B-Schooling Queries

 

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Hi Simba, Well have been reading ur blog for quiet sometime.. and following ur MBA saga.. trying to inspire myself looking at how you have dreamed big and achieved it.

Well I gave CAT a hit this yr.. dint go well..Am planning to take a hit at GMAT sometime in next few months..Was just wondering may be if I could personally talk to you over the phone and U can give me some gyan :)  . Any time when u r free. Thanks and Regards.

LOL Anuj, Great to hear from you. Sorry I wont be able to give u my mobile no. If u are in Mumbai, do drop by to NASEOH on Sunday around 3:00 to 6:00.. you will always find me there. You can talk to me & also speak to people who are more motivated to social causes at the same time interested in Business studies. Cheers.

Hi, Well no problems with that. I am actually in Hyderabad so too far off to catch up with you there. Well  I am a bit confused right now.. anyway I have an admit for MS in MIS so might go ahead with that and postpone MBA for some later point in life :)

Then I too work for Asha as a volunteer infact we are planning to organize a Quiz for corporate to raise funds for a school we are supporting.

I went to ISB to get them as our sponsor ..they might give us the audi. so we can have ISB as the venue.. if it works out it will be grt. Chalo then thanks a lot anyway,
Will probbaly mail u if I have some specific queries, best of luck, Anuj.

Oh, I presumed that u were in Mumbai! :-) MS in MIS sounds good but have no idea what it means!! LOL, thats me!! Feel free to catch up with me if u need at any point!!! And nice to hear about ur volunteering acts. If ISB sponsors u guys, nothing like it. Speak to them on lines of corporate – social responsibility of all BSchools etc etc. All the very best!

Hi, Well we did get a nod from ISB and now we can have them as the Venue. This is like a grt shot in the arm for us cos now we will have a bit easy time getting people to participate and also in getting sponsorships. Asha hyd has the problem of volunteers as we are not too many here. But lets see we shuld be able to pull this one off.

MS in MIS ..well its Masters of Informations Sciences.. this course comes under the B school and is a mix of technology and business subjects.. and i think its more like MBA in systems. Chalo catch u later, Regards, Anuj.

Hi Sowmya, I know, these days you get too many "Hi" emails. But the last post of yours (Damn the cold) on PaGalGuy made me write this. First of all, congrats on that Fuqua thing. It really is a great place to be (until few weeks back, I didn’t even knew how to pronounce it....FewQuaa is it?;)

Well, you said you are hoping to help the ppl out there, like to get into global schools. Me too is an aspirant. After seeing some of the applications, I feel kinda shallow with no extra curricular activity (except for playing tennis and some reading).

How do you suggest I improve my "community activities" tab in all those dreaded applications? You must have had one hell of an application to get into Fuqua/Oxford. My GMAT is also pathetic(<700)..this software industry has taken a toll....I have nearly 5 yrs exp. Do let me now your suggestions. Hope to hear from you.

Hi Santhosh, I have tried to send a reply 5 times and each time I had some server reset. Not sure, whether u got any reply. However, before I completely give up, heres my final try!! :-) LOL, finally my cold caught someone's attention!! LOL!! :-)

Santhosh, looks like u are a typical IT guy. Ur first mega chance would be to retake ur GMAT & get a spanking score. My score is low but u see my extra-cur runs into pages & also I am a woman from India. :-)

Pl try to retake the GMAT & get atleast 720. U need to!! Secondly, while u are working on ur GMAT, try to indulge in somethings which u really like.. try to build a broad range of interests!! Once u sit down & think.. u might come across hazaar things we might have take part in etc etc. I would suggest u refresh ur memory!!

If u are really serious about BSchools, pl get in touch with me!! I am no queen but surely can help around a couple of queries!! Cheers.

