Some more GMAT tips

Recently an acquaintance, one of my brothers buddies, emailed me asking about some GMAT tips. I noticed that I have not written anything on that topic so here it is. I will try to answer the basic questions people have when they think about taking the test (or when they think about taking the MBA plunge). Will write the same things that I replied to this guy.

1. How much time needed for preps ?

'That depends ! ' on individual. Why not take a test now without preparation and see how you score. You will know exactly how much preparation you need (I know you are mature enough). You will find a lot of online tests for free  - try mba.com first.

2. Which books to refer ?

I referred to a limited set of materials as I had limited time. Depending on how much time you have you can refer to more. however, doing the official guide thoroughly is a must.

3. When should I take the GMAT ?

Check the university websites you want to apply to and note down the application deadlines etc. All of them have several rounds of applications (mostly starting from July/Aug) and its better to apply in Round 1. They sometimes also mention the time during which you should have taken the gmat (not too long back, and not very recent - like a month as well !, so check this first).
In general, for applying to schools which start their session in Aug/Sept 2013 (for example) applications will start July/Aug 2012 and for that ideally you should take the test before end of May (or stretched to June).  For Indian b-schools, deadlines tend to be later, so you can adjust accordingly, so check school websites individually.

4. Prep guidelines ? Mug Vocab, regular practice or what ?

Vocab is not so critical for GMAT as it is for GRE, so no need to mug. I believe for most of us Indians, Quants (QA) is also not an issue. Verbal is something which needs practice and tuning. So start early on that, and do that as often as possible. For grammar basics, buy a Wren&Martin English grammar book early on and go through it once.

5. What score is good enough ?

    Score is something which puzzles everyone. Remember that GMAT is only a necessary condition for entry and not sufficient. I would say its only 10% sufficient. This means that a good score would only mean you have fulfilled only 10% of criteria for admission. However, a poor score (less than 650 perhaps) would not take you anywhere unless you have an excellent academic record throughout + excellent career progression + extra curriculars.
For US b-schools, at least for the top 15, as an average Indian with engineering background, you must have at least 720-730. Check www.pagalguy.com, they have discussion threads on various schools and profile/GMAT scores of people who were admitted in prior years. I know people who have made it to good top 20 schools in the US with 680-720 as well, but they had excellent application/essays, recommendations, top-notch work experience and very good extra curricular to back it up. Also it makes a good case for scholarships if the score is good.
Also be aware of the average/minimum gmat score required for admission reported on school websites. You must add 20 to that score as they all put Indian applicants into a different pool where the competition tend to be (naturally !) intense. So the average GMAT score of Indians who get through is 20 more than overall class average.

Feel free to post any questions on this thread.

Here is my GMAT experience post - http://followingmydream.wordpress.com/2009/08/06/my-gmat-story/
Also there is a post about mba abroad in general - http://followingmydream.wordpress.com/2010/09/24/thinking-of-doing-an-mba-abroad/

Like almost every other thing in the world, read these with a pinch of salt !

Interview with QS MBA Scholarship winner

One of my classmates here at Cranfield is a QS MBA Scholarship winner. You can read his interview here.

http://www.topmba.com/articles/student-voices/mba-scholarship-winner-Cranfield-School-Management

Thinking of doing an MBA abroad ?

Recently one of my friends from college contacted me for guidance on applying to b-schools. So I thought it to be a good idea to jot them down in this blog, as I know there will be others who would like to have this information.

MBA abroad

Most Indian candidates like me aspire to do an MBA in US or the UK.  Also, since I have done my research (while applying for an MBA myself) only on schools in the US and the UK, I would limit my thoughts on these schools only. There are other very good schools otherwise as well, and I would recommend taking a look at the Financial times rankings, and the Economist Rankings to get the list of top 100 b-schools of the world.

