Yes!!! Finally my Ross application is in with recos and all... Ideally I would have loved to submit Ross 10-15 days ago but as Mr. Murphy would have it, things had to go haywire...
Last minute while re reading my essays I realised something was amiss. Just took a minor change in structure to make my team skills explicit but nonetheless took me ages to get it perfect.
One of my reviewers (a current student at Ross) got back to me this morning with comments, hours after I had submitted it.Thankfully he liked my essays and we were in sync on my weakest link (the leadership essay -- it was more mechanical and not as reflective as it should be). I had taken care of it before submitting.
One of my rec's was totally into hibernation, realised this evening that he hasn not had net access for the past 3 days, so all my frantic SOS mails were lying unattended in his mailbox. Left him a voicemail and voila! in 40 mins the reco was in. Hope he had it all filled up earlier and was just waiting to hit submit... else I'm doomed.
The good thing about the Ross application is that it is pretty compact, the bad thing- 100 characters and at times 4 lines of text is not enough!
Now that Ross is in some how I just cant get myself to work on other apps.. I'm just waiting to Go Blue!!!
I am seriously contemplating postponing Duke to Round 2 . Need to check the consequences of doing so (scolarship consideration, application volume, competition etc etc).
At the Stern Reception , the adcom rep. said that there is absolutely no advantage on submitting on 20th Oct instead of 15th Nov. However, I read in some forum that its rolling. Need to confirm this too, else will work on Stern from 30th Oct. Need to complete essay 3.
Now I need to finish what matters the most to me and why in the next few days!
All the best fellow bloggers!!!!
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Of my first submit, some palpatations, a lot of excitement and more......
I just clicked on the Submit button in my Johnson application!!!
I momentarily lost a heartbeat and had a panic attack (have I filled in correctly... am i sure there are no spelling mistakes... have I goofed up anywhere.... and blah blah blah)
But now I feel so much better and lighter..Irrespective of the outcome..I know I gave it my best shot.
A couple of inputs to those who are yet to submit the Johnson app:
1. Johnson is one of the very few (or should I say only school) that gives some room (read words) to the applicant to fill in activities and ECs. Make the most of it but yes do not go overboard just coz u see 5000 characters!
2.There is no point is agonizing over formatting coz the word processor just does not allow it. This really messed up my table of contents and all the hours I had spent in sprucing it up and making it look real were an absolute waste. You are better off spending your time in proofreading the app.
Now its one down and 4 to go.....
Its now time to Go Blue!!!!
I momentarily lost a heartbeat and had a panic attack (have I filled in correctly... am i sure there are no spelling mistakes... have I goofed up anywhere.... and blah blah blah)
But now I feel so much better and lighter..Irrespective of the outcome..I know I gave it my best shot.
A couple of inputs to those who are yet to submit the Johnson app:
1. Johnson is one of the very few (or should I say only school) that gives some room (read words) to the applicant to fill in activities and ECs. Make the most of it but yes do not go overboard just coz u see 5000 characters!
2.There is no point is agonizing over formatting coz the word processor just does not allow it. This really messed up my table of contents and all the hours I had spent in sprucing it up and making it look real were an absolute waste. You are better off spending your time in proofreading the app.
Now its one down and 4 to go.....
Its now time to Go Blue!!!!
Saturday, September 20, 2008
I am spooked !
I just saw 3 movies in a row and yeah Cocktail happens to be one of them hence the title!
I have been doing everything under the sun , but essay writing for the past 10 days. My essays have not been trashed by my reviewers and that definitely has me relieved..So now I'm done with a bulk of my essays which I can tweak around for most schools.. but that still doesnt bring me close to that elusive "submit" I'm impatient to get done...
While I have been looking at Cornell more closely I just realised Cornell and UMitch are so very alike. Be it immersion and MAP or action based learning or co-creation or Impact..even essay on professional accomplishment (sans the word limit) is ditto!
Ohh and the real reason why i am spooked.... i din think its a MUST to waive off rights to reco letters and so I selected the option to view them later....but just read in some of the forum that its best to leave them inaccessible to the applicant. Should I be worried????
I have been doing everything under the sun , but essay writing for the past 10 days. My essays have not been trashed by my reviewers and that definitely has me relieved..So now I'm done with a bulk of my essays which I can tweak around for most schools.. but that still doesnt bring me close to that elusive "submit" I'm impatient to get done...
While I have been looking at Cornell more closely I just realised Cornell and UMitch are so very alike. Be it immersion and MAP or action based learning or co-creation or Impact..even essay on professional accomplishment (sans the word limit) is ditto!
