The application is set to go live on July 18th. For more information, visit Johnson’s admissions website. Subscribe to GMATing for latest updates and news as and when they are out.

All the best!

Check out Tuck’s admissions website for more information. Subscribe to GMATing for latest updates and news as and when they are out.

All the best!

Essay Questions:

Required Question:

What are your professional objectives?

Respond to two of the following three questions:

1. Reflect on a time when you turned down an opportunity. What was the thought process behind your decision? Would you make the same decision today?

2. Discuss a time when you faced a challenging interpersonal experience. How did you navigate the situation and what did you learn from it?

3. “Innovation is central to our culture at Wharton. It is a mentality that must encompass every aspect of the School – whether faculty research, teaching or alumni outreach.” – Thomas S. Robertson, Dean, The Wharton School

Keeping this component of our culture in mind, discuss a time when you have been innovative in your personal or professional life.

For Reapplicants:

All reapplicants to Wharton are required to complete the Optional Essay.  Please use this space to explain how you have reflected on the previous decision on your application and to discuss any updates to your candidacy (e.g., changes in your professional life, additional coursework, extracurricular/volunteer engagements). You may also use this section to address any extenuating circumstances.

Optional Section:

If you feel there are extenuating circumstances of which the Committee should be aware, please explain them here (e.g., unexplained gaps in work experience, choice of recommenders, or questionable academic performance, significant weaknesses in your application).

For more information, visit the Wharton School’s admissions website. Subscribe to GMATing for latest updates and news as and when they are out.

All the best!

Essay Questions

1. What are your short- and long-term goals, and how will a Chicago Booth MBA help you reach them?  (600 words)

1a. RE-APPLICANTS ONLY: Upon reflection, how has your thinking regarding your future, Chicago Booth, and/or getting an MBA changed since the time of your last application? (300 words)

2. At Chicago Booth, we believe each individual has his or her own leadership style. How has your family, culture, and/or environment influenced you as a leader? (750 words)

3. Considering what you’ve already included in the application, what else should we know about you?  In a maximum of four slides, tell us about yourself.

Essay Question Explanation

Although you will provide a significant amount of information throughout the application, you have the unique opportunity to tell your story, in your own voice, within the essays. As a result, we have crafted our essay questions in a way that gives you the freedom to share what is most important to you. In true Booth fashion, we let you make the ultimate decision on what is best to include.

Essay One:
What are your short and long-term goals, and how will a Chicago Booth MBA help you reach them? (600 words)

In this essay, we hope to better understand your path and plan, vision for your career, and why an MBA – specifically a Booth MBA – is necessary to help you achieve your goals.  In responding to this question, you’ll need to spend some time thinking about your career, your passions, and what you really hope to get out of the entire MBA experience.

Re-applicant Essay:
Upon reflection, how has your thinking regarding your future, Chicago Booth, and/or getting an MBA changed since the time of your last application?

For our re-applicants, this question gives you the opportunity to tell us what is different from the time of your last application.  What has occurred in your life or career that has either reinforced or changed your goals?  What lessons have you learned or how have you grown since you last applied to Chicago Booth?

Essay Two:
At Chicago Booth, we believe each individual has his or her own leadership style. How has your family, culture, and/or environment influenced you as a leader? (750 words)

The goal of this essay is to better understand who you are, how your past has influenced you, and your underlying motivation and values surrounding leadership and business. A significant part of the Booth experience is helping each student define and strengthen their personal leadership style. Understanding yourself and your motivations is the first step in that process, and our hope is that this essay will help you start down that path. We are not looking for a prescribed answer – we hope that you will share your story.

Presentation:
Considering what you’ve already included in the application, what else should we know about you?  In a maximum of four slides, tell us about yourself.

During our last live chat in June, many of you were wondering if the presentation would be part of the application. Since we feel that it is such a valuable opportunity to learn about you, we have decided to include it again this year. We have framed the question to specifically address what you haven’t already told us in the rest of the application. We encourage you to look at your application holistically. Are there messages, topics, or activities that are important for us to know?  If so, then the presentation will be an opportunity for you to provide us with this type of information. Also, it is important to note that this is not a design contest!  We care most about the content, but the way in which you deliver that is up to you.

For more information on applying to the Chicago Booth MBA program, visit the school’s admissions website. Also have a look at the admissions blog for more insights. Subscribe to GMATing for latest updates and news as and when they are out.

All the best!

Essay 1:
What are the 2 or 3 strengths or characteristics that have driven your career success thus far? What are the other strengths that you would like to leverage in the future? (500 words maximum)

Essay 2:
Please describe your short and long term goals post-MBA. Explain how: your professional experience has shaped these goals; why this career option appeals to you; and how you arrived at the decision that now is the time and the MBA is the appropriate degree. (500 words maximum)

Essay 3:
What personal qualities or life experiences distinguish you from other applicants? How do these qualities or experiences equip you to contribute to UNC Kenan-Flagler? (500 words maximum)

Essay 4 (optional): 
If your standardized test scores are low, or if you have not had coursework in core business subjects (calculus, microeconomics, statistics, financial accounting), please tell us how you plan to prepare yourself for the quantitative rigor of the MBA curriculum. (300 words maximum)

Essay 5 (optional):
Is there any other information you would like to share that is not presented elsewhere in the application? (300 words maximum)

Click here to see the application deadlines released earlier. Check out the admissions website. Subscribe to GMATing for latest updates and news as and when they are out.

