Columbia Submitted

I submitted the Columbia regular decision application a few minutes back. Compared to the other two applications this was a bit easier to do. The reason is that most of the subjects discussed in the essay are from the beaten track. Now there are only long waits to complete. My interview at Wharton, thorough research on Stern and Columbia and three mock interviews I took so far have adequately prepared me for the interviews from Stern and Columbia. So practically my 2007 application work is over.

Personal and professional life are going to be hectic in 2007. The uncertainties of the admission process are also there. In addition in the last few weeks, partners from my entrepreneurial past are brewing up an interesting concoction of a promising business idea. I am excited about the thought of getting back into the fire in the belly days of scouting for investments, setting up the office, hiring people and most importantly creating something new. Things will be clearing up as the days progress.

This post will mostly be my last for the year. 2006 has been a wonderful year. I rediscovered many of the paths I traveled in my past. I made a bunch of new friends through the application process. Family life was wonderful. Was blessed with a nephew. Most importantly got a chance to reflect on my life so far and clearly define where I want to go and how I want to reach there. A journey that started as a career move to put a rubber stamp validation on my resume took many new dimensions of self discovery. So I want to thank the admissions process of these eminent business schools for forcing thousands of applicants to critically analyze their lives each year. Grueling as it is I can see the value.

Wish each of you a wonderful 2007, Chase your dreams, they will come true!

WAITLISTED @ Wharton

Wharton Waitlisted me!. If you have ever worried about your darkest fears coming true, you know exactly how I feel now. The Wharton Waiting List was the worst decision I 'expected' from Wharton. And that is exactly what I got.

Yesterday I spent about an hour on the S2S chat with a lot of fellow applicants all travelling the same boat - D-Day wait. Today I learnt the fate of many. The most active ones got rejected. It is a sad feeling.

Wharton released the decisions in batches. People in China, Singapore and other Asian countries got calls first. I frantically tried refreshing the status page till 9:10AM. Then I was convinced that Wharton is going to let people like me, the ones in East Coast of US know the results towards the later part of the day. So I proceeded to do something else, take a friend's mock interview. This friend has an interview scheduled for one of the top business schools tomorrow. We spoke over the phone for 30 minutes. Most of the answers were good. I gave feedbacks on delivery, structure and content, wished luck to each other, and I returned back from the conference room. Out of curiosity I clicked refresh, and there it was, a decision letter link at the bottom of the application page. When I clicked on it I saw, what you can see on the upper left - WAITLIST.

Rationally speaking this is not the worst case scenario. Unlike Harvard where noone is usually picked from the Waitlist, Wharton do select competitive applications from the Waitlist pool during the next round. The aganozing part is the wait. Anyone who is serious on an MBA admission must have at least put in one year till now to make a competent R1 application. I did. Starting from the day I started serious preparation for GMAT till now it is more than an year. Though a blip in the bigger scheme of things a wait for three more months is painful. It pains even more when you know that there may not be a clear decision on March 22nd the next decision date. Adcom will consider the application for its relative strength with respect to the applicants in R2, and then may either Accept, Reject or Waitlist - Continue :-)

There are cases from the past, where R1 Waitlist has extended all the way to Preterm.

The light at the end of this tunnel be worth this bumper to bumper traffic.

I salute all those who got admitted to Wharton. Now I know for sure that you all put in a better application than I did. All the best!

For me, this decision gives an increased vigor to apply all I got to the one application I have left to do - Columbia. In adition, I will explore Stern further (I have setup a meeting with a student for tomorrow morning) to define my interview strategy. Stern is very keen in fit, and a fit I will be able to show only through enough interactions with the school.

A productive 24 Hrs

From 1 to 5 in 24 Hrs. I completed all my Columbia essays. From my experience I would say they are 85% done. A couple of them are precariously touching the outer limits of acceptable word count bulge of 10%. Once I cut some flab my Columbia Essays will be ready to upload.

On the downside it means I will have more time at hand to brood over what Wharton has in store for me. I was hoping that Columbia apps will keep me occupied till the D-Day. That was not to be.

Shedding all modesty, I feel I have a strong chance to make it to Wharton. While I am on the wiser side of the average student body, my experience and goals should add a unique color to Wharton 2009. Did I sell myself correctly?, that is the million dollar question. I can only hope that the adcom sees things as clearly as I would want it to see.

I also did some serious thinking on what I would REALLY do if none of my admissions come through. I will come back to India earlier than I planned, and will enroll in the 2009 1 yr MBA programs either at ISB or IIMA. Such an education coupled with my experience should help me reach my goals.

One up in the Uptown

Prof. Michael Morris is a great teacher. The students are exceptional. The school environment was surprisingly casual. And as of now, I could write my 'Why Columbia' just by citing my experiences at the Managerial Negotiations class Prof. Morris took.

Since I am writing the Columbia Essay1, and because I cannot do justice to the 'Why Columbia' without sitting in a class, I shuffled many important parts of my office life to attend a class at Columbia. It was worth the drive, half day off from my work, $36 for parking (no I did not live there for a week, it was for 3hrs), and $5.40 for a slice of pepperoni pizza (No, not the whole pizza!). Though it was the final class of the course, and though the major part of the class was role play simulations, I experienced what each of those admits are capable of - the intellects, clarity of thought, strategic positioning and effective decision making skills. I can see myself becoming a better leader through such a structured educational environment.

In addition, this visit changed some of my preconceived negative perceptions of Columbia as an uptight, fiercely competitive, finance oriented, school. While I would not go anywhere near of rating it as the best collaborative environment (for which the winner is Wharton), there is no question in my mind that there are only exceptionally bright minds in there - students and faculty. How great will it be to know those people for life!

I will submit by columbia RD application later this month.