Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Ross Interview Invite!

The happiness, that I feel at this moment, has no bounds. I have been waiting for this invite for weeks now. Ross has always been one of my favourite schools and now I find myself knocking on its door. Its like a dream come true.

I have been asked to interview between Dec 1-12. I will be going on a pilgrimage today and will be back on Saturday. I will fix the date of interview on my return.

Thank you all so much for the support. I will not disappoint you this time :-)

Go blue...

Sunday, November 23, 2008

Ross Videos

I had wanted to post these earlier but didn't get the time to do so. I like these videos because it gives prospective students, like me, another opportunity to connect with the school and feel what it is like to study at Ross. The first video talks about how students can benefit from the Ross MBA. The second is more specific to leadership development at Ross. It talks about the measures that are being taken to tap leadership potential.






If you had any doubts about pursuing an MBA in these pressing times or about applying to Ross then this address, by Al Cotrone - Director of the Office of Career Development, might help reaffirm the value addition that a Ross MBA provides.

Thursday, November 20, 2008

ISB - Dinged

Well...the title says it all.

Friday, November 14, 2008

BW Business School Rankings

The latest BusinessWeek b-school rankings are out. As per the new rankings, the top U.S. programs are:

1. Chicago
2. HBS
3. Kellogg
4. Wharton
5. Ross
6. Stanford
7. Columbia
8. Duke
9. MIT
10. Haas

Well...I am surprised that Stanford has been ranked no higher than 6th. But I am delighted that both Ross and Stanford figure in top 7 and Darden isn't far behind (#16). My Ross and Stanford applications are currently under review and the Darden applications should be reviewed soon too. Please please send me the interview invites. I am so looking forward to them :-)


The top Non-U.S. programs are:

1. Queens
2. IE Business School
3. INSEAD
4. Ivey
5. LBS
6. ESADE
7. IMD
8. Rotman
9. IESE
10. Oxford

Here again, I was caught by surprise when I didn't see HEC Paris in the top 10. That is one school that has been consistently ranked high among b-schools in Europe. HEC, Judge and Cranfield figure in the second tier.

For more information, please click here. You may also wanna read about the crisis at the schools.

Sunday, November 9, 2008

ISB Interview

I had my interview at 9:10AM today. It lasted for 40 minutes. There were three people in the panel - Mr. Menon (Director of Admissions), a Lady Professor, and Mr. Vijay (alumnus).

The interview was conversational. It started with me talking about my background, the decisions that I took regarding my choice of college and course, the reasons for my long term goal and finally how ISB fits into the picture. Spent around 5-7 minutes here. Mr. Menon interrupted me and so I had to cut short my story and had to quickly link my past to my present and my goals.

Then followed questions on my extra-curricular activities, interests, leadership experience, financial crisis and a case.

Vijay: You have captained cricket teams in the past. How would you go about arranging a cricket match between your company's cricket team and the ISB cricket team?

Lady: Please mention an experience that made you a better person. It can be one that is professional or personal.
Me: I asked if I could give two examples - one professional and the other personal. The personal experience happened to be my experience as a young captain of a I Division League Cricket Team.

Menon: Staying with cricket, estimate the amount of popcorn that a vendor might sell at an ODI cricket match between India and England, here in Hyderabad.
Me: I asked him if the match is to be played on a weekend. He said that I can make my own assumptions. Therefore, I assumed that the match will be played on a weekend and that the stadium, capable of seating 45,000 people, would be packed to capacity. I also mentioned that popcorn is something that people from all age-groups enjoy and that it adds to the entire jovial atmosphere. Then I went about estimating the number of people who would bring their own eatables, who would prefer something other than popcorn, who wouldn't want to eat anything at all, who would have popcorn multiple times during the day - came up with a rough estimate for the number of cones likely to be sold and multiplied it by 200grams (popcorn served in a cone) and announced the result. People in the popcorn business would love my estimate for its sheer magnitude! (If there is a better way to tackle this problem then I sure would love to hear it.)


Vijay: You have mentioned that you love travelling and have visited Africa and the Middle-east. Why do you like travelling so much?
Me: I gave my reasons and also linked them to my interests in dance, music and culture.

Menon: Can you explain the financial crisis and possible remedies?
Me: I had just finished explaining the crisis when Mr. Menon stopped me and said that he is fine with the explanation and told me that I needn't talk about the possible remedies.

Menon: I think we should be done. (Confirms with the other members) Do you have any questions for us?
Me: I wanted to know whether it will be possible to lure some of my target consultancy firms to campus for placements. I also wanted to know more about the Wharton Global Consulting Practicum and whether it is possible to pursue the WGCP in addition to the ELP(the answer is yes). I also asked how a PGPM student typically contributes to the Wadhwani Centre for Entrepreneurship Development and how he makes use of the resources it has on offer. My questions were answered well.

Before the interview I was asked to write a short essay on the word 'Apply'. I chose to highlight my reasons for applying to a business school, and specifically ISB, in the essay.

Well, I think the interview turned out to be pretty decent - as is the case with a majority of the applicants. I have my fingers crossed...

Sunday, November 2, 2008

Stanford and HBS guarantee International Student Loans without a US Co-signer

A friend of mine, Nitin Rao, forwarded this information to me and it got me all excited. I am sure others reading it would be as happy as well. So what exactly am I talking about? Here you go...