All the best!

The essay questions for the 2011-2012 application season are:

Short Answers

Please answer each of the four (4) questions below with a short paragraph of no more than 150 words. This is an opportunity to distill your core ideas, values, goals and motivations into a set of snapshots that help tell us who you are, where you are going professionally, and why. (600 words total)

1. What are your professional goals immediately after you receive your MBA?

2. What are your long‐term career aspirations?

3. Why are you choosing to pursue an MBA? (If you plan to use your Yale MBA to make a significant change in the nature of your career, please tell us what you have done to prepare for this transition.)

4. The intentions of our students to engage in a broad-minded business school community and to connect to an eminent and purposeful university greatly influences the Yale MBA experience. How do you plan to be involved in the Yale SOM and greater Yale communities?

Personal Statements

Choose two (2) of the following topics and answer them in essay form. Please indicate the topic number at the beginning of your essay. (500 words maximum)

1. At the Yale School of Management, we believe the world needs leaders who:

• Understand organizations, teams, networks and the complex nature of leadership;
• Understand markets and competition in different contexts; and
• Understand the diversity of economies throughout the world and the relationships between business and society.

What experiences have you had that demonstrate your strength in one or more of these areas?

2. What is the most difficult feedback you have received from another person or the most significant weakness you perceive in yourself? What steps have you taken to address it and how will business school contribute to this process?

3. Imagine yourself meeting your learning team members for the first time in Orientation.  What is the most important thing your teammates should know about you?

4.  Required for reapplicants: What steps have you taken to improve your candidacy since your last application?

Check out Yale’s admissions website. Subscribe to GMATing for latest updates and news as and when they are out.

All the best!

Check out Tepper’s admissions website for more information. Subscribe to GMATing for latest updates and news as and when they are out.

All the best!

Essay #1 
a) MBA Program applicants – Briefly assess your career progress to date. Elaborate on your future career plans and your motivation for pursuing an MBA. (600 word limit)

b) MMM Program applicants – Briefly assess your career progress to date. How do the unique characteristics of the MMM Program meet your educational needs and career goals? (600 word limit).

Essay #2
Describe your key leadership experiences and evaluate what leadership areas you hope to develop through your MBA experiences (600 word limit).

Essay #3
Assume you are evaluating your application from the perspective of a student member of the Kellogg Admissions Committee. Why would you and your peers select you for admission, and what impact would you make as a member of the Kellogg community? (600 word limit).

Essay #4
Complete one of the following three questions or statements. (400 word limit)
Re-applicants have the option to answer a question from this grouping, but this is not required.

a) Describe a time you had to inspire a reluctant individual or group.
b) People may be surprised to learn that I…..
c) The riskiest personal or professional decision I ever made was…..

Required essay for re-applicants only – Since your previous application, what steps have you taken to strengthen your candidacy? (400 word limit)

For more information on applying to the Kellogg MBA program, visit the school’s admissions website. Subscribe to GMATing for latest updates and news as and when they are out.

All the best!

Early Action:

Application Deadline – September 29, 2011
Interview Invitations Sent – October 24, 2011
Decision Notification – December 5, 2011

Round 1:
Application Deadline – November 1, 2011
Interview Invitations Sent – December 16, 2011
Decision Notification – February 1, 2012

Round 2:
Application Deadline – January 4, 2012
Interview Invitations Sent – February 8, 2012
Decision Notification – March 20, 2012

Round 3:
Application Deadline – March 8, 2012
Interview Invitations Sent – March 30, 2012
Decision Notification – May 4, 2012

Essays

Essay 1: Describe your vision for your career and your inspiration for pursuing this career path.

Essay 2: How will your background, values, and non-work activities enhance the experience of other Duke MBA students and add value to Fuqua’s diverse culture?

Essay 3: Why Duke? (If you are interested in a specific concentration, joint degree, clubs or activities, please discuss how you would contribute to these in this essay.)

Optional Essay: If you feel there are extenuating circumstances of which the Admissions Committee should be aware, please explain them here (e.g., unexplained gaps in work, choice of recommenders, inconsistent or questionable academic performance, significant weakness in your application).

Re-applicant Essay: All re-applicants are required to complete the Re-applicant Essay. Please limit your response to two pages. Write an essay describing how you are now a stronger candidate for admission compared to the application you submitted the previous year.

For more information on applying to the Duke MBA program, visit the school’s admissions website. Subscribe to GMATing for latest updates and news as and when they are out.

All the best!

Essay topics:

1. Why is an MBA a critical next step toward your short- and long-term career goals? Why is Tuck the best MBA program for you? (If you are applying for a joint or dual degree, please explain how the additional degree will contribute to those goals.)

2. Discuss your most meaningful leadership experience. What did you learn about your own individual strengths and weaknesses through this experience?

3. Describe a circumstance in your life in which you faced adversity, failure, or setback. What actions did you take as a result and what did you learn from this experience?

4. Tuck seeks candidates of various backgrounds who can bring new perspectives to our community. How will your unique personal history, values, and/or life experiences contribute to the culture at Tuck?

5. (Optional) Please provide any additional insight or information that you have not addressed elsewhere that may be helpful in reviewing your application (e.g., unusual choice of evaluators, weaknesses in academic performance, unexplained job gaps or changes, etc.). Complete this question only if you feel your candidacy is not fully represented by this application.

Reapplicant Essay

6. How have you strengthened your candidacy since you last applied? Please reflect on how you have grown personally and professionally.

