Neo2000---The 5yr Admission Planner

Entrepreneurial Feel to company...

2010-09-29T11:55:00.000-04:00

... is a DAMN LIE!!Ever notice how companies put that in their company description: "XYZ company has a very entrepreneurial feel to it" and then goes on to say " we seek employees who have an entrepreneurial spirit"

Yes, its all lies.

Allow me to elaborate. My resume clearly points out my entrepreneurial nature. After working for 2 solid years as a software engineer, i quit to work a start-up. That dream ended after 9months and I moved into a Product Manager position at another start-up. I worked there for 9months before moving to pursue a Masters degree in Marketing.

I agree that it looks like i switched jobs rather quickly but is that really so? Start-ups are always 50-50 and I was young enough to be able to take the risk. Naturally, I went to work another start-up. If you've ever worked for start-ups as a youngster, you might remember how painful the scenario of going to work for a corporate might have sounded like. Yes, i should have stuck around longer as Product Manager, but that was my only mistake.

Yet, every time I get interviewed ( a miracle in itself) I am constantly asked about the job-switching. They don't see it as entrepreneurial venture gone wrong but rather as s0meone who'll be fickle. I've been at IBM for nearly 9months now, almost as long as my PM job, and my manager only has good things to say about me.

So then, why is it so hard to get taken seriously by "Entrepreneurial-feel-to-" companies???

Done and Dusted! :)

2010-05-17T15:12:00.006-04:00

Those are the exact words a close friend commented when I graduated. I now have a Masters degree in Marketing and Technological Innovation with a 3.41 GPA. Ideally, I would have liked for the GPA to be higher(honestly, it could have been a lot higher) but it's done now. Time to look forward to the future :)

Time to find a job first :D

Daedalus Finalist!

2010-04-20T11:52:00.001-04:00

WooHoo!!

Sunday night, I was informed that I was one of Six Finalists for the Daedalus Innovation competition here at WPI. I have to make a presentation on the 30th and first-prize is $1000. Over the past few days, i've also been seeking funding for the same idea and received some from 2 unlikely sources! Unlikely because these 2 are people my own age, with their own commitments yet they've committed no small sum. Guess i'm just lucky to have them :)

Afraid of Success??

2010-04-05T23:05:00.001-04:00

As an entrepreneur (and one who's been burned quite a bit; sometimes in retrospect ) i always wonder if my initial hesitation on taking on something new is an unconscious fear of success? Strange as it may sound, there have been a couple of projects where I have dragged my feet. Sometimes, because I drag, they didn't work out and I wonder if that only feeds into my fear, thus creating that vicious cycle we know so well. And am I affecting all my other involvements (at this point-- job-hunt only) because of my fear of failure??

On the other hand, new ideas and projects excite me and I can get quite obsessive about them. But if they aren't bearing much fruit, I have to wonder why-- Is it because I executed badly? Or is it because there was no market for it, i just thought there was? The latter makes me a bad business person, not necessarily a bad entrepreneur. The former is worrisome-- If I were on the Apprentice, would I fail as Project Manager?

Questions and Self-Doubts. Not something most successful entrepreneurs would identify with, would they?

Test Prep and a Tablet

2010-03-10T16:37:00.001-05:00

Farbood(of Grockit fame) believes the iPad will revolutionize learning. HP says they could've released the Slate 2years ago at a price of $1500. Today, it's about $500. How much will it be tomorrow?? And how much will it change e-learning??

A LOT!! I totally expect tablet prices to fall to the level of cell-phones, even if its with a 1yr contract. The Dell Mini is a great example of the tablet of the future. part-tablet part-phone, it's going to change a lot of things. Sure, it appears cumbersome now, but give it time. Old habits are always a little hard to change.

What about when multi-tasking comes? Imagine sitting in your car/train/bus on your way home or to work, with head-phones and a _G connection. Chat with your friends as you'll do a "social-prep" or as we called it in India-- "Group Study", attend the same class together, give the same test (play Grockit :D ), white-board with friends,....

The possibilities are endless. And i'm very excited about the future!

Job Hunt in the GMAT-Prep Sector

2010-02-25T15:15:00.001-05:00

I'm a little shocked as to how hard it is to find a job in this segment in America. Kaplan, PrincetonReview, Knewton, MGMAT, VeritasPrep, Grockit.. i've applied to them all with nary a response. I have an extremely strong background in e-learning(founded/co-founded 2 different companies), GMAT/GMATPrep (moderated 2 different MBA forums, still moderating 1, built a reasonably decent Fb app, taught math for a while) , am pursuing a Masters degree in Marketing and am seeking a position in marketing and product development. One would think I would make a good fit and yet, my Inbox is strangely bereft of Invitations-to-Interview(mere-formality-we-WANT-YOU-on-board!!)

Sometimes I wonder if i wouldn't be better off returning to India and opening my own prep center. Could probably wipe-out the local competition.

Update: Grockit just responded to an e-mail I sent them, and in all fairness, Knewton did respond even though that didn't end all that well.

2009-12-28T10:16:00.004-05:00

Anon writes

Ok, so a couple of things -

1. The MBA is only an end to a goal, not an end in itself. I don't know if this is right, but it seems to me like you're basing (have based?) your whole life around the MBA. That's insane!

2. A 5-year plan to get an MBA seems ludicrous to me. Sure it's a great degree, but there's plenty of other things that you can do with your life.

I do not mean this in a derogatory or offensive manner, and I hope you take it as such. All the best.

Anon, No offence taken :)

I agree it does seem like my entire life is based around it. You are right when you say that the MBA is the means to an end-- in this case the end being Entrepreneurial dreams. I see the MBA as a quicker stepping stone to those dreams.

As for the 5year plan, its working out pretty well so far-- I have another sem before I finish a Masters degree in the US which has been an awesome learning experience and one I highly recommend to everybody. I hope to land a job soon and the financial freedom of a job in the US will afford me chances to do many things that would perhaps not be as possible in India, some purely because opportunities for those do not exist in India.

In short, I am doing the many other things that I could do with my life, yet all the while keeping in mind that at the end of the day, I still want an MBA :)

p.s. I really should stop replying to comments as a separate blog-post no?? :D

KTDP...

2009-08-16T13:02:00.004-04:00

or the Kaplan Teacher Development Program is tougher than I thought it would be. Atleast, I am struggling a bit with it. Which is strange, considering I have a fair bit of teaching experience in India. It now looks like that very experience is both my biggest strength and a source of inconvenience for me. In the 2 sessions i've attended, i've repeatedly been told that I appear confident and knowledgeable in the area I am going to teach for-- the GMAT. I am, however, still struggling to up my levels of class participation. I have 10days before the next class, and my biggest concern is that if i dont fix this within the next 2sessions, I won't be asked to return for the 5th session, which will quite clearly mean the end of my teaching for Kaplan. And I haven't even started yet!

As mentioned earlier, one of the many reasons i am currently enjoying my program is because of the way the class is taught. The professor initiates a discussion and lets the class do the rest, gently nudging us along the way. Kaplan has a similar concept-- teachers speak for close to 50% of the time in the class, and the rest is for students' involvement. In India, however, there was no such requirement. Indeed, my CAT students preferred to let me do all the talking since for most it was their first shot at the exam and they didn't know much. The paper-based test was all about strategy--maximumn number of problems in the minimum amount of time. For my LST students, I preferred not to let them speak much because twenty 17yr olds speaking was chaotic, not to mention most of the time they only seemed to be gossiping about their school. Ironically, my classes had become the very thing i disliked about the Indian education system-- the instructor speaking most of the time and the students listening.

Really need to figure this out. And Soon!

mbaMission Essay Seminar

2009-08-04T01:55:00.002-04:00

i'm attending the mbaMission's Essay seminar on the 20th @ Boston. If you don't know about it, read more here http://www.manhattangmat.com/EventShow.cfm?EID=3&eventID=4151

Hopefully, will meet some of you :)

Users!

