my past experiences)
- more questions on above answer and around my work
- do you also deliver training programs, which ones. Told them and no questions here.
- you've mentioned you liked 'good to great' book tell us what did you like, more questions on isn't it understood what's so special about it. I explained and kinda interrupted, later apologized for interruption and continued with my answer
- more on something I had done at work, how do you do this. After this lots of questioning.
- Tell us whats the flaw in this model, I said it doesn't give tangible results. More on measurement techniques. Gave example of how we had measured and that it was incomplete. Later the panel member agreed with me.
They slowed down at this point, turned thru page of my apps to see what to ask next. They were probably either going to reject and were giving me more chances
- you're a reapp, did you seek feedback. I had not, so mentioned I didn't, but knew what was wrong and told them about it a bit when they interrupted and moved to next questions
- something from my field, and then one of the guys was against it. I tried explaining but he cut me and suggested something I should look up online... I said I will but dint go back on what I had said
- why MBA, they challenged and said you've done smthing at iima then why MBA. I explained more on it and lot more on it. I gave example of the difference it will make to some work I had done. (proud of myself to think of the example on the fly, wasn't prepared for this)
- any questions for us, I said no I don't
Again a lot of thinking and then
- what if you don't get thru, I said I have a plan b and c. To this they finally smiled and said most of the people don't even have a plan b and you have b and c. Told them plan b was other schools, they asked. I was honest on insead reject and mentioned ores I've applied to. They asked but the results are out, to which I was again honest and said I did for r2 and am waiting for interview calls. Mentioned I plan to apply for HEC with deadline in next week. (not sure if this is the right thing to do)
The other guy asked what's plan c, to which I mentioned I hope to get the role I'm seeking, in next 2-3 years if I don't do MBA and some courses I wish to take to upskill.
My tips for interview-
- know what you want, personally and professionally
- know your work and prepared to share examples
- don't stress, they are supposed to be straight faced
- stay firm to your beliefs
- don't ask a question just for the heck of it, it won't go against you if you don't
- have a plan b, you're big enough to have contingency plans in place
- relax
- practice some responses for typical questions, doesn't have to be mock. I would talk to myself in the morning out loud on what I would say. This helped me cut down the negative statements I could've made.
- keep away from strong statements, at the same time stick to your beliefs
- don't analyze your interview later
- you'll never be able to tell them all you wanted to but remember they get what they need to take decision even when you're nervous or fumbling
Hope this is helpful to some people out there!
After interview, I met some of my frends from current batch to catch up and talk about their aspirations placements etc... It made me think less about interview which is good
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Sunday, January 16, 2011
NYU essay 3
What happens when you submit one of ur apps... Till now I thot of the next app or waited anxiously for result. Ystrd after submitting my NYU stern app I felt relaxed. It was a long stressful time that kinda ended or I at least a break from writing essays. I had been writing essays for so long and like crazy for past month and half. So I do have one more app to do but I thot I deserved a Sunday after a 10 hour work sched n apps aft that.
On the most interesting stern essay 3. I love doing creative stuff but I might have liked it without nexus I sumo what will be perceived by adcom as good bad interesting or what
Here's what I did-
List things that define me, i did three categories - values, interests and me
Two values that matter the most to me and why it is so. My inheritance.
Three interests that have been wit me for long
The I realized there were these little things that define me and I had no place to put them. Tis is where t third category on me came in. It had all my little pleasures like I love cooking n eating and that I go for salsa. The last was about New York and how I feel about it.
Now that I had the content I had to figure how to present it. I had to think what is me and is easy for me to do. And add theme to it. The theme I had idea like draw warli art or do caricatures. And then I realized I cud use poetry to describe me. Not an original idea, I remember hearing someone had done it already for smthing. But it resonated wit me... N I went for it. Piked out lines from famous writers from my fav writers mostly. Now came how do I do this, I was split between video and picture blog. Picture blog was simple but I thot video wud look nice. And I wanted to do smoothing I cud do n not get smone else to do it for me. Its my essay n I wanted it to be credible.
