My article on PG.com April 30, 2005
Posted by Simba in : Uncategorized , 6 commentsHey, Wasnt I telling you that I would love to help a lot of people about the application procedure et al. So, I finally decided to put up some weekly articles on our PaGaLGuY portal which will be an informal look at the whole ‘apping’ bit. People who dont know about us, see PaGaLGuY.com is a community of MBA aspirants. As on date, I think we have close to 21,000 members with the no. increasing exponentially everyday. 
We talk about MBA in India & abroad and hosts of other interests, both academic & otherwise. We also have started community service in more than 4 metros across India and I am part of the Mumbai group and that is how I am associated with NASEOH. Ok, back to the topic, the series will be called An International MBA and peek into - Part I, Global MBA… Why not! is up. Feel free to join our big community and add some sparkle by commenting on my article.
Today, weird thing happened as I stepped out from home. There was this large gathering of people staring at something on the road.. as I went closer I realized that it was a small boy. I asked the onlookers, mostly the labourers & security guys, what had happenned but that did not elicit any response as they gave me that None-of-your-bizness look and I went closer to the boy to realize that he was hardly conscious. I assumed that he must have fallen off his bicycle as he looked pale & weak. Then, I walked straight to the guy wearing some ‘jean’ and asked him. He refused to say anything… I could not believe it that there were so many people who were just standing & staring & trying to lift up that boy & put buckets of water on him and yet, I was not getting my answers. Then, I saw a bike abruptly parked on the road & caught hold of a tall man & asked him rather roughly, ‘What happened?”… He told me that the ‘jean’ guy was on the bike and had bumped this small boy off his bicycle. Phew! And looks like, the boy had passed off when his head hit the ground. He was unconscious!
This one thing has always amazed me and wondered about the power of GOD. Anybody who has been into a major accident can vouch for this, the temporary loss of conscience & loss of memory for a brief period, a kind of numbness that sets in that makes you forget the gory and the pain et al. I have experienced it first-hand when our car got rammed in a bloody truck and after the initial thud when I saw the flying window pane, I passed off as lot of screams enveloped me from all sides. Then, the next thing I remember was the time when I was sitting outside the car which was a freaky-mess next to my friend. As the passers-by asked us where we were from, I had no clue. I didnt know who I was or where I was! It took more than an hour for me to get back all the memory and become strong seeing the tragedy of my close friend’s family. May her mother RIP!
Now, coming back to what happened today, so there I was staring at this educated ‘jean’ guy who was almost as shocked as that lil boy. I said “What are u waiting for,man?” “Get that boy some medical help before it is too late!” Then, everybody stared at my outburst and the guy dutifully took charge & hailed down a rick and carried the boy to the hospital. Guess the biker was too shocked to even react till I yelled at him! Anyways, hoping it would be fine and running real late to work, I got back to office!
Coffee over Tea.. anyday! April 27, 2005
Posted by Simba in : Uncategorized , 10 comments I am a coffee lover and anyday I prefer a steaming cup of hot, strong coffee to those lames teas. Hailing from southern India, I am used to drinking extremely dark, bitter coffee as I skim through the newspaper.. & try to catch up some television. Oh, by the way, I am writing this only to prove my love for being ‘Java-licious’… Being away from home for a couple of days, driking only tea, I just got a lil nostalgic. Hey, anywhere in Central & North India, the coffee kinda sucks… big time!! ‘Cutting Chai’ is more the ‘in’ thing around here.
On the other hand, I have just received the mail from Duke that they are indeed happy to see me accept my offer and my package has reached them safely!! See, the irony guys, check out the link here. After all the cartoon things I did to get a 10-year passport, this is what I get to see! LOL! Sure, the Gods up there are having a rip-roaring laughter at my expense!
Financing an International MBA April 25, 2005
Posted by Simba in : Uncategorized , 13 commentsThis is the single largest factor that scares most of us. Though I was about to discuss it at a later part, I am doing it right away as for people from India, it is humanly impossible to look at a ‘phoren’ MBA without knowing some of the basics.
