A new phase begins - wrapping up round 1.. Time for round 2

 

So As I told in my last post, I dint get acceptance from one of my dream schools - Darden. It was my 1st ding but I recovered from it surprisingly fast and came out stronger and wiser. So that's about the image above - I always move up when I move on - Here is how I did that

Some Self Reflection -  Thought why Darden and me were not meant to be together. I feel its the fit factor. One, I am looking for a career in technology post MBA with a emphasis on clean technology sector. But Darden students usually focus on consulting, finance. So probably a applicant with a different career focus got ahead of me. Two, the Darden type interviews (read 30 minute monologue) are best done in person. Its very hard to gauge how you are doing in a telephonic i/v. I probably dint represent my best self in this type of environment.

Talked with my best buddy and one more buddy - This really helps. Go and talk to people who know you the best. They will get you out of the mess and put back that confidence and energy in you. I am fortunate to have my best friend S who knows me inside out and can get me out from any mess I get into. Also my MBA guru and dear friend P helped me in the process.

Get some cue MBA Blogosphere - you guys just rock. Right from Sarah of accepted.com to DreamChaser, Fabio and a fellow Tepper admit right away expressed their support and stood by me.. Thanks guys you all rock. It always feel great to hear from people who are in the same boat extending a warm hand of support.

Also having a admit with fellowship already really helps. I am fortunate to start my MBA results series with Tepper admit and the prestigious Forte fellowship. This ding saved me from the possible dilemma btw choosing Darden and Tepper.. Now in full swing am gonna enter post admit process of Tepper.

So that wraps up my round 1 journey. 1 admit, 1 ding and infinite learning. I am definitely a more self aware person. Ciao Round 1.

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Welcome Round 2

Though I already started round 2 quiet a time back, I really dint get to write much about it on my blog. To brief it up I applied to Olin (WUSTL) and Haas in round 2.

In terms of fit Haas is the best school for me (technology and social enterprise strengths). So I had decided to apply last for Haas so that I put in my best application. I will write a separate post about why I chose Haas. In short, Haas was a great choice for me and I applied in round 2 and waiting to hear from them.

I also applied to Olin in round 2. I must admit it was a pleasure submitting Olin app. So simple, So hassle free. No application fee, No recommendation required. I am interviewing with Olin today.

So what can you expect from now on.

1. As I start my financial aid process at tepper, I will write more about I20, Students loans, Visa process as I learn about them. Fellow blogger Hari has promised to help me in it. I hope this helps other international admits as wells
2. I also plan to write more about my choice of schools for round 2, specifically about my dream school Haas. The day I interviewed Pejman (Haas MBA 2010) for this blog , I loved the Haas culture and strengths. So you can read more about Haas.

That's all folks. Wish me luck for the Olin interview today.

A new chapter begins........ And am sure this phase of journey will bring much more to me in terms of happiness, success and  knowledge..... Am looking forward to it :) 

Ouch !!! 1st Ding - Darden says no

So here is the not so good news. Darden dinged me. Probably the fit factor dint work out. Yes am feeling sad. Feeling like a very dear one ditched me.

But time to move on. Life probably has chosen whats best for me (Tepper) or it has some probable good news in store (Haas or Olin). Am interviewing with Olin tomorrow.

A hearty congrats to those who got in.

What will I eat when I leave my home for my MBA

Are you looking out for some useful mba related information in this post ?
case 1 - yes  - Then close this window and do something useful. This post has got nothing to do with MBA stuff

case 2 - No you are just looking out for some fun reading and ready to read my rants about myself. Yeah you are at a right place. Go on !