Indian School of Business (ISB) is one of the schools (I think the only one, as IIMs done participate in rankings) that features regularly in FT and Economist Rankings. For Indian aspirants (which are too many), this limits the scope of doing an MBA in India, and so they throng to the b-schools abroad. Well, we do have other b-schools in India, but they are just not up to the mark, and moreover do not guarantee the fat (read USD/GBP/EUR) paycheque which you can dream to get after a foreign MBA.

Also read this post on deciding between doing MBA in India and abroad.

US or UK

Most UK b-schools have 1 year courses. (There are exceptions like London Business School and Manchester Business School. See list of UK b-schools here).  While most US schools have 2 year courses. I suggest everyone to aim for US schools. Reasons are many.I will list a few:

1. The course is more matured in top US b-schools (top 30, and even in some tier-2 schools), as they have top faculty, diverse fields of experience, and have been in the field for years. Most US schools have intakes of more than 300-400 per year, as they are big schools. Most UK schools have fewer than 100-150 students per year, and most schools are not that matured, and are new.


2. A 2 year course gives you the opportunity to expand your horizons, switch your function/domain, and also look for internship opportunity (which most of the times gets converted into a full time job). An internship also allows you to earn some money (and valuable experience as well), which in the end lowers your debt. All this is not possible in a 1 year course


3. The economy lately has revived in the US, as its huge. In the UK, its not so. It might take 2-3 years of more time to get to the same level of 2006-7. Also, apart from a few sectors, like finance/IT, others are not in that shape anyways, as they are in the US. So job opportunities are going to be more in number in the US as compared to the UK.

Let me tell you the scenarios in which you should apply to schools in UK. Unless you fall into any of these categories you should stick to US schools only.

1. Personal reason - like that of mine - My wife is working here in the UK, and so I could not have thought about any other place than UK.


2. Previous work experience in UK - If you have worked in the UK earlier, and you have a very good network, and can easily get absorbed in previous company. This reduces your job hinting duration.


3. If you have more than 10 years of experience, and you want to work in the UK post MBA. Most UK b-schools take students who have more than 5 years of work ex. My class has average work ex of 8 years and the average age of the class is 32-33. So think of how you will fit into the class. US b-schools have avg work-ex in the range of 2-6 typically. (This is the median range, and not the complete range and varies from school to school)

Cost/Finances/Loans

Here is the cost, all inclusive.

US ~~ 165K USD - for 2 years. (varies from school to school)

UK ~~ 85K USD - for 1 year (varies from school to school)

Scholarships/Grants : While applying for b-schools, make sure you make a strong application for grants/scholarships. The schools decide on the basis of a number of factors to decide on your scholarship. Example - your GMAT score, Extra curricular, Volunteer work, Academic background/scores, Achievements, references, application/essays -  virtually everything. Also the amount of scholarship you are offered depends on one thing - how badly the school wants you !. Also it depends on the school's reputation , ranks, and the kind of applications they receive - your profile might fetch you 100% scholarship at Indiana Kelly , but none at Kellogs.  Also keep in mind that most US schools provide scholarships (also in huge number and amounts), while very very few UK schools do so.

Loans : If you are not sure of scholarships, apply in schools which allow loans without a co-signer. (Well, if you have someone in the US which can be a co-signer, nothing better).Indian banks will not give loans more than 2o Lakhs (and that too with a lot of hassle). Well, recently, Credila has started giving loans to students, but check with them first about the amount you are eligible which typically depends on the kind of collateral and guarantor you can produce.

How to apply

Typically, all applications start from July/August. And go on till Feb/March next year. Its always good to start early, as no matter what anyone says, the earlier you apply the better are your chances to get in. Also there is a much brighter chance to get the much needed scholarship. A GMAT score is a must. While many schools also accept GRE scores. In addition you might have to take TOEFL/IELTS for a few schools (only a few). Here are the basic elements of a b-school application. All b-schools expect that you be perfect in all of them.

