ScareCrow's MBA Adventures

The hardest startup lessons to learn

2007-08-21T23:31:00.000-07:00

I stumbled upon an excellent article on startup lessons. Hope it would be helpful.

1. Release Early.
2. Keep Pumping Out Features.
3. Make Users Happy.
4. Fear the Right Things.
5. Commitment Is a Self-Fulfilling Prophecy.
6. There Is Always Room.
7. Don't Get Your Hopes Up.

I especially liked this part:

Speed, not Money

The way I've described it, starting a startup sounds pretty stressful. It is. When I talk to the founders of the companies we've funded, they all say the same thing: I knew it would be hard, but I didn't realize it would be this hard.

So why do it? It would be worth enduring a lot of pain and stress to do something grand or heroic, but just to make money? Is making money really that important?

No, not really. It seems ridiculous to me when people take business too seriously. I regard making money as a boring errand to be got out of the way as soon as possible. There is nothing grand or heroic about starting a startup per se.

So why do I spend so much time thinking about startups? I'll tell you why. Economically, a startup is best seen not as a way to get rich, but as a way to work faster. You have to make a living, and a startup is a way to get that done quickly, instead of letting it drag on through your whole life.

We take it for granted most of the time, but human life is fairly miraculous. It is also palpably short. You're given this marvellous thing, and then poof, it's taken away. You can see why people invent gods to explain it. But even to people who don't believe in gods, life commands respect. There are times in most of our lives when the days go by in a blur, and almost everyone has a sense, when this happens, of wasting something precious. As Ben Franklin said, if you love life, don't waste time, because time is what life is made of.

So no, there's nothing particularly grand about making money. That's not what makes startups worth the trouble. What's important about startups is the speed. By compressing the dull but necessary task of making a living into the smallest possible time, you show respect for life, and there is something grand about that.

What's up?

2007-08-11T18:35:00.000-07:00

A lot of things...

It's been a long time since I updated my blog. I had intended to take some time out to blog about the things I did to transition smoothly from India to the US. I won't say that I didn't have enough time to write because that's not true; I just kept procrastinating things. So first things first...I got a visa smoothly, given the ivy brand of Cornell... I got a plane ticket to NY...I reached US safely...and now I am a student at the Johnson School!!!

The orientation started on Saturday, August 4th for the international students; Monday, August 6th for the domestic students. The city of Ithaca is really wonderful, there is a lot to explore, especially if you like natural beauty. There are a number of finger lakes, a number of wineries(Yes, the school organized a wine tasting event for us at one the wineries near Cayuga lake!), a number of beautiful waterfalls, and a number of beautiful hills around Ithaca. The campus is really beautiful, with several new school buildings.

The breadth of disciplines available to students at Cornell University is huge! You can really find courses in any discipline you can think of..there's psychology, microbiology, classical music, athletics, veterinary, medical, hotel school, nanotechnology, real estate...I can go on writing the names!!! But...you really have to think what you really want to do!

We had several welcome events from the dean, faculties, career office, admissions office etc etc..and one thing everyone emphasized was the breadth of opportunities available to us. But the Johnson School transfers the onus of finding the best career, best courses, best electives to the students; it is really the right way as we all have different goals and aspirations. The faculty, 2nd year students, and alumni are there to help us decide the right path. For the moment it is really not fully clear what way I would like to charter to reach my goal.

We had several information sessions with faculty and alumni, who came all the way from different companies and places to share their experiences; and all of them were wonderful speakers. There are lots of opportunities available, and hopefully I will soon decide my own course -- b-school seriously opens a number of career paths! For the moment I feel pretty much sure to venture into finance, but have to decide between Investment banking, Private Equity, or Venture Capital. Switching to IB seems to be easier than PE or VC, depending upon the number of job opportunities in these fields. But nothing is impossible -- there always is an easy path and a not so easy path. I hope to interact with some more people, network, and decide my course of action.

Meanwhile, I am off to the golf course (did I not tell you about the beautiful golf course in Cornell's campus?? -- http://bigred2.athletics.cornell.edu/golf/history_archives.html) to figure out my handicaps -- I didn't have any handicap before as this is the first time I am going to play golf:)

And after that, off to one of the many bars to enjoy my weekend!

