December is in...

So finally December is in...the most important month...full of results!

I read on BW forum that Kellogg would start sending the admit invitations on a rolling basis from this Friday(1st Dec). Keeping my fingers crossed :-) Chicago GSB and Wharton would post the results on 20th and 21st Dec, respectively. There's no news from HBS yet...

I had fallen sick and have now recovered completely and back to office. I was glued to TV and internet all this while. I enjoyed wtaching several movies and tele-shows. I am reading some books, off-late. Currently, I am reading the autobiography of the Pakistani President - In the line of fire. It's an interesting book. I hope to complete it in a week or two, depending upon my mood, time, and interest ;-)

My first Admit invite - Cornell Johnson

I received a phone call from Cornell Johnson today. The result was expected to come on 17th. I had heard that they would start giving the good news from 16th itself. When I saw the 607 area code in my mobile phone, the news was clear :-)

So, finally I am in for an MBA in the USA. Let's see where I end up attending the classes. Johnson offers a good program in my intended area and it was clearly not a backup school. Infact I would love to study in any of the schools I have applied to!

No news from HBS yet, hope they come calling soon...

Catch ya all later :-)

My Wharton Interview Experience

I had my Wharton interview early in the day at the Alum's office. I reached his office around 30 minutes before and so we started 20 minutes before the stipulated time. The alum had some 10 years of experience after MBA and 8 years before MBA. So he was quite mature and adept at interviewing. It was a tough interview, I must say. He guided the interiew process well and asked several follow-up questions on my experiences. Whenever, I told him about some experience whether community or professional, he asked about how xyz behaved or tell me about one person you really liked in that community engagement. I think he was trying to gauge the depth and honesty of the experiences. We started pretty slowly and by the time we had finished we were zooming at 100mph :-)

Some of the questions I remember were:-

1. Walk me though your resume. He asked several follow up questions and situational questions.
2. Why Wharton? Why MBA? Career goals?
3. Why do you think Wharton is the ideal place to help you realize your long-term goals. I mentioned about several programs at Wharton which would help me and the diverse student body, alumni etc. So he said I know these programs are good but why do you think Wharton is the right place. I mentioned several other points. We then moved to another questions.
4. He then asked me to mention three strengths and weeknesses. He asked me to elaborate on each of the points. I tried to provide examples from my experiences for each of the strengths and how an MBA from Wharton would help me overcome my weaknesses.
5. Next question was... 70% of the Wharton applicants are good enough to be admitted. So why should we select YOU? I gave several reasons and tried to give examples for all of them.
6. What other things would you like to add which you believe have not been covered in your essays, aplication, and interview. I could not think of any point left, I had used all my cards...so I said I feel we have covered all the points. He then said anything like low GPA or low GMAT or gap in study or employment. I said, Nope.
7. Next...he handed over the stage to me...It was my turn to ask questions. I asked 3-4 questions on his experiences and I added my experiences in between as well. He then provided me his business card and asked me to send an email in case I have any other question. He also asked which other schools I have applied to and interviewed with. He was then kind enough to walk with me till the gate of his office.

During the interview, he was taking notes in a booklet with the label " The Wharton School". He stopped me in between my answers few times so that he could take down notes.

It was a rigorous, sweet, and tough interview! Looking forward to the decision of the Wharton's AdCom. My fingers are crossed !

No news from HBS yet...let's see which school is interested in knowing more about me next...

Wharton Interview Invite

I just received an interview invite from Wharton. They asked me to schedule an on-campus, Hub or alumni interview. The interview has to be completed by 7th December. So, I have some time. Let me see if i can find an alumni in my city. My first preference would be to interview with an alumni. I have some specific questions which I believe an alum would be in a better position to answer. Moreover, the work pressure in the office has increased and I have scheduled several F2F meetings with the clients and vendors in the coming weeks. Let's see what works best.

Catch you all later :-)

My Chicago GSB interview experience

I had my Chicago GSB interview in the morning today with an alum in his office. He is an entrepreneur and heads his own company. I reached his office 20 minutes early. We started the interview 10 minutes before the stipulated time. He didn't have a copy of my resume. I had brought 3-4 copies so i gave him one. The interview was ok. The inetrviewer was passionate and enthusiastic. It was more of a discussion than interview. The alum had some 20 years of total experience, so he handled the interview quite maturely. Some of the questions i remember were:-

1. Tell me about yourself.
2. How do you find if a person is a team player or not while interviewing the candidate?
3. Why MBA? What are you career goals...and why Chicago?
4. Then he asked me how do i plan to repay my loans and when do i think would be the right time to start working on my long-term goals.
5. Then he asked me about some of my community service experiences.
6. Then he asked which other schools i am applying to...and then he explained the interview process and beyond :-)

Then it was my turn to ask questions, I asked 3-4 questions which provided me an opportunity to learn more about the communal culture and experiential learning approach. He also talked about one of his club experience. Then it was the time to go..he gave me his visiting card and said i can mail him if i have any further questions.

All in all it was ok. Lets see what happens :)

No news yet from Wharton and HBS...lets see which school is interested in knowing more about me next.

Catch ya all later...

Updates...

I have scheduled my Chicago GSB interview. I approached the alumni, recommended by the Chicago alumni search. We have agreed to meet next week. He told me to come in casuals and not in business formals..no suit and tie! He also added that by casuals he doesn't mean that i could come in shorts and t-shirts :-)

So, i better start preparing for my interview!

As I had mentioned earlier in my previous blog that I am meeting with my friends for a get-together., So..catch ya all later :-)

N.B. : Now you can reach me at scarecrow2007@gmail.com

Chicago GSB interview invite

Hey, I just received an interview invite from Chicago GSB. The mail came some one hour back. I was busy cooking food so just I checked my mails :-)

So, Chicago GSB is interested in knowing me more :-)