2009-06-28T19:15:00.003-04:00

A week ago, i celebrated hitting 900 installs. A little too prematurely. When i released the Phase1 Update, sent a notice out a day in advance to "Fans" and posted it on the app well, the number fell to 899.

A fall of 21 users.

I reasoned that fall thus-- the app is a year old, and those who've removed it, have either moved into a b-school or dropped the MBA plan completely. Or maybe the app doesn't help them any.

Today, i am glad to report that the number is back-up to 925. I am currently experimenting with a content delivery system and hopefully it should work out well.

Fingers crossed :)

Latest Pics from the App!!

2009-06-25T17:13:00.007-04:00

Save your Scores

View Your Overall Progress(sorted by Date)

View By Individual Source(Sorted by Date)

For e.g. My Scores for OG12 were graphed as below

While the app does ask for more information at the time of entering the scores, I haven't figured out a way yet to display that into the charts. Rest assured i am working on it and will have it sorted out soon. In the meantime, for those who relentlessly track their errors, this could be interesting :)

Also note that the order of the graphs is PS, DS, SC, CR and RC i.e. you'll see all 5 sections mapped separately but on the same page.

Phase 1 is now LIVE!!!

2009-06-25T02:49:00.001-04:00

:D

It works well!! Loads a little slowly.i'm guessing that's more a facebook problem than anything else. Will attach pics and a "How-To" later but its pretty self-explanatory.

Go on, give it a try :)

900 users!!

2009-06-21T01:31:00.003-04:00

800 to 900 was a fast journey :)

Though the app did get stuck in the nervous 90s :( 899 to be exact. For nearly 3days.

With the latest stat update, the app is now up to 907! I am also almost done with the coding :D Will be rolling out Phase1 by Monday. Super-excited, Super-Nervous. This is the first major upgrade to the app in a year and its been a bit of a biggie. I almost despaired of being able to complete it but its heartening to know that i am close to pushing it live.

Fun times ahead :)

800 users!

2009-06-08T19:33:00.002-04:00

Sure, that's not an insanely large number, but i am targeting a very focussed and niche sector. Of course i'd like this to be higher, but i'll take what i've got-- 800+ users and 35Fans :)

What i would also like is to increase user-interaction with the app but not sure how to do that without adding yet-another-forum. There are a couple of ideas that I have in mind but i want to get my current project done quickly.

My work on the app has been slow but steady. Minor hitches in the way posed as seemingly unsurmountable problems, forcing me to spend time exploring other options before coming back and realising they were minor annoyances. As things stand now, i need a week more to roll out to the main app, if things go well.

PUYSCAR Awards!!

2009-05-27T12:45:00.003-04:00

A PUYSCAR is a Pagalguy.com award handed out yearly and is voted upon by PG users. There are no pre-determined nominations, instead PG relies on users to vote for various awards based on their experience/interaction. Anybody can vote, and winners, as is being acknowledged on the thread are definitely the most deserving ones.

Amazingly, i've won 2 awards in the GMAT/International MBA section!! Ok, i tied for 1 but even in that category, i voted for the other, so there's atleast 1 other person who's voted for me.

Needless to say, mighty thrilled :)

p.s. Last year, I didn't get any :s

New Features in the Offing

2009-05-24T20:41:00.005-04:00

New Feature being rolled out soon on the App. Keep your eyes open!

This is a feature i've been planning for a long time. Spent time coding over the weekend and i've moved one step closer to seeing it fulfilled. Now, i need to finish 1 BIG step and i can start a round of testing on it.

Throwing my hat over the fence by putting a notice of it on the app.

Keeping my hopes and spirits high :)

Rise in GPA!

2009-05-11T00:33:00.004-04:00

WooHoo!!

My grades are out and pretty spectacular when compared to last sem. I took 3 courses and have 2As and a B giving me a sem average of 3.66 and an over-all average of 3.33!! That's waaaay better than the average when i finished my Engg degree so in that sense, this degree is certainly helping me cover that weak area of my app. i hope to graduate with a 3.5+ GPA and with another 700+ GMAT score, that effectively takes care of my Acads! w00t!!

Now,to work on my work-ex.

Hear ye, hear ye-- Experienced Product Manager seeks exciting product development and product management job :)

beatthegmat Scholarship deadline approaching!!

2009-04-19T11:52:00.003-04:00

If you'll havent already gotten wind of this, then briefly

Scholarship offered by beatthegmat.com
First prize is

First Prize ($5490 total value)
$500 Cash
One full Manhattan GMAT course
1 School Comprehensive Package with Stacy Blackman Consulting

Four more prizes up for grabs. All you have to do is write 2 sweet and simple essays
500 word limit - REQUIRED: Why do you deserve this scholarship?
300 word limit - REQUIRED: Why do you want to go to business school?

Deadline - May 8th!!!
More details on the scholarship can be found here
http://www.beatthegmat.com/scholarship.html

Wanted: Entrepreneurial Partner

2009-03-15T22:05:00.005-04:00

Looking for a partner off whom i can bounce some ideas and eventually/maybe/hopefully implement a project. At that point please be willing to share expenses($60 - $200 or so between you and me ) and time(1000+hrs/year).
Familiarity with any/all programming languages/packages(PHP/MYSQL/Joomla/phpbb/vBulletin/FBML/OpenSocial) a plus

You would be:
1.)Passionate/knowledgeable about the online education industry preferably the online GMAT and MBA app world.
2.)Applying to a B-school in the next few years

(Preferably) Leave a comment or e-mail me ryanp @ fbprepapps dot com

Job Hunt

2009-02-24T21:13:00.002-05:00

When i first landed here, the recession hadn't blown up so everything was still rosy in terms of jobs prospects. Somewhere towards the end of Nov, i sent off a rather cheeky e-mail to a company that had a particular position open. Little idiot that i am, i was rather proud of it. Even more so when they mailed back to set up a time to talk. A time was fixed and the call did take place. That talk led me to believe that the company would not only offer me a summer internship but also a full-time job. Considering i can work full-time come May, this was a god-send! I was thrilled!! I celebrated!

A little too prematurely it seems.

As the weeks passed, things began to go wrong. As they now stand, i do not have a summer internship. Which means its back to the Career Development Center on campus and a job hunt all over again. In this recessional time, not something i am looking forward to.

Day2 of Internship

2009-02-21T15:55:00.005-05:00

Any of you remember reading the Google article that said its Search bot would go through your site once in several days or if you were a really popular site/generated a lot of content the bot would visit more often? Now i dont update daily nor do i think having 2(this number is unverifiable but probably true) readers constitutes me being popular. So imagine my horror when my blog post about my previous day shows up in Google Alerts about an hour after i created the alert!! I'm sitting there thinking "OMG!! What did i ever do to you Google??" Sure enough, within the next coupla hours, i get a friendly acknowledgement of my blog post. Somebody work out yet how to get the earth to open up and swallow you??

Lesson of the Day: Do not blog about interning company till you are well out of the way.

Anyway, it was another interesting day where i got to talk to the Content team, saw the studio where lessons are taught/broadcast and went through the process of what happens when and how. I was scheduled to go in today and take a look at a live session, but i am sick and feverish, and so decided to rest. I have a long trip back home tomorrow with assignments and papers due all next week.

Went out for lunch with the tech team in the afternoon. Went to this Istanbul Grill restaurant where the food was awesome! Little adventure in getting there because we walked to the place, it was freezin cold, and we weren't sure about the directions. Eventually though, we did make it and the trip was well worth it. My tab was picked up and A Big Thank You to Chris for that. The tech team is a fun bunch and lunch was a thoroughly enjoyable affair.

Was scheduled to have meetings in the afternoon but big happenings meant i couldnt get my meeting as such. I did get to speak to the anti-christ but it was more an informal affair. I also spoke to Dahn a bit. I have a couple of concerns that i should have asked but i didnt. I guess its back to e-mail which, in some ways i prefer because it gives me time to think and put down my points. Yet, i think i would have been far more relaxed had i resolved these issues.