Go here to the actual website to see optional Essay topics and further instructions by Tuck Dartmouth. Subscribe to GMATing for latest updates and news as and when they are out.

All the best!

1) What career do you plan to pursue upon completion of an MBA degree and why?
We are obviously looking at your career pathing and focus.  The adcom wants to see that you have done your due diligence on your career trajectory and what is it about b-school (hint: why Johnson) is the right fit and time in your life.

2) You are the author for the book of Your Life Story.  Please write the table of contents for the book.  Note: Approach this essay with your unique style.  We value creativity and authenticity.
We have been asking this essay question for the last two years.  It is a favorite to read and to write for our applicants.  Keep the creativity and personality because we enjoy learning more about who our applicants are!

3) What legacy would you hope to leave as a Johnson graduate?
The adcom wants you to really evaluate what “fit” means to you for Johnson.  “Fit” is different for everyone, so we want to see how authentic and purposeful you are about applying.

Deadlines will be out soon. Subscribe to GMATing for latest updates and news as and when they are out.

All the best!

September 2012 Intake (Class of July 2013)

Round 1
Deadline: September 28, 2011
Interview Decision Notification: November 4, 2011
Final Decision Notification: December 16, 2011

Round 2
Deadline: December 7, 2011
Interview Decision Notification: January 13, 2012
Final Decision Notification: February 24, 2012

Round 3
Deadline: March 21, 2012
Interview Decision Notification: April 20, 2012
Final Decision Notification: June 1, 2012

January 2013 Intake (Class of December 2013)

Round 1
Deadline: April 11, 2012
Interview Decision Notification: May 18, 2012
Final Decision Notification: June 29, 2012

Round 2
Deadline: June 20, 2012
Interview Decision Notification: July 27, 2012
Final Decision Notification: September 7, 2012

Round 3
Deadline: August 16, 2012
Interview Decision Notification: September 14, 2012
Final Decision Notification: October 26, 2012

Applications must be complete and submitted by midnight (23.59) Central European Time on the day of deadline.

Job Description Essays

1. Briefly summarise your current (or most recent) job, including the nature of work, major responsibilities, and, where relevant, employees under your supervision, size of budget, clients/ products and results achieved. (250 words maximum)
2. Please give a full description of your career since graduating from university. If you were to remain with your present employer, what would be your next step in terms of position? (250 words maximum)
3. If you are currently not working, what are you doing and what do you plan to do until you start the MBA programme? (250 words maximum)

Personal Essays

1. Give a candid description of yourself, stressing the personal characteristics you feel to be your strengths and weaknesses and the main factors, which have influenced your personal development, giving examples when necessary. (600 words maximum)
2. Describe what you believe to be your two most substantial accomplishments to date (if possible specify one personal and one professional), explaining why you view them as such. (400 words maximum)
3. Describe a situation taken from your personal or professional life where you failed.  Discuss what you learned. (400 words maximum)
4. a) Discuss your short and long term career goals. (300 words maximum) and b) How will studying at INSEAD help you achieve your vision? (250 words maximum)
5. Please choose one of the following two essay topics: a) Have you ever experienced culture shock? What insights did you gain? (250 words maximum) or b) Describe the ways in which a foreigner in your country might experience culture shock. (250 words maximum)
6. Is there anything that you have not mentioned in your application that you would like the Admissions Committee to know? (350 words maximum) This section is optional.

The three deadlines are as follows:

All the best!

Essay Topics:

1. Introduce yourself to your future Ross classmates in 100 words or less.
2. Describe your career goals. How will an MBA from Ross help you to achieve those goals? What is your vision for how you can make a unique contribution to the Ross community? (500 word maximum)
3. Describe a time in your career when you were frustrated or disappointed. What did you learn from that experience? (500 word maximum)
4. Select one of the following questions:
   1. What are you most passionate about? (300 word maximum)
   2. Describe a personal challenge or obstacle and why you view it as such. How have you dealt with it? What have you learned from it? (300 word maximum)
5. Optional question: Is there anything else you think the Admissions Committee should know about you to evaluate your candidacy? (500 word maximum)

Go here for Essay topics instructions by Ross Michigan. Subscribe to GMATing for latest updates and news as and when they are out.

All the best!

1. Hey Pragya, tell me a little bit about your background.

Indian, IT, Female. One of the largest applicant pools.

IT Engineer from University of Pune. Got campus placed with an IT Consulting Firm. Started off as an application programmer moved into business intelligence consulting. Got the opportunity to work for some major International clients including onsite management roles. It was a good 4.5 years. Learnings, exposure & progress I was pleased with. Can’t say the same thing about the money though.

2. What made you decide to get an MBA?

Couple of things,
- An International MBA was something I had always wanted to do but it inadvertently just kept getting delayed.
- Had worked as the business intelligence data provider for the marketing & branding function for an FMCG biggie. Was really intrigued by their line of work. Decided I wanted to be on the other side of the table.
- Something was amiss. Didn’t want to write code or manage a unit which did that after 5 more years. Needed something more creative in addition to what I already had. If I wanted a switch it had better be now.

3. As a successful applicant, can you tell us a little bit about your strategy?
   • How did you choose the schools you applied to?

   I had a big time & budget constraint, so looked at only 1 – 1n1/2 year MBA programs. Filtered those by schools having a marketing focus. Had worked in Europe before so was keen on coming back here to study. Schools I applied to – HEC Paris, NUS, NTU, ISB. Schools I almost applied to I.e. wrote all the essays for but backed out coz of an empty bank balance and complacency! – Oxford Said, Insead, Essec.

