Waitlisted by Duke

Duke has placed my application on waitlist. It means the agony continues. I have to investigate what all has to be done now for Duke adcom to think that I am a good enough candidate.

My Status till today

Not all's well at my application end.

Kellogg pushed my app to 2nd round cos they received my toefl scores late.

My recos got lost at Haas, and I had to request my recommenders to re-submit them again. Again this means results are delayed.

Reapplied to ISB, and they got back saying my Class 10 marksheet is missing.

Duke waived my interview because of lack of alumni interviewers. I heard that this isn't a good omen either. Results are due to be out tomorrow, so we'll soon come to know.

Insead's already sent a ding.

Anyways, there's always hope :)

INSEAD ding

Received a DWI from INSEAD last night.
First decision's not gone my way. Hope I get better decisions going forward.
All the Best to me.

TOEFL...

Finally got through with my first round apps this Sunday. Work at office has been so hectic that I have not even had time to look into my application status this past week.

I checked my status on Kellogg website, and it says incomplete! The toefl scores are missing. I had taken the toefl CBT in early September. Unfortunately, I myself have not received the scores, and frequent requests to ets do not seem to help. Their way of sending scores by snail mail really sucks. They should let us access our score reports online. I heard that's possible in the new IBT, but what about people who took the CBT? I know of atleast three more people who did not receive their CBT scores on time.

I have shot a quick mail to the Kellogg adcom asking them to confirm if they still havn't received my official toefl score report from ets. I hope its just a case where its taking them some time to match the application with the records.

Kellogg Alumni Interview Waived

The latest update from Kellogg is that the adcom has waived the requirement of an alumni interview before reviewing my application.

My first reaction to this was disappointment on two counts - one, I miss the chance to interact with an alumni and two, how does this translate when it comes to my chances of getting an admit.

However, a quick mail to my friend at Kellogg has helped. Here's what he says: "not to worry. my interview was waived as well, they called me later.
they will first read your file and then call u as of now it only means that they could not schedule the interview due to logistic issues".

So iDay, and all others(me included) in the same boat can be assured that we are not out of the race, atleast for the time being. Ofcourse, a face to face with an alumni would have been something really nice - but then I dont mind as long as I get through :)

2 down 2 to go..

I submitted my INSEAD and Kellogg applications this week. Read that scarecrow07 got an interview intimation from Kellogg. Am waiting for mine as well now.

I now have around 1 & 1/2 weeks for my other two apps in the first round - Duke and Haas. My essays for both are almost ready, so I think I can afford a small vacation of two days on Diwali, before diving back into my applications.

Favorite quote and happiness

I am pleased with myself today :). The first essay question at Haas goes thus: "1.What is your favorite quote, and why is it meaningful to you? (250 word maximum) "

I finshed my Haas essays around 15 days back. All but this one. Usually, I do not start writing any essay till I have a strucutre drawn for all the questions. Haas was different. It made me think of a quote I related to the most, and why? This was taking too much time. I am not the kind who has one single favorite for anything. There are numerous quotes I like and many I come across daily.

I wanted to write something that resonated with my personality completely. I finally found that quote early morning yesterday, and it took me less than an hour to write off my essay. I am happy I got this quote question out of my way. I realized that off late I had started looking for a meaningful quote when I talked to my manager or colleagues. I'll have to change a couple of sentences in other essays in order for this essay to fit the overall picture. But the situation is under control now :)

Updates

Finally submitted Part1 of my Kellogg application today. Sent mails to one of my recommenders with INSEAD reco link, and also a reminder to start on the Kellogg reco. My other recommender was away on vacation last week, and has now suddenly caught viral fever. Hope he gets well soon.

Saturday is a working day here in Bangalore due to a state wide strike that happened yesterday. Saturdays are the most productive days for me when it comes to my application. Hope I made up for it yesterday :)

Lots of brushing up to do on my essays...

Parameters

So after after some Infosessions that I have attended, here's the crux of what B schools are looking for in the application package:

Demonstrated Leadership and excellence
Awareness of surroundings and ability to learn from it
Ethics n morals
Initiative
Perseverance
Creativity
Community empathy
Communication abilities
Emotional intelligence
Teamwork
Passion

Though not an exhaustive list, it covers most of the traits that matter. Apart from this, they really expect us to know the school well.

The best fit

Attended the GSB Chicago Infosession earlier this week. It was hosted at the same place as Wharton's last week. All adcoms are interested in knowing why that particular university is the right fit for us. The concern is valid. A right combination helps both the school and the student in the long run. What I am looking for in these sessions is how these schools differentiate themselves from each other. In this case, I must say the sessions did not serve my purpose.

Both schools sold themselves very well. They had an impressive set of past alumni and current students in their ranks. Both boasted of world class faculty. Both insisted that community involvement is high on their agenda. Both iterated that their school is not just about one particular major, but about holistic learning.

Most people attending such sessions are more interested in knowing about the application process than about the university itself. The Wharton session was more informative in that sense as they gave a good insight into how they go about their application handling and how their quest for the best does not stop at only one particular part of the application. But then again, I did not go to the infosessions just to know that they scrutinize my application really well.

My search is still on....

Making and Breaking

These essays are definitely the most intersting part of the application. I finished my first drafts for INSEAD about a week back. Think I did a pretty decent job with them. Have spent the past week in getting them edited from friends, listening to their views and incorporating relevant suggestions. Parallely, the outline for the next set of essays has been drawn.

Personally, I am enjoying writing those 'out of the box' essays much more. Kellogg's are one of the better set of essays when it comes to giving the applicant space over what to write and where. I am a bit confused over the word limit here though. Not sure how much is too much. Guess I am ok as long as I weave a meaningful story.

As the essay evolves, my opinions about my application keep changing. The beginning is always optimistic when you think you have so much to write and so less space. Then comes the rigour phase, where you try to fit in the right words at the right places - suspecting you might miss something vital. After a lot of ups and downs, the essay finally takes a shape, only for your friend to tell you this is actually not quite as polished as you think it is! Next, you start editing, and showing it to present students and alumni. Their suggestions are always the most valuable as they've been there, done that! The Clearadmit blogs seem to be good help to know if you are going in the right direction or not.

After all these makings and breakings, i just hope the application reflects my personality well!

Eating, Sleeping and Drinking

When do you start saying you eat, sleep and drink applications these days? The other day, I read the word 'instead'written somewhere and inadvertently missed the 't' in it! Well, looking at water makes me think of Wharton these days. Cornflakes look like they've been imported directly from Northwestern University.

I was expecting applications to take their toll on me alright. The manner was not expected. Its quite an awakening experience anyways. Deciding I need an MBA at this point was not tough. Explaining this to others is interesting, but not as easy. Hope it all ends on a triumphant note.

Attended the Wharton info session at Bangalore yesterday. Admissions director Thomas Caheel was there. Wharton has this aura around it alright. And the session had nothing that would dimish that. There was an impressive looking gentleman from Bain Capital (who has deferred his admit and will be joining the class of '09 next year), a current second year student and an IAS officer from the class of '90. Apart from the usual stats, Thomas tried his best to tell us that Wharton is not only about finance, and how students have a plethora of choices open to them besides that too. Personally, I believe that no school can boast to be the best in the world based on its strength in just one field. All in all, the session helped in getting a feel of the kind of classmates you will have there and the kind of people you will be competing against for an admit. Might be applying to wharton in the second round - not sure as of now. GSB Chicago is up next, and I hear their info sessions are something one must look forward to.

I'll get back to my applications now, before I start mixing my Kelloggs in wharton insead of putting them into milk.