Thanks for the reply. Sorry, could not acknowledge early. Yup, I have already decided to take GMAT again (this time with preparation!). Hope to cross 720. And yea, TOEFL too (before it changes the format in September:)

Yea, there are things in my life that might come under extra-curricular activity column. I guess we can go only as far as our desire takes....if u need it badly, u will get it. And about the passport thing...I have a 20 year valid one, and I almost went to Passport office here in Bangalore to get it changed to a 10 year one, though I didn’t have any problem during my earlier visit to US. God almighty is kind to me at least! Lol ;)

All d best for ur I20 and Visa interview. Will mail u if I have queries on B-Skools. Keep Roaring. c ya, Santhosh.

Note: Now, Santhosh is Duke MBA student.

Hi Simba, Just reached your blog today after a long time and found it as good as always! So finally all settled to reach Duke, congrats! Stopped blogging some time back when I realized that my identity was about to be known to the world including my workplace! Since then, only read blogs and write to people once in a while.

OK, nothing else to write.. except that keep up the good work and have fun at Duke! I'm sure good times await you!!! All the best! Regards, Hemant

Hi Hemant, I used to read ur blog regularly for a while but with all the admission processes, I just went bonkers!! However, pretty happy with Duke though the Wharton ding hurts attimes!! But have learnt to grow beyond these things into much larger & a better self. :-)

Hmmm... Really not sure how ur blog would have put u in jeopardy. I have always been comforatble with what I write & what I blog.. & hence, I am not very pesky about identity!! :-) So, wheres your next halt...?? Current plan??? All the Best!! keep in touch!! Simba aka Sowmya

Hi Sowmya, Good to see your mail. Sorry for the late reply as I was busy with my CFA L1 exam! Yes, the W ding hurt a lot... I was really down after that. But now I realize that it doesn't matter _that much_ in larger schema of things. And you're right, I also learnt a lot and came out as a better person as a result. I've been WL-ed at Columbia... and have applied to Insead too... let's see where I end up.

When do you fly to Durham? And what do you plan to post MBA? Best of luck to you too for your next leg of journey!

Hi Simba, Was just reading your blog today and I got all excited to read this "And I am trying to ship some of the books, my goo ol' reading books (that I intend to pass on to my children! ;-)) & other MBA books via Indian post"

why? because I have an accumulated book collection which i do not want to leave behind too! I have been wondering how to move these across. Can you please let me know the details when you have the time? (how? how much? how much time? etc)
Thanx a ton!-V

Hey V, Firstly congrats on the Tuck admit. :-) Now, you can do it in 2 ways. Both are thro Indian postal system & available in all post-offices!!

Ship mail - cost about 2000 Rs-wt insurance for 10 kgs (without ins would be 1900 Rs). But they might take a long time.. as in 2 months are so. It must be safe but I am not really sure.. u can enquire about online tracking!! Air mail...cost about 4000 Rs for 10 kgs... it takes about 15 days... :-) Am planning on Shipmail for reading/old books & Airmail for textbooks!! :-) Cheers, Simba

Hello, I am a regular reader of your blog site. Before getting into any other details let me introduce myself.I am Tanay and work for Oracle Corp as a Technical Consultant/ Programmer.

I am 2002 pass out from REC, in Mechanical Engg and since July 2002 have been working with Oracle Corp. I am planning and infact preparing for my MBA in US for the 2006 session. Is it ok that we can talk about a few things on this? I know that you have made into a dream school by now and might be settling or planning your journey by the time my mail reaches you. Can you send me your yahoo id so that we can chat,hope its ok with you. Or is it ok that we talk over email, the reason,I told chat is because my doubts keep pouring one after the other once you talk, which is difficult to jot down and send across mail.

Have a nice day and all the best for your new MBA programme. Hope to hear from you soon.. Rgds, tanay.

Hi Tanay! Thanks for writing in! Yes, I am happy that I am the Class of '07 at Fuqua School of Business. Right now, I am amidst quitting my job & shopping & planning a lot of things! I am not on any of the messengers as I hardly get the time to chat!!! Pl go thro my articles that I have published.

