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 :) 

Darden Interview Preparation & Few Userful resources

After tasting the 1st moment of success this Monday for being admitted to Tepper and being selected as Forte Fellow, its time to get more enthusiastic about the MBA application journey and my next important milestone is the Darden Admissions Interview which is scheduled on January 7th. It will be a telephonic interview and I don't know who my interviewer is. I have read that Darden conducts blind interviews where the interviewer knows nothing about the applicant and has no previous access to applicant's applications.

I have always felt a great fit for Darden. The Darden admission reception and brainstorming/writing/rewriting the Darden essays were all great experiences. Now that Darden has embraced my thoughts in the form of my essays and extended interview invite, I hope I can articulate my fit with Darden and project my candidacy the right way in the interview so that I can get accepted at Darden.

I feel the key to succeed in interview is to clearly understand the natuhre of the interview and its a bonus to know the interviewer. But we should never over do the latter part to the extent of pestering our interviewer or scaring him/her away with a sense of over enthusiasm. But it definitely helps to have a clear idea about how the interview is going to happen. One major resource that has been helpful in my interview preparation is the "UVA DARDEN SCHOOL OF BUSINESS: CLEAR ADMIT INTERVIEW GUIDE"

what I liked about this i/v guide

This I/V guide is a well researched, extensive guide to applicants. ClearAdmit has compiled many relevant data points regarding the interview and compiled it in a very readable way in this guide. Applicants can gain all the relevant information at one place through this guide. My specific takeaways from this guide which will also help fellow applicants are

• Darden conducts blind interviews where the interviewer is either an adcom, trained second year student (for on-campus interviews) or Alumni (for international interviews).
  I would like to add here that as in my case, Darden also conducts telephonic interviews when alumni is not available in the applicant region. And blind interview gives you the freedom to reiterate your skills/achievements/aspirations that you have already expressed in you essays without the risk of sounding repetitive to the interviewer.
  
  
• Darden Interviews are by-invitation-only and every applicant is interviewed prior to getting accepted. So interviews are an essential part of the admission process and hence to be dealt with meticulously
  
  
• The interview typically lasts for 30 - 45 minutes but might stretch upto 1 hour when alumni is involved so its important to be flexible and prepared. Darden is famous for asking just one question in its interview which is "Tell me your story from cradle to chair". So be ready to present your life story in a way which makes sense in a MBA interview.
  My idea is to touch all the important milestones of life and articulate the reasons for my choices in life. Why I chose a particular college, company, career path, community activity and why it makes sense to my overall career vision.
  
  
• Guide also has first hand interview experiences from past applicants and also a set of expected questions.
  I have found that the Clear Admit wiki page http://www.clearadmit.com/wiki/index.php?title=DardenInterview and http://www.accepted.com/mba/InterviewFeedback.aspx  contain useful i/v feedback from previous i/vs.
  
  
• For those going on campus for interview, this guide gives all information needed to reach, visit, stay and interview at Darden. So US applicants watch out for this section. 

Things I had wished to see in this guide

I am a international applicant who won't be doing a on campus interview but a telephonic interview. So it would be a real value addition to this book if it has a dedicated section for "remote interviews" like telephonic and skype interviews.

And the book should provide links to the Darden Interview page on Clear Admit Wiki to help the readers. This will give some extra resources to the readers and at the same time readers will be encouraged to share their interview experience with the world through this wiki. Other than these I feel this guide can be really useful to applicants preparing for their Darden interview. The last section - "General Interview guide" can help you out in any MBA interview not only Darden.
I am also planning to talk to current students about the remote interviews to get some sense about how it usually goes. So that's about my Darden Interview Prep. All the best to fella applicants who are getting R1 decisions or submitting R2 apps. Happy holidays and a Merry Christmas !

P.S - Thanks ClearAdmit for providing me with a copy of "UVA DARDEN SCHOOL OF BUSINESS: CLEAR ADMIT INTERVIEW GUIDE.  You can check out more about the available clear admit i/v guides here

Darden interview invite and a relaxing weekend !

Hey all,

After finishing a gruelling mba application schedule on Friday, I decided to take on a different route this weekend. I packed my bag and left to Mysore. Mysore is where I did my graduation and the place I love the most. Its a heaven to be in and I have some zillion memories of life and some most special persons associated with this magical place. I had a relaxing 2 days at my grand ma's place and with my friends. I came back to Bangalore and I had one more good news awaiting me in my gmail inbox.  My dream school Darden had invited me for the interview :) :). After a great experience at Darden admissions event and fit with Darden culture, I had applied to Darden in round 1. Darden application had  seemingly simple 2 questions.
But answering them was by far most demanding but immensely enjoyable exercise. It made me think about my past experiences and my future plans and how to bridge the both. I had taken a very unconventional path to answer these essays. Unlike my other school essays which underwent reviews and structural refinement, Darden's essays were straight from my heart (and ofcourse mind and brain too). Darden has understood my wavelength and it feels great :)

This is what Darden had to say :)

Dear M,

You have been invited to interview with the Darden School of Business. Included in this email is important information to help you plan your visit. As a reminder, we do need you to schedule your interview or contact us in the next 10 business days if you are interested in continuing the application process.