GMAT preparation

Do not take your GMAT preparation lightly. It not only decides the school you get into, but it also determines the scholarship which you might fetch, and hence lower your overall burden. But do keep in mind that a good GMAT score does not guarantee an admission to any b school. However, a bad GMAT score might be the deterrent, in most of the cases (Unless you have other areas of your profile very strong, because I have heard stories of people getting into Harvard and Stanford with 600 as well).

References

References are a must to submit. Unless otherwise specified you must submit a reference from your immediate manager from your current company (or the previous company, if you have quit recently). Most schools need 2 recommendations, while others ask for 3. You can also provide references from your professors of the last school/college you attended. If you can not manage a reference from your current company, you must explain the reason for the same in your application, and provide alternative recommendations, like from some client/vendor you might have worked with. If you also work in an NGO or sorts, its sometimes good to include a recommendation from such people as well. Remember, that b-schools want to know about you as a person, more than what your resume or application or degrees say.Also remember that whats written in the letter of recommendation matters more than who writes the recommendation. Here are a few other points to be taken care of while submitting letter of recommendations.

1. Do not write your own letter of recommendation, and ask your referee to just submit it. Believe me, the readers who go through the application go through such applications daily, and they will know by the way of writing, that you have written it. Moreover, there are chances that you will miss some points , if you access yourself.


2. If you want, you can write the basic qualities of yourself, or a basic skeleton/format which you want your referee to follow. But not everything. Make sure s/he adds his own points.


3. Make sure each LOR (letter of recommendation) focuses on your different qualities, and not on the routine things like hard working, good leader, blah blah...


4. Make sure you ask your recommend-er to add a few personal qualities, other than technical/business skills.


5. Make sure you submit in time. Also make sure you remind your referees, and give them enough time to submit. (Typically 4 weeks). Most recos are to be submitted online, or to be sent via their official email ids. Make sure you find the process of providing recommendations beforehand, and have a meeting early to discuss everything.


6. If you are applying to a large number of schools, make sure your referee is OK to that, as it might be overwhelming, and the same LOR might not be usable everywhere.(Different Schools follow their own way, some accept essay type LORs, some have questionnaires etc.).

Application/Essays

Most b-schools ask candidates to write 5-6 essays (including SOPs, job profile, resume etc) which forms the major part of the application (which are mostly - 75% - online). Points to be taken care of while writing essays:

1. Be Original. Do not copy.


2. You are free to refer to any book you want (there are numerous books in the market) - but do not make the mistake of copying from them. You must read them to get an idea of what is accessed as part of the application essays, because only them you will be able to produce an essay that appeals to the readers.


3. Make sure you distinguish yourself from others. Especially if you are an Indian, IT, male. Remember, you will be among the majority who apply to b-schools in the US and the UK. How do you make sure that your application stands out than the others, because almost all of them will contain the similar job profile as yours, similar work experiences, similar college backgrounds, and so and so. Example - of something that stands out  - will be  -  something extra curricular if you have done ,and that too achieved something which only a few could do.


4. Stick to the word limits.

Also read article - 'Every B-School essay tells a story'

Extra Curricular (EC) Activities

This is a must. And you must provide examples of some extra curricular activities you have participated (preferably, led if its some NGO, or won if it was some competition). Make sure you also provide the reasons of your participation in such activities (like why do you love hiking/painting etc) , and how does it show a different perspective of your personality. Also make sure you point out your achievements, and not just what you have participated in.

Note: If you have minimal ECs, try indulging in one now. Like join a campaign, a NGO, or start doing something new. And don't worry, if asked, be true to yourself, and explain how you never got time to participate in one, or never got (or knew) what you liked, and you wish to continue doing it more some time more. Being truthful is more fruitful than telling a bunch of lies.

Academics

Well, this is what it is, and you can not help it. What scores you got in your engineering or BCom is un-changeable. (If you are still in some school , and work hard as the grades matter).