If you do have any specific doubts after u read thro the 'Must read' section, feel free to pen me a mail. I usually manage to reply to the mails I receive... if I dont then I am haplessly busy but bear with me.. u will hear from me!! :-) Wishing you luck & write to me whenever u want!! Cheers!

Simba, Hope you are fine and ready with your packing to board the flight and rush to the foreign shores for your MBA programme.I dont know but after reading your blog site wanted to ask you about a few things.You mentioned that you don’t consider yourself to be a hifi kinda student/candidate but had the unflinching faith in yourself that you would make to a good school and it reaches the peak when you have mentioned about your Wharton app experience.

Let me put it this way,I am also in the same boat as you were but am trying my best to make to a good school. My acads are Ok (4/4 GPA and was not much into sports but am a good quizzer (no self promotion :-) ) and love to work for others meaning for Volunteers groups and kinda)

In 3 years of worklife sp far,I have learnt a lot but somewhere down the line,I felt that I want to do a MBA.Its not because all are doing it and is kind of a craze now,it was sort of a calling and interest to get back to books and meet some interesting people and learn through experiences.Why software for a mechanical engineer ? Well I had my options open but wanted to try my hand at software product development, something which I had never done before. Hey, I have been to few European countries on work and to work with the teachnical teams there and what I wanted to ask you is that, since I did well in those assignments, will my reco letters from those company people help me and how?

I have another doubt,will these sudden shifts like mechanical engineer to software product development and solution architect and now MBA will have a negative impact.I am more than sure and determined about myself that I need a MBA but the fact is how do I link all this. I will keep you posted about my latest.

As for now I have not entered into the sort listing of B-schools part but am running thru the official websites when I am free.I am totally devoting my time to the GMAT prep now as I have taken my test date in Sept 05.Hey I will definitely need your help while applying and related matters. Be in touch,anyways I will be in touch with you thru e-mail.Is it ok with you? Looking fwd to ur reply and thoughts and feel free to write anything you feel like.

Sorry for the late reply. BUSY would be under-estimating!! :-)

>>You mentioned that you dont consider yourself to be a hifi kinda student/candidate but had the unflinching faith in yourself that you would make to a good school and it reaches the peak when you have mentioned about your Wharton app experience.

Hmmm.. guess thats me!! :-) I believe I am normal & normal people make it to good schools. I got a tad unlucky with Wharton though...

Am gonna answer ur specific queries Tanay -

>>since I did well in those assignments,will my reco letters from those company people help me and how ?

I really doubt it!! See, normal reco letters are written by ur immediate supervisor & ex-supervisor. U might use of the clients but u have to be careful about it as the schools usually like ur immediate boss to write. Maybe one can be written by ur current boss & other can be by ur client. See, if u can search on S2S or BW about using clients as refrences!! I am not sure on this one!!

>>I have another doubt, will these sudden shifts like mechanical engineer to> software product development and solution architect and now MBA will have a negative impact.I am more than sure and determined about myself that I need a MBA but the fact is how do I link all this.

U are the best judge. U need to show the connection. How & where is what u need to spend time thinking.. why the moves.. why the changes.. Think hard.. trust ur heart!! maybe your passion.. ur interests something that made u jump.. try to get the common line thro out... but yes, u need to get THAT connection!!

LOL, I would suggest u spend some time with urself & figure out a couple of things. U still have couple of years before u need to make a strong decision.. :-) Cheers.

Hi Simba, It was nice to read your blog. I'd been a member of PG since it was around six months old around CAT 2003 and had been used to your posts as the W-MOD along with anil and urmad. It has been a long time, and a lot of water has passed through the Thames, didn't join SPJIMR, had to leave jobs due to family problems,
was hospitalised, now in a different job and a different country (the States), and finding myself staring at a plateau in my career where the learning is tapering off with most peers/colleagues having families as the first priority and trying to "settle down".