I'll try to post some more pics, as I explore the campus.
See ya all...

Test123

2007-04-06T14:26:00.000-07:00

test 1...2...3.

Nominated for the Best of Bloggings

2007-04-06T04:04:00.000-07:00

Hey, I too was nominated for the BoB awards by ClearAdmit Thank You Clear Admit:-)

I have been little busy of late arranging my finances for the declaration of finances form to the Johnson School. Finally, all's done and I faxed the letter to the Admission's office. I hope to get the I-20 soon and then start the visa processes, which require a lot of paper work! So, the hard work is not yet over!

Blogger Beta

2007-03-15T10:33:00.000-07:00

At last, I switched to Blogger Beta, partly because of inconvenience - google used to log me off from my other gmail chat account each time I logged using the blog account Id, and partly because I had heard Blogger Beta is easy to manage. No regrets other than the fact that I lost some of the old links on the sidebar :(

Updates

2007-01-20T09:38:00.000-08:00

An update was long due from my side :

1. I submitted my deposit money for Cornell Johnson class of 2009 last week :-) Now I can either think that I am $1500 poorer or that I'll have to take loans worth "Tution fee - $1500". I prefer to think the later. Leaving $50, the rest $1450 will be credited towards the tution fee.

2. I have been waitlisted at Kellogg SOM as well. I don't know how to take this news. I already had one waitlist - Chicago GSB - in my kitty !! I'd prefer attending Chicago GSB than Kellogg, when I get into both the schools.

3. I am not able to decide when to leave the job! I would prefer to work until May/June atleast :) What do you guys planning??

I did check my HBS status

2007-01-17T09:36:00.000-08:00

Did i check my HBS status at 12:00 noon sharp, even without an interview admission?....Oh yes =))

Dear ScareCrow:

The MBA Admissions Board appreciates your interest in our MBA Program and the considerable effort evident in your application. Unfortunately, we are unable to offer you a place in the MBA Class of 2009.

The MBA Admissions Board carefully and thoughtfully assesses each application. Because of the large number of applications we receive, we are unable to admit many candidates who have excellent credentials and who demonstrate strong promise for careers in management.

Thank you for considering our MBA Program, and please accept our best wishes for future success.

Sincerely,
Managing Director, MBA Admissions & Financial Aid

Happy New Year - 2007

2007-01-01T10:20:00.000-08:00

Wish you all a very happy and prosperous new year :-)))) May all your wishes come true and you all go places (Yes! we all will surely go!)

I have spent about 8 days with my family - from christmas to new year. Am still at my parents' place and will board the returning flight tomorow. Last year, I had spent the new year with my girlfriend and other friends. This year, me and my girlfriend flew to my parents' place. She went to my home for the first time. I knew my mom talks a lot and my gf talks a lot but it was amazing to see when two talkative persons meet and talk a lot....:-D The time simply flew away :-)

Best of luck to all R2 applicants and those R1 applicants who are waiting for the results.

au revoir :-)

Dinged at Wharton...

2006-12-21T07:45:00.000-08:00

I have been dinged at The Wharton School.

Gotta relax now :) I have been least productive at work this week. I more day to go. Then it's holiday time...so plenty of time to rejunvenate :-)

Wish you a very happy holiday :-)

My first waitlist - Chicago GSB

2006-12-20T07:15:00.000-08:00

So, I have been waitlisted at Chicago GSB. I dont know what are the chances of getting-off the waitlist. For now, the waitlist doesn't matter. I will think about it once other results are out.

Looking at the title of this post..I had posted about "My first Admit - Johnson"..now "My First Waitlist - Chicago"...next would be .."My First Reject - Wharton"... :-D

Catch ya all later :-)

a week full of travel

2006-12-11T09:50:00.000-08:00

Ahh..just came back from a week full of travel! I was out of town last tuesday for a business trip. I met with several fellow employees, customers, and friends during this tour. I also got a chance to judge an Innovation fair organized by the confederation of industries - it was wonderful to see the innovative ideas of school children. The future of the world is surely in great hands :-) It was also great to catch up with golden olden( ;-) ) friends in several cities. Moreover, the trip helped me relax. I didn't realize how quickly the week ended!

