The last nail has been hit in the coffin. Tepper said sorry. So, no mba from me this fall.
Good luck to all the others.
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Friday, May 7, 2010
The wait continues..
As you all know that I have been waitlisted at Tepper, I was very much hoping to get a decision last Monday (which happens to be the decision date for R3 apps). Alas, it didnt happen.
As time passes by, I am becoming more and more skeptical about the decision. June 26 is supposedly the last date for waitlist decisions but even if I get in on that day, I'm not sure if I will have the time to have everything in place in a month (assuming classes start in Aug 1st week). This include wrapping up here, loan, visa, settling down -in that order.
Firstly, as an entrepreneur, I am not sure if that 1 month is sufficient for me to wrap up things at my company. Though I have been planning for this since Dec, a series of rejects have forced me back into the work-mode and I have been making changes, signing new contracts and aggressively pushing for new things. I havent properly planned for any of these 'new ones' in a subsequent role-transfer. Secondly, Tepper does not provide non-US cosigner loans for an international applicant like me. Though I do have a US cosigner, I am not sure of the time it takes to go through the loan approval . Thirdly, the F1 visa - getting an i20, applying for the visa, showing required docs for finances etc is going to take time. Then, the issue of settling down in Pittsburgh (if and only if I get an admit :), but I guess this is important too. It's not like I can take a plane, visit Pitt over the weekend and find a home. And then all the other things that occupy an international student.
Thinking through the inherent immigration issues, I wonder if Tepper admits intl students in late June. So, I hope I get the decision before end of this month or a folder on my laptop would be renamed to apping_fall2011
As time passes by, I am becoming more and more skeptical about the decision. June 26 is supposedly the last date for waitlist decisions but even if I get in on that day, I'm not sure if I will have the time to have everything in place in a month (assuming classes start in Aug 1st week). This include wrapping up here, loan, visa, settling down -in that order.
Firstly, as an entrepreneur, I am not sure if that 1 month is sufficient for me to wrap up things at my company. Though I have been planning for this since Dec, a series of rejects have forced me back into the work-mode and I have been making changes, signing new contracts and aggressively pushing for new things. I havent properly planned for any of these 'new ones' in a subsequent role-transfer. Secondly, Tepper does not provide non-US cosigner loans for an international applicant like me. Though I do have a US cosigner, I am not sure of the time it takes to go through the loan approval . Thirdly, the F1 visa - getting an i20, applying for the visa, showing required docs for finances etc is going to take time. Then, the issue of settling down in Pittsburgh (if and only if I get an admit :), but I guess this is important too. It's not like I can take a plane, visit Pitt over the weekend and find a home. And then all the other things that occupy an international student.
Thinking through the inherent immigration issues, I wonder if Tepper admits intl students in late June. So, I hope I get the decision before end of this month or a folder on my laptop would be renamed to apping_fall2011
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Long lost updates
There's a significant update I haven't mentioned in my blog for a long time. I dont know what stopped me from doing so, I guess some kind of hysteria for not getting into even one of the six schools I applied to.
But once I became a nominee for ClearAdmit's BoB, I felt I should let it out in the blogosphere. So, here it is. I was waitlisted at two schools - Ross and Tepper (both my R2 apps) Ross - without an interview and Tepper - with an interview. My initial reaction - "Hey..atleast, I wasn't pushed from a cliff right away but kept dangling by a thread to climb back". And I said "was" because I got a reject from Ross already (they cut loose that thread !). But I'm still on the waitlist at Tepper, my last chance for joining the party like the others - him, her, her and him who are already there.
Being on the waitlist has been a really good learning process into each of these schools. I'm not trying to judge a school but here are my observations. Except for one, none of my emails to Ross students went unanswered. Ross' students really seemed to be down-to-earth (you might come across jerks too..but it's probably like 10/500!). But that was not the case at Tepper. MBA students can be really busy and I'm not being rude or anything, just saying what I experienced. But again it was a different thing at Tepper, my contacts actually went ahead and put me in touch with other students who had similar interests as mine. Now, that could be difficult at a school with a large no. of students, but this is the advantage at Tepper, which comes with its class-size. For example, there are just about 25 students in the Entrepreneurship track and everyone gets to know everyone, so it isn't hard to connect with others when you know one, and the whole entrepreneur/vc community in Pittsburgh is linked to Tepper and CMU. It's actually very exciting to think that you can actually get mentored by a successful entrepreneur. And the best part, the Tepper Adcom who interviewed me - he's awesome ! Frankly, I don't think you see such enthusiastic people in Admissions Committees very often :P
Inspite of a lot of interactions with students/alumni/adcomms in events/visits, what I realized was that these subtle differences can let you know the culture of the school very well - what the school is about and how the students are. Being waitlisted has helped me understand my fit even better with these two schools. And if some one asks me if I'd apply again to Ross and Tepper (if Tepper feels otherwise), it's a resounding YES!
