The 5yr Admission Plan

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

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.

Deny from Rotman :|

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

but didnt know whom to ask :D

GMAT Query Center 2008-09

Updates Due on the app

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

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!!!

: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?