Now I am back to the city and trying to catch up with numerous activities in the blogger world. The last week seemed quite calm in the world of blogging, though. But I am quite sure next few weeks is going to be full of activities.

catch ya all later ...:-)

December is in...

2006-11-29T23:41:00.000-08:00

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

2006-11-16T21:13:00.000-08:00

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

2006-11-14T00:57:00.000-08:00

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

2006-11-09T06:09:00.000-08:00

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

2006-11-06T22:09:00.000-08:00

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...

2006-11-04T01:59:00.000-08:00

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

2006-11-01T08:23:00.000-08:00

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 :-)

Plenty of free time...

2006-10-31T11:29:00.000-08:00

So there's plenty of free time now...and i feel as if i have become addicted to this app process ;-) But this break has provided me an opportunity to catch up in other fronts. I am now able to devote sufficient time to my office works. Also, I met with some of my friends this week and we had a small get-together. It was great to freely hang out with friends after almost 2-3 months:-) We are planning for one big party this weekend...I hope this would be fun!

On app fronts...let's see when interview invites start pouring in.

Catch ya all later!

My Kellogg interview experience

2006-10-27T01:56:00.000-07:00

I had my Kellogg interview today at 10am with an alumni. It was interesting and interactive:-)
No tough questions...he was very cool and enthusiastic person. Most importantly he allowed me to guide the interview the way i wanted. He started with "walk me through your resume" and he followed up with questions on each of my experiences, which covered my learnings, leadership style, teamwork, challenges and the way i approached them, etc. These questions covered all my professional and community experiences. Then he told me that you seem to be pretty much enjoying your current job, so why MBA now? Then why Kellogg? He then asked which other univs am i applying to. Then my GPA and GMAT score. Then it was my turn to ask questions...I asked him a few questions which provided me more insights on the communal learning environment at Kellogg.

All in all it was a good interview. I hope AdCom love my essays and provide me an opportunity to be a part of Kellogg SOM :-)

My Wharton app finally changed to Complete -Round 1. Lets see which univ is interested in interviewing me next.

My Cornell Interview Experience

2006-10-25T00:52:00.000-07:00

I had my Johnson interview this week with one of the AdCom members. It was good to have an interview after 3 years :-) The interviewer was very skilled and made me feel comfortable. We shared some laughs and also talked about some of our other interests. The questions were pretty standard though at times he asked follow-up questions.

Some of the questions were:-

1. Why MBA? Why now?
2. Career goals and how would Johnson help?
3. Tell me about your leadership experience. There were some follow up questions on this.
4. Tell me about your team-experience. What do you don't like about working in teams?
5. What other activities are you interested in?
6. What other programs are you applying to? what is common between these programs and what are the distinguishing points of Cornell.
7. What are your strengths? Which three of your qualities would you like me to tell the AdCom?
8. Then he passed the ball to me and said i can ask some questions to him. I asked a few questions.

So, all in all it was a good interview. It was very interactive and interesting. Lets see what happens :-) The result would be out on 17th Nov.

Catch ya later...gotta rush to sleep..:-)

My first post-application interview invite - Cornell Johnson

2006-10-19T12:49:00.000-07:00

I just received an interview invite from Cornell :-))
I was feeling low as i had submitted my application on Oct 4th and some of the guys who had submitted after me had received an invite! But most of them were from USA, so my hopes were alive :-)

The AdCom invited me to visit Cornell for an interview but as I am not in the USA so I called them up to check if they provide an alternative way. They have alumni interviews but they didn't have any alumni from my city. So he suggested me to get in touch with the alumni in other cities in case I could travel to those cities. If not, then they would conduct telephone interviews.

Let me see what works out best for me:-) What do you guys suggest??

PS: My Wharton status still says "Received" !

Kellogg part 2 submitted!