I leave to go back tomorrow and my NY trip, with the exception of the annoying fever, has been interesting. I wish i could have seen more but there's always next time. The office is next to the Hudson river, and i wanted to walk down and take a snap but the cold acted as a huge deterrent. Seriously, next time i have lots of catching up to do.

My sis got into Harvard School of public Health which is huge for us! She also got into Johns Hopkins and the LSHTM. She is the first doc on both sides of the family.

Needless to say, I have a lot of catching up to do.

New York Calling!

2009-02-19T21:24:00.003-05:00

I finally landed in NYC after a gruelling ride to figure out what kind of work i will be doing with Knewton. Knewton, in case you don't know, is this little "upstart" (some review called it that, i forget which but i think its kinda apt) of an Online Education system that prepares students for a variety of exams including the GMAT, the LSAT, the SAT, the GRE etc. The learning tool is adaptive and improves with each student who enrolls and goes through the course. I believe they are doing well for a company that's new and they've got an impressive line-up of teachers so it should be interesting to see how they do. Hopefully, i'll have something meaningful to contribute to them. Wish me luck!

VP-I.T.

2008-12-17T10:29:00.004-05:00

It's now official--I am the new VP of IT!!

Of the Indian Student Organization @ WPI :) And i seem to have won quite comfortably.

As with all executive level positions- Fancy Title and Not Much Work.

There was a speech night where nominees had to give a speech as to why they were the best candidate for the job. I wont say much about that, but i will say that it soon represented Indian Parliament on any given day. CHAOTIC. Quite an experience that was. Hopefully, next year, things will be different.

If i'm around till then that is.

Where am I headed??

2008-11-11T14:06:00.002-05:00

With the recession well and truly set,the job scenario isnt very interesting right now. One of the advantages of my 5yr plan was that I could afford to ride out the recession what with my being in school and that when I graduated in Dec,the economy would be looking up. The other advantage was that with the MS, i'd get a chance to build a really good profile for B-school.

If recent news is anything to go by, its not going to be any easier to get a job. I'm not even sure Obama is in favour of increasing the H1B quota. Jobs are getting cut at a drastic rate. While a lot of people tell me i shouldnt be worrying about it now, the truth is that as long as I dont have the work visa, it is going to be a big worry.

Will be able to get a job by next December?
Should I even graduate next Dec? Does it make sense to go back to India, do some IT course, come back and graduate in April? Will i be able to get a job then? How will this affect my MBA plans?

Effects of the Recession on India

2008-10-18T22:45:00.002-04:00

Jon and Ray made interesting comments in my recession post. Both pointed out the number of jobs and the low opportunity cost.
Agreed the opportunity cost is low now. But there's another angle to the continuing recession. With the stock market plunging all the time, the exchange rate keeps climbing. Not to mention educational interest loans. It was 12% when i started to apply in July, by end August it had become 13%!!! In India, the dollar went from Rs42 to Rs49. That's a Rs7 increase. Multiply this by the cost of your US education. Factor in your bank rate and the withdrawal of bank loans to top colleges. I'm wondering how long before Indian students stop applying?? How long before the cost becomes too prohibitive? How long before the the competitive Indian/IT/Male pool stops being as competitive as it is now??

Question on B-School Form: Please indicate if you can pay the fees if accepted into our program

How much is too (Much/Little)??

2008-10-13T21:13:00.002-04:00

As a Mod on two different forums, its not unusual for me to come across/receive requests for helps from first-time GMAT takers. What is unusual is almost always there is this one line that is constant--" i need to enter into the school i want."

And i always want to ask-- How do you know you need that much? Did the school tell you?? What if you got -10points? Would you really NOT get in?

Is it because they are first-timers that they are so obsessed with getting a specific score? Or did they just look at the average and think "Hey, i need to get that score and i'l get in" ?? Isnt either approach wrong? You aim to get the highest score you can, hopefully get a score that's within the ball-park of your college score and then work your ass off on your essays. That's how you get in.

Then again, given how every applicant at a top-school is a superior applicant, is the GMAT the ONLY differentiating way for colleges to know who's going to make the most of the education/chances that he will get for coming to them?

Isnt trying to achieve a specific score asking for a little too much?

What if the Recession Continues...?

2008-10-12T12:59:00.003-04:00

I was returning from church today, thinking about future plans and as usual my thoughts drifted towards the recession. We know that with the recession, the number of applicants has been on the rise. Students are hoping to ride out the recession by gaining what is definitely an advantageous education.

But What if the recession continues? What if those who enter this year, graduating two years from now, suddenly find that they are still in the middle of a tight job market? What if their salaries are well below the current average? Does it then justify them taking 2 whole years off?? How do they justify the high tuition fees of atleast 80k when the salaries they get will ensure that they are paying off those loans for a really long time to come?? What about international students? Far worse a situation for them. Is it then wise to rush for an MBA now? Or are you better off staying in your job and saving for a rainy day? Or rainy season for that matter.

Case Studies.

2008-10-08T16:32:00.003-04:00

Up until I came here, I had had no exposure to the case study system. As such, i didnt really know how it worked. A few people i asked said its basically a bunch of notes regarding a particular topic and then there's the cold-call. Most people i spoke to didnt talk so much about the case-study as they did about the dreaded "Cold-Call" I suppose that's a valid enough fear considering that you are in top-notch school and the pressure to sound good is omnipresent.

I've been in my course for nearly 5weeks now. 2 of my courses, Entrepreneurship and Marketing are case-study based. The same proff takes both classes. He only cold-calls in the Marketing case. Luckily, i've not been called in the marketing class, and i've invariably landed up well read for the Etr class.

But the American system of education is interesting to say the least. Highly recommended. I'm in a full-time course with a lot of free time yet i'm not as prepared for my other classes as i should be(it helps that my proff for Etr and Mkt is also my advisor :D )

Opinions on Case-Studies
Its been interesting. Sure its a long read and the numbers at the end of it are often a meaningless jumble of figures, but sometimes the end-notes make for interesting reading(Did you know that by the time he was 17,Dell was earning 18,000 a year! in 1982!!!)
Am i enjoying the case study? You bet!! Proff Kasouf throws out interesting questions and then has us students battle it out with each other(umm we are graded on class participation but that's not important) the quality of ideas put forth is enlightening. My class is not a bunch of students in the same program but a mix of people pursuing different prgorams. So there are a coupla MBAs, a physics major, mech major, Me, an engineer dude with some 15yrs of work-ex thus ensurin he's Head, of whatever, freshers etc etc. There's a lively discussion which the proff augments with notes and videos. He's requested us to not look at how the case ended and to a large part people dont or atleast those that do, are honest enough to admit that they did and this is what they had picked before lookin it up.

Of course,i'm only reading 2 cases a week so i dont know the work-load in b-schools. But for now, Case-Study method it is! :)

Election on Campus

2008-09-26T14:34:00.004-04:00

LOL! Walking back home at 10 in the night, i chanced upon this notice-board that struck me as particularly hilarious! So i whipped out my Sony Walkman W580 and got a good shot. The white piece of paper is (obviously) stuck outside the glass :D

p.s. Oh did i tell you about my new Sony Walkman W580 that AT&T kindly gave me for free while i agree to pay them for the next 2years??

List of B-schools

2008-09-19T23:51:00.002-04:00

LOL! does it really matter? If i'm only going to apply in 3-4years time, then the whole world is my application arena :) i have 3-4yrs to really research the schools i want to go to and then decide if i really want to go there. I'll be 31 by the time i hope to enter and that number could be a deterrent at some schools. Will it be worth my while to research those schools now?? How do i know these schools wont show a marked preference for younger candidates??

With the economic crisis worsening this year in the US, i believe the competition at b-schools is only going to get worse. While i'm glad i'm not part of the race this year, I can only speculate how it'll be in the years to come. Placement stats for those graduating next year should make for interesting reading.

