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) !

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

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 !

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 !!

Kellogg Submitted !

And finally, after struggling for a month (read my earlier post to know what I mean), I submitted my Kellogg app just a couple of hours before the deadline of 11:50pm CDT. There was a minor hiccup with my recommenders who actually submitted after me ! I was so anxious that I called one of them like 5 times within those 2 hours to get him hit Submit.

Anyways, I'm relieved now. Kellogg has been one of my dream schools and I'm happy to have applied it in R1. I hope it makes my chances better. Now have to wait and see what the Kellogg AdComm has to say :)
I wish all the best for the others who've submitted their K App

And, after a couple of days of procrastinating, I'm on to my other R1 apps.

A 4-hour trek seems better !

You might be wondering better than what. Yea, if you guessed it right, writing b-schools essays.
I went on treks for hours and hours and climbed hills , but there seemed to be an end to it. Not in the case of a bschool app. The struggle doesn't end in hours, not even days. It weeks and weeks.

I never knew writing essays would drive me insane. I almost became a recluse writing them. And the worst part, it just doesnt end. You got to write them, re-write them , and edit them. And after that, enter your hostile friend - the reviewer. He/She would see your essays like a piece of sh&t and throw in comments that make you furious but then again, you dont know whether you're angry at them or yourself. And again, the vicious cycle of editing, reviewing happens, and sometimes even worse - you have to scrap the whole essay and start from scratch. I sincerely pity those(incl. myself) who had to do that.

After all that, your essays you feel awesome, not because you did something but just because you read them again and again, and thought yourself to be unique/interesting/accomplished. Now, you dont know whether the AdCom is going to feel the same, so hit Submit and get sloshed.


Take it easy guys, just being me !
Wish all you the best !

Falling behind

I seem to be falling behind on my application process. I've got the stories lined up for almost all my essays for the schools I'm applying to but I'm not able to find the time to pen them down.

Work's literally killing me, with more and more projects coming our way (which is actually a good thing) but that's not helping me in my app-ing. I'm staying up till 1AM working and talking to clients and the mornings are jam packed. Least I could do was write a "significant accomplishment" essay. I feel these kind of essays are a lot easier to write as they pretty much have a pre-defined structure, or they say CAR(cause-action-result) structure, of what is asked rather than those abstract ones where we would have to struggle as much for getting the structure right as for writing the content.

I initially planned for 5 schools in R1, I guess I have to cut that list short to 4 and focus on them and apply for the other one in R2. But I already have 2 more schools in R2. Seems like a wild-ride for me, this fall&winter.

I guess I never posted my list of schools on the blog. I'll do that very soon - positively by 2nd Sept. But again, I procrastinate :)

Recommenders Confirmed

I guess I've been pretty lazy in posting about my updates, but you got to see the title of my blog before asking about it.

Anyways, the thing is that I talked to my potential recommenders and all 3 of them confirmed their willingness to write a reco for me. No, I am not applying to HBS but I just asked 3 people wondering if one of them may not be so favorable, but luckily none did so.

So, with that done I can turn my attention to a bit more research on my list of schools and start off with the essays in a couple of weeks.

Nevertheless, work's killing me and after adding 2 more customers, it has been quite hectic. So, I need to balance between the two to start very soon

Should I or shouldn't I

As is my habit, I've been procrastinating after I dumped the idea of applying to bschool last year and lo ! , this year's application process in on the cards already. The only thought that shot through all my nerves was - "God damn it, will I ever apply to b-school?" and still I can't decide if I want to.

On one hand, it seems to be the right time, and on the other, it doesn't seem to be.
I am the co-founder and a CTO of a tech startup, which is sustaining itself, although I can't say it's profitable. I am in a position where I know that an MBA would definitely take me to the next level, but I am worried about the business at hand. Will I be able to concentrate as much once I start the apping process? Will I be able to contribute if at all I go into a b-school? What if it's a 2-yr MBA, do I have to leave MY company?

I don't know how entrepreneurs decide when it's time for an MBA. Do I need to find a replacement for myself (I mean, can I trust someone to be my replacement, do the things I do the same way I wanted them to be done). Aah.. I definitely need some counselling here.

Oops I did it again!!

First of all , I'd like to thank the very first visitors to my blog. You guys made my day, as I nver thought someone would visit my blog which hasnt got anything worthwhile and I need to apologize to those very few visitors to my blog for my absence.
I've been going through a storm raging in my head regarding my bschool application, and as the topic of this blog suggests, I , once again, have decided on not applying this time. This is my second time when I have shortlisted my schools, talked to alumni, spoke to my recommenders, started off with the goals/why mba essays and then decided on not applying.

Well , atleast this time, I guess there is a strong reason to support my decision as I was made to think about my application by a bschool alumni and my decision was backed up by a few other current bschool students too , so I dont regret doing so.
And my dear readers, the very few precious people who voluntarily or involuntarily, have visited my blog, I will explain my reason in its fully glory within a few weeks as the reason is not fully ready yet.

I'd just like to wish the very best to all the current bschool applicants with whom I couldnt share my application follies and joys. But may be as a junior to you in bschool, I could take your advice in the following years :)

Final List

Now I think I have an apt title for my blog - the one that exactly suits me, for I've been delaying things on and on and on... But Soni has sent a shiver down my spine. He has submitted the Kellogg application !!!!!!!! Good god, I just started writing the first draft of my K-essays and he's already done with it.
Now I think I need to buckle up and start seriously. For an international aspirant like me, I guess UK too gives the same opportunities as the US does and what more, the worker-visa laws are quite simple for an MBA grad while in the US...well , who hasnt heard the visa troubles last year. My final list goes something like this, divided equally(well not mathematically) between US and UK. I believe Iam not app-ing too high given my profile with K and L being the "top-tier" and F,R and O being the "middle-tier"

Kellogg
Fuqua
Ross
LBS
Oxford

Wish me luck

My list

Doesnt it seem my blog is flooding today? Three blogs in an hour, with three different topics .I'll try to be as regular as possible now, no spurts of posts and then dead for a long time. Come on guys, consistency is the key !
This is the list of the schools I came up with after my initial round of research. Need to cut down the list to 5-6 or may be 7. So which are the unlucky ones(or may be lucky) not to have my precious application submitted :) ? Soon, very soon

INSEAD
LBS
Tuck,Dartmouth
Chicago GSB
Kellogg , Northwestern
UCLA Anderson
ISB
Fuqua School of Business, Duke University
Darden,Univeristy of Virginia
Oxford
Michigan, Ross
UNC Chapel Hill
McCombs, UT Austin
Tepper School of Business, Carnegie Mellon