   • What was your timeline?

   Gave TOEFL in Dec 2008. Started GMAT Prep in Feb 2009. Gave the GMAT by Mid May. Wasted June in procrastinating. Shortlisted schools in Jul through Aug. Sept to Jan – Went beserk writing essays. Applied mostly in the 1st/2nd rounds. Jan got my first acceptance letter. Sweet Relief =)

   • How you approached the essays?

   I had heard of the horrors of application essay writing before. But never realized how painful it would get. Penned down important achievements from kindergarten to work, defining moments, responsibilities well executed and initiatives taken and tried to fit them all in the 4-5 application questions. Honestly took a lot to write the first draft and in the end it still looked like crap. Wasn’t used to blatant self glorification but realized soon that was needed (very subtly ofcourse). After 7-8 edits, got what-I-thought-was the final version of each essay reviewed from 3 trusted sources. Also, speaking to existing B School students on the approach to tricky essays helps.

   • Tips on getting recommendation?

   Build a good rapport with managers/colleagues who you plan to get the reco from. When to get them in confidence about your B school plans is subjective and circumstantial. In most cases keeping your plans under wraps and only letting the concerned know is a good idea.

4. What was the interview process like with HEC?

2 rounds of Alumni Interviews with a 10 minute presentation (on a subject of our choice) to each. Luckily, I was able to travel and meet the alumni for face to face interviews. It was a very relaxed & friendly discussion on the usual why this school, how this school, why mba, post mba plans type of questions and was only grilled over a ques or 2. I was asked my opinion on a couple of things in the news at that time. HEC is the only school which requires you to make presentations to the interview panel. The topic can be anything – a passion, something related to work, current affairs, post mba goals or any abstract thing. But it’s important to be totally convinced about it. I presented on the opportunities for growth of luxury brands in India. Worked well as one of the Alums had worked with Louis Vuitton and the other one (like me) found this topic aspirational =)!

5. What was the most difficult step for you in the entire application process?

- To start ‘seriously’ preparing for GMAT.
- To write my 1st application essay.
- Following up with my recommenders during & after each application. Trying hard they don’t get pissed off coz its annoying job for them too. Apart from your good impression on them there is absolutely no incentive for them to fill in N applications of praises for you.
- And the wait!

6. How did you prepare for your GMAT?

The books and the prep method have already been mentioned on this site by the guru himself so won’t repeat all that.

I took advantage of the 2009 slump in the IT sector and used a lot of time in office for preparing. Kept it hush hush as a lot of people were being shown the door at that time. Formed a study group (very important) with people planning on giving GMAT at around the same time. We routinely met up for prep, helps keep you focused and on track. Through pure good luck was introduced to the GMAT veteran Mukul, whom I pestered over the next 3 months with everything from quant doubts to practice test results. Now that he’s in B school himself others won’t be that lucky =).

7. How did you manage financing your education?

Part loan, part scholarship, part savings, part borrowed from mon pere.

8. What do you plan to do post MBA?

I would like to repay my loan and buy a convertible. That apart from my ambitions in the world of marketing (which is a separate topic).

9. Do you have any advice for the readers?

The GMAT is the first big qualifying factor for applying to a dream school but not the only one. A lot of people get overworked and retake the GMAT multiple times to increase their score by 20-30 points. One has to think if spending at least another 2 months and 12000 Rs is really worth it only to get your score up from say a 700 to 720. Think about how much of a difference it will make to your overall application and then only decide to re-take.

——END OF CONVERSATION—–

Thank you so much Pragya! I believe I can always pass on a few questions to Pragya for anyone who is sincerely hoping to get into HEC. All the best guys and gals! And do not forget to Subscribe to GMATing. There will be more of these awesome stories coming. So keep coming back for more!

Essay Topics

Tell us in your own words who you really are. Answer essay questions 1, 2, and two of the four options for essay 3.

• Essay 1: What matters most to you, and why?
  • The best examples of Essay 1 reflect the process of self-examination that you have undertaken to write them.
  • They give us a vivid and genuine image of who you are—and they also convey how you became the person you are.
  • They do not focus merely on what you’ve done or accomplished. Instead, they share with us the values, experiences, and lessons that have shaped your perspectives.
  • They are written from the heart and address not only a person, situation, or event, but also how that person, situation, or event has influenced your life.
• Essay 2: What do you want to do—REALLY—and why Stanford?
  • Use this essay to explain your view of your future, not to repeat accomplishments from your past.
  • You should address three distinct topics:
    • your career aspirations
    • the role of an MBA education in achieving those aspirations
    • and your rationale for earning that MBA at Stanford, in particular.
  • The best examples of Essay 2 express your passions or focused interests; explain why you have decided to pursue graduate education in management; and demonstrate your desire to take advantage of the opportunities that are distinctive to the Stanford MBA Program.
• Essay 3: Answer two of the four questions below. Tell us not only what you did but also how you did it. What was the outcome? How did people respond? Only describe experiences that have occurred during the last three years.
  • Option A: Tell us about a time when you built or developed a team whose performance exceeded expectations.
  • Option B: Tell us about a time when you made a lasting impact on your organization.
  • Option C: Tell us about a time when you generated support from others for an idea or initiative.
  • Option D: Tell us about a time when you went beyond what was defined or established.