Okai, last year, I had chosen to go to Manchester Biz School in UK. However the funding became a little problem as I was depending on 2 banks to help me. First, HSBC in UK which was tied up to the school as such. They were ready to fund half the course, that is only the second half of the program. For the first half of the program, I was looking for an education loan from some Indian bank. But the problem with Indian bank’s loan scheme is, they give a max of 15 Lkhs, around 32,000$. Actually this would have been sufficient for the first half of the program but then the disbursement terms were painful & not workable at all. Thus, I could not collate enough money to fund my studies. But I see that TOP Schools in UK too, like Insead & LBS provide good funding options through HSBC. All these will be listed on their respective sites. It calls for some active research and follow-up.
Now, coming to the US Schools. Not many people are aware about this. Neither was I till last year but desperation seeks out different survival instincts and after spending loads & loads of time on S2S, BW Forums & the likes, I came to realize that the TOP B Schools in US look out for TOP-notch students and make it all worthwhile by providing enough student aids & loan schemes. Most of the ‘WOW’ schools help international students by providing LOANS for International Students without COLLATERAL & without US_COSIGNOR. Now, this comes as a BIG surprise to all of us who are used to indian banking. Yes, but it is true. The major financing corporations or banks are ready to give you loans because they trust the school in which you have been admitted into. The school stands as a gurantee for the repayment, not that it is GOD, but it trusts your repayment capabilities just as much as it is sure of your candidature into its program.
The interest rates and the repayment periods might vary from each other. Pl sit down with ANY of your favorite RANKING chart (I say this just because the procedure of checking schools rankwise becomes systematic & not some random hosh-posh work!) and visit each of their websites, to Day-time programs, Funding or Financing part and go to the International Students part. See, once you get admitted you will definitely get loads of info but to begin with, you can just satiate yourself by doing this small research! For eg, you can see here for Duke MBA Opportunity Loan
Phew, 100k$ is a big amount for anybody. Its not true that our American or European counter-parts have it easy and they are not worried about the money. It is a huge investment for everybody and people who go into it cosider it as a wise investment in oneself. Be sure that the money involved wont scare you away or it blinds you so much that you may not enjoy your B-Schooling at all. Seriously folks, if you are gonna be blinded by the money part, I implore you to NOT take the risk… you will not be happy. I have seen people nag about the application fees being way too high & way too expensive, such people need to think about the MBA costs without any aid or scholarship!! Nobody knows whether you will get that RIGHT job or whether you will network with the RIGHT people or whether you will be able to kickstart that RIGHT company.. but surely the MBA from a TOP School will give you the skills to lead a sane life, reasonably successful and a big network of friends & allies you can look upon at some point in you career. Darn, that is not worth that damn 100k bux… Oh yeah, Then STOP reading this blog right away!
Now, once you are assured that the school wants you as much as you want to the school, now remains the Visa part. How the hell would you convince the Visa Officer (VO) about the loan and your repayment plans. That is something you need to really work and think a lot about. See, if your family is in a village and you are the sole bread winner, obviously the big loan of 100 k$ would look BIG. But if you are able to convince the VO how you intend to come BACK to India after you studies and how you predict your chances of survival & success, then you are all set for that MBA is TOP School. You might need to work on your past & present earning capacities and how much can u see urself earning post-MBA from a TOP School. Also the VO knows the good schools so atleast you dont have to worry about mis-spelling your school’s name. 
Ofcourse, all this is work and sometimes worry and a lot of uncertainties. Sure, but at the end it will all work out fine and you will be just fine!!
Now, I still am too far away from the visa as I am awaiting my I20 docs from Duke. So, pl shoot a small prayer for me!
Damn the cold! April 20, 2005
Posted by Simba in : Uncategorized , 7 commentsI have a terrible dust allergy which gets aggravated into a sic cold & then the fever comes trolling in, Aaacchii, I hate it!! If there was one thing I would exchange with anybody would be my damn allergy. Hey, I have a big fat tomato nose today… LOL… & I have been happily putting on excess kilos (Thanks to all the treats & binges celebrating acceptances!)… so, in total I look like a clown!!!
Anyways, coming to business, I am about to send my documents for the I20. One real cool thing is that I can avail 50,000$ per academic year from Duke as the Duke Opportunity Loan, which is available to all international students without collateral & without US co-signor. Yup, I had really worked out on the funding part even before I applied. As I do not know anybody in the US, financing for Indians is def a big deal that we all need to worry about. Looks like, next month I will be heading off for the visa, around the time I get to hear from Wharton. Not really sure whether I need to wait for the Wharton admit/ding but I need to atleast be ready.. as I need to give sufficient notice period in my current job. And working here has become a nag and every person I come across, I share my nagging tales, LOL!