Ohh and the real reason why i am spooked.... i din think its a MUST to waive off rights to reco letters and so I selected the option to view them later....but just read in some of the forum that its best to leave them inaccessible to the applicant. Should I be worried????
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Supercalifragilisticexpalidocious
Yes , it aptly describes the state of my mind! I wish I were Mary Poppins or Alice in Wonderland tucked away from mundane matters like essays and recos and transcripts. Hah!
Some updates and mundane matters I'm working on right now:
Johnson- Essay 3 "You are the author for the book of Your Life Story. Please write the Table of Contents for the book"
I don't know if I am missing something or if the word count for this is actually missing on the application. But I checked with the adcom and was asked to stick to the 400 word limit "for all essays".
I was not too ecstatic initially and it took me a while to figure out how to go about it but as I started... I realised this is the only essay I have come across so far that can speak volumes about us and our life cycle.It allows us to show where we are coming from, what shapes our thought process, what kind of transitions we have made, how we balance work and play, what have been our highs in life...how we overcame our lows...what are we passionate about...what have we done about it....where are we headed next....and so much more!!!
I wish I could copy paste it for "the personal statement" for Stern...it would be ideal....but Stern adcom ain't no fool neither am I !!!
Ross Essays
First draft of all 4 Ross essays are ready and out for review. My reviewer has a very busy schedule these days but all the dog faces I am making, seem to be doing the trick and I've been promised comments by Friday morning !!!
I still need to put all 4 of them together and see if they paint a holistic picture about my thoughts and actions in all spheres. But I think I'll wait till I get the comments. No point if I have to completely trash an essay!!!
Stern Essays
Stern Essay 1 & 2 are ready and with my reviewer as well. I did get some good comments which I totally agree with and shall incorporate soon. But Stern deadline being much later.. I have decided to put it on hold right now. I started off on essay 3 some time back but I think I can do better on the creativity front so I shall get back to it once I am done with Ross and Johnson.
Blog entries, collage, snapshots from holidays, mock interviews on Oppy, menu cards etc are some of the creative entries applicants have conjured up in the past. For now I think I'll stick to 500 words only!
I'm loving every bit of Stern that I keep discovering. But yes Stern's fascination for numbers (GMAT ,GPA) does make me wince. Did you know all the Male Indian Techies (i'm not at all in favor of any discrimination but right now I'm glad I don't have the Y chromosome!) who joined in 2006 had an avg GMAT of 760!!! (I hope I'm proven wrong!!)
Duke Essays
Duke is getting the royal snub right now. Been ages since I worked on the essays. A couple of them are ready though. Its just that deadlines are later and I'm not all that excited about Duke.
Fluff & Puff
These 2 words have been etched in my mind forever and I hope in every b-school applicant's mind as well. Essays should not be full of "Fluff"..fancy , generic stuff that leaves the reader wondering if applicant 2 and applicant 22 are the same. Fluff will also remind the reader of the canned tuna fish rotting in his/her fridge for an eternity. Bad idea to Fluff!!
Coming onto Puff. None of us could stress less on the downfalls on puffing the resume or going overboard on the essays. Don't think its a great idea to cross the thin line between selling yourself and lying your way through.
Application Forms
I'm guessing most of us take the general form lighly (other than essays and recos) but I think its prudent to give due weightage to it. Most applications forms are frugal with their word limit on Work History, ECs, Achievements etc (Johnson is very generous in this case) and we need to ensure that we don't miss out on any salient point. I'm wondering to what extent can we put in data not available on the resume (related to EC or work history in some cases)
Recos
I do not have great news on this front nor am I panicking. I spoke to my supervisor today and he has promised to have Johnson and Ross done in the next 2 weeks. Just have to keep reminding him to get it done. He actually asked me if the application software used analytics to keep track of how many modifications the recommender made to gauge his thought process!!!ApplyYourSelf do you do that???!!! And I was really glad to hear him say that he wants to go through each question thoroughly and be as specific as possible. My other recommender resurfaces once a while but I understand he is busy tying up loose ends before making a trans atlantic move... Nonetheless since he has asked me to manage his time I shall do just that and keep sending him reminder mails.
Transcripts are scanned (need to rescan them for pdf versions less than 500 kb), resume done, need to report scores to Duke and Johnson. Hope I am not missing out on anything.
All the best guys!!And since it seems Columbia has already started sending out interview invites for ED...break a leg!!!
Some updates and mundane matters I'm working on right now:
Johnson- Essay 3 "You are the author for the book of Your Life Story. Please write the Table of Contents for the book"
I don't know if I am missing something or if the word count for this is actually missing on the application. But I checked with the adcom and was asked to stick to the 400 word limit "for all essays".