Essay Length

Your answers for all of the essay questions cannot exceed 1,800 words.

You have your own story to tell, so please allocate the 1,800 words among all of the essays in the way that is most effective for you. We provide some guidelines below as a starting point, but you should feel comfortable to write as much or as little as you like on any essay question, as long as you do not exceed 1,800 words total.

• Essay 1: 750 words
• Essay 2: 450 words
• Essay 3: 300 words each

Formatting

• Use a 12-point font, double spaced
• Recommended fonts are Arial, Courier, and Times New Roman
• Indicate which essay question you are answering at the beginning of each essay (this does not count towards the 1800 word limit).
• Number all pages
• Upload all four essays as one document
• Preview the uploaded document to ensure that the formatting is true to the original
• Save a copy of your essays

Editing Your Essays

Begin work on these essays early, to give yourself time to reflect, write, and edit.

Feel free to ask your friends or family members to provide constructive feedback. When you ask for feedback, ask if the essays’ tone sounds like your voice. It should. Your family and friends know you better than anyone else. If they do not believe that the essays capture who you are, how you live, what you believe, and what you aspire to do, then surely the Committee on Admissions will be unable to recognize what is most distinctive about you.

There is a big difference, however, between ‘feedback’ and ‘coaching.’ There are few hard and fast rules, but you cross a line when any part of the application (excluding the Letters of Reference) ceases to be exclusively yours in either thought or word.

Appropriate feedback occurs when you show someone your completed application, perhaps one or two times, and are apprised of errors or omissions.

In contrast, inappropriate coaching occurs when your application or your self-presentation is colored by someone else.

You best serve your own interests when your personal thoughts, individual voice, and unique style remain intact at the end of your editing process.

It is improper and a violation of the spirit of the Fundamental Standard and Honor Code and the terms of this application process, to have someone else write any part of your Stanford MBA Program application. Such an act will result in denial of your application or withdrawal of your offer of admission.

Additional Information

If there is any other information that is critical for us to know and is not captured elsewhere, please include it. Examples of pertinent additional information include:

• Extenuating circumstances affecting academic or work performance
• Explanation of why you do not have a Letter of Reference from your current direct supervisor or peer
• Explanation of criminal conviction, criminal charges sustained against you in a juvenile proceeding, and/or court-supervised probation
• Explanation of academic suspension or expulsion
• Any other information that you did not have sufficient space to complete in another section of the application (please begin the information in the appropriate section)
• Additional work experience that cannot fit into the space provided
• Additional information about your academic experience (e.g., independent research) not noted elsewhere

For more information, go to Stanford GSB’s admission’s website. Subscribe to GMATing for latest updates and news as and when they are out.

All the best!

Essays

1. What brings you the greatest joy? How does this make you distinctive? (250 word maximum)
2. What is your most significant accomplishment? (250 word maximum)
3. Describe a time when you questioned an established practice or thought within an organization. How did your actions create positive change? (250 word maximum)
4. Describe a time when you were a student of your own failure. What specific insight from this experience has shaped your development? (250 word maximum)
5. Describe a time when you led by inspiring or motivating others toward a shared goal. (250 word maximum)
6. a. What are your post-MBA short-term and long-term career goals? How have your professional experiences prepared you to achieve these goals?
   b. How will an MBA from Haas help you achieve these goals? (1000 word maximum for 6a. and 6b.)

Go here to the actual website to see optional Essay topics and further instructions by Haas Berkeley. Subscribe to GMATing for latest updates and news as and when they are out.

All the best!

These are the top GMAT Books ranked. I have considered best selling rankings at Amazon, Average ratings, activity, etc along with my judgment to rank them. The list shows the names of the book with my recommendation, people who should consider buying them and amazon ratings.

Top GMAT Books!

Top MBA Admissions books

1. Great Applications for Business School
2. How to Get Into the Top MBA Programs
3. The Best Business Schools’ Admissions Secrets

Reviews (Pros & Cons)

* Requests for admissions decisions before the decision release dates cannot be granted.

You are urged to apply early and to submit the personal information and resume portion of the application. UNC Kenan-Flagler’s class size is small, and admission is very competitive.

The admissions office must also receive official GMAT® or GRE (if applicable) and TOEFL® scores by the application deadline in order to consider your application in that cycle.

Decisions are also posted online by 5 p.m. on the decision mailing dates.

Early Action

Our first cycle, October 21, 2011, is the Early Action deadline. Early Action is an option for applicants who know for certain that they will attend UNC Kenan-Flagler if admitted. Early Action provides applicants with the certainty of learning their decision by December 12, 2011. Admitted applicants in the Early Action cycle will be required to submit a $2,500 non-refundable enrollment deposit by January 6, 2012, in order to secure a space in the class. You should not apply for Early Action if you are not prepared to commit immediately to attending UNC.

Subscribe to GMATing for latest updates and news as and when they are out.

All the best!

Go here for application instructions by Haas Berkeley. Subscribe to GMATing for latest updates and news as and when they are out.

All the best!

Again I will remind you that the schedule has branched into two: Verbal Focus and Math Focus. If you feel that you need more focus on Verbal, you should choose the Verbal Focus. But, if you think you are good in Verbal but need more focus on Math topic, choose the Math focus. I suppose you have already done this in the start of the last week. So continuing this week from last we will finish the rest of the material. Enjoy!