But, you do get to explain your lower grades (lower than average), if you want to. You could write it in one of your essays (if there is no separate essay for this one), or you could provide this in some appondix/additional information section.

Interviews

Interviews are often the last stages, and many schools conduct 1-2 interviews before which a final decision is made on acceptance/Scholarship etc. Many schools conduct telephonic interviews as well, while others conduct them via some alumni, or during some MBA fair or similar. Be prepared to be asked on your application/resume/essays in your interview. Its a time to blow your trumpet and let them know that you were the person who wrote them all, and not some other guy whom you paid.

Hope it Helps. Happy Hunting

Disclaimer: All the thoughts mentioned in this post are entirely mine and based on personal research. Please don't follow blindly, as you would have only yourself to blame if something does not get as expected.

MBA Volunteers

Came across MBA Volunteers, who help MBA aspirants in providing feedback on their MBA application in-exchange for a donation to a non-profit organization.

http://www.mbavolunteers.org/

Neat idea. People volunteering come from a diverse background and are ex and current students in top B-Schools in the world like INSEAD, Harvard, Kellogs ...

And the proof that this idea is indeed good - this idea was a Runner-up: The Good Idea Competition 2008, London Business School.

How it works:

1. Check for availability of the volunteers by mailing them,

2. Make a donation to the charities listed on their website (they are real non-profit organizations and not fake). You must make a minimum donation of $175 USD per application.

3. E-mail your application materials to them and get a feedback in 4-5 days.

Note that they will not actually write the essays, or fill the application for you, but you will get an idea of how you fare in terms of the target b-schools, GMAT score, profile, essay quality etc.

[Disclaimer]

I have not personally used their service, so I don't promise or guarantee any satisfaction, value for money etc. I am not associated in any way to this group and hence I don't have any motive behind publishing this here. Its all in good-faith. Do spread the word if you like the idea or the service.

Got the XLRI offer letter today

I received the XLRI-GMP offer letter today, and it makes it the first physical offer to knock at my door. Too sad I have to turn it down, would have loved to attend the program.

Here is the timeline of XLRI-GMP :

1. Application submitted -Dec 12th ' 2009 (last date jan 10th'2010)

2. Confirmation of application received  - 22th Dec 2009. (by email)

3. Interview Invite received - Feb 2' 2010 - with questionnaire to be filled (essays to be filled online) before 15th March.

4. Interview (Chennai) - March 6th'2010 - Read interview experience.

5. Interview results - March 26th' 2010

6. Hard-copy received by blue-dart - April 7th 2010.

7. Acceptance, or otherwise to be notified by post by 20th April 2010.

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.

Another interview call – Cranfield

Received an interview invite from Cranfield. It will be a telephonic one and will be done by Sean Rickard, the Director of admissions at Cranfield SOM.

This is only the second interview call this season for me, the first being XLRI GMP. Pretty excited about the same.

As per the information gathered from various resources, the interview will be an informal talk and will be mainly focused on why MBA, why UK, why Cranfield only. I hope I get to communicate smoothly, as I think telephonic interview is not the best way to face an interview. Also I hope to get some amount of scholarships as well.

As about Cranfield, here are the reasons that made me choose the school:

1. Location - proximity to London. (about 1 hour away)

2. Batch profile - average exp near to mine

3. Brand - Good recognition of the degree and the school within and outside UK.

4. Good in consultancy

5. Good ROI. Very good career progression of students passing out.

[updated on 22 March 2010]

Had an interview with Sean Rickard, the director of admissions.  Not so convicing I would say. Lets see what happens.

Here were a few questions asked to me:

1. Discussion on the essay/case-study that was given to me prior to interview.

2. India-vs-china after 25 years.

3. Why Cranfield MBA?

4. How will you cope with highly experienced students of cranfield class. My age is 29 and avg age at Cranfield is 33.

5. Any questions I had - I asked a few.

Overall 25 minutes, and I would say, it can go either way. I could have answered better, I believe.