Potential Q to ask b-school Ad-Com: Explain the puff in your placement stats :-p

Save the Application. Save the world.

2008-09-18T22:09:00.002-04:00

Ok so i copied that line from Heroes. But seriously do log into the following facebook app and use it occassionaly( like once a day :D ) I've got the application hosted on Joyent which gave me the account free for a year. Of course the "free" comes with a rider--that my application is used by atleast 50people. So please do me a favour, go here http://apps.new.facebook.com/gmat_mba_news/ and use the App

p.s. PHP/MYSQL Developers still wanted. Please code for free

Step1: Fix my Grades

2008-09-03T10:48:00.003-04:00

Check.

I am now officially an MS-MTI(MS in Marketing and Technological Innovation) student at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute,MA. I graduate Dec,2009 hopefuly with far better grades than i graduated with for my undergrad :D

I've got interesting courses in the entire program. A lot of them look like MBA courses so this should be fun. I have the option of taking courses online as well as in class but i've ensured all of my classes for this semester are classroom. I'd love to get a real good feel of the american education system. Classes are Monday, Wednesday and Thursday evening.

Courses i'm taking this semester
Principles of Marketing
Economics of the Firm
Organizational Behavior
New Venture Management and Entrepreneurship

I have some GA but would love a job to supplement that(Kaplan, ManhattanGmat, Princeton are you'll listening??) Additionally i can start working full-time after 9months and am also looking for an internship during the periods of April-July and longer if possible (seriously, somebody gimme a call :D )

p.s. Cannot believe i'm adding an additional 16months of studying when i swore the MBA would be the only degree i would get after my Engg. Man, the things we do to achieve our dreams :)

The 5yr Admission Plan

2008-08-09T01:16:00.004-04:00

So why a 5 year Plan??You know Who I Am. Despite the impressive(??) looking resume there are a lot of weak areas in my profile. Kunal insists that I have a rather unique profile and that i only didnt get in because of sheer procrastination at app time. Be that as it may, if I ever want to go to a topMBA, its time to beef up my profile, iron out the weak areas etc.

All MBA Apps are divided into 3 basic categories :

1.Who you are a.k.a Profile
2.The GMAT Score
3.Your Essays and Reco Letters.

To a certain extent, points 1 and 3 are inter-linked. Who you are, is represented in your essays. Stuff like GPA, extra-currics, interests, non-academic achievement, social service are shown in your resume and subtly yet clearly shown to the Ad-Com in a variety of ways.

Each point is crucial in your app. Each point can be a make or break deal. Well, ok, not the GMAT so much. The GMAT helps your app be reviewed favourably but after that its all you. And yet, as you can see from my BU feedback the GMAT is used to distinguish between candidates with similar profiles. Given that Indians seem to be raising the ave score for themselves(much to the dismay of other applicants) its no surprise that a reasonably decent 710 is almost clearly not good enough if I'm an IIM. However, within the 5yr plan, the GMAT is not on the horizon for another 3yrs. Let's see where Indians take the average by then.

The aim of the 5yr plan is simple--5yrs from now, I should be admitted to a top MBA program.

This is by far the most ambitious, focussed, long-term plan i've come up with. And its one i intend implementing. The MBA has been a dream i've harboured for a really long time and by Jove, I'm definitely going to get it.

So why the 5yr plan?? Because every area in my profile is fractured and could do with the beefing up.

Education As with most Indians, I am an engineer. However, my acad performance is the weakest link of my profile. My performance/GPA is downright horrible and only another course with a reasonably decent GPA would make me a competitive applicant. There are other additions to this that are beyond the scope of this blog(Hint: Indians, dont you'll love the ATKT system?? It finally caught up and bit me in the ass though :| )

Work-Ex For the first 2yrs of my life, it's solid. Honest IT engineer. Working in a start-up. Low pay, good responsibility.
After that, it all goes down. Join a start-up. "Work" for 7months and have nothing to show for it but the other part-time job i did.
Quit that to join another start-up. Once again, nothing much to show.

Extra-Currics Zero. Nada. Nothing here folks move on. Ok, i do have the Moderation of forums to show, but I doubt that'd qualify as extra-currics. I'd have to actually do something concrete which I haven't. Yet.

So, those are the 3 Main Areas to be worked on over the next 4years. I intend applying in the 5th year of the plan(just like the Indian government's 5yr plan :D) and should hopefully have better news than last time.

Wish me Luck :)

End of Admission Season/Audieu

2008-08-08T02:46:00.002-04:00

With the Ding from Rotman, its time to bid good-bye to my MBA admission process for the year. I finally applied to Ross, BU, Rotman and VTech. Ding at Ross and Rotman, Deny after interview at BU and Admitted(but respectfully declined) at VTech.

Been an interesting ride.

This is who I am

2008-08-06T09:02:00.003-04:00

Business Experience
42 months of Experience in the Education and IT Industries, as an entrepreneur and professional
Expertise in Business Development & Project Management, Web Development, Online Sales and Marketing

Entrepreneurial Experience
Founded 3 different web-based companies, 2 web-based education and 1 product.
First Company(education) August,2005
Second Company(Product) March,2007
Third Company (education) March, 2008

Professional Experience
Nov,2007 – Aug,2008 Product Manager (Digital LifeStyle Aggregator)
Feb,2007 – Sept,2007 Co-Founder/C.T.O (Online Test Prep and Performance
Feb,2005 – Jan,2007 Development Associate (IT and VOIP )

Education: Bachelor's in Engineering

Misc: Super-Moderator PagalGuy.com (India's Largest MBA Forum)
Moderator BeattheGmat.com

GMAT Score: 710
TOEFL : 113

p.s. My work as CTO/Co-Founder is separate from my entrepreneurial work-ex.

Deny from Rotman :|

2008-08-03T08:45:00.002-04:00

I arrive home in Hyd and find a letter from Rotman waiting for me. Deny as expected but the strange thing is that they never sent out an e-mail. And it completely skipped mom's mind to let me know of the same. So i spent 2 weeks wondering when Rotman would confirm.

This brings an end to my first apping season. Applied to 4 colleges, 2 Ding, 1 Deny after Interview and 1 admit. Its been an interesting ride. However I now have a nice long plan lined up. I dont know how its going to work out, but here's to hoping it does :)

Everything you wanted to know about the GMAT

2008-07-22T13:47:00.001-04:00

but didnt know whom to ask :D

GMAT Query Center 2008-09

Updates Due on the app

2008-07-08T11:57:00.003-04:00

No not my MBA app, the Facebook app that i've been building. I've restructured the Reader so that all feeds have gone into a separate tab. Added two more tabs, both of which you'll should see sometime soon.

Now, if you know PHP+MYSQL or know somebody who does and who is wiling to work for free, please pass them onto me. My knowledge and skill of both languages limits my work and there's a lot of coding to be done.

TIA

Feedback from BU

2008-06-26T03:14:00.003-04:00

I had applied for feedback on my app after getting denied from BU. I received a mail from them day before and I'd like to quote

If I were to identify a particular weakness in your application, it would be your undergraduate academic performance. Although this is not the most important element of the application, it is a way to differentiate good candidates from one another when the quality of the applicants is quite competitive.

A large percentage of candidates applying from India come from software engineering backgrounds, so it is important to differentiate yourself from the rest of the pool. Many admitted candidates this year hold 4 year engineering degrees and have achieved first class distinction, and some even master’s beyond the 4 year degree. In addition, the average GMAT score for Indian candidates is 730.

Jeez Louise!! 730!!?? What is wrong with us Indians?? How can 730 be the average score for INDIAN Applicants?? I had a 710 and I didnt want to re-take simply because i felt 710 would be good enough. But 730?? I'm beginning to wonder what the average score would be at the top10 colleges.