2006-10-17T11:45:00.000-07:00

I just submitted the part 2 of the Kellogg Application.
So that's the end of my 5 application submissions.

All my recommenders have submitted the recommendations.

Now the wait begins...

I have to start preparing for my Kellogg interview now. I have sent an email to the alumni to suggest me a time and place for the interview, as per his convenience.

I have to start focussing now on job also. The last 2-3 weeks were almost fully devoted to the applications.

catch ya all later...

Kellogg Interview Invite

2006-10-17T02:01:00.000-07:00

I received an email from Kellogg with the name and contact address of the interviwer (alumni interview). I haven't yet contacted him. I plan do so soon and fix a date. I think now I better start preparing for the interviews !

I am yet to submit my Kellogg application though. It's done and I would submit it tonight.

My Kellogg Application updates...

2006-10-15T11:17:00.000-07:00

As promised, I have completed my Kellogg application. It looks good. I enjoyed writing the Kellogg essays. Kellogg doesn't provide specific word limits, so i didn't had to go and check the word-count after each and every modification :-)

I have not yet submitted the Kellogg app though. My recommenders have not yet submitted the recos. They have promised me to submit it tonight or tomorrow. So, I would submit the apps once the recos are submitted...Tuesday at max.

Chicago GSB Application Submitted!

2006-10-12T11:04:00.000-07:00

I just submitted my Chicago GSB application. That makes it four application submissions.

On first look, the word-limit of 1500 words for career progression essay looks a lot of words. But there's so much to cover in 1500 words: Career progression, why MBA, Why now, who influenced your selection of schools, Why Chicago, and how will Chicago GSB help you succeed!
Moreover, the other essay questions provide little chance to elebaorate on your professional experiences. So, you have to cover the professional experiences and key learnings in detail in the career progression part itself. In the end, I feel I did my best in this essay.

The second essay -- What aspect of your personal development would your colleague talk about if interviewed by the AdCom? OR What is the most pressing issue facing humanity? -- was a great chance to show your personal attributes and aspirations and how would you contribute to the Chicago community. Also, how would the opprtunities at the GSB help you hone your skills. I chose to write about the most pressing issue facing humanity.

The 100-word essays were a great opportunity to further show-case your personal and professional characteristics.

Now, my next target is to complete my Kellogg application. I hope I would be able to submit it by this weekend or late-est by Tuesday.

Wharton Application Submitted!

2006-10-10T15:07:00.000-07:00

I just submitted my Wharton apps. It was a relief! I was working on it since sunday. I had to stop the count-down for Chicago apps and launch my Wharton apps :-)

Now, I hope I would be done with my Chicago apps by Friday.

Catch ya later!

HBS Application Submitted!

2006-10-08T03:20:00.000-07:00

I just submited my Harvard Business School application :-))

I must say it takes a lot of time and effort to revise all the application forms, the last time. I edited some of the information several times...replaced some of the words in the activity description fields, essays, and what not. In the end I was satisfied with the apps. So, i paid money and clicked "submit".

Next to go is my Chicago application...I plan to submit it today. The only recommender, who had not submitted the recommnedation as he was on leave, surprised me by submitting the recommendations letter :-)

So, let me start the countdown for my Chicago apps....

P.S.: Wharton to go tomorrow.

Cornell Application Submitted!

2006-10-05T00:43:00.000-07:00

So, finally I started the next phase of admission process with the submission of my Cornell application today (Deadline : Oct. 9). Cornell asks for 2 essays ( 1 leadership experience and 1 career goals) of 400 words each. I made it a point not to go beyond the word limit by even one word. These word-limits were not intimidating after writing the HBS essays.

I have my HBS and Wharton essays ready, I would submit them this weekend. The most difficult part was to make sure that I strictly adhere to the word-limits (they must have provided the word-limits for a reason and it doesn't make sense to go beyond the limits.)

2 weeks ago I decided that I would apply to Chicago as well. I had the career progression essay ready and I modified it to fit with Chicago. The other essays were also kool. So, I am done with the essays. I opted for 3 recommendations, 2 professional and 1 community. 2 of my recommenders have submitted their recos. The other one is on leave and would be back only on 14th. So, I have to wait till 14th or 15th Oct to submit my Chicago apps.

