From MBA thoughts till acceptance - my MBA story (till now)


Nomination to Clear Admit BOB awards inspired me to sit back and think through my journey on the path of MBA till now.. Last one and half year has been a life changing period since I started my MBA quest. This post is my dedication to that wonderful journey which is now the prelude to more exciting journey that awaits - the journey of 2 year MBA.. So here it goes.

Why MBA ?

Why I decided to do MBA roots from the kind of person I am. Am a people's person who always strives to achieve something everyday at the same time making a difference to the world around me. I am highly multidimensional with varied interests in life. Naturally I felt my engineering education is not sufficient to quench my thirst to master different facets of this world such as business, people management, innovation and more. So MBA was a natural next step for me after an year in software industry and non profits. But I had my share of doubts and uncertainties about opting for an MBA from a US B school. After careful deliberation I decided to go for an MBA in US with a confidence that it will be a decision I will justify any day in my life . Here are some posts which reflect my thoughts during this decision making phase. If you are trying to decide if the MBA is a right thing for you, be sure to check them out.
Why now ?

So I knew MBA was the right thing for me. Next step was to check my readiness to take the next big leap. In this post about early career MBA,I share few pointers about how can I justify my decision to do MBA just after 2 years of work ex.  I also on that point of decided that I would like to come back to India. 

GMAT & TOEFL

Then I booked my dates for TOEFL and GMAT. I have always been comfortable in excelling at exams so these 2 happened without much ado.

TOEFL exam (31 May 2009) was bit screwed up due to crappy facilities at the test center. Exam kept postponing and finally when I exam begun I was out due to hunger and boredom.  I finally finished all 4 sections and managed to score 111/120 in the iBT format and headed straight to airport to see my cousin off to London. One helluva day..

GMAT in August was a breeze. As I had written the coveted CAT exam in 2008, quants was pretty easy and hence I mostly concentrated on verbal section during GMAT preparation.  Had taken a week off from office to prepare but to my luck it turned into sick leave as I was down with fever till 2 days before exam. But probably not over preparing helped me to be fresh on the exam day. Once I finished my GMAT, a score of 750 popped on the screen and I did few yeahs , yuhoos and all that in the test center and went back home.. 

over to more real stuff like essays n i/vs.. 
 

B-school research
Though I had started spending significant time on browsing through MBA rank lists, B School websites from early 2009, finishing my GMAT was the time I turned serious about shortlisting my target B schools. 
Blogging opens a whole new world

Meantime my blogging was reaching new heights with me making several new connections with fellow MBA bloggers, my blog readers and more. Few things which marked my progress was 
Applications and MBA admission interviews

This was one of the most challenging and stimulating periods in my journey. Every essay I wrote enhanced the understanding about myself and my goals. Each self reflection gave me such fresh perspectives about my life and I loved it. Applied to Tepper and Darden in round 1, Olin and Haas in round 2. Interviewed with 1st 3 except for Haas.
 
The coveted acceptance call and Forte Fellow twice. 


Tepper was the 1st one to embrace me. The 1st acceptance news will be cherished all my life. What made the moment more special was the honor of being selected as the Forte Fellow. I was twice lucky when I got acceptance from Olin and was selected for forte fellowship again by Olin too. 


I got my share of dings from Darden and Haas.
 

So its Tepper, CMU - my MBA destination
  Now it was my turn to decide btw Olin and Tepper. Both were great schools but Tepper scored in terms of fit and career goals in technology.  Am totally kicked about attending Tepper and also attended few Tepper events in Bangalore.   I recently declined the Olin MBA seat and am still feeling kinda bad about it. But I had to choose one and let go another. 

Self reflections

In the process I learned 2 major lessons which I will take with me whole of my life
  • No matter what Be yourself
  • Always give time for yourself when things are happening at the crazy speed. Don't forget to enjoy the little cheers that life offers to us. 
Pre-Matriculation craziness - loans, visa, I20 and more..

This section deserves multiple different posts and I will continue to write on it.. 

So that's the story till now.. I apologize for being too long but I hope this helps the readers who want to tread this path themselves to pursue their dream MBA. 

Cheers !!

21 comments:

Jabir Ahmed said...

Well done lady.. :) I always knew u could do it... Abt being urself, Best thing u can do is being u.. :-) Glad u made it into into CMU.. Wish u all the very best.. :) Keep writing, Keep Rocking.. :)

Madhurya Prakash said...

Thanks Jabir :)

shivrajk said...

Hi Madhurya

I stumbled upon ur blog just last week and it's been a storehouse of info for early-career MBA applicants . I also share the passion of blogging but off for a long while and guilt is already creeping in . I msged u the other day on FB . I I am preparing for fall 2011 ! wish u all the best for pre-matric stuffs.
Hey btw congo for ur Tepper Admit :-P

Cheers

Madhurya Prakash said...

Hi Shivraj, Glad you are finding my blog useful. All the best for your applications !

Leo25 said...

Madhurya - glad to see you as the winner of clear admit blog! Will definitely reach out to you during my application process!

Cheers!
Prithvi

Madhurya Prakash said...

Thanks Prithvi !

Anonymous said...

This is some wholesome information for new applicants like me. Congrats on Tepper Madhurya. I hope I make it there next year.

Madhurya Prakash said...

@PPkini, All the best !

Iamwhoiam said...

Hi,
It is one of the very cool and good blog that I have come across. I am doing some research on different Bschools and finding this blog quite informative..

Madhurya Prakash said...

IAmWhoIAm, glad that you are finding my blog useful. All the best to your application n B school journey !

Saleem Khan said...

Congratulations. I find your blog useful for my admission in Business School. Although I'm working but seriously thinking to join top tier business school to do an other Master like EMBA or MS-Finance.

Hope to learn many thing from you. Take care. I'm also following you on twitter "@saleemkh"

Madhurya Prakash said...

@saleem, Glad you are finding my blog useful ! All the best. Tepper's MSCF is a very good option if you are looking at MS in Finance option. All the best !

Rohan Sinha said...

Your recent blog on the MBA in US is simply great. However, inclusion of the names of top MBA institutions in India would have added more charm to it.

Ragh said...

Hi Madhurya,

Your blogs are useful and motivating.

Have utmost respect for what you have achieved. I have learnt a lot from what I have read - hope to emulate, some day :)

Sincere Regards,
Raghav

Unknown said...

Its nice to hear from you some useful information was gathered..... http://www.mentorindia.com/

prasannasneha yadhavan said...


Great thoughts you got there, believe I may possibly try just some of it throughout my daily life.






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