Metal's MBA & Life Experiences

It's been a while...

2006-04-07T01:32:00.000-04:00

It's been a while since I've posted and in a way life has changed for the better in the interim. The spring semester started with all the bang and hullabaloo of the previous semester only this time it was the mad rush for internship as opposed to making new friends, networking and the likes.

Fortunately for me I was off the internship race pretty soon and I'll be interning with a consulting firm this summer in Dallas. Both the first round and second round interviews were held on the same day and was notified of the offer by the end of the fifth day from the interview date. The moment I knew I was in, I dropped all the interviews I was slotted to go for which included Microsoft too. It felt good as there were lot of odds stacked against me (atleast on paper) so to overcome those and gain a consulting internship is a feat in itself. And trust me I dont wanna sound boastful here but it is just my sense of relief thats speaking. As it is, I was just waiting for an excuse to take it easy and with the internship in the bag I just took my foot off the pedal. Though I've been putting in the required amount of effort... its not the crazy kinds I was doing last semester.

Mid-terms got done in early march. This semester I've only two exams so it was not much of an effort and somehow I didnt get as tensed as last semester and if I could speak for others they too were nonchalant. After my exams and before I went into my spring break, I visited the Dallas office of the firm I'm interning with and boy! wasn't I treated well. I was put up in an expensive hotel, chaperoned, wined and dined around and generally make me feel wanted. It is not something I'm used to and was wondering whether 6 months of MBA education really made me worthy of all this attention. Hmm...

Had gone over to Washington D.C to meet my former project mates for the spring break. It was fun to catch up with all those folks and talk about my time there. After the break life is just carrying along normal. There are still a few people left in my friends group who are yet to get their internships. I just hope they get it soon as it will be good to know about their internship prospects and where they would be this summer. The semester is nearing to an end. May 4th is the final days of classes with one exam being on May 10th and other one being on May 13th. I'll try and reschedule the 2nd exam earlier to just get it done with ASAP. If things fall into place, me and some of my friends plan to go a south american country to do a community project. It will be a great experience plus it will be a novel way to see a new country. Part of the expenses would be funded by the school.

I start my internship on June 5th and it'll go on till Aug 11th. This Sunday I will be going for an Indian Ocean concert here in Austin. Hope it is fun.

Back to the grind...

2006-01-17T03:25:00.000-04:00

The spring semester starts today. I will be taking two core courses: IT management and Strategy and three elective courses New Product Development, Strategic Analysis of Hi-Tech Industry and Advanced Corporate Finance. Though I'm thinking of dropping Advanced Corp and going for Consumer Behaviour. Mondays are going to be bad for me as I have 6 hours of class on that day but then I can have an early weekend (literally) as I have only one class on Thursday.

Enjoyed the break though not to the hilt. I had gone out for a week with friends on a road trip and that was about the fun I had during the break. Since coming back I have been preparing for case interviews and am currently racking my brain to come up with answers for common behavioral questions. Consulting companies guage a candidate's analytical abilities by giving them cases to solve, hence the pain of practicing them.

Till now, I have been invited by Mercer consulting and Deloitte consulting to interview with them. I interview with Mercer on the 25th and with Deloitte on 27th. I am keeping my fingers crossed for both of them and just hope that I strike gold.

I have a few leadership positions in student organizations, so would be busy participating in them. Also, I want to make this semester a lot less stressful than last semester which means that I would be going out more often though not before I am done with my round of interviews.

Lets see how the spring semester unfolds.

National Champions

2006-01-05T03:05:00.000-04:00

Texas - Longhorns is the new National College Football Champion.

With Vince Young's eight-yard touchdown run with 19 seconds to play, Texas clinched the championship in a thrilling manner after being 38-26 down with 6 minutes to go in the final quarter. Vince Young, Texas' premier quarterback, was GOD today and he deserved all the applause, adulation and the MVP he received after the game.

What a game and hell! what a team.

Hook'em Horns. Lets get the title next year too.

Happy New Year...

2005-12-31T04:24:00.000-04:00

Wish you all a very Happy and Fun Filled New Year.
May all your wishes come true this year.

Dazed and Confused...

2005-11-07T11:45:00.000-04:00

Woo hoo...the finals are over. How did I do...I really dont care. I'm just glad at being done with my final exams and also for getting through, unarguably, the toughest 4 months of my life. Phew! that was some experience.

Again, I apologize for not regularly updating my blog. Too put it mildly, it was just bad time management from my side.

Ok. Now about my experiences. Well! there are too many things to write. First thing I can think of is that it was definitely much tougher than I thought.I certainly didnt expect to put in so much hard work to get decent grades leave alone good grades. I just sincerely hope that the academic workload eases out in the subsequent semesters.

I came here with the goal of getting into tech marketing but with all the talk about consulting, I too got sucked into the herd mentaility and thought of giving consulting a shot. With that I religously attended all the info sessions given by consulting companies, sent Thank-you notes to all the recruiters and did all the schmoozing thats expected for a consulting internship or job. But these companies have extracting standards for GPA and with my 'not-so-good' GPA, I dont think I'll make the cut. So consulting has dropped of the radar for me by force than by choice. One less decision to make.

Throughout the semester, apart from trying to keep up with all the assignments, class readings and group projects, I also participated in most of the case challenge competitions. Though I didn't make it to the any of the finals of these competitions but it sure gave me lot of confidence in public speaking and also in handling googly questions when you havent had a wink of sleep the previous night.

The next semester starts from Jan 17th and I've been told that its when the real fun starts as we would have to handle all the academic workload and at the same time work on getting an internship too. With a month's break, guess I'll be ready for that. Have also assumed leadership positions in two organizations and will officialy take over office in January. I would have to factor in additional time to work for these organizations.

I will be taking off on a road trip with friends tomorrow and will be traversing thru Texas, New Mexico and Colorado and make my way back to Austin by either 29th or 30th. The subsequent days till school reopens will be spent prepping for interviews and also working for the organizations that I'm part of.

Finally, I hope to be a regular blogger not only during the break but also during the next semester. Lets see how it goes. Maybe I should make that my New Year's resolution.

Another Year Older...

2005-10-29T01:15:00.000-04:00

I'm another year older today. I turn 26. Somehow I feel, the number 25 has a charm...it makes you feel young. Now I'm on the wrong side of 30. Dang! am I old now.

This coming year is going to be very important in my life. If things go well, before I celebrate my 27th birthday, I'll have job in hand and preferably in the industry of my choice.

What do I wish on this birthday? Well! everything I have wished for in the years before.

Happy Birthday to you ..dude.

Overwhelming...

2005-10-15T09:49:00.000-04:00

I have not posted since the first day of my school. Things have been thrown at us at a rapid pace. A pace which I not accustomed to and still struggling to come to terms with.

The whole MBA experience is overwhelming in every sense. No matter how big a expectation you have when you come back to school, its gonna exceed it.

Its almost 45 days into the program.

What have I learnt ? A lot. Some tangible and some intangible.

Have I changed? A lot. Confidence, attitude and belief in yourself has soared high.

My mid-terms start from next week. I have been on 4 hour sleep for the past 10 days.

Just waiting for next Friday night when I'll be done with 1/8th of my program. Of course the interim period is of utmost importance.

I owe my blog readers and some other folks a detailed account and I promise I'll do that after mid-terms.

Start of a Dream...

2005-08-31T19:47:00.001-04:00

Today was the day. My first day of class as an MBA student. I have been dreaming about this day for a long time. Much before I knew that I was going to get into an IT MNC, much before I knew that I would be working in US and much before I knew that I would be doing my MBA from a top-20 US college.

It was just a distant dream. At that time I wanted to study in any one of the IIM's, it was the glamour of the degree, it was the high paying job. Now its everything but that. MBA means different things to me. Its a SPV (Special Purpose Vehicle) to fulfill my dreams or I rather say my long term goals.

My Financial Accounting class started at 8 AM. One of Accounting's most renowned professors in the country is teaching us. This is his straight 15th straight year in McCombs teaching students this course. He introduced himself, let us know the rules by which we play his game (or survive in his class) including how he would be grading us. His experience and expertise just shone through and at 8 AM in the morning I precisely needed that to stop me from falling asleep.

At 9.30 AM we had our Statistics class. Its being taught by a Greek professor who got his Phd from UT. This is his 7th year teaching this course. He too followed the same procedure as the accounting professor by laying down the rules and informing us as to how he grades students.

Since I have opted for Marketing as my elective this semester, I had my Marketing class right after lunch break at 12:30 PM. It turned out to be the best class of the day. The marketing prof had asked us to read up on a WSJ article and explore a vacuum cleaner manufacturer's website as an assignment. He discussed the same in the class and pointed to us one of the extremes of marketing strategies using details from WSJ article and the website. The prof got an awesome class participation with nearly everyone speaking up. Its just incidental that he is from India.

Though it may all seem exciting for you guys but believe me life is tough. I have never lived my life by a calendar or have planned by days in advance down to every half hour. I'm doing that currently. Already I have assigments to submit, reading to do, get cracking on case studies, work with my study group on a financial accounting project, meet career advisors, attend info sessions of companies and attend functions organized by various graduate clubs. Somewhere between this I need to go to the gym, cook food, catch up with friends, call up home and if possible sleep. And geez! this is just the first day.

But as I said before...this is a dream come true. I would not change this experience for anything.

Today is the first day of the rest of my life....

2007 Class Profile...

2005-08-31T18:44:00.000-04:00

Class Profile

Resident: 43% Non-Resident: 35% International: 22%
Data as of August 15th, 2005

Demographics:	Class of 2007
Class Size:	260
Applications:	1370
Women:	25%
*Underrepresented Minorities:**	8%
International:	22%
Average Age:	28
Average years work experience:	5
Average GPA:	3.39
Average GMAT:	672

*Underrepresented minorities include: African-American, Hispanic, and Native American.

**Undergraduate Majors**
Undergraduate Majors:	Class of 2007
Business:	33%
Liberal Arts:	29%
Technical:	38%

Frantic Pace...

2005-08-30T02:34:00.000-04:00

Well its three weeks since I blogged and man! I’ve had a helluva experience in the interim.