Yes, I definitely had a weak undergrad, in fact, that was the weakest point of my app, but I also had decent work-ex and good entrepreneurial work-ex. I did try to portray more of the entrepreneurial thing because there's a stint where i was working full time at a start-up. Guess I didnt that good a job showing it.

730?? That's a shocker!

mr.Brains, Kiss my Ass!!!

2008-06-16T03:55:00.004-04:00

:D

p.s. of course, this doesn't take away the fact that I haven't received an interview invite yet but sometimes its just nice to know that your Heart's right. No?

No News is Good News??

2008-06-13T11:39:00.003-04:00

Not in the case of B-school interview invites.
Case in point:
School: Rotman
Date Submitted: April 30th (End of R3)
Number of mails since then from Rotman: 0
Number of attempts on my part : 1 Mail and 1 phone.
The phone call got me nowhere. I got an automated machine that eventually directed me to the applicant section but the phone rang, rang, rang till I hung up.

45days from the deadline and no news is almost as good as a Ding?

My heart would like to say No, my brain's screaming YES!!!

:(

Respectfully Declined

2008-06-06T01:40:00.000-04:00

Need I say more??

Admitted to VTech!!

2008-05-20T09:27:00.004-04:00

After a disastrous admit season, i am finally admitted to the Pamplin School of Business!!

GMAT and MBA News

2008-05-12T08:54:00.002-04:00

For those of you'll who facebook (and are willing to trust me :D )

http://apps.facebook.com/gmat_mba_news/index.php

More details here
http://www.facebook.com/apps/application.php?id=13476787415

Lemme know how I can improve on it. I also want to put in Hella's lists, and if there are any other blogs i've missed do let me know. Maybe i'll move to vertical tabs then.

Suggestions/Criticisms are always welcome. And so is improved text for the "About Us" page :D

SPJain cancels the PGPSM-MIT program

2008-05-09T02:50:00.000-04:00

Hmm, dont know what to make of this. On the one hand, it would have been nice to be able to go to good b-school this year. On the other, i'm not sure it was something i would actually have wanted to do.

I guess i'll just have to make do with "everything happens for a reason"

Pamplin Interview

2008-05-06T06:01:00.004-04:00

Lasted about 18mins. I called, was connected straightaway and was told-- i'd be put on speaker, my interviewer would be making notes throughout the interview and i've forgotten the rest of the instructions.

Questions asked were
Why MBA?
Why Pamplin? ( have a friend in Pamplin, so i mentioned this and remarked about how he always said it was a great place to be to which she laughed and said that it's nice to know their students are speaking well of the college.( Doesn't everybody speak well of their college? ))
Define Leadership/what it means to you
How are you unique ( which was also an essay question)
Talk about a team situation where things did not go as planned. What would you have done differently?
What would you bring to class that would enhance learning experience?( already mentioned in my essay)
What are your career goals? ( I'm into entrepreneurship so essentially what field do i plan to get into? ) My resume has 2 educational field start-ups so i said i wanted to be in that field. I also talked about a teaching experience that i had and we went into how i got influenced ( christian brother's boarding school->great teachers, teaching experience with law students and how they still keep in touch etc) and how i would probably end up as a teacher sometime or the other.

Will update if i remember more.

p.s. there's a nice idea brewing in my head over this. More details soon

Pamplin Invite!!

2008-05-01T01:38:00.003-04:00

Yeah baby!! :D

yes I'm pretty excited!! You don't just submit an app and get called for an interview in a little over 9hrs everyday!! Atleast I don't!! So yeah i'm very kicked!!

What a nice feeling no to open your mail and scan the list and see

Awesome No??

Vtech Complete

2008-04-30T06:00:00.002-04:00

Just paid up the fees and submitted the form. Of course, I had to wait till the last moment to read that VTech wants 2 transcripts sent to two different places. Which means I now have to make a trip to Hyd and then to my Univ to get my transcripts. Which is a painful process (going to hyd, going to the Univ and getting the transcript)

Damn!

SPJain complete

2008-04-30T03:55:00.002-04:00

Completed the SPjain app on the 26th. Kinda weird that it was so easy to finish. After having to write essays for colleges(and i didn't write a lot) this was literally a 10minute app.

Have yet to drop off my Cheque though. No not last minute, i checked with my friend at SPJain and there's still time for that :-p

Time to finish Vtech. Yeah, last minute this one :|

Rotman Complete

2008-04-30T03:51:00.002-04:00

I finally submitted the Rotman app. Few hours before the Deadline. If the Gods are kind enough and i get through, then i swear wont be doing this last minute deadline jazz anymore.

Too nerve-wracking for me poor heart.

Big Thanks to Kunal for helping out with the essays, Barricuda aka Nitin for some last minute app help and puhrince aka Mohit for putting up with my sporadic and lately last-minute questions.

Rotman, here i come!

New Schools

2008-04-14T06:09:00.003-04:00

Work is on at a (somewhat) frantic pace of completing my Rotman and V.T. applications. Yup, I've added V.T. as a last ditch attempt to go to the U.s.

I'm also applying to SPJain's MS-IT program which is a dual degree program with V.T. Hopefully i get some good news from them. If i do well in the course, i get to go to V.T. in the 2nd year to complete my MBA. That's a tantalising enough carrot for me to apply :)

If only it were me.....

2008-03-27T10:42:00.000-04:00

http://www.fuqua.duke.edu/mba/daytime/media/message/message.html

Deny :(

2008-03-26T01:35:00.002-04:00

Its a Deny after Interview for Boston. Simply not my season. So now it all comes down to Rotman.

Am dreading having to go through this process all over again next year. Not to mention another year working when i'm actually waiting to get into an MBA.

113

2008-03-17T08:27:00.003-04:00

Forgot to mention this earlier but i got my TOEFL score as expected on Friday, 15 "business" days after i gave the exam. A frantic mailing and faxing later, my application has now moved to "Conditionally Complete" Not sure what to make it. All this while i assumed they were just waiting for my score to give me an Admit (oh come on! i have a great profile, Ding from Ross notwithstanding :-p ) but looks like i've over-estimated myself (amazing how a ding from a school can screw your mind!:( )

Waiting and Praying.

Ding :(

2008-03-17T02:57:00.001-04:00

Its a Ding at Ross. Sad because the more i looked at the school, the more i liked it.

TOEFL disaster

2008-03-03T12:56:00.002-05:00

BU is the only college that wanted a TOEFL score. Of course, given my doctorate in procrastination i had to book a date AFTER the decision date of BU. So on a fine saturday morning i turn up at the center, wait as the minutes tick by and wonder when i'm ever going to give the exam. Only to be told a goodish 30mins later that the exam is cancelled since the internet is down!

Damn!

ETS shedules a date for me on the following sunday. Its only when i get a reminder mail fm BU do i remember that i havent mailed them about my TOEFL disaster. A frantic mail editing(thanks Kunal)later, BU gets updated.

Once again my degree in procrastination comes in handy. Its only the friday before the exam, and in a chat with kunal, do i realise that i'm not getting any probable score and that i have to wait till ETS releases the score. Which, after a quick check, is 2weeks.

8days are now over since i gave my TOEFL. Havent heard a word from BU and am petrified of contacting them since i hear that they are handing out dings. Praying that the TOEFL score is good enough.

p.s. Did i mention i got really bored during the TOEFL exam? I couldnt believe how boring and long it was. Lets just hope i havent messed up the exam totally.

For those interested, i browsed the PR for TOEFL

Devil's Advocate

2008-02-20T03:33:00.003-05:00

Paige chose to play Devil's Advocate and i'm glad she did. She asked some very probing questions and i had intended to reply only to her first. However i've gotten so caught up in work, and seeing she's having much fun at Darden didnt feel right to mail her this late.

So without much further ado here we go

Before you decide whether or not you defer, you have to figure out what you want. Are there specific reasons why you want to go NOW versus next year? Do you feel you researched all the schools you may possibly want to attend? Was your venture an original consideration or has it simply become a consideration? Would you be willing to repeat this process next year? Unfortunately, I don't think the answer is as easy as it seems.

