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

About MIT Sloan

I've been rummaging through various blogs and websites about MIT Sloan and these are my 2 cents about the school.

Arguably MIT is among the best engineering schools in the US and anyone looking for an MBA with a concentration in technology is bound to look at it.
Sloan has an advantage of being in the hotbed of technology innovation and with an alumni network that runs really high. But because of it's distance from the Valley, it might not provide as many opportunities as Stanford or Haas would provide.

But the advantage and also a disadvantage at MIT Sloan seems to be that Sloan is very much integrated into the MIT community. That's the reason MIT Sloan is not called just "Sloan". Being so tightly knit into MIT, people do get a feeling that it's more of graduate degree in technology than a degree in management . Likewise, there are people who feel that it's an added advantage for networking with the whole MIT community.

Another general perspective about MIT's student community is that it's not as colloquial as other schools. There' s much more competition among peers than say Kellogg or Ross. And more over , there are visitors who feel that Sloan students are not "touchy-feely" and doubt the camaraderie among fellow students.

And finally the weather, Boston's freaking-cold and anyone not used to those sub-zero temperatures (like me) might feel really irritated with the climate.

I'd like to know opinions of others too as I'm planning to apply to MIT Sloan for fall 2010.