So my mind turns back to that old dream, and now in this land - it's not the CAT but the GMAT that rules - so I try surfin' the net for some info to make up my mind and get me started. Chance to return to PG and stumble upon your blogs from one of the posts! You'd helped a lot during 2003 CAT with the essays with your insights, and it did me a lot of good when I wrote my own. It feels good to know that you're continuing your good work with all the advice and inputs, now also about international MBA. Just wanted to say a note of thanks for your efforts; highly appreciated. ~Cheers!

Thank you Maloy! Lot of people ask me why I do this & what I get out of it - My only answer is 'just helping!' .. Words/ mails like yours definitely makes up for all the time & energy I infuse into this! Thanks for sharing your thoughts! Best of Luck in this phase of journey.. New battefield.. same fears.. You will succeed, Take one at a time! Cheers.

hi simba, How are you? I am regular reader of your blog and am quite disappointed about your dwindling entries.. but i understand that you are very busy and all... well keep writing whenever you can..I had a question for you thou.. I came across one of your entries where you said that you were confused about what you want to do post mba and looking at various options and attending camps of various companies..

my question is: when you had applied to duke, there obviously would have been a section asking about your future plans where i am sure you would have explained what you want to do post mba and how you want to levarage on your mba with your past experience..

so if that was all well decided, how come this confusion now..The only reason for me asking this question is I am currently doing something that I dont plan to do post mba.. Now that being said, when i am writing my essays, I will have to tell the adcom what i want to do after mba and that logically speaking, has to have some kind of link to what i have doing before mba.. otherwise getting a job with no prior exp would be very tough.. So am i allowed to say something in my essay and do something else after joining mba?

I know its a long question, but please do reply at your own convenience...hope you do well in your second term. Regards.

80% of the people who enter a MBA program have no clue what they want to do!

Yes, we all have plans but once you come here, its like the flood gates being open & u see so many opportunities! Obv, then u start evaluating options.. once u get admitted, no one is gonna hold u for following something that u hadnt mentioned on the applicaton. But in the application, u need to realistically portray your career aspirations!

Hi Simba, I went to the Ravi Shankar concert last Friday night in NYC and overheard some people talking about your blog.  Obviously, I had to check it out.  Thanks for the good posts!  I found some very useful information.

I’m very exiting to be applying to Duke this year (Round 2).  I’ll be on campus for a visit and interview in early January.  Prior to that, if you have a few minutes to talk about your experiences so far with Fuqua besides what you’ve posted. I’d really appreciate it. Talk to you soon! (..and Happy Diwali)

Hey Umi, Thanks for the mail. Good Luck with applications. Definitely, this Term is hard & I might not be able to talk to you till I get my break. But we sure have a month break from Dec 13th onwards. Shoot me a mail then... I am in NY for a week. Would like catching up with you! Till then.

Note: Now, Umi is UCLA MBA student.

Hi dere, I read one of your article on International MBA, in Pagalguy.com website. Actually I m also interested in doing MBA from any good university in abroad. But I am having few doubts, i will be delighted if you help me out.

I wanted to know that how much your past acdemic record matter in getting into B Schools, i am a below average student so its major concern for me my acads are not that good. About work exp. i dont have any managerial work exp. , i m working as sw engg so only tecnical knowledge i am having. It will be helpful for me if i do any Ex MBA course from any indian management institute , then i will go for any International MBA course. Thanx n Regards.

Nice to hear from you. I think, past records matter a little but if you have bad acads, you might need to explain why! And also u need a great GMAT score then. Work exp, is ok.. I think :-) Ex MBA in India & later abroad...Just be sure whether the schools u want to go to..would accept double MBA... some schools, dont accept Double MBA!! Look into that.. before u make plans!! :-) BTW, I have sent you an invite to join Pagalgirl. Its a women's forum. And I would like u to be a member there! :-) More later..