I’ll start of with how things are at the accommodation and settling-in-Austin end. Managed to move into my apartment about 15 days ago and just can’t tell you guys how good it feels to crash in my own bed. Since my liabilities outweigh my assets (terms picked up in accounting class – more of which follow beneath), I don’t have a car right now. So traveling involves taking the UT shuttle and local buses to the university and other places in Austin. Both the buses are free for UT students. My place is around 1.2 miles from the biz school, so on an odd day I can actually walk it up. I’m also done with all the usual Wal-Mart and Indian grocery shopping and my first cooking assignment involved feeding five people who were just waiting to get their hands on some home cooked Indian food. I managed to clear the muster there.

McCombs has this thing called as ‘Think and Drink’ sessions every Thursday night. It’s basically an unwinding method for MBA grads after the hectic week. Have attended a few of those and I’m just loving the experience. Last week it was at Hard Rock Café in downtown Austin and that day our very own McCombs MBA band also played. I had a doubly good time there as I’m a major rock music fan too. Most of the bars in downtown are located in the 6^th street and as compared to the bars in D.C and New York, they are definitely cheaper. Well! The advantages of being a college town. Now since I’m at the topic of bars, I need to fill in some details. I’m not a drinker, not that I think drinking alcohol is bad but I don’t have a taste for it as most of the alcoholic drinks are bitter and I for one am a person with a huge sweet tooth. Now I’m saying all this cause, the whole “fitting-in” with the crowd process involves lot of networking and going out, which invariably means having alcoholic drinks. I didn’t want to be left out the whole process, so asked my school chum (a heavy drinker and the been-there-done-guy) as to which drink would suit my taste. He recommended me vodka-tonic/vodka-sprite and so the experiment is on with this drink and will sure let you know the result.

A couple of weeks back there was an alumni event which I had attended where I spoke to few of the entrepreneurs who had put shop in Austin and asked whether my business idea had some substance. I was advised that I need to work on it and more importantly that I needed to chill and first concentrate on getting a job and getting the debt of my back. Also, had been to a Graduate Marketing Network (GMN) boat cruise where I met our marketing professors and sought there opinions about product marketing in the IT field.

So as you can see, loads of activities and that too at a frantic pace.

Monday 16^th August 8 AM, I enter class for the first of my four accounting pre-term classes. It was almost four years since I had had any sort of classroom lecture experience. We were taught by a KPMG professor of Accounting (UT has one of the nations top Accounting program). I could keep up with him for the initial half hour only and after that a barrage of accounting terms and the next thing I know is that the whole class is discussing balance sheets and cash-inflow statements and here I was struggling to understand the basic terms. He then hit us with a Starbucks case study and tonnes of reading to do for the next class. I was like…Jesus! My happiness is screwed. I spent rest of the afternoon and most of the evening at the library trying to understand what kinda information balance sheets hold. Somehow managed to put forth a crappy effort for the case study. Tuesday was no better. I was as lost I as I was on Monday. Did the same thing, read up and practiced till evening and finally managed to solve a fair bit of the assignment given to us on Tuesday. The accounting classes on Wednesday and Thursday went fine but still the fear of accounting lurks dangerously.

Next, we had our International Orientation on Friday(08/20) and it was the most fun filling event I had been to in a long time. There are in all 57 international students and ya Indians form the biggest lot. The event started of with introductions followed by a campus-wide scavenger event and ended in a Happy Hour at a close-by bar. It was a great experience to meet all these interesting folks, people from places like Honduras, Dominican Republic and as far as New Zealand. I hit it of instantly with the Kiwi and you guessed it... cricket was the bonding topic here. But with India loosing so badly to New Zealand, I just hope that I don’t bump into him in the school for the next few days till India wins one against the Kiwi’s. In the evening we had a session of Texas Square dance. It was awesome and if I have a pretty European partner like I had on that day, heck! I’ll do it everyday.

All this hectic activities and the Orientation Week hadn’t even started. Monday , Aug 22^nd was the first day of Orientation. It started of with registration at 8 AM, followed by breakfast (hmm…bagels and cream cheese) and a welcome speech by the Orientation co-chairs. They were then followed by a bunch of folks including the assistant dean of the program. A smart and witty guy who gave lot of gyaan but laced with humor.

The admissions director gave us some stats on our class:

Total Strength : 264

Internationals : 22%

Females : 25%

Avg GPA : 3.39

Avg Age : 28

Avg Work Ex :5.1 yrs

Needless to say this is the smartest congregation of people I have ever interacted with.

The class is divided into groups of 66 each and termed as Cohort 1-4. So in the afternoon we were informed of our cohorts. Cohort t-shirts were also handed out which we wore during the Cohort Games on Thursday. A burnt-orange McCombs t-shirts representing the color of my university's sport group ‘The Longhorns’ was also given to us.

Cohort games on Thursday (08/25) were real fun. My cohort was lagging behind in the initial stages but we managed to win Tug-of-War and third place in Dodge-Ball to be placed joint second. Today (08/29) was the last day of orientation. We had our Communication classes which involved getting yourself taped while having a casual conversation with your batchmates. This tape would be used by communication experts to give me feedback on my performance and also as a benchmark to see how much I would improve in the coming months. Then the communication coaches gave us some tips on communication for the team as a whole and also as to how one should communicate within the team.

There are many other things that I would like to share with you all but I just can’t find time to blog regularly. It is about time I get organized.

In Austin

2005-08-06T12:50:00.000-04:00

Finally I'm in Austin.Phew!

On the night of Aug 1st when it was raining cats, dogs and everything in Mumbai, I thought that I would have to cancel my ticket and leave some other day. But after literally swimming my way to the aiport I managed to board the plane on time. The journey after that was uneventful. The flight was only 70% full as the remaining passengers did not make it due to water-logging. As usual I had opted for the aisle seat and seeing that the 2 seat besides me were empty I stretched myself and for the first time I actually slept on a flight.

I had nothing to do at the Frankfurt airport, so was just playing games on my laptop and listening to the I-pod. There was a gentleman of African descent sitting besides me doing something on his laptop. Slowly we got talking and I gotta know that he was from Nigeria and that the dude was a banker. He was the IT manager of his bank. I asked him whether he is familiar with my company and he said he is. He then went on to mention other IT services companies too but was most happy to talk about I-Flex as his bank was using their product called Flexicube. See the benefit of being a products company as opposed to a services company. Even a man in Nigeria is aware of such companies.

He then went on to tell me that he was married and had two kids and was going to the US to meet up with his family who was already there and also to take his kids to Disneyland. I then went on to give him a rundown of the things to do in Disneyland and Orlando in general.
I almost fell of my chair when he mentioned his salary. Its 9 million Naira's (local Nigerian currency). I asked how much does that translate into USD and he said $64,000. Thats a fair amount of money in Nigeria. He also said that ' I'm a big man in Nigeria'. I was actually confounded. What did he mean by that. Only when we exchanged cards that I realized what he meant. His business card had the title of Prince before his name. I asked him why was that so. He told me that his father is one of the 12 kings in Nigeria and that after his death, he will become a king. I was like what the heck are you saying. Anyway, we had our respective flights to catch so we bid goodbye to each other.

The flight from Frankfurt to Washington D.C was the same 'ol story. No sleeping and watching some dumb movies. Saw Miss Congeniality-2. OKish movie. Sandra Bullock has gone overboard in certain scenes. Had a smooth immigration and also did what is now my customary habit of helping aunties who are visiting their sons or daughters for the first time with their baggage and immigration formalities. I got my cell phone connection reinstated and got the aunty to call her daughter. (The aunty's daughter was married so hard luck there!)

A representative from Indian Cultural Association was there at the airport to receive me and I'm currently crashing at his place. The next day, Wednesday 3rd August, got my student ID, got done with the international briefing and also submitted my immunization forms. The apartment hunt is also almost over.

I'm writing this post from my school's computer lab. Its called the Millenium lab and is located on the fifth floor of the school building. The building is very well maintained and even has a stock quotes ticker. It feels good to get back to the student mode. The excitement of Orientation, the initial classes, the mid-terms, the finals and ofcourse all the fun activities in between seem to excite me a lot.

More about my feelings on rejoining campus in my next post.

Rain Rain Go Away…

2005-07-29T04:31:00.000-04:00

‘Rain Rain Go Away… Flooded Mumbai wants to be normal again’ seems to be the call from all Mumbaites. As you all must be knowing, Mumbai faced one of the worst downpours this country has seen in a century. I was one among those countless others who had to bear the brunt of it.

All seemed fine when I left the city on Monday(25-July) night for Shirdi, the holy shrine of Sai Baba. By Tuesday (26-July) evening, I was on my way back and from the outskirts of the city, Mumbai still seemed fine to me.It was raining and parts of the roads leading to the city were flooded. But then as any Mumbaite would vouch, all these happening during rainy season is normal. I have seen these happening too many times to be perturbed by it. The bus entered the city and I saw first signs of something unusual. Cars submerged, some left stranded, some being pushed on to side by their owners and worst of all a BEST (Govt bus Transport) bus almost totally submerged. Something was not right, no matter how much it rains, for a bus to be submerged, something unprecedented must have happened.

Called up mom, she told me that it has been raining incessantly since afternoon and that local train services, the lifeline of Mumbai, have been stopped due to water clogging on the tracks. The bus I was traveling in got stuck in a traffic jam on one of the main roads traversing thru the city. It was 6: 30 PM. The people inside the bus decided to play the waiting game. Everybody being a true mumbaikar said that it was just a matter of the rain subsiding and then everything will be cleared in an hour or so, as is the norm in Mumbai. Of course, we were blissfully unaware that Mumbai was receiving close to 944 mm of rainfall.

9:30 PM, nothing seemed to change, except that we managed to gain a few yards and that rains had abated a bit. We saw a sea of people walking in either direction. When we asked few of them, how long have they have been walking, one replied since 4 PM and he wanted to reach Kalyan, a far suburb. Few of us got down to check out what was happening and also to get a first hand report. All major roads outside and inside the city were blocked, the road we were supposed to take to get further inside the city was jammed and there were no chance it being cleared till the morning. Most of the traffic jam was because people had left their vehicles stranded in the middle of the road after it had broken down. Cell phones were of no use as the network capacity of the service providers had exceeded. Most of the landlines were also not reachable because of water clogging in telephone exchanges. All in all there was no medium to let your family member know that you are doing fine. All this while, countless people were walking past us in the direction of the suburbs. They had absolutely no idea when they would reach or whether they would reach their destination but still they marched on.