My hands are itching for a nice get-away. Oh no, not that luxurious cruises kinda thing, rather a rough expedition.. some trekking with canoeing & water rafting.. with all bruises & wilderness. Arrgh, I really want to get away to the Himalayas for about a week and rough it out!! Anyone interested??
On the other hand, now that I am here with an admit from a great B School and I am really hoping to help more people out there. Right now, I am cracking my head about how to go about it… like inspiring more Indians to look at global schools, but am more concerned about the Indian women. I would definitely want to see more Indian women, from India, to cross the borders and break the thresholds! Now, any ideas how I could go around doing that?? Any pointers??
Done with! April 16, 2005
Posted by Simba in : Uncategorized , add a commentFinally, I got my passport with all correct information & correct validity period. LOL! When I received it, I was surprised that everything was RIGHT! I had to wait for nearly 2 hours and its almost like a fair where nobody goes empty-handed! I seriously felt the lack of systematic procedures, anyways now, I can move on…
For all documentation & paper-work to be done for visa, I have been taking off from work so much that I wont be surprised if I am sacked soon. I do have an amazing team with a good-hearted senior but like hell, they wont be that understanding forever! And I have a six day week which makes it all the more difficult, if not impossible, to get loads of work done. Also, I must admit, my interest in my present job is waning- not something you can blame me about considering that I would be leaving to get my MBA soon. Its almost like the thirst of doing something new, something refreshing… something challenging… yeah, you get the flow. But I will be saddened about leaving this all too familiar place too. Now, I am rattling away… Better log off!
Step 1 - Thinking of an International MBA April 13, 2005
Posted by Simba in : Uncategorized , 6 commentsNo, I did not get bigger images at Amazon.com You all can go there and read the extensive reviews before investing in something I am suggesting. There might be many other books. I did not do any research but a good friend had these and I borrowed them for a while.
- ABC of Getting the MBA Admissions Edge by Matt Symonds, Alan Mendonca
- How to Get Into the Top MBA Programs by J.D., Richard Montauk
Anybody who wants to try the International B Schools, please do yourself a favor before blowing all the money on applications. MBA abroad is expensive, right from the application stage. It takes time & effort to pull up a brilliant application. To all those who are really interested about the Application game. Go & buy those above books. It may not be available in India, so, better order it from US. It takes a while but well worth the wait if you dont have even the faintest idea about schools abroad.
I might not have read the entire book/s but I surely understood about applying, choosing the school etc etc. Its even more better if you can read this book while studying for your GMAT as it keeps your mind alert & hungry for more. Give urself adequate time to finish these books (and/ or the likes!), finish the GMAT and give ur best shot at Round-Ones of different B Schools. These books will not only help you in positioning yourself in the entire game-plan but also prepares you to write long, passionate stories about yourself.
Passport Update April 12, 2005
Posted by Simba in : Uncategorized , 8 commentsPhew, after having to run around like a mad-woman for the past few days, I thought that this really needed an entry in my blog. All Indian Passport holders, please do take note of this important information. See here. We all need to pay attention to the below few lines.
Indian Passports with 20 Years Validity
In 1999 and 2000, the Government of India issued some passports with 20-year validity periods. This information is not widely known in the international community and has caused some Indian travelers with 20-year passports to experience difficulties with immigration personnel. The United States Government recognizes and accepts the Indian 20 year passports as valid travel documents duly issued by the Government of India to Indian citizens. However, in March 2004, the Indian Embassy in Washington, DC advised persons holding Indian passports with 20 year validity to apply for a new 10 year validity passports. Persons holding Indian 20 year passports who wish to change them for 10 year passports should contact the Indian passport office directly regarding the modalities for doing so. Persons with a valid US visa in their old passport may still use that visa by carrying both the old and new passport when they travel. If the do not yet have a visa, their visa is already expired, or their visa will expire in the next year they are advised to make the change in passport before applying for their U.S. visa rather than after. Persons who change their passport after making their visa interview appointment should bring the old passport or a photocopy to the visa interview.