Choose your branch: Verbal Focus OR Math Focus

Branch A: Verbal Focus

This week we will take up from where we left last week in SC. We will finish revisiting the Manhattan Sentence Correction. Then we will focus on concepts and strategies in RC from the Manhattan RC Guide. We will finish it and also do the corresponding problems from OG. Remember you can substitute the Manhattan guides for the PowerScore Verbal Bible.

SUMMARY

This week we drilled deeper into areas where we are weak. Manhattan’s strategy guides should be more than enough to understand the concepts which might have eluded us previously. Solving problems from OG 10 with the new found understanding should also help. This concludes your Verbal Focus weeks. Next we will breeze through the Quants concept in the coming week.

Branch B: Math Focus

This week we will continue with Kaplan Math Workbook. We will devote our attention solely to going through the Math concepts again, and solving corresponding problems from OG 10. We will also devote the last 3 days of the week to solving tough problems. You can also substitute the Kaplan book for Nova and tweak the schedule a bit to achieve the same effect.

SUMMARY

This week we drilled deeper into areas where we are weak. Kaplan Math workbook should be more than enough to understand the concepts which might have eluded us previously. Solving the OG 10 problems with the new found understanding should also help. And the highlight should have been solving the tough problems. Next week, we will breeze through the Verbal sections.

Previous Week Next Week

* Reapplicants must submit their application by the Round I deadline. LGO reapplicants must submit their reapplication by the LGO deadline.

**Decisions will be released early for some candidates who will be denied admission without an interview.

The online application for entry in August 2012 will be available in July. Please check back then for next year’s deadlines.

Go here for application instructions by MIT Sloan. Subscribe to GMATing for latest updates and news as and when they are out.

All the best!

University of Chicago Booth School of Business

In light of the Bologna Accord, Chicago Booth will also accept all three-year international degrees to fulfill the undergraduate prerequisite for application to Chicago Booth.

Admissions | FAQs

Harvard Business School

An international applicant is required to hold a college or university degree equivalent to a four-year American baccalaureate degree.

Admissions | FAQs

The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania

There are a number of universities around the world that offer 3-year undergraduate programs. If you have received a Bachelor’s degree upon completion of such a program, you are eligible to apply to the Wharton MBA program.

Admissions | FAQs

Kellogg School of Management: Northwestern University

Applicants who are part of an international educational system where three-year undergraduate programs are the norm (e.g., India, United Kingdom) are eligible to apply.

Admissions | FAQs

Stanford Graduate School of Business

Degrees from international universities offering only 3-year baccalaureate degrees are valid equivalents.

Admissions

Duke’s University Fuqua School of Business

Generally, we will accept international bachelor’s degrees. Most of the degrees we see are at least four years. Three-year degrees are fairly common in all U.K.-based systems. Level exams frequently are equal to the first year of college; therefore, a three-year degree from England, Scotland, Wales and Australia are usually equivalent to a four-year program. In India, the bachelor’s of commerce degree is three years, and is usually considered the equivalent of a U.S. business degree.

Admissions | FAQs

Stephen M. Ross School of Business: University of Michigan

Yes. Beginning August 2010, we will consider applicants who hold a three-year undergraduate degree from India.

Admissions | FAQs

Haas School of Business: University of California Berkeley

Applicants with a three-year Indian bachelors degree and no additional degree may apply, but are at a significant competitive disadvantage when compared to applicants with similar backgrounds and eligible education.

Unaccepted first degrees: A Postgraduate Diploma in business technology awarded by the Centre for International Management (16 mos) is an UNACCEPTABLE first degree. Associate of the Institute of Chartered Accountants, Associate of Institute of Cost Works Accountants, Associate of Business Management, and Associate of Institute of Engineers are NOT acceptable as substitutes for a four-year degree.

Applicants with only a 3-year bachelor’s degree do not meet the requirement for admission and are not as competitive compared to candidates with 4-year degrees. Therefore, to be competitive, applicants would need to complete a master’s degree (2 years after your bachelor’s degree) or other acceptable degree. If you are interested in applying to the Berkeley MBA program, we suggest that you complete an application. Eligibility with regard to the degrees equivalent to a US bachelor’s degree cannot be determined in advance of filing an application. The Graduate Division reserves the right to review the official academic records of all applicants whose undergraduate degrees were earned outside the US to determine whether the academic credentials presented for a foreign institution are comparable to the US bachelor’s degree.

Admissions | FAQs

The Admissions Office accepts applications from candidates with a three-year undergraduate degree. Those applications are reviewed on a case-by-case basis.

Admissions | FAQs

MIT Sloan School of Management

Yes. Candidates with three-year bachelor degrees from outside of the U.S. may apply.

Admissions | FAQs

Darden School of Business: University of Virginia

Darden will also recognize undergraduate degrees that were earned in only three years of study.

Admissions | FAQs

Johnson Graduate School of Business: Cornell University

No Info.

Admissions | FAQs

Tuck School of Business: Dartmouth University

Yes. We require that applicants hold a bachelor’s degree (university level) or equivalent. It is of no consequence to the admissions committee whether the degree was completed in more or fewer than four years.

Admissions | FAQs

Tepper School of Business: Carnegie Mellon University

We will consider applicants who hold a 3-year undergraduate degree. In general, due to the highly competitive nature of our applicant pool, candidates with additional education beyond their 3-year degree are more competitive.

Admissions | FAQs

Idiomatic expressions are phrases that are common in standard written English. There is no logic behind their usage. You either know them or not. You will have to use your ear most of the time. But its highly advised that you learn the list of common idioms on GMAT.

