Ross Interview Done

Back home now after the interview. It was with an alumnus, at his office. It lasted for an hour.

The interview started with a resume walk-through and had loads of questions on team activities, setbacks and my subsequent take-aways. I, actually, got a chance to tell him about every major achievement and his responses/acknowledgments sounded positive. Then, there were the usual why MBA, why Ross, goals while at Ross questions. I think I handled them pretty well. He then asked me about the other schools that I have applied to and wondered why I had limited my choices to only three schools. I told him why I thought that I best fit my target schools. I think I managed to convince him that I am an individual who is very focussed at all times.

Overall, I felt it was a good interview but I could have done better. I have a terrible cold and was trying my best not to cough during the interview. That made me pause a couple of times. Thankfully they weren't long ones. There were also a few "you know"s that I could have avoided.
So begins the wait for the results. Decisions will be mailed on January 15th. Lets hope I hear from Darden and Stanford before that.

Back from Sabarimala

I'm back from my annual pilgrimage to Sabarimala, the holy abode of Lord Ayyappa. There was heavy rush but we managed to pray well. This temple that does not pose restrictions on men from visiting the temple (Ayyappa is a bachelor God and hence, women between the age of 10 and 50 aren't allowed). People from all religions throng the temple and during the peak season the rush is second only to Mecca.

The visit to the temple involves a 41 days fast that requires the devotee to:

• Wear black clothes
• Remain unshaved
• Walk bare feet
• Avoid non-vegetarian food - supposed to eat food that is only cooked at home
  
• Avoid alcohol, intoxication and women
• Wake up as early as 4am, have bath and offer prayers before doing anything else

Basically, one must live life like a saint for those 41 days. Since I live alone, here in Hyderabad, I couldn't follow certain rules (like clothing, food from outside). I also had to shave my beard before my ISB interview. But I did follow the rest of the stipulations religiously. The pilgrimage helps develop tremendous self-control.

I started going when I was four years old. This was my 17th year to the temple.

I returned on Saturday and spent the weekend reading about the terror attacks on Mumbai. I was shocked to say the least. For long has India and Mumbai been savaged by these stains on humanity. I salute the ones who sacrificed their lives in trying to rescue the hostages. May the souls of the victims rest in peace. I pray that God gives their families the courage and strength to bear the losses.

Its my sister's birthday today. I plan to gift her "The Tales of Beedle the Bard", by J. K. Rowling. I am sure she'll like it.

Today also happens to be World Aids Day. So, people, please spread the awareness.

I had sold my Dell Inspiron laptop two weeks ago and will be getting my new Dell Studio 15" this week. So thats one other thing to look forward to...

Now I better rush to work. Tc.

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...

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.

ISB - Dinged

Well...the title says it all.

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.

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...