Okai, this information came to my knowledge last month around 19th. Then I realised that I had to update a lot of details on my passport too, so started my long journey. After making 5 visits to the passport office, 4 to the Crime Branch and another couple to the local police station, I did get my updated passport yesterday evening. And Lo, it was valid for 15 years. Ahhhhh, I almost lost my sanity. So, again I was back to the passport office today inorder to get a 10 year valid passport. I have been there so often that the next time, I am sure, somebody would think I am an agent or something. LOL! I still need to send my I20 documents to Duke Admissions Office, along with my confirmation deposit. But I need to wait for my Correct, Updated Passport for that!
My Plea April 8, 2005
Posted by Simba in : Uncategorized , 14 commentsPlease do not ask me what your chances are for X,Y or Z Schools!! Gosh, these days I am getting a lot of mails asking me about ‘How to make it to the Top Schools’. I seriously wish I could tell you all but I cannot. I am neither qualified nor am I an admission consultant. And, on the lighter side, if I knew, then I would be sitting on my Wharton admit and making zillions offering ‘Consultancy’ services & finally, giving up that admit too. LOL!
I have always wanted to pen about my experiences with regards to B School application process and etcetera. Yes, my entire Blog can be read and understood but I havent written a good write-up at all. This blog has been more like my giving-vent-to-lot-of-things in my life kinds. But I shall put up something decent and worthwhile that might come in handy for various BSchool aspirants for next year and further beyond!! Then there are mails with awe… ‘You are WoW’..?You are great?.. ?You are upto no good? (Just Kidding!) & etc etc. No, I am not ?The Amazing Chick? and believe me it hasn’t be one damn easy walk. If you all saw those links turning blue almost every second day, then it was not made to look so on purpose. Dreaming about getting into an MBA program, that too abroad is a very painful, time-consuming and arduous journey. Most likely it is the way it is because the essays that are demanded are not those easy ones you can write in a day. I did, yes, almost all my essays were written in less than 2 days, but that was just the first draft, and another coupla drafts took about another 1 odd days. But but, there is a BIG catch which some of you might have to overcome - First is the writer’s block…(I am almost penning this blog everyday, so it was not that difficult - though my language skills are not something my English teacher would have been proud about!) and Secondly, most importantly, the thinking process about ?What you wanna do??.. ?How you will manage to do that??? ?How have you fared this long?? you know those brain-cracking questions. For me, I think the thinking process has almost taken me about 2 years. My last year applications to Manchester Business School & Indian School of Business were not that great compared to the ones that I put up for ?Wharton? & ?Duke? this fall. As you keep thinking & writing & re-writing, things kinda become clear. Its like wiping off that hazy window with a neat towel on a rainy day. I really wish a lot of Indians look upto some challenging B-Schools, more like a challenge to oneself.. I took a grave risk when I chose not to go to those schools last year. Maybe I could have sorted out the financial situation but I knew that I could also fare better.
MIT - Dinged! April 6, 2005
Posted by Simba in : Uncategorized , 7 commentsAnd I am happy. I did not belong there and I did not want to get admitted. And it was my worst application… my only premonition that came true. LOL! So, why did I apply to that school.. come on, we all make mistakes and Thank God, not all things turn right attimes.
So, my MBA travails is almost done with. Ofcourse the Wharton is still waiting, but then again, I know what holds in store. But I am trying to get used to being at Duke. No doubts, its a fantastic school to study in and I am definitely thrilled about some of the people I will meet there but then again, I will never know how close I was to the Best/ TOP BSchools in the world. Hmmm, that is a call I need to make at this point. I am one person who seriously believes that each of us should strive to be the best we can in our lives, that said, ofcourse we have to limit ourselves to other factors like time & loved ones. I just heard that a person I know has made it to Wharton, Columbia etc. And that person is seriously an amazing woman with stellar profile. Knowing that she has been accepted makes me wonder how I could even get a wait-list. Okai, I am good afterall!!
I have been contemplating my chances for next year. I wouldn’t have added significantly to my profile in terms of my job. And my extra-curricular is pretty significant even at this point and that is not my point of concern. I can try to work hard for the GMAT & get a good score. But what are the chances I will touch that magical 700+. And going through those killing essays all over again will be tedious. Again, there are no guarantees whether I will get admitted at all to any of the schools next year. Also, on the personal front, I have put my family through a lot and me delaying this MBA will just create undue stress. And my thoughts go on?
IIMA & IIMK has given their results. Congrats to all those who made it. A BIG Congrats to Vish for getting the Grand Call from IIM, Ahmedabad.