And like everything I did this last day. The problem till last minute was that I had content, I had some pics but didn't visualize it with the story I had written. So I worked wit my frend who had a video editing software on his comp and his wife for artistic suggestions. N we worked all nite. Spent about 10 hours on the video and more on story, pics selection, music search, production, upload n random.
Proud of the outcome and shared wit some friends, bro n sis who loved it... Nyu is t app I felt most confident submitting n it sure was t most stressful wit work pressures n short edit time.
So that was abt my nyu essay 3, I hope I get thru n am able to actually share wit my classmates
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
On the most interesting stern essay 3. I love doing creative stuff but I might have liked it without nexus I sumo what will be perceived by adcom as good bad interesting or what
Here's what I did-
List things that define me, i did three categories - values, interests and me
Two values that matter the most to me and why it is so. My inheritance.
Three interests that have been wit me for long
The I realized there were these little things that define me and I had no place to put them. Tis is where t third category on me came in. It had all my little pleasures like I love cooking n eating and that I go for salsa. The last was about New York and how I feel about it.
Now that I had the content I had to figure how to present it. I had to think what is me and is easy for me to do. And add theme to it. The theme I had idea like draw warli art or do caricatures. And then I realized I cud use poetry to describe me. Not an original idea, I remember hearing someone had done it already for smthing. But it resonated wit me... N I went for it. Piked out lines from famous writers from my fav writers mostly. Now came how do I do this, I was split between video and picture blog. Picture blog was simple but I thot video wud look nice. And I wanted to do smoothing I cud do n not get smone else to do it for me. Its my essay n I wanted it to be credible.
And like everything I did this last day. The problem till last minute was that I had content, I had some pics but didn't visualize it with the story I had written. So I worked wit my frend who had a video editing software on his comp and his wife for artistic suggestions. N we worked all nite. Spent about 10 hours on the video and more on story, pics selection, music search, production, upload n random.
Proud of the outcome and shared wit some friends, bro n sis who loved it... Nyu is t app I felt most confident submitting n it sure was t most stressful wit work pressures n short edit time.
So that was abt my nyu essay 3, I hope I get thru n am able to actually share wit my classmates
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Location:,Hyderabad,India
Friday, January 7, 2011
Deciding on schools and writing
I just finished my applications to Fuqua and Cornell last week and now I'm on my NYU app. Its funny that when we write each app we tell the adcom that we love your school and this is just where we want to be. Is it a lie when we say this to them all? Not really. What is needed is to isolate yourself when working on each school to ensure what you write is what you feel about that school. For example, my long term goal is to associate with a b-school so when I tell Fuqua I want to be with them or Cornell I want to be with them, I'm not lying to either. All I'm saying is that I'm loyal and I want to work with them in future. And I say this in complete honesty.
Now when I'm finishing up NYU app, I'm visualizing my life at NYU and after. It is very interesting to go back and read my answers to other schools because the entire thing looks so different and yet I can see me in all of them.
So whr am I stuck with NYU app now... Essay 3 for obvious reasons. Of you see David Furman's submissions its got to scare you. The dude's done an awesome job. I'll look up the link and post it here. I'm thinking of using what helps me convey myself the best - paints or blog. I might do a video or a picture presentation with my beautiful :p voice in the background. I finally kinda know what I want my batch mates to know about me before we begin school.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Now when I'm finishing up NYU app, I'm visualizing my life at NYU and after. It is very interesting to go back and read my answers to other schools because the entire thing looks so different and yet I can see me in all of them.