Please visit the website below for scheduling instructions and information on events during the interview days.
If you have any questions about scheduling your interview, please call or email the Admissions Office.

Sincerely,
Admissions Visitation Coordinator

Sara Neher in her video  blog had said that international students will have alumni i/v. I have mailed Darden adcom about it and will keep my progress posted here. I wish I could have gone to Darden for a oncampus interview and campus visit. But this doesn't look possible given the travel, visa and work issues. Nevertheless if things go well, I will be @ Darden next fall :)

Wish me luck guys !

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Tepper interview invite and preparation resources

As I briefly shared in my last post, I have received the interview invite from Tepper. Tepper took just 2 days to send out the interview invite. Admissions office is really flexible about setting up interviews and applicants can chose to have either a on-campus interview or skype video interview or telephonic interview. Interviews are not allowed on weekends. The interviewer will be a adcom member and they don't offer off-campus alumni interviews.

I chose to take telephonic interview in the 2nd week of November. http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/meeting.html is a great tool to setup interviews when the people involved are in different timezones as in my case.

In my second post as international blogger on MBA Channel, I shared some tips about the interview. Be sure to check the post here

Update 1 : Just came across this useful resource about preparing for B-school interviews. Very practical tips & suggestions in form of slides. check them out here


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Great set of MBA Interview Questions

Undergrad
Why did you choose your undergraduate major?
Tell me about a standout academic experience.
What was your favorite class in college?

Career Progression
Why go to your first job?
Discuss your career progression
Tell me an important thing that you learned from your work and school experiences.
How did you choose your job after college
Tell me a decision you made in your career you wish you could have done differently.
What challenges do you think you will face as you move through this career path?
What would be your dream job (if you had no considerations for money etc.)?
Explain your career path to date; why did you choose the jobs you have had?

Current Job
Tell me what you do in your daily job
What do you do at work?
What do you/don’t you like regarding your job
Tell me about your job. How is your most recent project going?
What exactly do you do at your current job, how is the group structured, do you have any direct reports?
Take me through an interesting project you have worked on recently.
What do you like about your job? What do you not like about your job?
If I promoted you today at your job, what change would you implement?
Take me through an interesting project you have worked on recently.
What would you do to improve your company (pretend you've been promoted)?
Describe a typical work day
What is most frustrating at work?

Why MBA?
Why are you applying to business school?
What brought you here? (applying for business school)
Why the MBA? Why now?
Why are you interested in a general MBA program?
What specific skills do you want to get out of this program?
With all of your experience, why do you need an MBA?
When did you realize that you wanted to go to business school, and why?

Why School?
Why does this school appeal to you?
Have you thought of other schools?
Where else have you applied and what was the result

Other MBA
Why do you want to be in senior executive role?
Would you have any regrets if the market tanked next year and you were unable to get a premier job
What part of the MBA program will you struggle with most?
Activities at SCHOOL you would participate in. What you can bring to them?
What do you think will be your biggest challenge at SCHOOL?
What will be the biggest challenge for you in adjusting to life at SCHOOL?
What do you see yourself doing for your summer internship after your first year?
What do you specifically have to bring to the classroom versus the many others who have done XXX career?
What would you uniquely add to the class?
What do you think the risks are for SCHOOL if we admit you?
What would you do if not accepted?

Personal Characteristics
Tell me who you are.
Discuss yourself
What is an activity you are involved in? Why is it important to you?
Name three words or phrases to describe yourself to others
What contributions would you make to a group?
What do you do to relieve stress
It's two years after graduation, what three words would your team members use to describe you
Who’s the leader you admire most? Another leader and why!
How would co-workers describe you?
A book I'd recommend that I've read recently.
Name three qualities that do not describe you
What distinguishes you from others?
What are people most surprised to learn about you?
How comfortable are you speaking up in front of large groups of people?
Why do you think you are successful at what you do
Misperception about you/first impressions
If you could write a book on anything what would it be on?
What kind of books do you like to read?
What are your extracurricular interests?
What makes you unique?
On a scale of to 1 to 10, compared to your peers, rank yourself in analytical ability. In drive? In confidence? In being better than people?
How do you think you are as a contributor to the community?