We decided to stay put with the bus as walking wouldn’t have been safe. I actually feared that arsoning might break out as people were getting tired of walking in rain and were stopping and climbing on any vehicle that could get them past the flooded waters. Fortunately sanity prevailed. Food and water remained another problematic area but at certain points good samaritans were providing tea and biscuits to the needy.

Few of us got together to clear the roads of jammed vehicles and do some traffic policing. Getting people to co-operate was not easy as everyone wanted to have the first way out. We somehow managed to get our bus out of the jam by 11: 00 PM and since we could not follow our original route cause of the jam situation, we took a diversion. As soon as the bus had managed to go a fair distance, we got stuck on another of those freakin jams. We tried to maneuver our way around but then decided that waiting it out is the best option. Things moved slowly and we managed to wrestle our way out by 2:30 AM. To avoid another of those traffic-jammed routes, risking our lives, we took an under-repair road. Everybody thought the ordeal was over, but it was not. We thought of ourselves as the ‘smart-guys’(in Mumbai parlance ‘Shana’ – smart in Marathi) to take this under-repair route but then so were hundred others. For the umpteenth time, we got stuck in a traffic jam.

By this time, the emergency forces were in action, fire brigades were doing their work of clearing the roads of the debris and the police of managing the traffic.Every five minutes, we managed to move 10 feet. There were hundreds of vehicles with us. Most of them public transport buses and cars filled with office goers. All this while hordes of people walked by us. It almost seemed as if everybody was possessed and all this at 4:15 AM in the morning. Surreal, I must say.

Some of the people in the bus got down enroute and then at around 6: AM the remaining of us got down at a vantage point and decided to take a stab at the train services. The train service was a no start either. Again, the best thing to do was to wait out till the services resumed, which we did. Finally at 9 AM the train left for its destination. After alighting at my destined stop, there was some more water to be waded thru before I finally reached my home. It was 3 PM on Wednesday(27-July).My family and friends braved the ordeal and are doing fine now. Wish I could say the same for others too.

What came through the whole disaster is the spirited reaction of Mumbaites. In a way we are used to monumental disruptions.The city has never failed to reach out to its denizens in the hour of need and even this time it has come out on tops.The city is bruised but the soul remains instact. As they say, in this city of dreams, life never stops.

Rains came, Mumbai saw and Mumbai conquered.

P.S :For those who are flying out from Mumbai in the near future, please check with your respective airlines whether there is any change in your schedule. I checked with Lufthansa and they are on track for the 2nd. For others flying Lufthansa, the Mumbai number is 56301930/1940.

A Day That Was Not...

2005-07-14T14:39:00.000-04:00

July 11th was supposed to be my last day with my present company. But it wasn't as we couldn't come to an agreement on the seperation terms. I have to pay out an amount for formal separation, to which I'm not party too. Since my company is holding its ground, to reduce the deficit, I have decided to work till July 31st. I had actually planned to go for a backpack trip of north-India after getting relieved but due to this development, I have dropped the plan.

I plan to wrap up everything by July 29th and not wait till 31st as I dont want to have a spill-over effect and hamper my prepations to leave for Austin on 2nd Aug. Also, based on opinions from my future classmates and others, I gave up my lease on an apartment I had booked while in the US. So now even I have joined other Indian-McCombites in a Austin-wide house hunt. Have already registered for Orientation, Accounting and Finance boot camp. The 3-day Accounting boot camp starts on the 16th, followed by a week long Orientation program starting from 22nd Aug. Therez shopping to be done, books to be bought and lest I forget , I also need to send a resume to the career advisors for review.

Saw War of the Worlds on Sunday, high on special effects, low on histronics and screenplay. The climax was one of the abruptest I have ever seen. It just leaves you high and dry. I had to read reviews at IMDB to find out what exactly transpired during the climax..

For ISB aspirants, application for class of 2007 has already gone online. Most of the essays and deadlines remain unchanged, with just one new essay topic :"Assess your career Progression till date and elaborate on your career plan post ISB." My sincere piece of advice, score really well in your GMAT and do everything you can to apply in first round.

Visa Granted...

2005-06-29T14:10:00.000-04:00

The wait and the ordeal is over. I got my visa today. It was a smooth process though not with the hiccups that I customarily introduce in all my activities. Yesterday night when I was arranging my folder, I realized that my TOEFL score sheet was missing. Searched my room,bags and all that I could lay my hands on but to no avail. I found some acknolwegement receipts from ETS of my TOEFL score sheets being sent to different universities, gathered them and said to myself that I will produce these when asked for a TOEFL score sheet.

It was an unsually windy morning today and with me not having slept my usual quota was feeling drowsy all the way. Got in the line by 7:30 AM and waited patiently for my turn to get in.While doing so, somebody in the line said that umbrellas were not allowed insde. I was like ..wtf, what are we supposed to do if it rains and that too with all the original documents in hand. I asked a lady from the consulate if it was true, she said no..you can very well take your umbrella inside. Good Lord!

Went through the finger printing procedure, got my token number and then waited for what seemed to be eternity. People who had come after me, got called before and were even leaving after giving their interviews. And here I was still awaiting my turn. But then from my previous experience at the consulate I knew that everything is random and that I need not worry about when my turn will arrive.

Finally the interview started.

VO: Good Morning, How are you ?

Me: I'm doing fine sir, How about you?

VO; You work for ABC

Me: Yep

VO: Yep..Yep ( OK..that didnt go down well with him)

(VO in a jocular manner)

VO: Did ABC fire you?

Me: No sir

VO: Have they given you the boot ?

Me: They have not (With a smirk)

VO: So whats your plan?

Me: I have resigned and if my visa gets thru, I will leave formally.

VO: What do you plan to do in US ?

Me: MBA from UT-Austin

VO; Funding ?

Me: From personal savings.

VO: And you have this personal savings from ?

Me: Working for ABC for 4 yrs and also from my two year stay in US.

VO; What was your annual income in US?

Me: XX thousand dollars.

(Nods his head as if the amount was impressive. He must be earning thrice of that.)

Ok Mr. XXXXX, I grant you the visa, here's your I-20 and your passport will be couriered to you. Enjoy your stay in US.

Me: Thank you sir!

I was not asked to produce even one document but then hindsight is a great friend.

Bottomline: Be confident, this is the biggest trait one needs to possess. Of course this confidence stems from your university's reputation and also from having the required financial assets. And yes, if you work for a company which whisks away nearly 1/6th of all non-immigrant visas issued at Mumbai consulate, be assured that they wont doubt your credentials.

Finally...

2005-06-25T16:30:00.000-04:00

Finally, my loan sanction letter got thru and I was able to take an interview invite date. I go for my visa interview on June 29th at 8:15 AM. Have been busy collecting the required bank statements and other documents.

The rains have started in Mumbai and boy! aren't the rain gods having a blast. It has been pouring heavily for the past 5 days and going by the signs, it does not seem to be abating soon. I'm enjoying Mumbai rains after 2 and 1/2 years and to come to think of it, this rain would be the last for a couple of more years to come.

After some goading, my mom was able to come up with a set of dates that would be auspicious for me to fly.Taking that into account, I'm flying on the 3rd of August with either Air India or Lufthansa thus leaving me ample time to settle in before the accounting boot camp starts on the 16th.

Also, I have been speaking to quiet a few of my classmates, all keyed in and as excited as I'm about starting a new and an adventurous phase in life. The excitement of going back to school is palpable for me. I have never been an outstanding student or topper in the real sense but the thought of studying a particular subject or concentrating on one particular topic for a period of time gives me a high.

And as an incentive for people like me who have lower attention spans, McCombs has brought down the class time from 2 hours to 1.5 hours. This in addition to the reduction in number of students for the current year from 320 to 260. This developments are in all line with UT's goal to become the best public school in the nation by 2010.

I'm waiting for my visa to be granted before registering for orientation. Orientation starts on 22nd Aug and go on till the 29th. Classes start on the 31st. McCombites and fellow UT-Austinites are still debating whether to go for University supplied health insurance or private insruance. Each has its pro and cons with the private insurance being obviously cheaper but low on benefits.I'm inclined towards the UT provided insurance but will wait for the debate to conclude before deciding which one to opt for.

And next time someone chides you for dozing of during office hours, just point him/her to this article.

Tagged...

2005-06-13T10:34:00.000-04:00

Have been caught in the new thing that has been going around in the MBA blog world, the book-blogger tag game started by Linda Abraham.

I have been tagged by AG and Anand.Thanks for that. Tagging other 5 fellow bloggers is not a big deal but listing out 5 books that have appealed to me is a tough ask as I'm not much of a reader. People talk about shortage of time during their MBA and I intend to pick up reading during that time. How ironic and How brave!

Anyway, I think in totality I must have read not more than 10 books. Yes, you read that right...10 books. So here's my take on the must-read books:

How to Win Friends and Influence People - Dale Carnegie:
I read this book around 8-9 years back and have learned the most from this book. An absolute must for anybody.

Liar's Poker - Michael Lewis
Another classic. Though I'm not a finance guy, this book was a blast. Not only can you learn a lot about how Wall Street works but also be thoroughly entertained in the process.

The Alchemist: Paulo Coelho
This book needs no introduction. A fable the world knows about.

Who Says Elephants Can't Dance: Louis Gerstner Jr
I picked up this book from my office library. The intitial two sections are pretty engrossing and gives you loads of stuff to think about but the last part is a bit of a drag. On the whole this book is a bang for the buck.

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People : Stephen Covey
Another of those must-have books, this book is an absolute delight with advices that will hold you in good stead all your life.

The five bloggers I'm tagging are:

Thoughtcurry

MIB

Bharani

EMC

I, The Absolute

Visa Travails...

