Over and out !

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.

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

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!

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) !

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!

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

The power of Google :P

Well, what can I say !

Article about Microsoft - NY Times

I just happened to read the following article in NY times - http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/04/opinion/04brass.html and I'm certainly appalled by their division culture.

I'm certainly not a fan of Microsoft, but I respect it for setting some standards in the industry. And it surely hurts a bit seeing a company like that succumbing to internal politics. I see a lot of new technology demos from Microsoft, but never the real product. Not even a buzz in magazines that rave about Google n Apple. With Microsoft failing in every other product (remember Vista?), I dont know what Ballmer is planning other than ridiculing other companies. There's an intense war on the mobile front, and Microsoft seems to be trying to outbeat Google with Bing and relish on Windows and Office. More recently, Motorola Droid was hailed not as an iPhone-killer, but as a Windows Mobile killer. Is any one even buying a Windows Mobile these days? When was the last time Microsoft created a killer app?

With these kind of setbacks, I wonder where Microsoft sees itself in the next 10years. If the kind of innovation-killing mentioned in the article keeps happening, MS could become a "company that is too big to fail". And as the author rightly noted, it could eventually become a GM or Chrysler.

What do you think?

Help Haiti victims

Hi everyone

I just donated $20 for helping Haiti victims through UNICEF (thanks to DreamChaser and Hari)

Let's do our bit to help these victims. I hope you'll also donate to help Haitians who cannot hope to resume their lives, perhaps for years, without external aid.

In the new year, I hope..

As the year comes to an end, I couldn't resist posting these dialogues from my favorite movie - Shawshank Redemption. To those who have been already rejected, or those who're waiting for their decisions, or those who're applying in R2/R3, all I ask is to hope. Hope that you'll crawl through your river of shit and come out clean on the other side.


Andy: Dear Red. If you're reading this, you've gotten out. And if you've come this far, maybe you're willing to come a little further. You remember the name of the town, don't you? I could use a good man to help me get my project on wheels. I'll keep an eye out for you and the chessboard ready. Remember, Red. Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies. I will be hoping that this letter finds you, and finds you well. Your friend. Andy.

Red: I find I am so excited I can barely sit still or hold a thought in my head. I think it is the excitement only a free man can feel, a free man at the start of a long journey whose conclusion is uncertain... I hope I can make it across the border. I hope to see my friend and shake his hand. I hope the Pacific is as blue as it has been in my dreams. I hope.

Wishing you all a successful new year 2010 !

The expected...

...ding from MIT. No surprises here. After all these I dont expect anything from Darden as well.
I'm just wondering now if it is worthwhile applying to another set of schools in R2. 

Rejected at Kellogg

My biggest hopes crashed now. I am rejected at Kellogg

My Kellogg Interview

Yesterday evening (IST) or today morning (CST), I had my Kellogg interview with an AdCom. She called me just about at the scheduled time. After some small talk and confusion with pronouncing my name, we started with the interview. She explained about the format (blind, 30mins).

First, the discussion revolved aroung my entrepreneurial experience - the challenges, lessons, results etc. Then the interviewer asked the following questions:

Why MBA?
Why Kellogg?
What would you contribute to the Kellogg team culture?
Describe your leadership style
What would your friends describe you as?
How do you interact in a team?
What are your interests outside of work?
Is there anything else you would like to talk about?
Do you have any questions for me

Surprisingly, the interviewer did not ask me about my goals, so I fit them partially into Why Kellogg and Why MBA.

I cannot comment on whether the interview was awesome or really bad, but it seemed very casual and I just answered all the questions. It was OK. On the flip side, I talk a bit fast and as I said earlier, the phone interview wasnt the best way to start off.

And now, the waiting begins !

Fuqua says I'm not invited

Surprise ! Surprise ! I'm not invited for an interview at Fuqua. This is what my application status says :( . I guess this means a nice reject email at the end of the season

I had lot of hope on my Fuqua application as I've written some of the best essays for it. It really doesnt make any sense to me of how I could have been rejected without interview. I atleast hoped for an interview. Alas, my efforts and hope seem to have gone down the drain.