The parrot way

I am sorry to tell you this, but memorizing them is the only way you can do this. Start doing this early in your preparation. Initially it’s okay to look up the idiom list while answering the questions. Watch out for the changing prepositions while doing a vertical scan of the answer choices, this would give you a hint that may be this is an Idiom error.

Books I used for cracking Verbal

I recommend you getting the books right away. One good reason is motivation. New books help you stay motivated. I am not a big fan of xerox copies. They don’t smell good. The smell of a new book excites me and gives me another reason to start early with a zest. I get all my stuff from Amazon. (Yes it even ships books to India!) You get good deals and you can club your books to get in one shipment. Don’t think too much. I can vouch for the quality and effectiveness of the books I am recommending. Happy GMATing!!!

• The Official Guide 12th Edition
• Wren and Martin English Grammar
• Manhattan Sentence Correction GMAT
• Kaplan GMAT 800: Advanced Prep
• Kaplan GMAT Verbal Workbook
• OG for GMAT Verbal Review 2nd Ed

1. Hey Mayank, tell us a little bit about your background.

I was working in Switzerland as an IT Project Manager before coming to MIT Sloan. I was leading teams developing internal enterprise software for my company. I graduated from IIT Delhi in 2005 with a degree in Electrical Engineering.

2. What made you decide to get an MBA?

I understood that in order for me to move up the corporate ladder, I needed management skills and toolsets. I also wanted to see the US and work there, especially in the Technology industry. Both factors led me to B-school in the US.

3. As a successful applicant, can you tell us a little bit about your strategy?
   1. How did you choose the schools you applied to?

   I only applied to two B-schools (Stanford and MIT) as both schools are inclined towards Technology. They send lots of graduates into the Technology industry (Hi-Tech firms or Tech consulting).

   2. What was your timeline?

   I had already given my GMAT a few years ago and the score was still valid, so I didn’t have to worry about retaking the test. I applied in Round 1 of both schools, doing Stanford first and MIT Sloan second.

   3. How you approached the essays?

   I started thinking about my essays about six months before the deadlines. I made sure to talk about examples answering the question asked, which were also substantial enough to warrant mention in a top b-school application. I used the STAR approach to structure my essays (Situation, Task/Challenge, Actions, Result). I spent the most time/words on the Actions part.

   I also got feedback on my essays from other successful candidates, which helped tremendously.

   4. Tips on getting recommendation?

   One recommendation has to be from your boss/manager. I also made sure to get recommendations from people I had worked with extensively and whom I had a good relationship with. Before they wrote my recommendations, I talked with them about their experiences with me. This gave me some idea about what they were going to talk about in their recommendations. It always helps if your recommenders can validate what you’ve said in your essays.

4. What was the interview process like with MIT?

The interview for MIT Sloan was a typical behavioral interview. I travelled to Paris to meet an Admissions Director. It was more of a discussion rather than an interview. I structured my answers using STAR in the interview as well. The questions were quite standard (you can find these on ClearAdmit Wiki). It always helps if both parties (the interviewer and interviewee) are talking/discussing things rather than it being just a one-way Q&A session.

5. What was the most difficult step for you in the entire application process?

Essays were probably the most difficult. Getting feedback from successful candidates on my essays helped me understand what is expected out of a top B-school application.

6. How did you prepare for your GMAT?

I had a 710. I basically read two books (Kaplan, Barron’s) and did the practice tests from Kaplan and from the GMAT council website (www.mba.com).

7. What do you plan to do post MBA?

Not sure. I would either go work as a Product Manager or go into General management. I’m keeping my options open and exploring a bunch of careers.

8. Do you have any advice for the readers?

Talk about substantial accomplishments in your essays (where you were seriously challenged) and get feedback from successful candidates on your essays.

——END OF CONVERSATION—–

Thank you so much Mayank! I believe I can always pass on a few questions to Mayank for anyone who is sincerely hoping to get into MIT. All the best guys and do not forget to Subscribe to GMATing. There will be more of these awesome stories coming. So keep coming back for more!

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Cheers!

Applicants must complete one short answer and three essays:

Short Answer

What is your post-MBA professional goal? (Maximum of 200 characters.)
Examples of possible responses:

“After my MBA I want to build my expertise in the energy sector and learn more about strategy and decision making by joining a consulting firm specializing in renewable energy and power companies.”

“After my MBA I hope to work in business development for a media company that is expanding its market share in Asia.”

“My short term goal is to work with an investment firm that utilizes public private partnerships to invest in community development projects.”

Essays

1. Considering your post-MBA and long term professional goals, why are you pursuing an MBA at this point in your career? Additionally, why is Columbia Business School a good fit for you?(Maximum of 750 words.)
2. Describe a life experience that has shaped you. The goal of this essay is to get a sense of who you are, rather than what you have achieved professionally. (Maximum of 500 words.)
3. Essay three has three options (please choose one of the following):