[updated on 24 March 2010]

Got an Admit !

Finally an admit. I feel like being on the moon. Did not get any scholarship though, but its worth it.

Asking for recommendations again and again – How much is too much

Applying to B-Schools is a pain. Especially when you get rejected (as in my case) in earlier rounds, and then you try to apply to as many as you can in later rounds.

One of the things that is required for all B-School apps is letter of recommendation. I asked my manager to write it for me and she obliged. But then I have been asking over and over again, and now the count has gone upto 5.

I don't know about others, but it feels awkward to ask for recommendation more than 2-3 times from the same recommender. I think those who are applying to B-Schools know what I am talking about.

So, how many is too much ?

For me I think the limit is 6. Purely because you simply can not churn out more than 6 apps in the same year.  Also if you do not get selected in the first 6 schools you choose, you need to re-think your strategy. Either the choice of schools have been bad, or your profile needs a major rejig.

Interview with XLRI profs – a pleasant experience

I had an interview at Chennai for the GMP program at XLRI. It was a wonderful experience. I would not say it was a perfect interview, because I could not answer a few questions that I though I should have. But overall, it was good. The professors were very friendly and the whole thing was like an informal talk. It went for 20-25 minutes.

I felt there were quite a lot of GK/awareness related questions, and less about why MBA/why GMP/what post-MBA/goals/strengths/weakness etc. I was also hoping to get a few questions on the five essays that I wrote, but none came up. So I would believe that the interview will have a less weightage than GMAT score, academics and other things (like work ex, company worked with etc).

I had the impression that the professors would like to take a stress interview and tear me apart. But it was completely opposite. In fact, one of the professors looked happy with my response and even said "Good". I do not know what that means though. I hope it means good.

I was very happy with the attitude of the professors toward the interview, and I thought it was very comforting and soothing. Especially, because I reached 15 minutes late to the venue. I , along with my wife drove from Bangalore and a missed-turn on NH7, and the Chennai traffic delayed us by 2 hours. Then it took some time to search for the college and park it there. I had taken my formals (jacket, shirt, tie, shoes et-al), and slipped into them in my car itself in the Loyolla College parking lot.

Here are a list of questions I was asked:

0. About my 10/12/graduation marks, to verify that I am the person who filled in the application.

1. Why are you late, what happened?

2. Tell me about yourself, what are your interests outside work.

3. What are the four most developed states in India. ?

4. What are the states constituting the BIMARU belt.

5. How is the manufacturing sector doing ?

6. What are the 4 major things that India exports.

7. About Abdul Kalam's vision 2020

8. Was it a mistake not to select Kalam for a second term for president ?

9. What is the difference between Computer Science, and Engineering ? Is it an engineering discipline or technology. What are bachelor of technology, and bachelor of engineering.

10. Between Barack Obama, and Manmohan Singh who according to you is a better leader ?

11. About my home town - Baharagora in Jharkhand - sudden impulse to education, why ?

12. Maoists, Naxalite problems in Bengal and adjoining Jharkhand.

13. What are Maoists demands ? How can one solve them?

14. Why should we take you ?  - 2 reasons.

It was over before I could think of whether it was going good or bad. I thought I did not answer any question completely, and concretely. I had an idea on each topic being asked, but manage to answer only in bits and pieces, especially about Kalams 2020 vision, and about manufacturing/exports.  In the end I asked a question - why not Bangalore as a interview venue, and then I picked up a candy and walked out.

However, I feel it went good.I was confident and I think they would like to consider me.

As usual, I will keep my fingers crossed.

US B School cancels admits of those found guilty of plagiarism

US B-School cancels admits and interviews of those found guilty of plagiarism

Ring any bells !

My advise to those who are applying for B-Schools (in India or abroad) - Do not copy essays. Be original.

It is no surprise that 10 out of the 18 essays found were Indians. We Indians do not know the importance of being original, being ourselves. We just want to follow what others are doing. This is the same case when it comes to writing an essay. People tend to 'research' more and think less.

