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.

• To do or not to do MBA
• Special considerations for women and minority applicants

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. 

• As a first step I choose 2 year MBA over 1 year MBAs 

• Then I did informational Interview with current mba student to get a better understanding of MBA life 

• Then it was time for me to sit and decide the characteristics of my dream school.
  
• I also improved my US geography knowledge by finding out the locations of the top B schools of US
  
• Next was to find out the and then dividing them to round 1 n round 2application deadlines and essay questions of MBA programs
  
• Next up I did some research on international loan program in Top schools and about how to finance my MBA . This is still on with my quest to find a us cosigner or contemplating about peer to peer lending for MBA

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 

• addition of my blog to the Hella's list of applicant bloggers
• my selection as the 1st global mba blogger for MBAinTheUSA
• my selection to the team of mba bloggers on MBA-channel
• addition of my blog to the Clear Admit Fridays from the frontline blogs list which followed by the exciting nomination to BOB awards.

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 !!

Need Help. Looking out for a Pre-MBA summer Internship

Hey all,

I am hoping to find some help from MBA blogosphere. As you all know I am starting my MBA this fall and intended career focus in general management with a focus on Technology entrepreneurship. Given my limited work experience (2 years before I begin MBA this fall), am looking out for a opportunity to intern this summer in a managerial/strategy position in India or USA.

Pre-MBA internships are not very common but I feel this is a excellent way to position yourself before MBA begins. This is especially important for Career changers or early career candidates like me.

So if any of you are thinking about such internship this summer or know any person/ any company who can provide me with such opportunity, please let me know.

Leave your thoughts in the comments.

Less than 2 years of worx ex ?

There is no doubt that a real world experience adds value to your mba experience. But its a personal choice to decide when one should turn to B school . I am a early career applicant and would like to share some useful pointers for similar applicants.

• Be sure if you really want to do an MBA. Is it money, career, networking ? Be sure about this aspect. Generalist answer to this question will mar your prospects.
  
• Be ready to answer the Why Now ? It becomes more important if you have less work ex. 
• Its very important to have a clear cut sense what you want to do immediately after an MBA. No matter how good an MBA can be, one can not fully utilize it unless they have thought about the process and what to expect from it. So research about career paths available and see if it fits your bill
• Its very important to select those schools which encourage younger applicants or which have the average age of students lesser than the usual numbers as stated in the class profile.
  You can find all these information on B school websites and viewbooks.
• Less work experience means less managerial experience at workplace. Be sure to exercise your leadership at workplace and outside workplace. Leadership is really not tied to the job title. You can show leadership in your personal life, community life.
  Also think about the undergrad experiences and internships and highlight the leadership aspects of the same.
  Sports can also be a good field where you can be a leader
  
• You can use optional essay to address the less work ex issue by showing what else you can bring to table.
• Try to have above average GMAT scores. 
• Work on a good resume. One page is what is welcomed most of the places. It must be the expected professional format.
  

Some useful podcasts and videos which address the issue here

• Video :How can business school applicants strengthen their applications with less than two years of work experience

• A podcast which discusses whats the best age to go for an MBA
  http://www.mbapodcaster.com/MBA_MoreInfo/MBABestAge.asp?iEpisode=13
  

• Some cool advice for younger applicants
  http://www.mbapodcaster.com/MBA_MoreInfo/AdviceYoungApplicants.asp?iEpisode=34

You can also write to me if you want more information or if you want to share some information.

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