ISB Interview Invite

Yes...the wait for an interview call has finally ended!

I received my ISB interview invite today (30/10). It has been scheduled for the 9th of November. Quite appropriate that the first school that I had applied to was the first to send me an invite (though the ISB deadline was at least 25 days earlier than any of my other target schools :D). Nevertheless, I hope to get 3 more interview invites :-). There were over 2000 applications to ISB in this round. I am glad that the first hurdle has been crossed and I look forward to wearing my business suit :-).

I had, earlier, planned on blogging an analysis of the school's essays. But now, I have decided against it. The reason - there are some awesome tips that are already available on the web. Many applicants and admission gurus have shared their views and outlined their thoughts.

However, I will be more than happy to answer questions that applicants may have regarding these essays. My response will center around the strategy that I had followed for the particular essay and I hope to help applicants get a better idea of how to present themselves on paper through these essays.

Cheers

Hedge fund - a solution for loans without co-signer??

A well-wisher forwarded this piece of information to me. It is from the BusinessWeek forum. I am not sure how true it is. Here is the link.

For those who don't have the patience to click on the above link, here u go...

All those international students who are looking for loans without co-signer, here is a ray of hope for you. Currently all the b-schools who were dependent on CitiAssist for such loans are talking to each other to get a solution to this problem. They all are now planning to set up a hedge fund that can guarantee the loans for you guys. The schools include Chicago, Ross, Harvard, MIT and Wharton. Many more may join it but nothing is for sure. The source of this information is an adcom head from one of the schols mentioned above.

Its not just the Wall Street...its ALL streets!!

With the stock market (read the benchmark BSE 30-Share Sensex) plummeting to a three-year low and with the recession lurking not so much in the background anymore, the global downturn may be deeper and the recovery longer than expected. No one knows how long and how serious the financial crisis will be. But one thing is for sure - unless acted upon decisively, it is going to have a devastating effect on the lives, working conditions, and hopes of millions around the world.

The International Labour Organization has projected that the world unemployment would increase by 20 million, with the construction, automotive, tourism, finance, services, and real estate being hit hardest. People living on less than a dollar a day could rise by 40 million and those living on two dollars a day could rise by more than 100 million. Scary!

Stemming this rot will require devising economic plans that focus, primarily, on people and enterprise. Productivity must be linked to salaries and growth to employment. As Juan Somavia, Director-General of the ILO, says "People must have trust that the economy is working for them".

Measures have been and are being taken. Credit flowing is being increased. It, however, should also include credit for small and medium enterprises, unemployment insurance, pension protection et al - in short, its imperative to support the vulnerable. Regulation that rewards hard work and enterprise is also utmost important. Entrepreneurs must be encouraged so that they can invest and innovate, thus producing jobs and products. Sustainable globalization is also a key but that will require relevant international organizations to come together so that they can figure out means to keep economies and societies open.

Its a crisis. Its not for the weak-hearted.

Its time to think bold.

Darden application - tips from the Director of MBA Admissions

I had planned on writing about the strategy that I had followed for my Darden application (on receiving an interview invite from Darden) but with Sara Neher advising her prospective students through her video blog, I don't think that my strategy will be as valuable as her words of wisdom. Below are her video blogs that concern application essays, recommendations, and extra-curricular activities. I hope you find them useful.





I would have loved to have seen these blog postings before I submitted my application but I am glad that I have done most things right in my application. A good reason for me to hope for the best :-)

Ross MBA Event

Just got back from the event and my first impression...I am happy that I applied to Ross...the event lived up to my expectations!

There were three people, representing Ross, at the event - Ms. Kelly Kong Rogers (from the adcom. She is also an alumnus) and the alumni (Mr. Gautam Rao and Mr. Vikram Polavarapu) . The event started with a short (15 minutes) presentation on Ross MBA and what it has to offer. The presentation was precise, mostly bullet points with the speaker having to elaborate on the contents. It was ideal as it allowed people to listen to the speaker rather than continuously stare at the screen. Kelly stressed on the importance of teamwork throughout the presentation. It was typical Ross. Matt, if you are reading this - I liked it!

After the presentation, we had the alumni taking questions. As expected, one of the first questions was about the financial crisis and its effect on placements. Its difficult to predict the markets' future but the alumni, going by past trends, sounded optimistic. They felt that the market situation would improve over the next couple of years.

Then, there was the question about the cancellation of the Ross CitiAssist loan. Ross is doing its best to find alternatives for the cancelled CitiAssist loan that didn't require a US co-signer (applicants still have the option of leveraging the UoM CitiAssist loan that requires a US co-signer) Finding a solution for this situation is at the top of the Dean’s priority list. The School is actively exploring loan options to ensure that Ross continues to be financially feasible for high caliber students from around the world. At this time, however, the program also advises international students to explore all sources of funding within their own countries, such as government scholarships and loans, private agencies, and bank loan programs, as well as personal funding sources. It also encourages early applications because a majority of the merit scholarships are available to those who apply in Rounds one and two. Like Darden, Ross too is taking into account its international students' concerns. I am happy!

I had earlier mentioned in the blog that all the adcom members are away conducting information sessions. I was contacted by the adcom this evening and was informed that they have started reviewing the applications. Now that's good news - applicants can hope to hear from Ross in the near future!

