Admitted to Cranfield School of Management, class starting Sept 2010

Wow ! Was waiting for the acceptance mail from Cranfield soon after the interview ended. Was very eager and when it finally arrived I could not believe it really did. The Subject read "MBA offer", and I did not have to guess what was the result of the interview.

Yes, I got an offer from Cranfield. And so the quest for admission to a good/decent B-School is over now. It all started in June 2009 when I started preparing for the GMAT, and after long nights of studies (for GMAT) and application writing, it finally paid off. I am happy and excited.

Though I have not yet accepted the offer formally, I have made up my mind to join the school. As this is the only admit I have got ;). Though, there are few formalities which I need to complete before I can say for sure that I am joining. Paying the initial deposit, and loan approval being two of them. Of course, I will need a visa to travel as well. Have started researching about these things and I think I will ready by Aug, if not before. Also planning to attend the preparatory course at Cranfield that starts a week or two before the actual start of the program.

About the accommodation, I will be staying in campus, and have shortlisted Fedden house meant for couples. I do not know for sure if my wife will be staying with me as she is yet to get a job in London, but to be on safer side will book the studio apartment at Fedden house.

About the cost of the program, it is 31,000 GBP + Living expenses (approx 12,000 GBP). So a total investment of 43,000 GBP. Will apply for the HSBC loan, as its the only hope for me. None of the banks here will give me this huge a loan without a collateral.

About the admission packet, I am yet to receive it, but eagerly waiting for the same.

About the VISA, will apply as soon as possible. But only after loan gets approved.

About Cranfield School of Management:

1. See complete details on the SOM website , and About Rankings/accreditations

2. Cranfield Ranked 26th in FT 2010 rankings. (Download PDF of FT 2010 rankings). 5th in UK, 12th in Europe, 6th for top salaries today in Europe.

3. Cranfield Ranked 9th in the world for Value for Money as per FT 2010 rankings.

4. Cranfield Ranked 10th in the world for Career Progress as per FT 2010 rankings.

5. Cranfield Ranked 2nd in Businessweek rankings by ROI

6. Cranfield Ranked 16th in The Economist 2009 Rankings (above INSEAD !)

7. See the full school profile by The Economist

8. Triple Accreditation - Cranfield is one of only a handful of business schools worldwide to hold triple accreditation from EQUIS, AACSB and AMBA.

9. The QS World MBA Tour 18th annual MBA employer survey reveals the business schools employers prefer to recruit from, and Cranfield ranked top 3 in the UK and top 11 in Europe.

10. Forbes ranked Cranfield as the 2nd in the UK and 5th in Europe in the top business schools ranking of one-year programs.