But once I became a nominee for ClearAdmit's BoB, I felt I should let it out in the blogosphere. So, here it is. I was waitlisted at two schools - Ross and Tepper (both my R2 apps) Ross - without an interview and Tepper - with an interview. My initial reaction - "Hey..atleast, I wasn't pushed from a cliff right away but kept dangling by a thread to climb back". And I said "was" because I got a reject from Ross already (they cut loose that thread !). But I'm still on the waitlist at Tepper, my last chance for joining the party like the others - him, her, her and him who are already there.
Being on the waitlist has been a really good learning process into each of these schools. I'm not trying to judge a school but here are my observations. Except for one, none of my emails to Ross students went unanswered. Ross' students really seemed to be down-to-earth (you might come across jerks too..but it's probably like 10/500!). But that was not the case at Tepper. MBA students can be really busy and I'm not being rude or anything, just saying what I experienced. But again it was a different thing at Tepper, my contacts actually went ahead and put me in touch with other students who had similar interests as mine. Now, that could be difficult at a school with a large no. of students, but this is the advantage at Tepper, which comes with its class-size. For example, there are just about 25 students in the Entrepreneurship track and everyone gets to know everyone, so it isn't hard to connect with others when you know one, and the whole entrepreneur/vc community in Pittsburgh is linked to Tepper and CMU. It's actually very exciting to think that you can actually get mentored by a successful entrepreneur. And the best part, the Tepper Adcom who interviewed me - he's awesome ! Frankly, I don't think you see such enthusiastic people in Admissions Committees very often :P
Inspite of a lot of interactions with students/alumni/adcomms in events/visits, what I realized was that these subtle differences can let you know the culture of the school very well - what the school is about and how the students are. Being waitlisted has helped me understand my fit even better with these two schools. And if some one asks me if I'd apply again to Ross and Tepper (if Tepper feels otherwise), it's a resounding YES!
Monday, March 29, 2010
Let me wear a suit, please !
Yes, please someone let me wear a suit. Throughout the application process of 2009-10, I haven't had a chance to wear a suit that I bought specifically for bschool interviews I expected I would have to appear for :) Alas, that didn't happen. The only interviews I had (Kellogg and Tepper) were both telephonic and I took them at home in casual wear (it was as casual as it can get).
So, I guess I need to save that suit and dust it, if required, next year and this blog too !
Adios till then (unless I have some really exciting news to talk about) !
So, I guess I need to save that suit and dust it, if required, next year and this blog too !
Adios till then (unless I have some really exciting news to talk about) !
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
A ray of hope !
Finally, something's happening on my application. At the very end of the season, I get an interview invite from Tepper! Ah, it feels so good after all these months of writing and re-writing the essays. But I guess, it's just half-done.
Interestingly, Tepper is the only school where I didn't "fall in love" instantly. The more I learnt, the more I realized that Tepper and I make a rather good fit than most of my other choices. The opportunities that Tepper (and CMU) provide in technology entrepreneurship are much better than what some of the very top schools provide. I could actually write down my whole "why Tepper" essay on this subject, as that's I'm focused on.
Anyways, I'm going to the interview without any expectations and have to see what happens on March 15.
Just a short poem about what I went through -
(disclaimer: I'm no poet !)
I take my notebook
And give it a tense look
Oh, I wait and wait
Feeling my pulse rate
"where art thou", I shout in a archaic tone
"Don't give up" says a deep voice, I realize as my own
Tired as hell, I go to bed
Waiting to discover what lay ahead
Finally, there I see a ray of hope
Excited I am like I'm on dope!
Interestingly, Tepper is the only school where I didn't "fall in love" instantly. The more I learnt, the more I realized that Tepper and I make a rather good fit than most of my other choices. The opportunities that Tepper (and CMU) provide in technology entrepreneurship are much better than what some of the very top schools provide. I could actually write down my whole "why Tepper" essay on this subject, as that's I'm focused on.
Anyways, I'm going to the interview without any expectations and have to see what happens on March 15.
Just a short poem about what I went through -
(disclaimer: I'm no poet !)
I take my notebook
And give it a tense look
Oh, I wait and wait
Feeling my pulse rate
"where art thou", I shout in a archaic tone
"Don't give up" says a deep voice, I realize as my own
Tired as hell, I go to bed
Waiting to discover what lay ahead
Finally, there I see a ray of hope
Excited I am like I'm on dope!
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Microsoft has heard it !
As I was talking about the plight of MS in the mobile market, it seems to have taken the necessary steps forward in the right direction with Windows Mobile 7!
The number 7 seems lucky (though just a bit) for Microsoft, with Windows 7 quickly overshadowing the Vista disaster and now Windows Mobile 7 trying to find its rightful place in the market.
Not sure if this is just a demo or we'll be seeing a lot of it in the coming months, but here it is
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
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