Are you looking for a brand name? Or an experience? And are they mutually exclusive? I fretted about having to apply again next year and I'm not sure I would have, had it come to that, but I do also believe things happen for a reason and perhaps you have a little more to do before you attend business school. That alone does make sense. I know I haven't given you much of my opinion but more devil's advocate questions to figure out your own.

Good luck!

Hi Paige,

I'm rather glad you decided to play Devil's advocate since nobody else seems to be. But really, would you not have applied next year? You would have waited a while right?

You read my Ross essay so you know my reasons for going now. The venture is the thingy and I have a meeting with a potential angel fund investor lined up. The problem is that there are way too many ifs and buts. I may or may not get funding. I may or may not get into Ross. IF I get funding and Ross, what would I do then? Request for a defer?

As for repeating this process next year, I always said I would do a trial run first and then go all serious next year. Somewhere down the line, reality set in and I took this attempt as my one and only attempt. Now again I'm wondering if I have it in me to do it all over again next year.

I don't know about brand name( we are referring to collegs here right?), but yes I am most definitely looking for an experience. I believe this is my one shot at getting a really good university education ( given I don't want to study anymore than I have to) and i want to make the most of it. If we are referring to work, then i havent really worked for big brand companies and not sure, given my career goals, if i ever want to.

My biggest problem right now is--Do i soldier on and try and make my entrepreneurial ventures work or do i go for an MBA and then make them work? I would love to make them work right now but i also need to be practical and honestly ask if i really see it happening.

Thing is--- I need a miracle :)

Best Wishes,

The-A-School

2008-02-18T01:26:00.002-05:00

So far its been creating a ripple at PagalGuy and it appears to be like that Fake-Steve-Jobbs blog but i believe it makes for fun reading. Kinda like Chetan Bhagat's Five Point Someone except that that was IIT and this is IIM-A

Defer?

2008-02-13T01:32:00.002-05:00

Last week i had dinner with Kunal ( yeah, this post's been waiting to come up for just about that long) Kunal's one among those whom i really trust and value his opinions. More so since he's been taking the time out from his schedule to review my essays( a big Thanks to him for that) During dinner, he observed that I had among the most unique profiles he had ever seen and i should have done better than the 3 schools i applied to. While i am the first to admit that i messed up my app process this year, i'm still intrigued by what he said. He's already been through the app process twice and he has the knowledge to comment on my profile (not to mention his bro and bhabhi are Chi and Harvard grads respectively). So when he says something like this, I listen.

And i've been wondering ever since. Did i really mess up so much? Could i have done better? Should i wait another year?

As an entrepreneur, the though of waiting another year is a hopeful one because i just might be able to arrange for funding for 1 venture. Even if i dont, the place i currently work is probably going to go through some exciting times in the next few months. I dont know if its worth sticking around( of course this is all assuming i go to 1 of the 3 colleges i applied to) but the thought of being able to do my venture is exciting.

What do i do??

Interviewed!

2008-01-31T00:21:00.000-05:00

So i finally get interviewed by BU on the 28th. I like to think it went off well. In the first few euphoric moments after the interview i was positive it went of well. Once i slept on it, all the worries and doubts came creeping back. i still like to think it went of well so...

Interview was pretty standard. Got interviewed by one Ms Betty Harper. The usual questions

Tell me about your job. what do you do there.
Leadership Quality
Uniqueness
Why did you quit your last job
A task that met with resistance but you were still able to change
Have you considered the Ms-MBA program.

She did tell me that she hadnt read my essays but that she had my file and resume before her.Almost a blind interview then. Lasted about 17mins.

Fingers crossed!

B.U Invite!!!

2008-01-19T00:36:00.000-05:00

I am so kicked!! I just logged in to check my mail and to see a BU invite so quickly even though i submitted my app only like 5 days ago!!

I know the above sentence is rambling but i'm just too excited to care. My first invite!!

Time to ace that interview!!!

Unexpected News

2008-01-17T02:04:00.000-05:00

When i first started out on the whole foreign MBA thingy, it was only after i had tried unsuccessfully to get into the IIMs. Obviously, i was still on my fav MBA site i just moved from the CAT to the GMAT section. However, there was no Mod for that section and because i was pretty constant over there, and a constatnt fixture at all the meets, AND a pretty active member ( and because people generally liked me :D ) i was offered sectional mod meaning i would get to moderate only the GMAT section. And i was happy with that. you generally start off as a sectional mod and sooner or later move up to Super-Mod. In my case, i wasnt too concerned about moving up because i wasnt really active in the CAT section which is the major part of Pagalguy.com

So i chugged along as a Sectional Mod, happy with the perks that come( of course there are some dont you know) and set on being the longest serving Sectional Mod ever. I was actually aiming for posterity.

Till Apurv had to be a spoil-sport and promote me to Super-Mod!!

Not that i'm complaining :D

Boston, Submitted!!

2008-01-15T01:47:00.000-05:00

Just sent in my Boston Application. Now,since Boston clearly states they'll let me know by Feb15th, i have (give or take)2 weeks or so to know if i'm going to get interviewed. Given that Ross will also be (hopefully) releasing its R2 invites, this is going to be one heck of a tensed fortnight.

On to Rotman! :)

Farewell, Chicago

2008-01-08T06:28:00.000-05:00

Yesterday evening after a serious talk with a person whose opinion i value a lot, i decided to drop my application to Chi. While Chi still remains a very fascinating school to me (given i know a coupla people who are really passionate about the school and iday who actually attends) its a bit of a bummer. But the thing is I absolutely didnt account for the time needed to spend on the essays despite KNOWING that it would take so long. I guess that speaks volumes about me.

All i can do now is focus on my other apps.

Submitted!!

2008-01-03T20:47:00.000-05:00

After a few frantic days, i've finally submitted my Ross application!!

My first app's gone out. Now, i suppose is when the real waiting game starts :-|

In the meantime i've still got the Chicago deadline to meet and it being only a few days away, means i've got a few more stressful days to go.

This entire month's going to be a nice stress month for me. After Chi, i've got BU on the 21st and Rotman on Feb1st. After that, i'm taking a holiday!!

All the best to you'll and serious thanks to those who've helped me out over the last few days! You have no idea what your help has meant to me.

Chilled!!

2008-01-03T07:04:00.000-05:00

Whew!! Its a wonder what a few hours of stressed out essay editing can achieve!! Big thanks to all the people who spent the hours reviewing my work. I'm almost done with with my essays so i'm finally breathing free. R3 and R4 have come back with good reviews while R1 and R2 have made the cut too :) Just some final editing here and there and tomorrow Ross app get submitted!!

Scary thought that is considering its my dream school. Shouldnt i be submitting this last?? Doesnt it say somewhere that your best essays should be written last?? Somehow i've liked the Ross essays and mostly liked my answers as well. Lets just hope the Ad-Com thinks so too :)

REALLY REALLY BIG THANKS TO ALL MY REVIEWERS!!!

Done with Essays!!!

2008-01-02T14:54:00.000-05:00

Atleast i think i'm done! Have mailed it to a few people who are my emergency reviewers. With just over 30 hours to go, i've got only a few hours of sleep before i have to wake up for office. A friend's suggesting i take the day off but i'll do that only if i get a really bad feedback from my reviewers. Otherwise i think i'm set to make the R2 deadline.

Damn! My first app and its to the college i really want to get into!!

Time to start praying!! :)

Wanted!!

2007-12-31T12:19:00.001-05:00

Kind hearted people willing to review my Ross essays and provide feedback and review again and.....

Last date for applicants is 1st Jan Deadline for Ross essays is 3rd Jan.

In return i will send out positive vibes into the Universe for you to absorb and get into the b-school of your choice. Or for whatever it is you want to do :)

Wow!!