Thanx, for valuable information and for the invitation as well. And my planing of double MBA is because of some financial constraint and my bad acads, i heard so many people go for double MBA. After doing MBA from any indian university. Its not true or what, what do u feel its advisable to go for double MBA or not. Basically i wanted my career in marketing , n i felt to deal with international customer u shuld have knowldge of international business ethics. Specialization will help you more in this prospect. If my reason for double MBA were not appropriate then plz correct me, i will b delighted to hv your comment on my view. Thanx n Regards.

Hi, I dont know if you'll remember me, but I sent you a mail some time back regarding the admissions. Its nice to know that you are still actively blogging. I have made it my habit to read your blog regularly now ;-)

I had applied to Duke, and had my interview yesterday. The interview was ok, I guess. However, seeing the number of MBA applicants with final cal from India in the first round, my doubts have just started sprouting. And ya, the 20 nice things about you is a nice read. Have fun! Cheers

Good luck with ur application! I was pretty busy with work.. maybe I missed ur last email! Hope ur interview went on well! Yeah, this time around, the volume from India has doubled.. I say, thanks to me ;-)... Anyway, dont lose hope.. its not over till it is finally over... Hang in there!

Hi Simba, Thanks for such a quick reply. I didnt really expect it so soon. I had a faint idea that the volumes are higher from India this time, but didnt think it were so high. Thanks for the heartening news ;-) I do plan to hang on till the last moment, and maybe even catch the next flight if I miss this one. Btw, my last mail was sent around 8 months back, when you were quite busy with your plan for travel. So I woud not expect you to remember it. Thank you so much for your wishes, Have a nice day!

Hi Sowmya, I am so sorry to hear about your driving license experience. It really isnt that easy to get a license there as it is in India with a hundred rupee note, isnt that so?? ;-)) Well, things are not going good for me either, with all the dings hitting at me. Tuck, Fuqua and Chicago all of them dinged me.

The only small comfort was the soft ding from Tuck, which said that they found my application "interesting and having potential "....hmm dont know what that means.....and is ready to offer me a proactive feedback on how to improve my chances next time....And they claim that this feedback goes only to 10% of the applicants.

Thanks to your idea about the Indian applicant pool, the ding at Fuqua didnt come like a shiver in the spine.. Now, I also think its time for me to introspectively look at my application, for the next time. I really thought that I did an ok job for the application...but dont know where things went wrong...maybe i was too brutally honest without the right backing.

Another thing that I was wondering about is, maybe I should have applied to all these schools in the first round(or early) instead of the second one. And considering the huge number of Indian applicants(who made thru in the first round as well), chances seemed pretty dim in the second round for them to take a less-than-stellar applicant, with just a few yrs of experience. It would be really great if you could give me some inputs. Chalo, have a nice day! And hope u get ur license soon...;-)

Dont think about it!! Just chill out & go full throttle next time! R! or R2.. whatever be the case, put up a stellar app! Take the feedback from Tuck.. work on it... Next time, Atleast Tuck will surely work out!! :) Cheers PS: Sorry for being terse.. just too many things on hand :)

Hi... Will definitely try to put a good application next time, but yeah ..am a little disappointed this time....Anyway, this'll give me an oppurtunity to learn from my mistakes. I can already see that you are quite busy... Howz ur job hunting going on? Take care.

hi sowmya (simba). This is Sanat. First i'll jus tell u wat my CV looks like at present. I'm in my 4th yr civil engg BTech. I hav had decent acads throughout though not outstanding. I havent been a GS(general secretary)etc for any college fest. I will b placed in some construcion company soon(hopefully). I have always looked forward to doin an MBA abroad coz i feel the course is superior abroad. To get into a top-20 b-school (US & UK included), wat do u suggest tht i do in the comin 3-4 yrs  tht im plannin to work here, to boost my CV and giv me a better chance at breakin into the big league!