2005-06-06T14:22:00.000-04:00

I have not blogged for some time now. I guess its the longest hiatus I have taken since I started blogging.

To explain my absence, I was in my home state of Kerala (Southern India) for the past 17-18 days to attend to our house-warming function and also a cousin's wedding. Reached Kerala on 15th May. Had heard about no-frill airlines in India not offering anything on board but I was surprised to see Air-Deccan not even serving water. Anyway cant complain much for a six thousand rupee round trip fare.

It was good to see my family members and cousins after a gap of 2 and 1/2 years. Wherever I went, I was asked one categoric question, what will they teach you at the university for 40 lakh rupees and no matter how hard I tried they did not seem to be convinced. Apart from that, they were happy that one among them is taking the path less travelled and hopefully will bring greater glory to the family.

I was actually supposed to come back to Mumbai on 25th May but could not make my way back till the 31st. This primarily happened because I had to get my paperwork done for my educational loan to be sanctioned from State Bank of Travancore. My dad has some contacts in the bank thereby making the whole process hassle free, well! not completely.

The loan has been approved but I'm still waiting for the sanction letter to reach me. In the meanwhile, I'm having problems getting the 'Source of Income' letter from my brother's office in India. So in totality, I'm not in a great shape with respect to getting my student visa. This delay had made me jittery as most of my fellow Mccombites have got theirs and if I do not get mine before the 10th of June then I'm in for a run. The Mumbai university engineering exams get over by the 10th and after that the guys who are going for their MS would be making a beeline for the visa at the consulate and they sure form the bulk of the folks heading to US.

I have put lot of things in the back burner as I was expecting to get over with the visa thing by 10th June but since things on that front are not moving along, I will have to get chipping at the rest. Of course one less thing to worry about is my accomodation which I have already taken care of before leaving US. Leased out a 2-bedroom-2-bath, 1050 sq foot for $750 a month with the first month rent being $200. The lease is for 10 months and its only a 10 minute ride in the university bus to get to school. I wont be going for a new laptop as my current one does meet all the requirements. Its a different story that it weighs 9 pounds (with battery) and only God knows how I will carry it to class everyday. I cant let you all know how much I would have loved to buy a 12-inch Sony VAIO but the paucity of funds is too steep to allow myself such luxuries. My seniors have already let me know the list of books that are better bought in India, so need to buy that.

Some info has been floating around regarding placements of Indian nationals in McCombs this year.Supposedly there are 15 students and the stats read:
1-McKinsey, 1-KPMG, 1-Deloitte, 1-PWC, 4-Dell, 2-Motorola, 5-not placed yet.

Encouraging, kind of!

Visa Power..Go Get it...

2005-05-12T08:52:00.000-04:00

I had come early to India to work on my financial documents and get my visa ASAP but what I have done in the past 15 days does not place me any better than where I was in US.

I have gathered some mean info regarding F1 visa processing in India (especially Mumbai) and I'm detailing that below:

Once you have got your admission, there are two ways of scheduling an appointment: -

A) Online:
1) To select an appointment date online
http://www.visa-services.com/interview-students-online.html (Mumbai Consulate)

http://www.ttsvisas.com/ (Other than Mumbai consulate)

Available date for ONLINE appointment: http://www.visa-services.com/sch-date-view.asp

* For the Mumbai consulate, I-20 is not required when scheduling an interview online but you have to submit the I-20 and original passport (for verification) within 20 days of taking an appointment.

2) Courier the Demand Draft for the fees and required documentation to the application centre. They will then e-mail you your fee receipt and Appointment Letter.

B) Offline:Visit one of the Application Centres - - get your documents checked, pay your fees, and collect an Appointment Letter.
https://visa-services.com/interview-students-offline.html

SEVIS Fee:
Every student entering US for the first time has to pay this fee.
This fee can be paid here : www.fmjfee.com

The bulk of the work for the whole visa process is getting your financial documents ready.
http://www.msdreamz.com/ contains all the required forms and information regarding the F1 visa process.

Financial document formats can be found here :http://msdreamz.com/visadocuments.htm

There are a few groups wherein you can post your queries regarding the visa process and get it answered:

1) f1visa2usa (Thanks AttaGirl)
2) f1_visa
3) visaguru

Check out the files sections too of these groups, you can find visa interview experiences and loads of others stuff.

If you feel less secure of getting your visa for one reason or the other, visa consultants can always come handy.In Mumbai, these are the two consultants that I know of :
Madhavi Desai -- http://www.madhavidesai.com/
Rajesh Arjun International-- http://snsvo2.seekandsource.com/arjunclasses/

As for me, even though I can show the required amount in liquid cash + assets, I was advised to improve my liquid cash reserves. To do that, I will be taking a loan from either State Bank of India or Bank of Baroda and would decide based on the interest rate.

Life...

2005-05-07T22:41:00.000-04:00

Expectedly, life has been good for me the past few days. Have not been up any day before 10 AM, reading morning paper for hours at length with music blaring in the background. ( With all the remix and bhangra music crap being blurted out all day long,Channel V and MTV seem to have gone to the dogs.Nights are different, they show some decent desi and videsi stuff). I no longer have to think about what I need to cook for lunch/dinner, everything is ready , you just have to initiate the process of eating.Wish these days could just go on and on. But as it was during college days, the royal treatment remains for 2-3 weeks only after that its back to reality. Then you are no longer the celebrity that you were when you had landed, you go back to being the youngest member of your family, which means you get back to doing the most frivolous of household chores and being chided in public by your mom.

Have joined back office, meaning I just dip in for 2-3 hours. I have been mostly dealing with the HR department regarding my resignation from the company and trust them to give me a hard time. The exit date and terms of resignation are still in the works. My office has undergone a conspicous change in the past one year. The standard of canteen food has gone up a few notches, and much to my surprise a seperate diet lunch/dinner counter has also been opened. In one of those rare occassions when I would be in office during the lunch/dinner hours, I plan to check out this counter. Recreational facilities have also been ramped up.But the biggest difference has been in the increase in numbers and more importantly the quality of girls in the office campus. Now where were all these girls when I was working in India.

Had a night out in the town last Saturday with my friends from engineering college, did the usual stuff, eating out, cathing up on frenz, lazing around Marine Drive at night and of course watching a movie. Nowadays in Mumbai, late night movies start as late as 12 AM. Had only 2 options Hitch and XXX-2 and since I had already seen Hitch we went for XXX-2, fully aware that its not going to be an enjoyable experience.It was true to its word with Ice Cube trying to match the machoism of Vin Diesel and failing miserably.Crashed at my friends place, well! I cant term it as a crash as were up till 6 AM talking.

One more week of fooling around at office and then I leave for kerala, my home state, on the 15th. Have host of things lined up with an house-warming ceremony of our house in kerala, cousin's wedding laced in with the customary ritual of visiting all relatvies' house's. With few other cousins coming over, it will be fun with lots of Kerala-style partying. So thats about the
fun part, would put up another blog on where I'm with my visa and loan stuff pretty soon.

Home Sweet Home

2005-04-28T14:18:00.000-04:00

Had a incident-free flight to India by my standards. Of course this is after my flight on the 23rd was cancelled and I had to fly on the 24th. Past two days have been catching up on family news and sleep. I also had been to the US visa application centre to schedule a visa interiview date for sometime in June but there I was told that I would be getting an interview date for the next day itself. I declined the date as I was not ready with my financial documents. Would go back sometime in the first week of June.

I still need to work out my exit procedure from my current company. Some more days of lazing around to follow.

Country Roads..

2005-04-23T11:31:00.000-04:00

Country Roads, take me home
To the place I belong
West Virginia (India), mountain momma
Take me home, country roads
-- John Denver

Leaving for India today, would be boarding a Mumbai bound flight at 9 PM EST. I'm experiencing a gamut of emotions from being exhilarated to being lonely. Was up last night trying to fit all the stuff that I have accumulated in the past two years inside the prescribed weight limits. Plan to call up my frenz from the airport and if I'm done with that then blog some more about how I'm feeling right now. International flights have always been eventful for me and I'm sure I'll have stories to tell from this journey too. Would like to chill the first few days before joining back work again. Most of the blogging from now on would be done from the work place. I would try and detail the whole I-20 and student visa procuring procedure in my next few blogs.

Ciao.

Woo..Hoo!

2005-04-20T12:42:00.000-04:00

My blog has been featured as the Blog of the Day at BlogStreet India.

Just living my last few days in Falls Church, VA as I'm returning back to India on the 23rd. Since I was supposed to leave on the 9th itself, almost all the things have been take care of. Farewell gifts have been given and received, pretty much done with farewell parties with just one more to go to tomorrow, have transferred the lease, suspended my cell phone connection from the 24th and even had my last hair cut here.

2 years at one place can be a pretty long time and it has been. The takeaways are many and would list them out as soon as I get some time. Last night spent my time sorting out my mails, I have enough trash to fill up the apartment dumpster. Half of it are the damn credit card offers. Monday had been to Thai Square, me and my roomies' favorite thai joint. We have raked up a schedule as to who-will-cook-what for this week, with me making dishes in which I'm good at and my roomies making dishes which I like.

The first thing I would do after reaching India is get a F1 visa interview date. I've been hearing all kinda stories about when you should go and what you should say during the visa interview and that the pattern in which visa's are granted change each year. So would take some time to assimilate information before coming up with my own rationale of why I'm not a prospective immigrant to US.

My Journey to Admitsville...

2005-04-12T22:45:00.000-04:00

What a relief it is to rack your brains thinking about loans and visa issues rather than thinking whether any university would accept you or not. Past few days have been good with people genuinely feeling happy for my success. I have people coming upto me and saying that its truly inspirational for them to see me go to a business school. In fact, I have already inspired two of my colleagues to pick up the ETS book and give GMAT and subsequently an US-MBA a shot. I know these kinda reactions are typical for people gaining admit to Harvard/Wharton/Stanford but then McCombs holds the same value for me as I know that its nearly impossible for me to make it thru to the big 3.