2007-12-31T10:42:00.000-05:00

When I made my last post, honestly I was looking for Paige to post since I knew that she was my ONLY reader :D So you can imagine my surprise when i got a veritable flood of comments urging me to submit by R2( ok so i know 4 is not that many, but given i was only looking for 1 response, AND prior to her there was nobody, this constitutes a flood! :-p And if you dont agree, leave me a comment :D )

Which has nw got me wondering how many people are actually reading my blog and from where are there finding it! So

a.)CLustrMaps is now installed.
b.) Google analytics shall follow shortly :D

Happy New Year to all :D

R2->R3?

2007-12-31T02:39:00.000-05:00

That is the question currently plaguing me. Do I meet the R2 deadline for Ross and submit on Jan 3rd or do i go to R3?
As an Indian applicant(perhaps even otherwise) the wisest thing for me would have been to get in my application by the R2 deadline. On the other hand, shouldnt you always get in your best application irrespective of the round it goes in? Then again, R3 is "supposedly" only for the really strong candidates.

To the one person who reads this blog, what do you say??

:'(

Time to start Panicking?

2007-12-29T00:00:00.000-05:00

Oh most definitely me thinks so!! Somehow for whatever shitty reason i still havent started taking this as seriously as i should. Is it because as Paige so sweetly puts it i'm "practicing the fine art of procrastination" or is it because i'm so goddmaned freaking laid-back in life? I still dont feel that sense of urgency, that zing thing to churn out some interview-gettin essays. I still dont seem to realise the enormity/urgency that i desperately need to get an MBA NOW! rather than a year later.

I'm pissed off at myself and i'm too laid back to do anything about it.

Wtf is wrong with me???

p.s. the thing that started this off is this

Long Live HTTrack Website Copier

2007-12-24T07:01:00.000-05:00

Given my unique, if rather unfortunate position, where I'm stuck without an internet connection, I needed something to be able to view the Ross website offline

HTTrack Website Copier

So now I have the entire Ross Website on my laptopn :D

Its quite big i must say. Combined with the ZLI website its 150Mb+.

That's a lot of reading to do!!

What a Waste!!

2007-12-24T05:23:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was a total washout. I was only supposed to buy a pair of formal shoes and get back home before i left for an evening get together. However, them not having the shoes meant going hunting till i finally just bought a pair. Did i mention i hate shopping? :D

So then I had to go out to meet people who were various reasons got delayed. I finally got tired of waiting and left. Reached home at 6:30 and was too tired to do anything after that :-|

So Sunday's work = 0

Revamp!

2007-12-18T00:41:00.000-05:00

I'm doing 2 of my Boston University essays all over again. Of course, this means that i'm missing the Dec19th deadline which in turn means i'm delaying knowing my admission status by a whole month. Dont know how good a thing that is. I'm hearing of students getting admitted with a full schol and i'm fearful that i wont get the full schol simply because i'm applying late. That would suck.

On the flip side, i think i can present a better story with the new essays so i guess i have to be willing to take the risk. What sucks though is the amount of time i spent on one essay and now know that i wont be using that essay anywhere.

Ross Essay 3

2007-12-12T04:04:00.000-05:00

So, much like Chicago's Essay 3(what is it with me and 3rd essays of colleges?) I ~~believe~~like to thinki've got this one pat down. Unlike C3 which ALL my reviewers unanimously said Redo this one is totally credible and believable and more importantly i seriously intend to pursue once i'm done with all my apping. Given that I have the numbers and experience to back it all up, this makes for one heck of an essay. Should be done with it by the end of day and off it goes to Susie :)

PostGrad Level??

2007-12-11T04:51:00.000-05:00

I know i'm writing abt a PostGrad degree but still :D

Running out of time

2007-12-05T04:46:00.000-05:00

All my deadlines are in Jan and I havent made a single submission till date. Dont even have net access at home but that's not even an excuse. I have my laptop but i havent really seriously sat down and worked on my essays. I keep telling myself that i'll do it on a weekend but honestly you cant write all your essays over 2days. I mean yeah you can but its not the same thing is it? you have to think type edit type cut re-format etc etc :D

I'm starting to feel pressured but not enough to kick my butt into high gear and get working. And that's bad because even my recommenders have not submitted the one college i asked them too.

Today is also the World MBA tour and i'm going so badly prepared for it its not funny. Might do a little reading in the evening though.

Am I relying a little too much on luck??

Writing Essays...

2007-11-09T22:40:00.000-05:00

can either be a real pain in the butt or a totally self-revealing experience. Depends on which side of the bed you got out of. So far, i've gotten out of the wrong side of the bed :-(

None of my essays are complete, B.U's deadline is fast approaching and I have 4essays to write for them. Ok, so its not like i'm totally incompetent and havent done ANY work, its just that i havent done as much work as i should have done. I would still like to pursue an MBA its just that i seem to find starting up another company infinitely more exciting. However that cannot be done till I go through the entire process of Application so some more waiting :-( Again, I need an MBA becausethough i have all these crazy/zany ideas of start-ups "I have learned that effective decisions on starting up a new company, risks involved, returns, short term and long term goals, profitability, require a deep business analysis and strategic thinking that hands-on experience alone takes too long to give."

"I want to go to B-school so that I never have to see a dream of mine compromised. I want to go to a B-school to learn how to avoid making mistakes that most start-ups make. To learn to evaluate and take calculated risks. To meet people who will help me make a difference. To grow a business globally. To remain my own boss "

LOL! shameless hack of my Why MBA essay.

You like?? :-)

Posted !!

2007-11-03T01:12:00.000-04:00

Posted my experience

beatthegmat
pagalguy

U. To(o) ??

2007-10-26T23:12:00.000-04:00

Today I got this mail from University of Toronto

Thank you for starting your University of Toronto, Rotman School of Management MBA application. Members of the Rotman Recruitment and Admissions team will be visiting India between November 29th and December 5th to attend the World MBA Tour and conduct admissions interviews. Due to the volume of applications that we get from India, we are only able to schedule interviews with individuals who have submitted their application.
If you submit your application by November 15th we will book an interview with you in Delhi, Hyderabad, Bangalore or Mumbai. Note however, that your supporting documents (i.e., GMAT scores, transcripts and references) can be sent after November 15th.
I am also pleased to announce that we have a 50% tuition scholarship for the top Indian student and I'll be happy to discuss your candidacy for this scholarship in the interview.

What the..? How come I get to know so late about this? If I had known earlier I would have put you'll on the Top. Oh did i mention that U of T is also hiking its app fees by $25 for R2? So that leaves me with approximately 20days to write the essays, get them polished and have my recommnders submit their stuff.

Am wondering whether its worth it to rush it?

Boston University

2007-10-25T14:03:00.000-04:00

Just got this in the mail from them

Dear Ryan,

Congratulations! Through the Graduate Management Admission Search Service (GMASS), you have been identified as a preferred candidate for Boston University’s management programs.

International Diversity is an integral component of the Boston University educational experience, so we are actively looking for students from India to join our Full-time MBA programs. Last year, more than 75% of students with a similar GMAT score were admitted and received a Dean's Prize Scholarship – now valued up to $35,000 per year.

They were anyway on my app list this only makes it sweeter :-)

Essays!

2007-10-25T03:48:00.000-04:00

Its been so hard writing essays :-(

I had one essay torn apart by 3 different reviewers. All of them were unanimous in their verdict "Redo" :'(

Whole lot of shit happening at work and at home and it hasnt been easy focussing on anything. Have been tired and frustrated.

Colleges

2007-10-25T03:22:00.000-04:00

Research!

Research!

Research some more!! Research your colleges!! I'm not applying to two colleges that I sent my scores to. For the simple reason that its way toooo expensive, I dont fancy my chances at getting aid and honestly I didnt do any(meaning a lot. i did a little but not enough) background work on them!

So that's an additional $50 to send scores elsewhere. What a waste!!

Books for Sale!