One simple reason for this is simple - lack of original thinking. We have to stop following something or someone blindly and do what WE want.  Second reason is the way we are taught at school. For most of us, it was all about cramming, and getting marks at school. Even at college, we were taught to learn what we are going to write in exams, not whats important or appealing. This has led us to a state where we do things just for the heck of it.

Also the dependency on coaching and tutors is huge. Hardly any student clears his school exams without external help, other than whats taught at school. Hardly any student clears the IIT-JEE of his own. This carries on to when writing essays.

I may not be an expert at essay writing. In fact, none of the b-schools where I have sent essays to have accepted my application. Well, its not all about the essay after all. But at least I wrote them myself.

Finally, An interview call - XLRI GMP

After a long wait for interview calls, got one. This one from a school, applying to which I took the minimal time and effort. No essays, no recos. Just filled an app, ordered a DD online and courier-ed it.

Got the call in the first week of Feb. Interview at Chennai, 5th March. Pretty excited.

For preparations, reading a few current affairs topics and trying to get my vocal chords right. I tend to stammer sometimes while speaking. Hope my thoughts come down pouring clearly during the interview. Also, I hope they do not read much into my graduation mark-sheets during the interview.

Application to other UK schools is going on. Submitted Cranfield and Lancaster. Yet to hear from them on anything further. Its going to be feb-end, when most of the deadlines are mostly over and most of the junta has already got offers, or atleast 1-2 interview calls. I am lagging a bit on this regard.

Hope to make it to at least one of the schools.

And then the referee dumped me

I am talking about one of my referees. He was supposed to provide me with a letter of recommendation for my applications this season, a season which has almost come to an end without a good start with 2 dings out of 2 apps so far.

He was the manager at my previous organization and it seems he had some issues with HR in giving out recos. God knows what the issue might be, but the reality is I am short of one recommendation, right at the critical phase.

Finally, talked to one QA manager at my current company and got him to write something for me. Thinking of it, I feel I should have opted for this guy from the very outset.

Here are a few lessons I learnt about the recommendation thing:

1. If you are not starting early, and have not decided about the schools in advance (both deadly signs though), get a referee who is in regular contact and can provide you references in very less time. I wasted so much time in getting touch with the person who was in a different city than mine in getting 2 references, which he finally declined to give.

2. Its important that you discuss matters with the referee first, better to do it face-to-face than over phone or emails. This makes things clear and makes a good recommedation.

3. And finally, do not keep recommendations for the last. I would suggest to ask them to be sent out before you submit the application, and that too before the end date. Believe me you will feel a lot better after you have submitted the application in time, and do not have other worries. Also it makes sure you do not miss the deadline for that round. It really helps, especially if you have chalked out the application strategy for each round.

UK B-Schools : List and Rankings

I will be applying to the B Schools in the UK this season, and have created a list of them. I know there will be someone who will be interested in these as well.

[Source : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_business_schools_in_Europe#United_Kingdom]

[Source: http://rankings.ft.com/businessschoolrankings/global-mba-rankings]

List of Schools as per FT Rankings:

(Click on each link to go the b-school website for further information)


1. London Business School.

2. Said business School, Oxford

3. Judge Business School, Cambridge

4. Lancaster Univerty Management School

5. School of Management, Cranfield

6. Imperial College Business School

7. Manchester Business School

8. City University, Cass

9. Warwick Business School

10. University of Strathclyde, Scotland

11. Aston Business School

12. Durham Business School

13. Birmingham Business School

14. University of Bath business School

15. University of Edinburgh business school

16. Bradford School of Management

A complete list of b-schools can be found on wikipedia here.

A lot of these schools do need GMAT (top 10 for sure), not sure about the others.

Got a reject from JBS, Cambridge

Got a reject mail from JBS today. It was disappointing. JBS was my dream school for various reasons, and now it remains a dream.