The desire to gain an MBA degree has been there with me for quite some time now. I remember, just after my junior college I wanted to do an integrated BBA-MBA course rather than going for an engineering degree and I would have, but for the insistence of my father. When I was in my final year of engineering, I started preparing for CAT (Common Admission Test), the entrance examination to Indian Institute of Management's, the most respected management institutes in India and the Asian sub-continent. But before I could take a shot at CAT, my present company recruited me. Thus suppressing the miniscule desire and drive I had to crack CAT. I said to myself that I'll work for a year, clear CAT and gain admission to any of the IIM's next year. Well easier said than done as CAT, arguably, happens to be one of the toughest exams in the world. But once into workforce there was a serious dent in my desire and to be honest, it was pure complacency than anything else that stopped me from giving CAT a shot. But deep inside, I knew that I didn't have it in me to clear the CAT exam and I needed to find other avenues to get into good MBA colleges.

After about 18 months into my present job, I was offered a chance to come to US and obviously I jumped at it. Till this point, I was just going with the flow and was utterly undetermined as to what path I should take to get an MBA. The first 3-4 months in US were spent in sight-seeing and in absorbing the American culture. But in August 2003 I decided that since I was already in US and earning fairly well, going back to India and getting an MBA degree there would have been a step backwards for me. If I was to quit my job and go for a full-time MBA degree then it had to be for a degree from an US MBA college. In right earnest, I started preparing for GMAT and I joined GmatClub (www.gmatclub.com). It’s the best thing that could happen to you if you are preparing for GMAT. After about 4-5 months of on-off preparation, I decided to take my GMAT exam on 29th Match 2004. Up till the D-day, I was getting good scores in the practice tests and was fairly confident of crossing the 680 barrier, if not 700. Gave my exam and ended up with a 630. Didn't knew where to go from there, had no plan B as such. So decided to chill a bit and take up the cudgels again in July.

Tried a different kinda approach the second time around and so bought all kinda books from Kaplan 800, Princeton Verbal workbook to Barron's Test prep. In May, I thought that July was a bit too early, so it would be better if I took the exam in August. I booked a slot for Aug 25th 2004 and started preparing in the right earnest. 3 weeks before the exam, there was a major software release at work and so couldn't devote enough time to prep and hence decided to postpone the test till Sept 9th, still leaving enough time to achieve the target of applying to my target schools for R1. Had my stab at it on Sept 9^th and ended up with a 650. My world came crashing down. Another attempt and another failure at taming the GMAT beast. I could have sure gone for a third attempt and applied for Fall 2006, as I’m fairly young by MBA-age standards but I thought of giving the whole application process a dry run and apply this year itself. Before I could muster up the courage to apply for Fall 2005, the R1 deadlines were almost due, so pushed down my targets to meet the R2 deadlines.

Cut to April 1^st, McCombs accepts me. The hours that I had put in to write those essays finally bore some fruit. If I can call this a victory then its more my dad’s than mine. He was the one who constantly encouraged me to go for a US MBA even though he knew that it would be huge risk to take lakhs in loan and educate me. But he was adamant. He envisioned it for me. He believed in me more than I did in myself. He said, “ You just do your best, don’t worry about the GMAT score as it’s all done. Just concentrate on writing the best essays you can and interview as well as you can. If you are destined to get in this year, you will, else with a improved score and greater number of years of experience, you will only get a better school next year. So don’t worry“. How comforting, something only a parent can say.

We do everything in our life to make our parents happy. Today my parents are. Even if I don’t do anything worthwhile in future, I at least know that I made them happy once.

This for you Mom and Dad!

See you both in 10 days.

Hallelujah - Admitted to McCombs !!!

2005-04-05T00:56:00.000-04:00

Just as I was about to return to India and brace myself for another crack at GMAT and the next application season, an email from Clare Seagraves (Asst Director, McCombs Admissions) came thru saying that I have been accepted to the McCombs school of Business for the class 2005.

Coochie Mama!

After three rejects, this sure did sound sweet music to ears. Couldn't resist myself from calling up Clare and confirming the great news. With its improved US news ranking ( #18) and most of all with its consitent show as # 3 MBA with IT concentration, Austin would be the place I will be heading to this fall.

Am I excited? You bet. All the plans I had about returning to India have gone for a toss. I will be getting my admit package by Wednesday and from thereon starts another saga of getting the I-20 and visa. Currently exploring the possibility of resigning from here itself rather than from India and also trying to arrange funds that need to be shown to get the I-20.

Once thru with I-20, I need to focus my enerygy on getting the requisite bank loans sanctioned for the visa process. Phew! I'm in for another long haul.

Thanks to all those who constantly encouraged me and lifted my spirits with kind words. I wish you all the very best.

Sometimes you can't make it on your own

2005-03-30T14:05:00.000-04:00

U2- Sometimes you can't make it on your own

Tough, you think you've got the stuff
You're telling me and anyone
You're hard enough

You don't have to put up a fight
You don't have to always be right
Let me take some of the punches
For you tonight

Listen to me now
I need to let you know
You don't have to go it alone

And it's you when I look in the mirror
And it's you when I don't pick up the phone
Sometimes you can't make it on your own

We fight all the time
You and I...that's alright
We're the same soul
I don't need...I don't need to hear you say
That if we weren't so alike
You'd like me a whole lot more

Listen to me now
I need to let you know
You don't have to go it alone
And it's you when I look in the mirror
And it's you when I don't pick up the phone
Sometimes you can't make it on your own

I know that we don't talk
I'm sick of it all
Can - you - hear - me - when - I -
Sing, you're the reason I sing
You're the reason why the opera is in me...

Where are we now?
I've got to let you know
A house still doesn't make a home
Don't leave me here alone...

And it's you when I look in the mirror
And it's you that makes it hard to let go
Sometimes you can't make it on your own
Sometimes you can't make it
The best you can do is to fake it
Sometimes you can't make it on your own

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I have always been an ardent fan of U2 but this song holds special prominence for me now. In about 10 days I would leave for India and get to be with my family and friends. Possible the only set of people who will never let you feel that application rejections are actually a kind of failure.

I have started winding up my things here and would be all done by next wednesday except for the farewell parties and the biding of good-bye's. I'm getting a eerie feeling of leaving all this comfort and most of all the respectable position I have gained here for the uncertain future in Mumbai. But then its time I moved on and took some bold decisions. I need a change, a refreshing change.

I need to start afresh for GMAT and plan to get thru with it by July. Once thru, would lookout for overseas assignements and start my application process simultaneously. This time I would be very mindful of applying in the first round itself and avoid having procatination as the theme of the next application season.

I plan to increase my GMAT score by atleast 50 points and quell any chances of application rejection based on the score alone. With the increased experience, score and workplace responsibilities, I would target some higher ranked schools than I have done now. Having said that, I dont want to tread the same rejection waters next year too, so would apply to two absolute safety colleges and play it safe.

Lest I forget, I still have to hear from two schools , McCombs and Goizueta. Since I have been waitlisted at Goizeuta, it will be a while till I hear from them but McCombs could be any minute. I dont want to give myself false hopes, so I have just said to myself that I need to retake the GMAT and re-apply next year with renewed vigor. My kinda way to play down the anxiety.

P.S: How does everybody backup their blogs. The method that Blogger suggests is lengthy and in some sense risky too. Any free softwares available to do the same.

Ding from Kelley

2005-03-19T19:04:00.000-04:00

When I had started my application, Kelley, even though its a top-20 school, was my safest bet because its average GMAT score is lower than mine. But it seems my calculations went awry cause I received a regret mail from Kelley today. When I was told that my application decision was sent by normal mail and not priority, I more or less knew that its a harbinger of bad news.

McCombs and Emory remain. McCombs is more selective than Kelley, so not keeping high hopes from it either. I should hear from them by this month end. Emory has accpeted my additional documents and they said they would get back to me by early April.

I think its time I accepted fate and moved on. Need to start collecting my GMAT books that I had loaned out to my friends.This whole application and the waiting process has been a draining experience. Need to recharge my batteries and would do so by leaving for my home country by the 2nd week of April. Would decide my future course of path for the next year in consultation with my family.

Definitely not a good time to be me.

Ding Season Cotinues...

2005-03-15T18:42:00.000-04:00

The ding season continues with another ding from Carnegie Mellon. Not that I was expecting an admit but I felt sad for the efforts I put in my essays and to my visit to CMU.

2 down ...3 to go. Everything should be clear by this month end.

It doesn't help a wee bit when you know that you have not received the admit package from Kelley and numerous others have. I have even started checking my mailbox twice a day.
As agonising as the wait is, I hope it brings some good news for me.

Goizueta starts reviewing its waitlisted candidate applications from tomorrow. Sent in an updated essay explaining my fit with Goizueta and also a client commendation letter I was recently awarded. Hope these two documents do the trick.

Current Mood: Introspective and Concerned.

--Metal.

To Harvard...

2005-03-10T22:12:00.000-04:00

Kelley has started sending out its accpetance letters. Quite a few people on the BW forum have got it. For me the wait continues. Unlike others, kelley does not send out an email or call the admitted applicants. It still prefers the old-fashioned way of informing thru snail mail. So these days when I go home for lunch in the afternoon, I eagerly check my mail box anticipating the blue color priority mail envelope. But it has eluded me till today.

I leave for Boston tomorrow morning and because of the planning and other stuff, I have not been able to put final touches to my Goizueta waitlist essay. Would complete it after my return and submit it before March 15th, the date Goizueta starts reviewing waitlisted candidates.

Have planned to visit Harvard and MIT during this trip. If possible will post some pics and pick up some memorabilia from possibly the world's most famous university.

McCombs Interview

2005-03-05T02:16:00.000-04:00

Well! I'm done with my McCombs interview. Overall a very pleasant experience. The first half had me talking away to glory and the second half had the interviewer talking about his life as an MBA grad and allaying my fears about how the hell is one supposed to pay back those enormous loans.

On his insistence, the interview started at 7.30 PM instead of 7:00 PM.

How would you describe yourself? What are the characteristcs that make what you are today?

Ans: I just spoke my mind on this question. Told him how I wade myself thru my school and collegiate years and the accomplishments enroute.

2) What prompted you to start investigating about doing an MBA and why now?