The Kellogg essays are ready but I have a little work left on the 3 small-questions and self-assessment essays. I would be ready to submit by next weekend(14th Oct).

So, all my applications would be submitted before the respective deadlines.

Down with fever :-(

2006-09-23T11:12:00.000-07:00

I am down with fever since last evening :-(

I had lots of plan to work on my essays but now it seems that I won't be able to do much work. These 10 days are the most important and toughest part of the admission process. I have to work a lot in refining my essays. But I am simply not able to concentrate. I think it is important for me to take some rest and get well soon. So, this weekend i am gonna take rest and enjoy music (whenever i get bored from sleeping).

Updates

2006-09-19T11:16:00.000-07:00

So, the first deadline is less than a month now!

I have sent my transcripts to the schools. They could reach anytime within the next week now.

I have completed my resume, both one page and two pages.

My recommenders have completed the recommendation letters and have started submiting it. Recos for 2 schools submitted.

I have filled in the online application form for all my schools. The only step left is to upload essays...pay money...and click submit!

I plan to use the next 2 weeks to edit and re-edit my essays and finally start submitting the online form from the first week of october.

Apart from the essay stuff...the next few weeks are going to be tough in the office. I am simultaneously involved in 3 diferent projects now and all these projects are also speeding up as the deadlines for the bschools are nearing! I need to find out the correlation between these two events;-)

Kellogg Application Part1 - Submitted

2006-09-11T06:38:00.000-07:00

I today submitted the part 1 of my Kellogg online aplication :-)

One the essay front..not much progress. Most of my time is going these days on the recommendation front. I hope all my recommenders will submit the recos by the end of this week.

I also plan to send the transcripts by the end of this week.

Ciao!

Kellogg online application available?

2006-09-06T23:58:00.000-07:00

I went to the Kellogg site today http://www.kellogg.northwestern.edu/admissions/apply/online.htm). They have mentioned that: Note: These application are currently disabled. The 2007 applications should be available by the end of summer.

But when i click the 2Y link it opens the application and it's written "Kellogg School at Northwestern University 2007 (Part I)"

So, is it ready for use??

September is in...

2006-09-01T23:02:00.000-07:00

So September just creeped in. Now I have 30 days to finish the application. I also need to send the extra materials (transcripts) which some of the schools ask for. The final lap has bugun!

As I had mentioned before, I have completed the essays for HBS, Wharton and Kellogg. Last week I sent my essays to one of my seniors at Kellogg and HBS. My senior at Kellogg was pleased with the overall story but suggested some great points for improvement. I have incorporated those points in essays for all other schools as well. I then sent the updated essay to my HBS senior. He liked my stories and structure. He will suggest me some more points to improve them. I must thank them for all their time and efforts :-) I didn't find any acquaintance at Wharton :-(

I have prepared the first draft of Michigan and Duke essays but they are far from complete at this moment. The dealine for both the schools is 1st Nov. So, I have planned to focus on HBS, Wharton and Kellogg right now. Simultaneously, I will keep updating my Duke and Ross essays.

I had prepared a 1.5 page resume before. Now, I have trimmed it to fit in one page. And it looks good :-) I forwarded the resume to my friends and they all liked it.

On the reco front, 2 of my recommenders have prepared the draft. But they said they will look at it again. I am ok with it. I understand it's a tough job for them to write it for all my schools. Moreover, the structure of questions in reco varies from school to school. It's not a good idea to create one reco that fits for all the schools.

I have started filling the online application for HBS. They ask a lot of small questions in the application too. I saw the online application for Duke and Michigan as well. I found that if i complete one application, it won't take much time to complete the next applications. The informations asked are pretty similar.

Last week, I attened the info session for one of the schools and i found it a waste of time! The presenter spent a lot of time in presenting their brochure. Moreover, the answer to almost all the questions asked by the participants can be found on the school's websites. Also, I didn't find many opportunities to interact with the alumni and current students. So, I am not going to attend most of the info sessions from now onwards.