They didnot even give a feedback. Just a simple reject.

When I retrospect, I find various possible reasons for this decision:

1. Quality of work ex - They do take people with lesser experience, but the quality of exp has to be top class. I have 6 years of exp with worlds largest enterprise software company, but not as a manager, pre-sales, lead . I am  a simple developer, and so might have fallen into a big pool of applicants.

2. International Exp - I was thinking of ignoring this fact. But now I am sure this matters a lot. A UK experience defintely gives you an edge. I have none.

3. Quality of application - I was truthful to whatever I wrote in my apps. I glorified to whatever extent I could keeping my integrity. But I think it didnt sell.

Where do we go now  ?

From here, I have only 2 choices. First to improve my profile, try to get better job profile in the next 2-3 years, get an international exp and then apply for an MBA. Second, keep trying in other b schools this year, and hope someone is interested in your kind of profile.

I have decided to take the second option. Will apply to a few more this season and if I still do not get through, will have a serious look at changing my job profile.

Till then, may the force be with you.

Submitted app for Judge Cambridge today

Just submitted the Judge, Cambridge app today. Must say, its a relief. Was editing the essays for a long time now. Frankly speaking, even if you give me a year to write, I would still say its not perfect yet.

Could not get anybody to proof read my essays. That's a negative and could weight against my candidature. And this is my first app ever. Also this is my only app for R1 this season.

Still, hoping for the best. Lets see what happens.

Will keep my fingers crossed until then. Now the ball's in their court.

Shortlisted another B-School for app : Richard Ivey

Richard Ivey school of busines, University of western Ontario.

Things I liked about the school.

1. Small class size of around 140. (Though this also means low chances of getting in. Especially for average people like me , or for those who are not over-achievers.)

2. 70% of course is done via case study.

3. One year course and a reasonable course fee. (not that less though, 100,000 $ CAD)

4. Placements in consulting are higher than other fields, and hence can be considered a strong consulting school.

5. Location - Canada - its a good place to live and study. People are warm and friendly. No visa worries.

Another interesting thing I found about the school is that they provide travel rewards up to the value of 1200 CAD for traveling and visiting the school and actually sitting in a class for a day. They also have other events in US, Canada and Mexico, but none in India I guess.

Overall a good school, and I find it a good match. The deadlines are quite stiff though.

R1 - Oct 5,

R2 - Nov 2.

R4 - Jan 4.

R1 is alreayd gone, and cant make it to R2 as well. Will think about R4.

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Just thought of cracking a joke on canada , its original , i swear.

An MBA applicant was contemplating various options for his mba in different countries, and finally found just a few to match his profile. Here is how he saw them:

1. INSEAD - Cant speak or understand french, can't apply, will lower job prospects in France post mba.

2. Rotterdam erasmus - Dont know dutch either.

3. IMD - Dont speak German. Only German thing I know is Hitler.

4. Ivey, Canada - I Know punjabi - good fit. Bingo ! Final. Applying now . Surinder uncle will lend money as well. Hadippa !

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TOEFL - to take or not to take

TOEFEL is required by many institutes especially in the US. But since I am yet note sure about applying to any US school in this round, I am not sure about taking toefl either. Frankly speaking, its a waste of money. I do believe I have good command on the English language. Though while speaking, I might sound like I am not that natural, and speak with an Asian accent (whatever that is). I still think I need not take the test just to prove my comm skills. Let the interviews bekon, and I will talk my way through.

Also, I dont think many institutues are strict about TOEFEL. I think many of them give waivers to students who have completed their degree course from a college where mode of instruction was English. Here is the mail which I got from adcom from Oxford:

"To apply for an exemption to the TOEFL test, plesae address a letter to the Admissions Committee, stating the reasons why you feel you do not need to sit the TOEFL test. Please then upload this letter to the TOEFL section of the application form. The Admissions Committee will then make a decision on this letter."