Ans: Was expecting this question and was prepared for it. Listed the reasons that got me thinking about doing an MBA. Gave him a strong explanation for the 'Why MBA' question. Substantiated my claims with facts.

3) What are your goals in life and how will McCombs help you achieve it?

Ans: Let him know about my my goals and then went on rampage for the 'Why McCombs' question.Gave him precise reasons as to how I think McCombs will help me fulfill my career aspirations. The mention of professors like Anitesh Barau, Andrew Whinston and Vijay Mahajan ( former dean of ISB) made him nostalgic.

4) Explain in detail the path you would take to achieve your goals, the hindrances you would face and how you to plan to overcome them?

Ans: Again, I was expecting these questions, so handled it deftly.

5) What is the weakest and strongest point in your application?

Ans: Well! GMAT had to figure in the weakest part talk. He asked me why didnt I retake ...gave him my reasons...he accepted it. Then went on to tell him that even tho my verbal score does represent my ability on that day there are other parts of my personality that indicates that I am not as bad in verbal as my score depicts it to be.

All throughtout this 45 minute session he kept on probing me on some finer points of my answers to probably determine that I was not answering on the fly and that I had given it a good thought.

He then went on to give his views on the whole session. He said "when I saw your GMAT score and your resume, I was skeptical and thought you will have a hard time getting in because you will be demographically profiled and will loose out in the GMAT battle with other fellow Indian applicants. But after listening to you, knowing your personality and understanding the clarity of goals that you have, I want you to secure an admission. But, the recommendations, interview feedback and essays would only count if they get past your GMAT score. So dont be too optimistic."

I said I understand where he is coming from and thanked him for giving me a patient hearing.

Asked him a few questions...why did you choose McCombs, if you had not been to McCombs then what would have you not gained... Are the horror stories about internationals having a torrid time @ placements true

He said that its absolutely true that recrutiment process is a totally different ball game for the internationals. I would have to rely heavily on networking and need to identify companies who recruit internationals and target them for internships too. He said" at the end it all boils down to what kinda person you are..how aggressively you network and how good you are with your people skills". Coming from the horse's mouth that was some worthwhile advise.

So that was it, he advised me to visit the campus to make my case stronger but unfortunately McCombs goes into spring break starting this monday till the 25th and by that time my fate would be decided. So the ball is in God Almighty's court now.

Would write the additional essay for Goizueta this weekend and send it by Wednesday.

Sunday March 6th will be a momentous day in Indian sporting history. Narain Karthikeyan becomes the first Indian to race in a formula1 race. After years of supporting the likes of Coulthards, Hakkinens and Montoyas ( yes, no Schumacher as am a perennial underdog supporter), I finally get to support one of my own. He has been doing well in qualifying sessions and I just hope that he finishes his race today. He should aim for drivers points by the end of this season and if he really breaksthru then even a podium finish. The race starts at 10 PM EST today and you can catch live updates on www.formula1.com.

--Metal.

It is Official..

2005-03-02T03:10:00.000-04:00

Got the ding mail this morning. Lot of 'gyaan' and then at the end it says that due to restricted number of seats we cannot accomodate you for this years course.

Fair enough.

What lingers with me about the whole ISB experience is the way they interviewed me. If they had already made up their mind about my candidature they should not have invited me to interview. But since they did, they should have probed me on the points they felt I was weak on. Had I not given a satisfactory answer ...I would have accepted it as fate and considered my ISB chapter closed on the 23rd itself. On the contrary, my interview was shuga-sweet and a complete facade. I never had an inkling that they were interviewing me to later turn down my application. No cross-questioning...no nothing.

Anyway, I can go on ranting..but since I did not make it, my views will be viewed in a different light and I dont want to come across as a sour grape.

After this year, ISB can apply for AACSB accrediation...which means they will offically enter the b-school race and possibly be ranked by BW in the next 5-years. In the next 15 years, ISB will be in top-5 non US B-school rankings ...ofcourse the booming Indian economy has to supplement ISB's efforts if this is to happen. And when this happens I will be equally prouder as any of the ISB alums would be.

Things to look forward to:

1) McCombs Telephonic interview at 7:00 PM on 3rd March.
With ISB's ding and Goizueta's w/l, this is a make-or-break interview.

2) Send an additional essay re-emphasizing my fit with Goizueta and a recent recognition I got at the workplace to get of the darn waitlist.

3) Make an impending roadtrip to Boston with childhood buddies and possibly visit Harvard and MIT univ.

4) Wait patiently for my dream school's verdict ( CMU) on the 14th.

5) On an ongoing process thwart any attempt by my RM (regional manager) to delay my departure to India. In fact I agreed to extend my stay by 10 more days to appease him a bit.

--Metal.

The Elusive Mail..

2005-02-28T10:49:00.000-04:00

Well! the results are out..most of the guys on ISB Yahoo group have got in. I did not receive any mail so that means the end of the road for me w.r.t ISB. I do not know what I should expect tomorrow...a ding mail or a waitlist mail.

How do I feel?
Not to good.

It would have been great to have an admit in hand and then decide. But as it is said " Everything happens for good". I guess ..I was destined to study in the US. From the way I interviewed, I was preposterous enough to conclude that I'm in and was asking my support group their opinion of where I should study ...US or India. But now I no longer face this dilemma and just hope that I get an admit this year from the US colleges that I have applied to. Even If I do not, I won't be applying to ISB next year and would just work on increasing my GMAT score and try and gain an admit to a top-15 school here in the US.

Personality Type

2005-02-27T19:17:00.000-04:00

Couldn't resist taking the BBC- Personality Test listed on Bharani's blog.

For the results click here.

The Wait..!

2005-02-25T22:08:00.000-04:00

A current student has said on the ISB Yahoo group that results might start to trickle in from Saturday morning (India time) and would continue till Sunday evening. It is already 7.30 AM in India, so if what the current student said holds true then it is just some more hours before the results start coming in. Did I mention that only the acceptances would go out on Saturday and Sunday and that the rejects will follow on Monday.

As for me..I'm pretty chilled. On a normal weekday I sleep at 2.30 AM and tomorrow being a Saturday I will be up till 3-3.15 in the morning which would be 1.45 PM on Saturday in India, so if I am getting the invite on Saturday, I should know about it before I sleep.

Finally got a reply from a McCombs alum. He says he is having a crazy week at work and so would prefer having a telephonic interview. I'm a people's person and I think I would be able to best express myself when someone interviews me in person. So would be pressing for a face-to-face interview but if he does not agree then would opt for a telephonic one.

Would go to the library tomorrow and spend some hours browsing and reading books. Also, plan to volunteer to teach internet services and basic computer work to some of the people who visit the library. I remember few years back teaching my dad how to connect to the internet, how to check emails and how to chat. Of course know he is adept at it. All these activities teach you the virtue of patience.

Saw "Million Dollar Baby"..one heck of a movie...it being directed by Clint Eastwood you would expect that but the boxing scenes are simply breathtaking. Performances are flawless. Both Hillary Swank and Morgan Freeman have a fair chance at the Oscars. Tried watching Aviator too but couldn't make past the first hour, I though it was a drag and a very egoistical movie.

So thats it..next post about the ISB result and as the song from Nirvana goes...'Come as you are'.

ISB Interview Experience

2005-02-23T01:00:00.000-04:00

I am done with my ISB interview.

Preparation:
1) Collected all possible questions from all possible sources. The ISB Yahoo group has a wealth of information and so hogged it for three days. The fact we had a long weekend helped as all I have been doing since Thursday night are digging up facts and writing answers to most frequently asked questions.

2) Researched ISB's website. Came up with good 3-4 reasons as to why ISB is the right fit for me. Went over some basic fundamental functions used in my industry and acquainted myself with the terms used in what will be my future work industry.

3) Chilled out a little bit on Monday..watched 'Harold and Kumar go to White Castle' for the 4 th time...its freakin hilarious. If anyone has not catched it...please do.

4) Took half the day off yesterday. Geared myself for the interview...poured over fifty pages of printout I had taken. I didn't want to take any chance with my home phone or cell phone, so decided to have the interview from the sanctity of my cubicle. Called up home about half an hour before the scheduled time to check whether they could hear me clearly on the speaker phone.

5) Took a printout in 72 font that said...' Speak Slowly ...XXXXX' and posted it just besides the phone to remind myself that dude you are giving an interview so slow down a bit.

Was in contact with a guy who interviewed just before me. He called me once he was done and told that he was thoroughly grilled and they seemed to be utterly uninterested and callous. That was enough to make me tense. Anyway, dialed in at the right time and there started the dreaded interview.

The Interview

Panel: Mr V K Menon
Mr Rahul

Mr Menon starts off..
Q)Talk about your family background and anything else you want the admissions committee to know?
Ans: Spoke briefly about my family background and highlighted the two facts that I wanted to highlight.

Q)Talk us through your career highlights?
Ans: Talked about it and emphasized two or three instances where I had done well.

Mr. Rahul steps in to ask some questions:
Q) Talk about you work experience in healthcare?
Ans: A decent answer.

Q) Are you willing to work as an IT professional in a Pharma company?
Ans: Yes..infact I envisioned it in the same way.

Q) Asks a work related question...What does HIPAA mean..?
Ans: I deal with it daily..answered it.

Q ) What does Grid Computing mean?
Ans: I said ..I do not the answer to that as I have never heard of that term. In fact I vaguely knew what it meant but if I said something wrong then that would place me on the wrong foot. So evaded the question.

Q) Is there anything you want the admissions committee to know?
Ans: At this point.. I said how I like to organize functions and events. Gave examples ..and somewhere there mentioned that I had organized quiz competitions in college.

Q) Followed it with some rapid fire GK questions?
* Largest company in terms of market cap in the world. --> Got it right. (Recent happening)
* Which is company is the parent company of Standard & Poors. --> said " No Clue"
* What does N.A in Citibank N.A mean --> Got it right

I am not giving out the answers...just in case anyone wants to attempt it.

Mr Menon steps in:
Q) Your GMAT score is relatively low and your work experience is also on the lower side as compared to our average. You could have waited a year and applied as a stronger candidate?