So whr am I stuck with NYU app now... Essay 3 for obvious reasons. Of you see David Furman's submissions its got to scare you. The dude's done an awesome job. I'll look up the link and post it here. I'm thinking of using what helps me convey myself the best - paints or blog. I might do a video or a picture presentation with my beautiful :p voice in the background. I finally kinda know what I want my batch mates to know about me before we begin school.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Location:,India
Monday, January 3, 2011
lack of planning
MBA is a huge decision to make and what I'm going to talk about is not exactly new. Deciding to do an MBA is not something that can be done at the blink of an eye or even within a few hours. It takes a lot of thinking, research and the entire process involves bringing clarity in life. The biggest gap in my plan was lack of schools to apply if I don't get through my dream schools. Its funny that I was never overconfident that I'll get the best schools but I did think if I don't I'll know where next to apply. Let me explain in detail and with timelines. After years of thinking I thot this is THE time for me to apply for MBA's. This was in April-May. Started reworking on my GMAT in May with the only thought of getting above 670. I did look through forums for school search with complete focus on Europe but not really much on backups. June mid onwards I was only focused on GMAT which did me good by getting me a 700+.
After this with IMD deadline closer, I aimed to get it done in a month which was my biggest stupidity. I also had to finish my IIMA exec app within 15 days. By the time I finished these two, I had only a month and half to go for INSEAD and LBS. The biggest loss of time was after these apps. I lost two months not doing much. I lost entire October in official work and looking through forums on European programs only to find out that the other programs did not appeal so much to me. Next came disappointments and ISB App. Again time wasted in holiday and feeling sad over zero interview calls. And I was left with December to finish my US apps - Duke, Cornell and was thinking of a third one at that time, turned out to be Darden. I explored Darden only in the second week of Dec which gave me very less time for anything else. and now I am in the first week of Jan going crazy over my apps and deciding to drop Darden for now. Fuqua and Johnson are almost ready to go out.
For easy look at timeline -
April - decided to do an MBA
May mid - started working on GMAT
July mid - took GMAT
July end - IIMA deadline
August mid - took a week long holiday from everything
August end - IMD deadline
October first week - INSEAD and London deadline
October - wasted completely
November end - ISB deadline
January first week - Duke and Cornell Deadline
If I look at this, I see that I've spent roughly fifteen days on each application which in my opinion is not enough time considering I was nose deep in work and socializing all at the same time. This however does not mean less time to research any of the schools. All the schools I've applied to until now (with the exception of Cornell and Darden) were in my purview before I made my decisions in April. I had been looking through their site and reading blogs of their students for a long time.
I sugges to give yourself six months to only look through which schools to apply to, why and which rounds.
After this with IMD deadline closer, I aimed to get it done in a month which was my biggest stupidity. I also had to finish my IIMA exec app within 15 days. By the time I finished these two, I had only a month and half to go for INSEAD and LBS. The biggest loss of time was after these apps. I lost two months not doing much. I lost entire October in official work and looking through forums on European programs only to find out that the other programs did not appeal so much to me. Next came disappointments and ISB App. Again time wasted in holiday and feeling sad over zero interview calls. And I was left with December to finish my US apps - Duke, Cornell and was thinking of a third one at that time, turned out to be Darden. I explored Darden only in the second week of Dec which gave me very less time for anything else. and now I am in the first week of Jan going crazy over my apps and deciding to drop Darden for now. Fuqua and Johnson are almost ready to go out.
For easy look at timeline -
April - decided to do an MBA
May mid - started working on GMAT
July mid - took GMAT
July end - IIMA deadline
August mid - took a week long holiday from everything
August end - IMD deadline
October first week - INSEAD and London deadline
October - wasted completely
November end - ISB deadline
January first week - Duke and Cornell Deadline
If I look at this, I see that I've spent roughly fifteen days on each application which in my opinion is not enough time considering I was nose deep in work and socializing all at the same time. This however does not mean less time to research any of the schools. All the schools I've applied to until now (with the exception of Cornell and Darden) were in my purview before I made my decisions in April. I had been looking through their site and reading blogs of their students for a long time.
I sugges to give yourself six months to only look through which schools to apply to, why and which rounds.
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