Stanford MBA Admission Blog (Link to the actual post):
International students at the Stanford Graduate School of Business will not be impacted by Citibank’s decision. The GSB Financial Aid Office has a close working relationship with Stanford Federal Credit Union and for the past two years we have made arrangements exclusively through SFCU to provide international students at Stanford the ability to take out private loans without a US co-signer.

HBS MBA Admission Blog (Link to the actual post):
There's been great uncertainty out there about international student loans so we are extremely pleased to be able to make this announcement:International students at HBS will continue to have access to need-based loans without needing to find a US co-signer.While at this time we do not have further details about specific loan programs with private lenders, we are able to make this important - and reassuring - statement about continued accessibility.All students - both international and US citizens - will continue to be eligible for Harvard Business School fellowships - the money you don't pay back. This year HBS will award $22 million in need-based fellowships; the average MBA fellowship is $25k per year.

Saturday, November 1, 2008

ISB Essays

First, I'd like to thank all my readers for following my blog. I am happy that it is helping you in some way or the other.

I received quite a few mails requesting advice on writing the ISB essays. Hence, I have decided to post an analysis of the essays. So here we go...

Essay 1: Please give three reasons why ISB should admit you into the class of 2010. These reasons should ideally differentiate you from your competition. (300 words)

Needless to say, this essay is going to be the most important essay in your application. You have been, explicitly, asked to state the factors that distinguish you - qualities that make you special.

Think of instances in your life when you have been challenged and had to take decisions. Talk about the emotions that urged you to take those decisions. Choose your words carefully because the application portal won't allow you to enter more than 300 words for the essay. So, keep your sentences short, well-formed, and precise. Impact is the key here. Use examples. The adcom loves to hear more about the actual 'you' and your accomplishments. You may have one example where you have shown the three different traits or you may use three different examples.

I used three different examples - one professional and two personal. I concluded the essay by stating my short term and long term goals and how these differentiating factors would help me contribute to the ISB class and achieve my goals.

A couple of things that one must keep in mind:

1. Never project reasons like honesty or integrity as differentiating factors. These are qualities that you are expected to possess.
2. Avoid situations where you succeeded in doing something but doing that 'something' wasn't a decision that you made. For example, I studied in eight different schools and had learned six different languages before my eighth grade. I could have used this as an example for my willingness to learn and adapt but the decision to learn these languages was not mine to take. I was young and it was forced upon me. It will leave a stronger impression on the adcom if you describe circumstances where you were in control of the situation and the outcome was directly impacted by your thinking.

Essay 2: You are contesting the election to be the President of the ISB Student Body. Write a speech you will deliver to the student body on why they should elect you as the President? (300 words max)

Now, the situation is such that you have already been admitted and are contesting elections to be the President of a diverse and active Student body. Many would find it difficult to choose between describing their leadership skills and elaborating on how they can contribute to the school. I felt it best to present a good blend of both.

This essay gives you ample scope not only to highlight those instances where you have shown exemplary leadership skills and portrayed your ability to work in teams but also to project how much you know about the school and how you intend to utilize your time at school.

While choosing leadership and team work examples, I picked my stints as Captain of Sports teams and Coordinator of various clubs. This allowed me to highlight instances where I had displayed good inter-personal skills.

As far as writing about your plans for the school is concerned, you need to research as much as you can about the school and also about the responsibilities of the GSB President. Good place to start would be the ISB website. You could also talk to current students and alumni. Presidential candidates do soapbox presentations before the start of the election. Try getting hold of these presentations. Talk about those activities that interest you and will help you make positive contributions to the community.

The school wants to know as much about you as possible. Through this essay, you can also emphasize on the fit quotient.

Essay 3: CASE : You have been appointed to head the team to build a dam across the River Zumba. Success in this project is critical for your company and would earn you a promotion. Failure would mean that your company would be bankrupt and will take along with it, its investors and its employees. Building a dam across the river would result in deforestation of a portion of the rainforests and would mean relocation of the tribals and destabilization of wild life at Zumba. There is resistance from environmental groups against your project. You are meeting the head of the resistance movement in one hour wherein you would have to explain your decision. Describe what you would do and why? (You will be evaluated on the creativity and practicality of your solution).

You have already differentiated yourself. You have described your leadership skills and your interests in the school. Now, comes the opportunity to clinch your admit by portraying your problem solving ability.

While it is quite easy to get intimated by this question, it, nevertheless, allows you to be at your creative best. No answer is correct or wrong but every hurdle posed in the question allows you to project traits like practicality, resourcefulness, negotiation skills et al.

My approach to this essay was simple. There are three major hurdles and providing feasible solutions to these would win you the opposition's confidence. I tried to think of the simplest solutions to these problems and then built my final solution around these simple solutions. One thing that always remained in my mind was the ultimate goal of successfully completing the dam's construction.


The optional essay

It is not a must that you write this essay but you can use this opportunity to highlight certain items in your profile that couldn't be projected in other parts of the application.

I used this essay to talk about the internship experiences that gave me international exposure and brought me international acclaim. I had hoped that this information would strengthen my application and I think it did!