Ans: GMAT score..I couldn't say much on that..I said that yes I can improve. About the experience ..I quoted that its the quality of experience that matters and not the quantity. All through my tenure at my present company...I have worked in the healthcare domain and so I believe that 3 years is a adequate number.

Questions to Mr. Menon and Mr. Rahul:

Q) You have been with ISB for some time now..what is the one thing that makes you love your job there?

Mr. Menon answers..its the challenge of taking ISB to be one among the world's best that motivates him the most.Some other questions..and the interview ends.

Afterthought:

Till the point where I was asked about my GMAT score and experience, I was fairly confident but that question has left me with an empty feeling. I have heard much more horrifying interview experiences and in that sense my interview was a mild one. They seemed to have some preconceived notions and based their questions on that.

Ok...so 5 more days and I would know what they made of me. Am I worried...yes but not the extent of having a breakdown. As soon as I was done with my ISB interview, sent a mail to a McCombs alum in my area to schedule an interview. Once I am done with that interview, I would be officialy done with all my MBA application related activities.

Some Respite...

2005-02-17T22:58:00.000-04:00

The morning sunshine brought in some cheer. Started the morning with an inteview invite from ISB ( Indian School of Business) and just as I was about to head out of the office received an interview invite from McCombs.

I have a telephonic interview with ISB on the 22nd at 2230 EST ( 0900 on the 23rd in India).
The coming long weekend would give me good amount of time for the requisite prep.
As for McCombs, I need to identify a interviewer from my region and schedule it according to mine and his/her convenience. This would most probably be late next week.

I think I have my job cutout for the next two-three weeks with prepping for these interviews and also writing an additional essay for Goizueta and if required a visit to G to show my passion towards the school.

Not my day...

2005-02-16T21:40:00.000-04:00

As I had said in one of my previous posts that Goizueta would be the first school that I would be hearing from, so it was. I have been waitlisted at Goizueta, a result I was not expecting at all.

I couldn't have done better in my Goizueta interview and the fact that Goizueta was the last school I had applied to meant that G received the most refined essay of all the other four schools I have applied to. So if all this effort translates into a 'Waitlist', I'm sure this does not augur well for my other admit decisions.

To make matters worse, I have still not got my ISB interview invite. As per the ISB Yahoogroup, Friday is the last day for the invites to go out. With only two days remaining, I do not carry much hope and even if I do get one then that means I am in the bottom half of the preferred candidates (I have not stats to prove my claim but I just feel so) and coupled with my low GMAT score, my chances of admission look even fainter.

In about a weeks time, I should hear back from McCombs i.e if they are shortlisting me. If I do not then that means I have not made the initial cut there either.

Will devise a strategy to tackle this 'Waitlist' issue. First and foremost would get a feedback on my application from G and then submit additional documents based on the same. I wont hear back from G till early April and therein lies the most painful part of being waitlisted...the wait.

I had never envisioned this scenario and now I have to sort out the best way to deal with it.

Change..

2005-02-10T01:24:00.000-04:00

I thought the previous template seemed a bit clustered and the colors did not represent my true personality, so went in for a template change. I'm still working on adding some more features to my blog in the coming days.

Had gone skiing the last weekend. I had been skiing last year too but completely forgot the basics of this sport and so had a hard time keeping myself from falling. Of the five hours we spent on the ski course, I guess I would have been on the snow for 3 1/2 hours. I just couldn't get the hang of it. Normally, I like long drives but the two hour drive back home was not a enjoyable one with all the bones in the body aching.

ISB has started sending invites to international applicants. I have not got mine. The admisssion committee said they would be sending out invites till the third week of February, so keeping my fingers crossed.Having set my gmail account to forward all the mails to my blackberry, I sleep with it besides me hoping to wake in the middle of the night to see that I have got an interview invite. Now thats one intrusion on my sleep time that I dont mind. ISB interview experiences of International applicants till now have not been as horrifying as what it was for R1 international applicants and I hope it remains the same till I'm interviewed.

Not much progress on my McCombs application too. There has been a change of status but thats about it. If I do get shortlisted for an interview then I expect to see that mail sometime next week.As for the other schools, the wait continues.

I have let my regional manager (RM) know that I plan to leave from Falls Church by March 31st. He has agreed in principle to release me from the project but said he needs to talk to the client before confirming my release date. I expect some amount of dilly-dallying before everybody agrees on a date. Still not very clear as to what I would do when I go back to India and worst of all if I dont get an admit but I think I have taken a step in the right direction by letting my RM know of my future plans and expectations from the company. He assured me that he will do all he can to support my future endeavors.

Life in the fast lane..

2005-02-03T11:31:00.000-04:00

I have been following Formula-1 racing right from my 11th grade and hell! didn't I wish to see an Indian compete. Well! I guess that's soon gonna become a reality with Narain Karthikeyan being picked up by Jordan for their F1 team. It indeed would be a momentous day for Indian F1 fans when one of their own races in Melbourne Grand Prix on March 6th. I sure do not hope that he will finish on the podium or even in the top 8 but as the Olympic motto goes it is the participation that matters. It would be 2-3 seasons in the F1 circuit before he comes up with a performance of any significance but its the feeling of a fellow Indian competing on a global level that gives me a high.

You can catch the news here : http://us.rediff.com/sports/2005/feb/01nar.htm

Had a quite weekend, attended a baby shower party for one of my colleagues. This weekend I plan to go skiing with my room mates. Still waiting for interview invite from McCombs. BW thread on McCombs seems to be awfully quite these days. I have not heard of an admit since a month now. Its kinda eerie and does not reflect well on the school, this is, if I could extrapolate facts from the presence of people on the thread. I have already started my interview prep for ISB. ISB interviews are completely different from US b-school interviews , it needs that extra bit of legwork. Goizueta has finally confirmed the receipt of my applications. They process applications fast and I have even read of people receving their decisions in 14 days after submission of their applications. Since I have already interviewed, I am pretty much sure that Goizueta would be the first school I will be hearing from. I just hope to start on a successful note.

I have already decided that irrespective of the application decisions, I will be heading back to India in April. I will be completing two years in US working for the current assignment and its time I moved on. Of course, nothing better than joining a b-school but then you never know I might end up with no admits at all. So just wanted to keep my options open, which could only be done by going back to India. Even though my project manager has written my recommendation and he knows that I will be leaving soon, still I need to send him a mail formally. Would be doing that this week. It is the reaction of his supervisors that I am worried off cause they are prone to dilly-dallying on 'release-from-project' issues and heck! I sure wanna be in India by 2nd week of April.

All Done!

2005-01-26T22:42:00.000-04:00

Phew! Finally I am thru with the application process. Put in my last app (Emory) on Monday.This whole application process has taken the wind out of my sail...it is such a relief to be done. No more late nights where I rack my brain to write about how I changed the organization that I work in and other bla bla bla's. I just hope I get some positive news from the universities else will have to endure the same pain next year too.

With the applications out of the way, I need to get back to my joie de vivre..by that I mean work. Well ya...I have been putting in a below par performance for about three weeks now. It is the magnanimity of my supervisor that he has not even once pointed out the schedule slippages to me. I gotta make it upto him and what better way than clocking 12 hours a day in office. He just loves to see people slog.

I also sent out thank you mails to all my essay reviewers. This b-school application process has brought me in contact with genuinely kind hearted people who were generous enough to take time out of their busy schedule and review my essays and re-review my essays. My sincerest thanks to all of you. I have promised myself that if I get thru this year and join a good MBA college, I will also lend the same helping hand to future b-school students as I was lend. Yesterday night I sent out gifts and thank you notes to my recommenders. I gifted a framed official Red Sox photo of the World Series winning team to my American recommender and a box of belgian chocolates to my Indian recommender cum project manager.

Having already interviewed with Tepper, Kelley and Goizueta, I only have ISB and if shortlisted then McCombs to interview with. After that I can seriously chill and wait for the results to trickle in. Emory has been rather quick in their decision making process and I expect them to declare their results in a month or so. Tepper declares its result by 14th March and Kelley is scheduled for late March. Going by precedent, I expect the ISB interview dates to be around 3rd week of February. It is the McCombs application that I worry about the most. Firstly, they seem to have a very relaxed approach to the 'Processing of applications' thingy and secondly, they use GMAT score and GPA to shortlist candidates for interview. I have a lingering fear that I may lose out there.

On another note, my roommates have been kind enoughh to let me off the 'Who-is-cooking-when' list for the past five weeks. So to make it upto them I cooked yesterday and also promised to take them out to our fav Thai joint on Saturday. Need to catch up on all the frenz emails and catch a movie or two to freshen up my mind and who better to watch than my darling Julia Roberts. That reminds me, I need to watch Ocean's Twelve...you see I have not missed one Julia Roberts movie till date...yes that means I have even sat thru drags like 'The Mexican'. Oh! but I can do anything..absolutely anything to see that endearing smile of hers. On that smiling note let me end here with the promise that blog will be have frequent updations in the coming weeks.

-Metal.

Three down.. Two to go

2005-01-16T02:55:00.000-04:00

Submitted my Kelley application yesterday.

Dear XXXXX,

Thank you for submitting your application online through PrincetonReview.com. We appreciate your interest in the Kelley MBA Program at Indiana University. Your application will be reviewed once we receive all of your supporting documents:

- official academic transcripts
- photo copy of your GMAT score report (if available)
- photo copy of your TOEFL score report (if available; international applicants only)
- evidence of financial support (international applicants only)

You can send your supporting documents to:MBA AdmissionsKelley School of BusinessIndiana University1275 East Tenth Street, Suite 2010Bloomington, IN 47405-1703

With that I'm down to two ...McCombs and Emory.

I had originally planned to submit McCombs today but was not comfortable with some last minute changes. So decided to hold it back till tomorrow.Both McCombs and Emory follow rolling admissions with Feb 1 being their deadline for international students. I kinda have the feeling that I wont even get an interview invite from McCombs because they are notorious for having higher screening standards for Indians and with the GMAT score I have ...I dont think I will make the cut.

As far as Emory is concerned...had a fantabolous interview last Monday and the interviewer also said that I could hear from them within three weeks of my application submission.