To those who don't know the kind of foodie I am, here is a brief list down. I love the food if its

• pure veg
• No garlic
• preferably prepared by my amma (mom) :D

Yeah am a pure, total, hard core veggie who runs away even by the smell of garlic. So forget meat/egg/whatever else. But there are so many delicious recipes that fall under my area of "eatables" that I can safely call myself a FOODIE.  :D . And yeah am a decent cook too :) but when amma is around, all I do is enjoy her "kai adige"  (kannada term meaning the food prepared by her)

So I was lil curious about my fate (Read it as I am REALLY WORRIED ABOUT WHAT WILL I EAT !!) when I come to US this fall. Have heard about how hard it can get to get a real vegetarian meal abroad.
My web scouting landed me to this interesting flow chart (courtesy : Topcultured) about what to eat.
Perfecto !! Was this the answer to my foodie worries ? I decided to check out. But it so happens that I answer no for every damn question here :(

Alas !!! my worries still continue to haunt me. I think its high time I went back to kitchen and sharpen my culinary skills. So my dear kitchen, here I come :)

For those who are getting curious, here is that foodie flowchart :) For full sized version click here

Found one more interesting food chart about if we should eat food which we dropped on ground. :D Courtesy  SFweekly

Lets keep in touch the twitter way !!

Hey All,

I added a twitter based discussion forum - twitter board - to my blog. Now you can post your thoughts/comments/requests/rants as tweets using this cool new feature.To get started just click on the vertical button on the left side of the window which reads TWEETS. So go on friends, try this out and let me know what you think. Lets keep in touch the twitter way !!


I have few more updates to share which I will list down here briefly. Work is keeping me very busy but I plan to write a detailed post about each of these some time soon

• Attended Darden Coffee Chat Bangalore.
• Attended Berkeley Coffee Chat Bangalore
• Finished my Darden interview  on 7th January. It was a telephonic interview with Adcom.Will be hearing from Darden this 28th and am keeping my fingers crossed to hear a Yes from this school which is so close to my heart !!
• Got interview invite from Olin (WUSTL) and am yet to schedule it. 
  
• Received my Tepper welcome packet (loved it). Checking out loads of letters and info which accompanied the welcome packet. Will also be attending the Tepper admit student meet which is happening in Bangalore this 30th.
  
• Clueless about the post admit processes like Visa, I20 and loans. Can anybody help me !

So whats up with you folks ???

P.S - Twitter Board is a new technology on board and still in alpha stage. If you want to try it out you can get an invite here

Being Yourself - My 2 cents

 Image Courtesy: http://www.flickr.com/photos/victornuno/ / CC BY-NC 2.0

"Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else"
this is the quote I love and I have followed this all my life. MBA application journey was no exception. Right from school selection to essay responses I have been the true myself. I wrote a post on MBA in The USA regarding the importance of being yourself and its correspondence to various stages of MBA apping process. You can read the article here.
http://www.mbaintheusa.com/2010/01/08/the-importance-of-being-yourself-in-the-mba-application-process/


Note : I am global blogger for the site MBA in The USA and I write a blog post each month about various aspects of MBA and application process. You can read my other articles on MBA in The USA site here : http://www.mbaintheusa.com/category/global-bloggers/

Forbes Woman shares some handy tips to networking

Courtesy : Binkiexxx on Flickr

I came across this very useful article about networking best practices. It makes sense to us, mba applicants as we have already started the process of networking or going to start it anytime soon. As I always say never network for the heck of it but be genuinely interested to build lasting and meaningful relationships.

Here are the 5 tips the article gives to us.

1. Arrive Early
   
2. Offer a Simple Introduction
3. Ask Questions to engage others
4. Make the Biz Card Exchange Meaningful 
5. Follow up post the event

Read the full article here : http://www.forbes.com/2010/01/06/networking-event-conversation-forbes-woman-net-worth-relationship.html

Happy networking folks !

It seems as if this song was written for me :)

courtesy : sanchezdot 

I have a dream, a song to sing

To help me cope with anything

If you see the wonder of a fairy tale

You can take the future even if you fail

I believe in angels

Something good in everything I see

I believe in angels

When I know the time is right for me

Ill cross the stream - I have a dream

I have a dream, a fantasy

To help me through reality

And my destination makes it worth the while

Pushing through the darkness still another mile

I believe in angels

Something good in everything I see

I believe in angels

When I know the time is right for me

Ill cross the stream - I have a dream

Ill cross the stream - I have a dream

I have a dream, a song to sing

To help me cope with anything

If you see the wonder of a fairy tale

You can take the future even if you fail

I believe in angels

Something good in everything I see

I believe in angels

When I know the time is right for me

Ill cross the stream - I have a dream

Ill cross the stream - I have a dream