I was not too ecstatic initially and it took me a while to figure out how to go about it but as I started... I realised this is the only essay I have come across so far that can speak volumes about us and our life cycle.It allows us to show where we are coming from, what shapes our thought process, what kind of transitions we have made, how we balance work and play, what have been our highs in life...how we overcame our lows...what are we passionate about...what have we done about it....where are we headed next....and so much more!!!
I wish I could copy paste it for "the personal statement" for Stern...it would be ideal....but Stern adcom ain't no fool neither am I !!!
Ross Essays
First draft of all 4 Ross essays are ready and out for review. My reviewer has a very busy schedule these days but all the dog faces I am making, seem to be doing the trick and I've been promised comments by Friday morning !!!
I still need to put all 4 of them together and see if they paint a holistic picture about my thoughts and actions in all spheres. But I think I'll wait till I get the comments. No point if I have to completely trash an essay!!!
Stern Essays
Stern Essay 1 & 2 are ready and with my reviewer as well. I did get some good comments which I totally agree with and shall incorporate soon. But Stern deadline being much later.. I have decided to put it on hold right now. I started off on essay 3 some time back but I think I can do better on the creativity front so I shall get back to it once I am done with Ross and Johnson.
Blog entries, collage, snapshots from holidays, mock interviews on Oppy, menu cards etc are some of the creative entries applicants have conjured up in the past. For now I think I'll stick to 500 words only!
I'm loving every bit of Stern that I keep discovering. But yes Stern's fascination for numbers (GMAT ,GPA) does make me wince. Did you know all the Male Indian Techies (i'm not at all in favor of any discrimination but right now I'm glad I don't have the Y chromosome!) who joined in 2006 had an avg GMAT of 760!!! (I hope I'm proven wrong!!)
Duke Essays
Duke is getting the royal snub right now. Been ages since I worked on the essays. A couple of them are ready though. Its just that deadlines are later and I'm not all that excited about Duke.
Fluff & Puff
These 2 words have been etched in my mind forever and I hope in every b-school applicant's mind as well. Essays should not be full of "Fluff"..fancy , generic stuff that leaves the reader wondering if applicant 2 and applicant 22 are the same. Fluff will also remind the reader of the canned tuna fish rotting in his/her fridge for an eternity. Bad idea to Fluff!!
Coming onto Puff. None of us could stress less on the downfalls on puffing the resume or going overboard on the essays. Don't think its a great idea to cross the thin line between selling yourself and lying your way through.
Application Forms
I'm guessing most of us take the general form lighly (other than essays and recos) but I think its prudent to give due weightage to it. Most applications forms are frugal with their word limit on Work History, ECs, Achievements etc (Johnson is very generous in this case) and we need to ensure that we don't miss out on any salient point. I'm wondering to what extent can we put in data not available on the resume (related to EC or work history in some cases)
Recos
I do not have great news on this front nor am I panicking. I spoke to my supervisor today and he has promised to have Johnson and Ross done in the next 2 weeks. Just have to keep reminding him to get it done. He actually asked me if the application software used analytics to keep track of how many modifications the recommender made to gauge his thought process!!!ApplyYourSelf do you do that???!!! And I was really glad to hear him say that he wants to go through each question thoroughly and be as specific as possible. My other recommender resurfaces once a while but I understand he is busy tying up loose ends before making a trans atlantic move... Nonetheless since he has asked me to manage his time I shall do just that and keep sending him reminder mails.
Transcripts are scanned (need to rescan them for pdf versions less than 500 kb), resume done, need to report scores to Duke and Johnson. Hope I am not missing out on anything.
All the best guys!!And since it seems Columbia has already started sending out interview invites for ED...break a leg!!!
Friday, August 15, 2008
Back Up or Back Out !!!
That's what I realised this afternoon and copied all my app. data into my ipod...My machine has been giving me some problems for the past few days..being very very irrational - taking ages to open the browser...i'm perpetually getting to see "windows not responding"...
What if my machine goes into irreversible hibernation one fine day and I lose out on all my app. data ?!?
The though itself gives me the shivers..
So I immediately backed up my MBA folder and now I feel much much better...
I don't think I need to say something as elementary as this but I hope you guys are constantly backing up your app..
On some other musings... I was wondering if Michael Phelps would ever need to come up with the entire application package or just a call to the adcom would see him sail through!!!
What if my machine goes into irreversible hibernation one fine day and I lose out on all my app. data ?!?
The though itself gives me the shivers..
So I immediately backed up my MBA folder and now I feel much much better...