To be honest, my interaction with the Ross alumni and a current student, prior to my application submission, had had me amazed. The loyalty within the community is overwhelming! It would be awesome to be a part of such a close knit group.

On this note I'll end my post...its late and time I crashed...

Go blue! :-D

Darden's take on the credit crisis and financial aid for international students....thank you Sara Neher

I have been following Sara's (she is Darden's Director of MBA Admissions) video blog ever since its inception. I really appreciate this initiative because the Admissions Director, in one way or the other, is connecting with her prospective students; providing them with first-hand information that they, otherwise, would have to relentlessly hunt for.

In her latest video blog, she acknowledges the apprehension that international students face due to the cancellation of no-cosigner loans. She admits that the current situation is common across all schools in the US and every school is working tirelessly to come up with other alternatives. They expect to have solutions in place before the deposit deadline (late March for R1). In case of a delay in arriving at a solution, they are willing to extend the deposit deadline!

I have been quietly confident that the schools would take appropriate measures to counter the current crisis. They would not want to miss out on admitting good students, like yours truly ;-D, simply because the students couldn't afford the fees and living expenses. It is for this reason that I stuck to my schedule and boldly went ahead and applied to Darden, Ross, and Stanford - schools that I admire and long to study in.

Here is Sara's video blog...



In other news, I'll be attending Ross's MBA event tomorrow. I look forward to meeting with the adcom members and the alumni. I will post my experience tomorrow evening after the meet.

Also, I am eagerly awaiting the ISB interview invite. The invites are expected to be rolled out before the 25th. Fingers crossed...

HEC Paris - a top non-US b-school

I had filled in HEC Paris' Candidate preliminary evaluation form and this what they had to say...

Dear Ashwanth,

Thank you for the interest you have expressed in the HEC MBA Program and for having taken the time to submit your Candidate Profile. We have carefully examined the form you provided and would like to provide you a preliminary evaluation of your profile.

Like all leading MBA programs, HEC requires candidates to submit official GMAT scores. Our participants currently have an average score of around 670. Based on the information you have provided, your GMAT results are well within our standard range, so we encourage you to have your official score sent to us using school code 0TL-6C-28.

The HEC MBA Program is taught in English, with the option to do coursework in French. In order to succeed in this environment, candidates whose mother tongue is not English or those who do not hold a university degree from an English-speaking institution must show a minimum TOEFL score of 100 (ibt), a minimum IELTS score of 7.5 or a minimum TOIEC score of 800. The results you have reported appear to meet our requirements; but please be sure to have your official score sent to us using school code 0649.

HEC MBA participants learn as much from each other as from our excellent faculty and high-profile guest speakers. Our class size of just 200 and our ideal program length allow our participants to benefit from the experience of their classmates, who represent over 50 different nationalities and have on average 6 years of professional experience. We believe that the professional experience outlined in your Candidate Profile would equip you to make a positive contribution to the HEC MBA learning experience.

Overall, we feel that you are an excellent candidate for the HEC MBA Program. Hence, we encourage you to proceed to the next step of the admissions process by filling out our online application form....

This is quite encouraging. HEC Paris now makes its way into the list of non-US b-schools that I'll be applying to in case I get dinged at ISB. I know a couple of alums from this school and they have had only good things to say about it. ISB will let out its interview shortlist for the Hyderabad candidates in the coming week. If I do clear this first hurdle then I'll wait till the 20th of Nov (ISB decision deadline) before proceeding with the R2 applications.

Well...lets c what the future has in store for me...

To Goa and back again...

And I'm back!

These last few days have been awesome...it was a vacation well deserved! It felt good to get away from work and the stress. My MBA journey also needed this breather.

We hardly slept throughout the journey. Mornings were spent sight-seeing, afternoons at the beach and the evenings partying - and boy were the parties trippy or what!!

Here are some pictures of what I saw and did in Goa...


The road to Goa from Hubli....


The resort that we lived in...


View from our balcony...


The beach...


Can you spot me there??? :-D

It was one fantastic vacation...sad that it had to come to an end.

Meanwhile, ISB has started sending out interview invites to the Delhi candidates. Hyderabad candidates can expect to receive their's around the 20th of Oct. Am keeping my fingers crossed.

Time to grab some food now.

Later then...

Darden submitted!

So, with this I have successfully completed my round one application submissions. Hopefully I won't have to submit anymore apps this year. My Managing Director submitted his recommendation for Stanford yesterday. With that, all my applications are complete. I now wait to hear from the admission committees. Its been one heck of a journey - more a road to self discovery. To be honest, my career, thus far, has been inline with my ambition do an MBA. The thought of pursuing an MBA has been in mind ever since I finished schooling in 2001. I am happy with the way things have shaped up. I am grateful to a lot of people for their continuous support; something that, I am sure, will never cease. I hope I get into at least one of these four good schools that I have applied to. It will be a huge step towards achieving my career goal.

Anyways, its now time to relax and calm the mind and nerves. They'll be working overtime in the coming weeks! I am off to Goa, tonight, with friends. I'll be spending the next four days there - away from work, tension, and anxiety. Been looking forward to this trip for a while now.

So until the next post, its gonna be...Sun, Sand, and the Sea...

Be good.