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
Showing posts with label R2 application. Show all posts
Showing posts with label R2 application. Show all posts
Friday, May 7, 2010
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, April 28, 2008
Let Down
Ok..Enough of bulls***ing.
The name of my blog seems weird, but I just came up with something that has M.B.A in it
Maybe I'll change it over a period of time but I'll still have the same acronym
So my MBA, I let down myself applying for it. I chalked out plans for applying to INSEAD Jan 09 R2, had everything in place except for the essays. I gave myself a full month to write the essays and started off with the easiest ones. I regarded myself as a good essay-writer, not someone who could weave a web with words, but someone who can create genuine interest. But I failed !
The first essay that I wrote received feedback saying it wasnt INSEAD material. After modifications and re-modifications, it still looked naive. It didnt fit the bill to get me into a top-notch bschool. I did a bit of soul-searching, came up with the drafts of the other essays, checked my work-schedule(which is killing me!), read them again and again, changed them and I gave up.
Now, when I think over it, two things cross my mind. One, Iam either a feeble-minded who changes decision in split seconds or two, I deliberated over the pros and cons of app-ing now and took a rightful decision. So my INSEAD application for January 09 R2 is down the drain. I am looking forward to Sept 09 R1. Then , only then will I know what Iam
I need to gear up, hone my essay-writing skills and crack the pot. I better start looking into the essays right now. But I've learnt that work pressure plays a vital role in the application process and everyone needs to create some space for apping.
The name of my blog seems weird, but I just came up with something that has M.B.A in it
Maybe I'll change it over a period of time but I'll still have the same acronym
So my MBA, I let down myself applying for it. I chalked out plans for applying to INSEAD Jan 09 R2, had everything in place except for the essays. I gave myself a full month to write the essays and started off with the easiest ones. I regarded myself as a good essay-writer, not someone who could weave a web with words, but someone who can create genuine interest. But I failed !
The first essay that I wrote received feedback saying it wasnt INSEAD material. After modifications and re-modifications, it still looked naive. It didnt fit the bill to get me into a top-notch bschool. I did a bit of soul-searching, came up with the drafts of the other essays, checked my work-schedule(which is killing me!), read them again and again, changed them and I gave up.
Now, when I think over it, two things cross my mind. One, Iam either a feeble-minded who changes decision in split seconds or two, I deliberated over the pros and cons of app-ing now and took a rightful decision. So my INSEAD application for January 09 R2 is down the drain. I am looking forward to Sept 09 R1. Then , only then will I know what Iam
I need to gear up, hone my essay-writing skills and crack the pot. I better start looking into the essays right now. But I've learnt that work pressure plays a vital role in the application process and everyone needs to create some space for apping.
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