Will being from civil engg instead of the usual IT/Comps be an advantage or otherwise?? If you could just giv me sum tips as to wat i could do in the comin 3-4 yrs or so wud be very welcome indeed! thanx...hoping for a reply soon.

Sanat, Thanks for your email. I am sorry but I can't tell you what you should be doing to "break into the big league." Just be successful & happy at what you are doing. Other things will follow. I don't think there are obvious advantages of being either Civil or IT. You are a male engineer which is the normal profile b-schools get. But that said, I don't think you have any control over it.. the best you can do is get a good GMAT score and try hard.

Hope you are doing great. Well, i have been following your blogs since a long time, and am in the GMAT - B-school application boat and more importantly needed some good advice, so here i am. i gave my GMAT today, and got a not so exciting 670. I was wondering if this even meets the minimum requirement too for any top 20 B-school!

In brief my profile is: BE, mechanical, first division through out, lots of extra curriculars which includes wining a city level beauty contest, also have been actively involved with voluntary work with the army and also received several token of appreciations (my father is in the army). i have been working since june 2003 (the year i passed out) in software, initially as a developer, but now im a Senior business analyst working in cards domain. im currently based in london, i picked up a job here in 2007 jan, but prior to this i was in taiwan and hong kong for around 6-7 months (this is just to stress on my international work experience). So would have 5 years of experience (with around 2 years international, if i join in fall 2008). The reason i want to do MBA is a career shift, i am very interested in the retail sector, and would want to try my hands at it. My target schools (prior to giving my GMAT) were- Duke, Kelley, NCU, Cornell.

Had i got a 700+ i wouldnt have contemplated applying, but i really am desperate to get into a B-school starting next fall (personal+professional reasons). i want to know what you think i should do! Retaking the GMAT would be my least preferred option! i would be absolutely elated if someone shows me a ray of hope saying i can still give my best shot to my dream schools. many thanks for your time, i would be really grateful if you do reply :) Thanks!

Hi N, Nice name. Good to hear from you! Let me be frank, yes, it is a bad score but not all is bad. I think you have a good profile along with your international experience, beauty contests etc. I am sure you will be able to pull off a good application. But I am not sure how strong your chances will be, it is a relative mesaure... it depends on the profiles of women, esp international women applying to schools. If they are moderate, you have a good chance of getting an admit but no one knows.

I understand that there are personal & professionals reasons to start MBA soon, however, weigh it out with respect to your actual ability - will you be happy to make it to a lower tier school just so you can escape the gmat saga? if you are, then it shouldnt bother you. Go ahead & apply :) I think you have a pretty good shot with all the schools you mentioned with your present GMAT - Duke might be a toughie!

As you refuse to deal with GMAT, I would ask you to apply to all these, work real hard on your application and see what your chances are. No one can guarantee you anything, but I think you will get at least a couple of admits.

However, if you have the energy & enthu to work hard all over again & retry GMAT within a couple of months & reapply to another extra top schools, maybe Tuck Stanford, I dont see anything not working out! yeah, maybe your time & $ but trust me, it will be worth it. :)

Hi Sowmya, Thanks for your encouraging email. I thought over what you said, and it makes prefect sense. I had almost given up on the idea of retaking my GMAT, but i guess i still can before the R2 deadline. I'l apply to two schools with my present score, LBS and UNC. I'l work hard on presenting a competitive R1 application, and i'l be golden if i make it to LBS.

UNC however seems relatively easier to get through, would be my backup. Will take my gmat again in early-mid nov, and then apply to Duke,Cornell,Stanford and may be Chicago by jan (R2 deadlines). Well there will again be a dependancy on my gmat score, but this sounds like a better plan. Atleast i am giving myself a fair chance, plus i feel the experience of applying to two schools in R1 will give me an opportunity to come up with a better application in R2. So i think its time again to pull up my socks and build a convincing story. Thanks for all your help, u r a superstar :D. hope alls well at your end! :)

 

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