But can't do anything but buckle up for R2

And Kellogg invites..

I received a telephone interview request from Kellogg yesterday. I was apparently both excited and nervous. I called them up and scheduled it for next week. I was earlier apprehensive about the interview waiver. But this could be good chance to strengthen my candidacy to Kellogg. One takeway from the short conversation is that the AdComm who answered me was a very nice person. He explained the format of the interview (max 30 mins) and said that it would be a normal conversation and I dont need to worry about it much. My anxiety is lot lesser after those soothing words :)

However, I am not a good interviewee and it has been years since I actually attended an interview. And a telephonic interview is not the best way to start my b-school interviews. So, you could imagine my feeling now.

The only thing going through my mind right now are the lyrics from Eminem's Lose Yourself

Look, if you had one shot or one opportunity
To seize everything you ever wanted in one moment
Would you capture it or just let it slip?
...
...
...
You better lose yourself in the music
The moment you own it you better never let it go, go, oh
You only get one shot, do not miss your chance to blow
Coz opportunity comes once in a lifetime, yo

I can't give excuses nor be negligent but give my very best shot at this. Wishing me luck :)

Kellogg Interview Waiver

Kellogg has waived my interview. Although they've explained in the letter that interview waiver does not affect the application, I'm still anxious about that. I sent emails to a couple of Kellogg alumni I knew. Waiting for their reply.

But I'm unclear about the criteria they use for waiving interviews. Is it FCFS (first-come-first-serve)? If that is the case, then it seems fit as I applied just a couple of hours before the deadline, so my request should, by all means, be at the very end of the queue.

That's still fine but I only dread the thought of waiving interviews for applicants who are not competitive enough :(. I fervently hope that is not the case.

More updates to come ?!?!

Duke and the end of R1 apps

I've finally submitted my Duke app yesterday. The good thing about Duke was there was no word limit. So, I had ample space to write what I wanted to, without checking the word limit. And interestingly, my recommenders submitted before me for this one. Guess, they got used to the process more than I did :)

And so with Duke, my R1 apps are behind me. I'd like to take a couple of days break from this routine and get back to my R2 apps. R2 apps are evenly spaced with 2 in Dec and 2 in Jan, so I guess I wouldnt have to rush through anything. But I've got to talk to my recommenders on those yet as I've told that I was applying only to 4 schools and now the list just doubled !

I hope everyone's anxious for the interviews now and a lucky few waiting for the decision after their inteviews. Let's hope for the best !

The "Proc" way of life

This is the perfect flow chart for the daily routine of a procrastinating person like me. Thanks to whoever created it.

Darden app

Finally, Darden app's done too ! One more to go for my R1 apps..and I'll take a few days rest from this madness

I'm not going to dwell into the details of Darden application process, but it was a crazy day right from the start. I was up for 28 hours straight, not just because of the app though. Work tends to strain you the most and it doesnt help if you're running a company like me. I'd advice future applicants to take a break or keep key things on hold at work during the apps.

But I guess "In the End, it doesn't matter". All that matters is if my app was good enough. I'm confident about my essays, so hoping for the best.

And Sloan's done !

MIT Sloan app submission was a breeze, unlike Kellogg. My recommenders submitted a day before the deadline, and I did it with ample time left. I didn't feel the kind of anxiety double-checking everything like I did for K. I guess you get used to it after you've done it once :)

Anyways, apart from that, I feel I did submit a very good app to Sloan. The cover letter was a hitch coz I'm not used to writing one. But I believe I managed to come up with a good one.MIT Sloan essays were the simplest I've written in all my apps. They are not the kind of abstract questions we have in certain applications. Straighforward questions to what you thought, knew and did in a situation. In fact, I just went through just 3 edits for them. For the first time, I guess I was very much satisfied with my 2nd draft itself, even my reviewer felt good about them after making changes for the 3rd time.

I fervently hope I atleast make the 18% cut - check here for what I mean :)

Fingers crossed !
And on the next one !!