I will be sending in my reco's and transcripts to Emory on Tuesday and would try and submit the application by Wednesday or at the max by Thursday. After that..in an optimistic manner will start preparing for ISB interview. I expect overseas interviews to be held in the first week of Feb.Having looked at the profiles of the applicants who got accepted in R1, I must say I have become apprehensive about my chances there.

But then,like MIB, even I have given it my best shot and would just expect all the pieces to fall in the right place.

-Metal.

Kid me not..!

2005-01-13T15:35:00.000-04:00

Was up till 5 in the morning working on my Kelley essays. When I got up at around 9...saw this mail..

Subj: Your Application -91 to 94 % is Incomplete

Dear Applicant,Your application is not yet completed. Please make sure you complete your application before the deadline.Thank You,Admissions, ISB

Good Lord!!! It scared the daylight out of me. Just a day back you say that everything is 'Changa-Changa' and we look forward to reviewing it and now you saw its 94% incomplete.

For the life of me...I fail to comprehend the happenings. This must be one of those obnoxious use of technology wherein a mail is sent out at a preset time.

Still, I cant take any chances. Just waiting for the clock to strike 9 AM in India to call them. I just hope they dont drop a bomb and say that we have not received your mail-in package. I have been asking them for a confirmation since last Thursday...but no reply.

On another note, my recommenders would be submitting their recommendations for Kelley this evening. The essays have been sent out to reviewers and I hope to get them back by tomorrow morning. Including the last minute brush-ups, I hope to submit my Kelley app by tomorrow night.

ISB Application Submitted...

2005-01-13T00:03:00.001-04:00

Got confirmation thats ISB has received my complete application and they would be reviewing it.

"Dear XXXXX,

We have received your online application, and we look forward to reviewing it. Thank you!"

For the round-1 folks, its just a matter of days when they would be knowing their fate.

For me the wait has just started, first the interview invite wait and if I get the interview invite then the Adcomm decision wait. Oh man! long 2 -2 1/2 months ahead.

On another note, I guess the mail sent out by ISB is not gramatically correct.. ''...reviewing it". Is that right..?

I hope nobody from ISB Adcomm is reading this blog... he he.

CMU Application Also Submitted...

2005-01-13T00:03:00.000-04:00

Submitted my CMU application on Monday morning at 12:18 AM. There was a lot of confusion involving the deadline for submission, it made me sweat. Will save that episode for some other blog. Need to get back to McCombs app now.

Dear XXXXX,

Thank you for submitting your MBA application! We will begin processing it as soon as possible.

If you have not already had your supplementary documents (such as letters of reference, university transcripts, test scores, etc) sent, please forward them to us at the following address:

The Tepper School of Business
Admissions Office
Carnegie Mellon University
5000 Forbes Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15213-3890

Ring in the New Year

2005-01-04T17:47:00.000-04:00

Wish you all a Very Happy and A Fulfilling New Year.
This could be a defining year for lot of us and I wish that all of us achieve what we have set out for.

I had been to one of my project-mates house for the new year party. The whole project team had gathered there and we brought in the new year wearing clown caps and bursting baloons.

The mail-in part of the application package for McCombs, ISB, CMU and Kelley have been sent. One of my recommenders inadvertently put in the ISB reco inside McCombs envelope and sent it to them. Well! I have requested him to send in the correct reco with an apology.Lets see what happens.

After lot of contemplation, I have finally decided to drop Georgetown from the list of schools I am applying to . I opined that since I am not exactly excited to attend GTown, I very well may apply to one that I would be looking forward to attend. Taking the deadlines into account, I finally zeroed in on Emory. It has been ranked inside top-20 US schools by both US News and Businessweek.

To make my candidature stronger, I am interviewing with them this coming Monday at the World MBA tour in Washington D.C. I am not sure if I would be getting time prepare for it because I have tons of essay writing to do... i.e if I intend to meet the R2 deadlines.

I am almost done with my ISB and McCombs apps and would submit them first. I need to scramble to get my CMU essays done and more importantly get them reviewed by the right people. With the deadlines looming large, I have been slacking at work. My supervisor has noticed it but then he knows I'm in for a 100m race to put together the apps. I constantly fear the point when he would snap and say " Metal its enough. You better pull up your socks."

Rest assured, after 15th Jan I need to put in 14 hour days to compensate and this with the Emory application still to be submitted.

Aahh..! Not exactly the right way to start the year...

Painful Reality...

2004-12-27T02:51:00.000-04:00

More than 14,000 people are now known to have died after a massive underwater earthquake sent giant waves crashing into coastlines across southern Asia.

My heart goes out to all those who have lost their dear ones in this tragic event. May God give them the strength to bear this huge loss.

Such are the paradoxes of life. We talk about all these technological advancements and India being the IT superpower of the world and yet after nearly three hours after feeling the tremors of the earthquake the concerned people could not predict the impending natural calamity.

What a shame...?

They said " We didn't have the wherewithal to predict". Just because this part of the world has never faced the brunt of Tsunami waves, it in no way means that India should never have the requisite facilities to predict Tsunami waves. Its utterly inexplicable and something that I find hard to comprehend.

I only hope that the Indian government does all it can to reduce the number of calamities and rehabilitate those affected.

Merry Christmas

2004-12-25T23:46:00.000-04:00

Merry Christmas and Season's Greeting To All

Hope everybody had a great Christmas. This is my second christmas in US and with me being knee-deep into essays I can guaranteedly say that the first one was better.I have no particluar plans for New Year either, might just go to my colleague's house for a small party.

As for the status of my applications, well the good news is I have finally got my transcripts from India but on the flip side my recommenders were not ready with their recommendations on time for me to send the whole ISB package by Thursday. In the meanwhile, I have been chipping away at other apps and I must say I am getting a pretty decent feeling of all the essays. I got some neat feedback from a lady friend and with one more round of review from my english grad friend I guess I will be be good to go.

As McCombs follows rolling admissions pattern, I would be sending my apps first to them with Tepper,ISB and Kelley to follow.The last school I would be applying to would be Georgetown. I am not sure whether I would be going to Georgetown if I am accepted there.

Actually its kinda strange, my mom and dad wants me to come back to India and study and your truly wants to do it here. Its not as if I wanna stay back in US forever but I feel the job experience here would help me have kickass resume when I do go back to India. But then you don't do everything for yourself do you...? Well I guess I'm counting the chickens before they have hatched. So will wait for the results of these apps to trickle in before I decide.

Thats The Way It Is...

2004-12-21T02:40:00.000-04:00

Have not updated the blog for some time now...its sheer laziness for sure.Surely not the best of times for me with 4 applications due in the next 25 days. I am all over the place with regards to my essays, have still not got my transcripts from India and to top it all my recommenders are off for their Christmas vacation leaving me in a lurch. Of course its my fault cos I never pushed enought to elicit a sharp response from them.

Eagerly waiting for the transcripts to come so that atleast I could take care of the snail mail part of the applications.Hopefully, by that time my recommeders should be ready with their recommendations for McCombs and ISB.

On another front, saw Closer starring my fav fav actress Julia 'The Wide Smile' Roberts. Hmm..what can I say about the movie. Julia has got the least powerful of the roles but then its very different from the sugar-candy roles she normally plays.The film is full of profanities and thrives on abrasive explicit sexual dialogues. Even though everybody is raving about Natalie Portman's performance, for me its Clive Owen. His expressive eyes does everything for him, converys all the meanness that his character needs to. Overall, its the Oscar kinda movie...a mature love story. It wont entertain you but force you to think.

Now you would ask me If I'm such a big fan of Julia why haven't I watched Ocean's Twelve. Well, I have been told that Julia has teeny-weeny role in the movie and infact the role is so small that I blink and I miss her. But would surely watch the movie once I'm done with my apps or if I get some time during the X'mas/New Yr weekend.

No particular plans for the coming two long weekends. I am banking on these two weekend to carry me thru with all the essays. I have got feedback on my essays from few people, need to incorporate the same.

Carnegie Mellon University Visit

2004-12-13T20:58:00.000-04:00

I recently visited CMU and just wanted to put up my view of the school and the program for the benefit of others.

Interview:
I was interviewed by James Frick...it was a very conversational interview with all the basic questions peppered in.He did pose some questions based on my answers but that was it ... overall a pretty decent interview.

School Tour:
Well ..the infrastructure sure is impressive given the univ’s history and status. The $55 M gift, I have been told, would enable the school to build extensions to the present building.

Students:
Needless to say the students were great, loads of Indians and the cross–curriculum approach does look appealing with the John Heinz School of Policy and Management and the world renowned School of Comp Sci close by.

Class:
Chose to sit in a 'Interpersonal Communication' class..it was not the normal class wherein you are lectured by the prof...here the students were given a task...they had to complete that task in 15-20 mins and then everybody would discuss the results..it was kinda fun.

Incase you are visiting CMU, you might want to do this:
1) Choose your class..choose a subject in which you dont have any background.

2) Make sure atleast one of the student ambassadors you are alloted is a 2nd yr guy/gal. They provide a whole new view about the school and more importantly you can ask them about the 'Management Game'. The 'Management Game', according to one 2nd yr student, is very very important with respect to the whole curriculum.

The things that I did not like about CMU:
1) The financial aid office was not very helpful. I guess..they normally do not help out international applicants with financial aid and so was disappointed when they were unable to provide any help.

2) CMU boldly proclaims about having a great sense of camaraderie among their students owing to their small class size. But I saw two 1st year students meeting for the first time and being surprised knowing that even tho they are in the same section...they had never met before.

Well...but then its too good a school for me...I would go bonkers if they accept me.

Anyway back to my essays..gotta submit my McCombs app as soon as possible.

-Metal.

Here I am

2004-12-05T20:24:00.000-04:00

I have been thinking about blogging for long and as you can see...I have finally decided to take the plunge. I seriously don't know what this blog would be about but then who cares...just a place to post my rants and ramblings after a hard day's work. This blog would mostly contain the experiences I garner during my MBA application process and if I do get into one of my target business schools, then yes even my MBA experience. I would also be talking about the life experiences I would be gaining in the midst of all this. I just hope I am able to update this blog atleast twice a week.

-Metal.