I don't think I need to say something as elementary as this but I hope you guys are constantly backing up your app..
On some other musings... I was wondering if Michael Phelps would ever need to come up with the entire application package or just a call to the adcom would see him sail through!!!
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
KTS-II works fine for me!
I was just going through http://www.businessweek.com/bschools/content/jul2008/bs20080731_704113.htm which mentions the Keirsey Temperment Sorter. It refers the MBTI so it should be pretty authentic. I saw that the only spending I'd have to do is a couple of mins so I decided to take the test. And voila the results mirrored my personality perfectly! I'm an Idealist. Perfectomondo. Further on I fit the role of a Champion. YaY !!!
More on it here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keirsey_Temperament_Sorter.
I'm feeling even more energised now :)
More on it here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keirsey_Temperament_Sorter.
I'm feeling even more energised now :)
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Writer's Block :-/
Its been over 15 days that I have been handed out 8 of the (atleast) 40 essays I got to write and all that I have managed in the past 2 weeks is just 1. (Yes I am hanging my head down in shame!)
I have my content with me but I am finding it really difficult to structure my essay. I'm wondering how to start "How will you contribute to the overall experience of your peers at Duke?" Should it have some punch and creativity or should I be "precise" as expected by all adcoms...and then I have 2 pages (more than 1000 words if I use a Font Size of 10) to tell the adcom how I am a "leader of consequence". Still trying to figure out how much will come across as a jack of all (sometimes this cld actually be + ) and how much will consitute as rambling....
The person/experience/event has its outline ready but then again creating a smooth flow and giving a clear insight into how he/she/it has contributed to who I am today needs some work on my end....
The only 1 I have ready so far is career goals and why duke... needs a bit of tweaking and trimming but I think its nearly there.... itching to send it across to my reviewers but gotta wait for the others to get done :(
The other set of essays out is Ross.. Ross is my mecca! and I think I have been adviced correctly not to start off with it. But I have been thinking of my "alternate career"...had an initial choice of 3 but I think I have narrowed it down to 1. Being me I'd love to give all 3 a shot and I'm sure I wouldn't do too badly either! Coming onto "challenging time" I'm sure all those who know me will instantly recall a personal incident (and people actually have) but I am wondering if I want to write about it and if it would speak about my candidature...Professional accomplishment -I shall wait for my current project to finish...none of my past projects could ever beat this one...
Career goals and why Ross- I thought this would be a cake walk! I've been in love with Ross for over 2 years now but then isn't it true that feelings cannot be always expressed in words! (yeah yeah I know excuses :((( )
So there goes I have 8 essays to write so far... spent some time thinking bout each one.. but just have the 1st draft of only 1 ready....hmmmnnnn I have miles to go before I sleep .....
I wonder how the others are faring...hope I'm not the sole one suffering from a writer's block!
I have my content with me but I am finding it really difficult to structure my essay. I'm wondering how to start "How will you contribute to the overall experience of your peers at Duke?" Should it have some punch and creativity or should I be "precise" as expected by all adcoms...and then I have 2 pages (more than 1000 words if I use a Font Size of 10) to tell the adcom how I am a "leader of consequence". Still trying to figure out how much will come across as a jack of all (sometimes this cld actually be + ) and how much will consitute as rambling....
The person/experience/event has its outline ready but then again creating a smooth flow and giving a clear insight into how he/she/it has contributed to who I am today needs some work on my end....
The only 1 I have ready so far is career goals and why duke... needs a bit of tweaking and trimming but I think its nearly there.... itching to send it across to my reviewers but gotta wait for the others to get done :(
The other set of essays out is Ross.. Ross is my mecca! and I think I have been adviced correctly not to start off with it. But I have been thinking of my "alternate career"...had an initial choice of 3 but I think I have narrowed it down to 1. Being me I'd love to give all 3 a shot and I'm sure I wouldn't do too badly either! Coming onto "challenging time" I'm sure all those who know me will instantly recall a personal incident (and people actually have) but I am wondering if I want to write about it and if it would speak about my candidature...Professional accomplishment -I shall wait for my current project to finish...none of my past projects could ever beat this one...
Career goals and why Ross- I thought this would be a cake walk! I've been in love with Ross for over 2 years now but then isn't it true that feelings cannot be always expressed in words! (yeah yeah I know excuses :((( )
So there goes I have 8 essays to write so far... spent some time thinking bout each one.. but just have the 1st draft of only 1 ready....hmmmnnnn I have miles to go before I sleep .....
I wonder how the others are faring...hope I'm not the sole one suffering from a writer's block!
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