2007-10-25T03:18:00.000-04:00

All those books I studied from and scored a 710 are now up for grabs. Well, they were up for grabs lnog before I just never got around to posting it :-D

Anyway books being offered are

OG11
Manhattan Cr/RC Guide with 6tests (i've registered this one but you still get 6tests and about 11months of access)
The complete 4GMAT set (1600 value that I didnt touch )its only Quant btw.
Kaplan 800 (2005-06)
Kaplan Higher Score (2003)
PR (2005)
Plus a lot of printed material, and i'll burn you a CD with a lot of stuff+tests too.

Make me a good offer people :-)

It's a 6!!

2007-10-06T23:31:00.000-04:00

Yeah the Official Score came yesterday and i was a little stunned to see a 6 considering I only studied for it the evening before the test, and didnt practice a single essay :-D

All's well that ends Well :-)

710 it is.

2007-09-30T04:10:00.000-04:00

Just back from the center.

Q48 V40

I guess i'm relieved i didnt score below 700 though i would certainly have liked to score higher. However i wont be re-taking. Dont see the point. IF i do re-take it'll only be because some school said it wanted to see a higher GMAT score. Seems unlikely so we'll see how it goes.

Be safe :-)

710 and 710

2007-09-29T03:27:00.001-04:00

Scores on GMATPrep

On the first Q was 50 and V was 36 (IIRC)
On the second Q was 46 and V was 42

I like to think I'm going to get Q50 and V42 tomorrow :-) giving me that lovely 750.

Over the past coupla days, or atleast since yesterday, i've been tensed/nervous/off-colour/... whatever you want to call it. Havent been able to focus on the test also. In a way, I guess this bodes well for me, if i'm unable to focus and still doing well (come on 710 is pretty good ok and i have a history of doing better on exam day than on mock days) i should score reasonably well :-)

Fingers crossed :-D

750 :-D

2007-09-27T03:50:00.000-04:00

As a moral booster I decided to take PowerPrep 2 because that was the test left. Nice score no? :-D

Q 50 V 41

On D-Day, this is all i need :-D

Ok, so a few of the questions were repeated as in i'd seen them on the OG so cant really get too excited. then again, i got those questions right when i did the OG so.....

Gotta stop over-analysing everything so much :-D

Time to go eat some yummy dal-rice and chicken :-)

660 Again!!

2007-09-27T03:42:00.000-04:00

Damn man!! Yesterday i took MGMAT CAT2 and scored the same damn score again! Arent i supposed to be getting a bell curve sometime soon so that i know what i'll be scoring on a good day and a bad day?

My Q went up to 49, had enough time to finish the test. My V went down though 32.

Hmm.....

660 :-|

2007-09-25T04:10:00.000-04:00

On the ManhattanGMAT CAT. Q45 V35 Dont know what to make of this score. I know the Quant section is supposed to be tough but verbal? And 660? This is my second 660! Cant believe after so much prep i'm still scoring the same. Has nothing changed?

:-(

Quick Update!!

2007-09-23T23:21:00.000-04:00

Am now in the final stretch of my GMAT prep. The exam is 6days away. A weeks leave beginning yesterday. Mocks everyday, hard core practice and plenty of studying :-D Yoga to calm my mind and Me(thanks Mom you're the best!). Do I need anything else?

Wish me luck! :-D

p.s. Got a fab idea for the 4th essay for Chi GSB! Excited about it!

Sept 30, 9:00 AM

2007-09-10T12:27:00.000-04:00

Yup that's the date i postponed. Too much dilly-dallying cost me a 4th Oct ,1:30pm date but no sweat. I'm determined to be done with it this time around come what may.

Of course, improving my study hours a bit would certainly help :-D

Big thanks to MBAPODCASTER for his/her words of advice. Much appreciated :-)

Postpone?

2007-09-01T12:52:00.000-04:00

Didnt get any work done. What I did do all day was ponder over post-poning the GMAT. I've spoken to Vicky who says that if I'm not ready i should postpone. Its either take the next 2weeks off and take the exam as scheduled or postpone by a further 2weeks. I'm all in favour of postponing because there's a part of me that says there's a lot to study and 2weeks more will really help. Yet there's another part that says that i neednt postpone coz i dont really need to study all that i say i need to and i'll be fine if i just focus on finishin the important stuff.

I need to make a decision soon.

All those of you out there who read this blog, lemme know :-(

Verbal_Karen_03

2007-08-31T10:24:00.000-04:00

This was another great class on Sentence Correction. Three hours long so took some time getting through but well worth it.

Pronoun errors. Got a lot of notes to study. And i only realised the other day that the one time i was studying SC at the Ampt center i ended up leaving my other notes there. So now to do the home exercise i gotta refer the pdfs on the laptop.

Bit of a pain i say.

CR

2007-08-31T10:03:00.000-04:00

I didnt do any CR till i finished the GMAX course.

32/41

Thankfully there were no careless errors. Dont know how to interpret this one. On the one hand, there were no careless errors on the other getting 9wrong is worrying no? Or should i be optimistic and think that it was only my first time and i'm bound to get better. Considering i have only about 16days to go, i'd better be improving real fast!!

DS (Numbers and Algebra)

2007-08-31T09:56:00.000-04:00

Done two of them so far. Numbers and Algebra.

First Score 32/40

Second Score 31/40 (greater mix of Algebra)

which means about 80% accuracy, which is ok considering there were atleast a coupla careless errors in each set.

The bigger challenge is remembering the AD/BCE trick. Hanging in there

Too many days like today

2007-08-26T12:23:00.001-04:00

where i've gotten absolutely no work done. If I have a morning class, then bang goes my morning study. I've never gotten any work done in the evening and today was no different. Didnt get any work done. Plan on doing CR tomorrow morning as well as finishing CR from the GMAX course. That should bring a real sense of satisfaction that I've completed something atleast :-)

Gotta work harder :-(

Some more Numbers PS

2007-08-25T12:27:00.000-04:00

36/40

That's a slight improvement over the last time but i dont know if i should be happy. i really should be getting 38/39 instead of 36. I mean, i've made some real stupid questions which is sad because once again i could have gotten a 39. Getting a 36 is good but i really need to score like really well in the Q section if i want to get a decent GMAT score.

Just done copying the CR questions for tomorrow. I have an early morning class so there's no way i can attend a session on the GMAX. guess i'm better off solving 40Qs since i'll for sure be using up all my alloted 80mins. Am a li'l worried i'll run short of time but hopefully that wont happen :-(

B +

Yeah that's my blood group :D

Verbal_Abi_03

2007-08-24T23:33:00.000-04:00

Types of Argument
What you should be doing (for e.g. Causal Argument show an alternative cause)
Strengthening and Weakening an argument
Inference

All this in a mere 80mins. Of course, that's the length of the video, but writing the stuff, repeating it in your mind and answering the questions takes longer than that.

I'm really enjoying these classes. I've actually started to think that CR isnt so bad and is pretty easy. Perhaps I should volunteer to take some CR classes for the LST batch before i make up my mind :D

On the homework part, I've decided to copy the question numbers in my spare time i.e. after dinner. I usally end up watching tv at that point but that time could be spent more usefully. When i want to solve a set of Qs, i refer the GMAX split, copy the question numbers to my answer grid and sit down to solve them. All this one after the other. Which of course allows me to do a time pass for a cool 10mins. Abandoning this practice should hopefully help me spend my time more productively.

Verbal_Abi_02

2007-08-24T23:26:00.000-04:00

Critical Reasoning

Intro to C.R.
Fact, Premise and Conclusion
Identifying which is which

In continuation with my policy of doing Verbal in the morning so that I can as usual skip through Q in the evening, i skipped the RC class and moved directly to C.R. (Lots of "skip" na in that line :D ) A really really good class. Well planned and explained, right pace so i didnt feel lost and examples to drive home the point. The class was fun and interesting.

I never seem to do the assigned homework though :D