Life is good!

2006-08-24T06:29:00.000-07:00

It's been long since i posted any new message. I was away to meet my near and dear ones for past 10 days. I had a great time and also took out time to work on my essays. So, I am done with my HBS, Kellogg and Wharton essays. Currently I am working on my Duke and Michigan essays. I hope to complete them by next week. On the reco front, one of my recommender will complete the form by this month end.

Regarding my resumes, I have currently created a one and half page resume. I got it reviewed with my seniors at b-schools. The resume looks good to me now :-) I will trim it to make it to one-page for the schools where one-page resume is the norm.

I also plan to send my GMAT score to some of my final schools. I hadn't sent my score to all of my final schools at the time of GMAT. I feel, the GMAC should allow the test takers to report the score to the target schools any time after the test because most of us are not sure of our target schools at the time of taking the tests. But, I don't think the GMAC will do so as it will hit their revenue.

I have started filling up the online application of HBS and Duke. The next 1 month is going to be quite hectic. Apart from application work, I am also currently at a critical phase in my marketing and operations assignments. So Life is good :-)

Done :-)

2006-08-01T11:17:00.000-07:00

So, Finally, I feel satisfied with my HBS career vision essay. I really had a tough time with this essay. In some of the drafts I was not satisfied with the structure, in others, with the goals and in yet another, with the overall message to the reader. But, now i feel it's pretty balanced. Though, I know it will be much better after I get the feedbacks from my reviewers.

Now, I will get my essays reviewed with someone.

This week is going to be quite busy. I don't think I would get enough time for the rest of the week to work on my essays. Though, my mind would be occupied with them. I hope, I do not start telling about my career vision, when the clients ask for the business updates ;-)

My essay updates

2006-07-30T08:42:00.000-07:00

I didn't make much progress last week. It's not that i was busy but i was some how not in a good frame of mind to write essays. So, i consciously stopped myself from writing essays and enjoyed my time with friends and colleagues :-)

I have almost completed my draft of HBS essays but i need to get it reviewed by someone. Moreover, even after writing several drafts of my career vision essay, i some how do not feel okay with it :-( I will give it another shot soon.

On the reco front, i have made some progress, I have contacted my recommenders and told them about my progress and reiterated the help i would need from them....soon :-)

I have also started thinking about my Kellogg essays and plan to start putting them into words soon. Let's see how it goes. I am waiting for Duke and Michigan to publish their essays, so that i can have the visibility of my schedule and plan accordingly.

It's raining essays...

2006-07-15T08:01:00.000-07:00

So, the essays have started pouring in..rather raining :-)
MIT, Darden, Tuck and many others posted their essays last week. Now i need to make a comprehensive plan for the application of each of the schools. Moreover, I need to talk to my recommenders about my plan and when i need their time and help. I had told them about my intention to apply this year. But now i need to apprise them of the timelines.

On the HBS essay front, I didn't get much time during the weekdays lastweek. Hope to make some progress during the weekends as there will be no cricket or Football match to watch:-) Suddenly, I see a dearth of sport events after funfilled Cricket, Football and Wimbledon matches.

My HBS essay writing experience

2006-07-08T10:04:00.000-07:00

I have started writing my Harvard essays.

The topics are sweet but i have to take care that i am able to convey my thooughts in the given word-limit. I started writing the essays as if there were no word-limits. But it was very difficult to trim it later. So, now, i have decided that i will write taking into account the word limit ( won't exceed more than 20% of the word-limit).

I found the career vision question (What is your career vision and why is this choice meaningful to you?) really difficult because I have to put a lot of points in 400 words!

I have really started appreciating the small word-limit of the HBS essays. It stops me from wandering away from the topic and helps me concentrate on my thought process. I edit and re-edit until i feel that the reader will be able to understand without any difficulty.

I am looking for someone from the blogosphere who can share his Harvard essays experience and who can give me some feedback. I thought about taking help from Admission consultants but I do not think I can afford to spend that much.

I plan to spend this weekend watching Wimbledon and FIFA...Come on Italy and France!!!