Career Aspirations
What do you want to do (in regard to business function, industry, location)?
Describe your career aspirations
What are your long- and short-term goals? Why?
Talk about experiences you have had at work.
Discuss any experience you have had abroad.
What challenges do you think you will face as you move through this career path?
How you will accomplish your career goals?
What is your goal in 3, 5 years time?
What strategic issues would you want to tackle if you were running a company in your chosen field?
What do you not want to do?

General Leadership
How do you define success?
How are you a leader in your job
What is your leadership style?
How would you describe your leadership style; collaborative or direct?
What are the pros/cons of your style?
What leader in history do you admire most?
What makes someone a leader?
How do you motivate someone?


Leadership Stories
Tell me about a time you helped someone else succeed.
Tell me about a time you helped someone else develop
Give examples of how you have demonstrated leadership inside and outside the work environment
Time when you've been challenged as a leader and what you learned from it.
Give an example of leadership that you didn't discuss in your essays
Tell me about a specific situation in your professional career where you solved an important problem.
Tell me about a time when you exhibited leadership.
How had your leadership style evolved from Position X through today?
Give a leadership example outside of work, after college.
Tell me about a leadership experience that you did not mention in your essays.
Since submitting your application, how have you continued to take leadership roles?
What would your colleagues say are your strengths and weaknesses as a leader?
Give me your leadership resume, starting when you feel is appropriate and demonstrating your growth as a leader.
Give an example of when you took the initiative.
Give another example of a situation in which you showed leadership in the face of adversity.
Tell me about a decision you have faced, not that you necessarily regret but I am more interested in the decision point.

Lessons Learned
What did you learn from experience XYZ (that was discussed in my essays)
Tell me about a time you had to deal with conflict in the workplace
Time when you've been challenged as a leader and what you learned from it.

Team Environment
Have you worked in a team environment? What were your contributions to the effort?
What would you do if a team member wasn't pulling his own weight?
What accomplishment are you most proud of?
How do you work in teams?
What would your colleagues miss least about you?
What role do you usually take in a team setting?
When did you lead a team? What is the hardest part of leading a team
Tell me about how you manage teams
How do you create accountability and create a strong team?
Tell me about a leadership experience where you had to depend upon another person/other people for success
Give an example of when you had to lead people?


Challenging Situation

Describe a situation where you brought an idea forward, and it failed.
Talk about a time you encountered a problem you had to overcome.
Time when a leader fell short and you had to step up and lead.
Time when you wanted to give up and how you motivated yourself to keep going.
Tell me about a time when you had to interact with people in a difficult situation.
Tell me about a time when you were challenged at work.
Time when you wanted to give up and how you motivated yourself to keep going.
Tell me about an instance where you had to negotiate something on the job. How did you convince your counterparts?

Failure
Biggest failure? Second largest, third largest failure
Tell me about the time when you let your team down.
Describe a situation when something went totally awry
What do you consider your biggest fault is at work, why do you think you have it and what are you doing about it.
Have you planned something that did not go through?
Tell me a decision you made in your career you wish you could have done differently.
Tell me about a time where you failed at your first job

Ethical Decision
Talk about a time when your values were challenged and you had to consult your moral compass.
When was your belief challenged?
What part did you play in the ethical concern you mentioned in your essay? How did the higher ups react to this situation?

Difficult People
Tell me about a time when you developed a person / dealt with a difficult person at work. What did you do?
Tell me about a time you faced conflict at work- either between you and another person or between two co-workers and how did you deal with it.
Tell me about a time when you had a bad leader.
Give me an instance where you handled a difficult subordinate at work

Other
A latest dilemma I had between good options.
Tell me about a time when you saw the solution before someone else?
Do you have any decisions you regret?
Why did you pick your recommenders?
What do you think your recommenders said about your strengths & weaknesses?
What are your strengths and weaknesses?
What would your colleagues say is your strengths and weaknesses as a leader?


Closing
Is there anything you would like to ask me/us
What questions do you have for me?
Anything you wished I had asked?


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News from Round 1 of MBA Applications

Image Courtesy : http://www.flickr.com/photos/cdell/

I am done with my round 1 applications. I applied to Tepper and Darden in round 1. It was a demanding but wonderfully self reflective process to write/rewrite the essays. And much to my happiness, I already got a interview invite from Tepper today morning :) I am planning to schedule my interview in 10 days and it will be a telephone interview. Need to start preparing for that.

Am also super excited to know what happens with Darden ! I have put in my real self in the application and hope my thoughts will reach the Darden adcom.


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