I do believe this could be decided on case to case basis, and depend on the school one is applying to. For those who want to apply for a waiver I would suggest to write a strong argument on why you do not need toefel. Like if you have worked in MNCs, international exp (small or large), debates won, toastmasters club or anything of that sorts.
Also, if they still think your application is strong and your toefel is below par, they may ask you to retake before giving a final admit. I am not sure about this though, but a few schools do it like this.

I would suggest work hard on your essays and your overall application, and low score in toefel or lack thereof would be nulified. Like the way I am doing.

Have edited the essays for the hundredth time now. The first draft was ready on 31st august, and its more than one month now that I am tweaking it. I think after a while one should stop looking at the essays and just submit them. Gosh ! Wish it were a bit easy.

About Recos

I hear often that for an application to be strong as a whole , strong LORs (or Recos as we call them) are essential.

I can not ignore the importance of recos. And hence talked to my manager about this a month back. She took it as a shock when she heard about it but when I told her how firm was my decision to pursue an MBA was, she was ok with it.

After that we had one more meeting in between and then I listed down some achievements/strengths etc that I thought she should mention and then sent across to her. She gave some very good examples that she thought she must mention as well. I am very happy with how it went. Now i think I have a fairly strong application at least in terms of the reco.

As far as the other reco is concerned, I took it from a peer. As I am applying to Judge Cambridge in R1, and they require a peer reco. For other apps this season, I will have to find another referee.

Now fine tuning my essays.

How am I going to finance my MBA ?

These are the sources from which I am going to finance my MBA

1. Loans - 60%

2. Schols - 30%

3. Personal savings - 10%

So for a 120,000 $ USD course  (60 Lakhs approx), the maths comes out to be:

Schols ~ 36K

Loans ~ 72K

Cash from personal savings ~ 12K (6 lakhs)

Looks tight to me ! A few thousands here and there and I will be seen begging for more money.

About Loans - many schools do not offer loan without a cosigner, and so will have to take this into account while choosing schools.

About Schols - will look for schools which offer schols generously.

Now that an MBA is dependent on so many things, its becoming more and more challenging. Especially the financing part. Well, I will not spend too much time on this and will look into it as I reach there. As of now back to school researching and essay writing.

Applying to Judge

I will be applying to Judge, cambridgein R1. This is my sole applicatio for R1.

Here are the reasons why I am choosing Judge:

1. Small class size. In range GMAT score. Average work experience is near to mine.

2. Entrepreneurship environment of Cambridge is excellent. With lot of hi tech companies starting up in Cambridge, its like a hub.

3. Course structure and mode of learning. They have 4 consulting projects that on has to complete during the course. Also the electives are huge in number, and its easy to choose the ones which you want. Like entrepreneurship in my case.

Here are a few reasons I think my application is strong for cambridge:

1. Work experience : Though I do not have any leadership experience, I do have a good exposure to IT development and a little bit of consulting.

2. Essays: I am working extra hard on the essays, and since its just one app I am putting up, I have more than a month to prepare. I think I will be able to gather some good feedback from my recommenders as well.

3. I am focusing mainly on entrepreneurship, and Cambridge is a good match. Hopefully this will stand out.

Here are a few reasons I think my application is weak/below-average for cambridge:

1. Lack of international exposure : I do not have any international exposure. They do look for candidates who have worked in countries other than their homeland. Also I do not know any foreign language.

2. Lack of managerial experience : Though I am focusing on some leadership qualities that I have, I do not have any experience of being a team-lead or a manager as such (on paper).

3.Average Acads/ECs : I have average acads and my graduate degree is not from an IIT.  Its from NIT, though good, but not excellent. I also am poor in my ECs.

I am still confident about making it through. At least I would get an interview call. What I have read from various forums that I have read so far is that most applicants (especially Indian/IT)  do not even get an interview call. If i do get an interview call, I am hopeful to convert it.

Getting back to my essays now.