Books I am reading...

2006-06-21T22:24:00.000-07:00

I am reading a lot of books these days...

1. Winning - Done
2. Execution - Done
3. The Goal - Done
4. Built to last - In Progress
5. Freakonomics - In Progress
6. Direct from Dell : Strategies that revolutionized an industry - In Progress.

Suggestions for some more good books are welcome :-)

One-year MBA or Two-year?

2006-06-02T10:08:00.000-07:00

Recently, i was talking generally with my manager and we some how started talking about MBA. He has an MBA from India. When we were talking about international MBA, he was very much supportive of one-year MBAs, but not of a two-year course. His logic: What one gets from an MBA is contacts and tools. Contacts: You will never be able to mingle and interact with so many people togather with such closeness, once you are out on the business floor. Tools: B-school will teach you different tools to tackle various business scenario, but every scenario is unique. You may usually find some tool or the other helpful in analyzing you scenario, but you gain the best knowledge from your own experiences. When you work yourself and you crack it on the floor, that's the Aha! experience. Even if you were unlucky and didnot succeed, you will get a lot many insights, which will help you attack other issues. So, he says one should attend one-year MBA courses, which will help you get the contacts and the tools. Moreover, most of the course work which is taught in 2 years can be fit into 1 year course. B-schools admit the top of the tops, so the students can handle the rigor of a compact one-year course. You will learn a lot more if you work for the next 1 year (which you will spend at school, if you study in a 2-year course). B-schools should admit students with sufficient experience and the applicants should be sure of what they want to do going forward. Also, if you atend a one-year course you will on one hand save one year's admission fee and on the hand earn money money.

I argued with him that it will be difficult for the applicants who want to switch career to have a comprehensive idea of their new career in a one-year course. Moreover, many students are not even sure of what job they want to do. So, they learn a lot about different career paths and job functions in their first year. Then, in second year they are lot more confident in deciding their career path.

Also, If the person doesnot have sufficient experience and he is stuck in a job/position where he cannot grow much, then it makes sense to go to a b-school. In this case, he needs to have a solid understanding of all the major business areas which are essential to lead a successful company/team. Moreover, most of the b-schools which offer One-year MBA cources( read European schools) require considerable international application. So, it will be difficult for a person with say 2-3 years of experience to enter a b-school. So, in my mind, for a person with sufficient experience, going for an advanced degree will be more useful than going for an MBA.

On the money part, i agreed with him. It's really difficult for a person from middle class family of a developing country to spend so much.

Well begun is half done....

2006-05-27T10:23:00.000-07:00

For a long time, i have been a silent reader of most of the MBA blogs. I found it opportune to start my own blog. I feel it will help me in many ways:-

1. I can Track my progress.
2. I will benefit from the comments of the visitors.
3. It may be of help to fellow and future applicants in some way...

So, Where do i stand as of today:-

1. I am through with my GMAT...scored well..700+.
2. Plan to take TOEFL soon. (I really don't know why the schools ask for TOEFL scores when they already take GMAT scores!!!)
3. I am an international candidate with 4+ years of experience in IT, Operations Research and marketing.

I have done some initial research on school selection. I plan to apply to 6 schools in Round 1 for Fall2007 admission. So, as of now my list includes:

1. Duke
2. Kellogg
3. MIT
4. Michigan
5. Darden
6. Cornell
7. CMU/ ( orYale)
8. Stanford
9. Tuck
10. Purdue

My 6 final schools will include 2 schools which will be my stretch goals to get in, 3 which i feel i can make it to and 1 for hedging.

Also, I found that CMU requires a cosigner for the loan in case of international students. So, I am kind of getting away from this school and switching it with Yale.

I have started some essay writing based on the Fall2006 essay questions...1) Career goals, Why MBA and Why now part. 2) How will i contribute back to the school. 3) My leadership experience. I feel, it will save me some effort and time, when i finaly start writing the Fall2007 essays. So, waiting eagerly for the schools to publish the essay questions and deadlines :-)

So, I have laid the foundation of this blog today :-)