• Option A: The annual A. Lorne Weil Outrageous Business Plan Competition is a student initiative managed and run by the Columbia Entrepreneurs Organization (CEO). The competition encourages Columbia MBA students to explore creative entrepreneurial ideas that are sufficiently ambitious in scope and scale to be considered “outrageous.” Students explore these ideas while learning firsthand what goes into the development and presentation of a solid business proposal.Develop your own “outrageous” business idea. In essay form, compose your “elevator pitch.” (Maximum of 250 words.)
• Option B: Columbia deeply values its vibrant student community, the building of which begins at orientation when admitted students are assigned to clusters of 65 to 70 fellow students who take most of the first-year core classes together. During the first weeks of school, each cluster selects a Cluster Chair. Further strengthening the student community are the over 100 active student organizations at Columbia Business School, ranging from cultural to professional to community service-oriented. Leadership positions within the cluster and/or clubs offer hands-on management and networking opportunities for students as they interact with fellow students, administrators, faculty members, alumni, and practitioners.You are running for either Cluster Chair or a club leadership position of your choosing. Compose your campaign speech. (Maximum of 250 words.)
• Option C: Founded nearly three decades ago, the Executives in Residence Program at Columbia Business School integrates senior executives into the life of the School. Current executives in residenceinclude more than a dozen experts in areas ranging from media and investment banking to private equity and management. A hallmark of the program is one-on-one counseling sessions in which executives advise students about their prospective career choices.Select one of the current executives in residence with whom you would like to meet during your time at Columbia. Explain your selection and tell us how you would best utilize your half hour one-on-one session. (Maximum of 250 words.)

An optional fourth essay will enable you to discuss any issues that do not fall within the purview of the required essays.

Reapplication Essay

Submit one new essay: How have you enhanced your candidacy since your previous application? Please detail your progress since you last applied and reiterate your short-term and long-term goals. Explain how the tools of the Columbia MBA will help you to meet your goals and how you plan to participate in the Columbia community.(Maximum of 750 words.) This essay should be inserted into the text box designated “Essay 1.”

For more information, go to Columbia GSB’s admission’s website. Subscribe to GMATing for latest updates and news as and when they are out.

All the best!

Welcome! Congratulations on getting past the Build phase. Half the battle is won at this point. From here on we will start the Recovery Phase, followed by Advanced Phase and then finally the Test phase. In this phase the goal will be to tweak areas in which you are weak. By now, you have a fair idea as to where you need more help. If you feel that you need more focus on Verbal, you should devote next 2 weeks for Verbal followed by 1 week on Quants. But, if you think you are good in Verbal but need more focus on Math topic, devote next 2 weeks to Quants followed by 1 week to Verbal. So the Recovery phase will have two branches. One will branch out towards Verbal Focus and the other to Quants. Enjoy!

Choose your branch: Verbal Focus OR Math Focus

Branch A: Verbal Focus

This week we will start with CR and finish the CR Manhattan Guide. We will devote our attention solely to going through the CR strategies again, and solving corresponding problems from OG 10 as per the Manhattan matrix. We will also devote the last day of the week (Sunday) to SC. Since we have already done SC from the Manhattan Book, we will try to finish it quickly so as to make room for RC in the next week. Remember you can also substitute the Manhattan guides for Power Score CR Bible or Verbal Bible.

SUMMARY

This week we drilled deeper into areas where we are weak. Manhattan’s strategy guides should be more than enough to understand the concepts which might have eluded us previously. Solving problems from OG 10 with the new found understanding should also help. Next week, we will continue with SC and start RC.

Branch B: Math Focus

This week we will start with Kaplan Math Workbook. We will devote our attention solely to going through the Math concepts again, and solving corresponding problems from OG 10. We will also devote the last day of the week (Sunday) to solving PS problems from OG 10. You can also substitute the Kaplan book for Nova and tweak the schedule a bit to achieve the same effect.

SUMMARY

This week we drilled deeper into areas where we are weak. Kaplan Math workbook should be more than enough to understand the concepts which might have eluded us previously. Solving the OG 10 problems with the new found understanding should also help. Next week, we will continue doing this book and finish the rest of the sections on Word Problems and Data Sufficiency.

Previous Week Next Week

1. Tell us a little bit about your background.

Hi, My name is Kshitij Chopra. I’m currently a first year student at the Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University. I did my undergrad from IIT Delhi in 2005, switched jobs around a bit before joining Bain & Co. in 2006 – a few months after they started their India operations. I was with them for ~4 years before leaving to pursue my MBA

2. What made you decide to get an MBA?

As a consultant, I constantly worked with income statements, balance sheets and financial valuations. Being an engineer, I sometimes felt that I lacked the accounting and finance background to be able to do my job better. So, enhancing my skill set was definitely a reason. Secondly, I had spent 4 yrs. in consulting and wanted to experience life in other industries/sectors before deciding what I want to do for the next 4-5 yrs. An MBA was perfect in the sense it would allow me to experiment with various professions (via projects/ internships) in a relatively risk-free environment.

3. As a successful applicant, can you tell us a little bit about your strategy?

   1. How did you choose the schools you applied to?

   I gave my GMAT in 2007 and got a score that was decent enough not to want me to give it again. Like everyone else, I had a broad list of 10-12 schools to decide. From 2007-2010, I met up with people from almost all of these schools – at admission events in India, via web chats and seminars, by reaching out to people at work who knew someone at these schools, and in some cases, attending prospective student events on campus. All this gave me very good insight into the kind of people, and life at each of these schools. I compared this with my personal criteria of rating (brand name, school culture, location, my chances of getting admitted etc.), and came up with a final shortlist.

   2. What was your timeline?

   My timeline for deciding on schools was ~3yrs. When I gave GMAT, I only had 2 yrs. of work experience. And speaking with people from various schools made me realize that I still need to build on my “real-world” learnings before applying to business schools. In terms of timelines for actual essays, I started writing drafts around June-July, which gave me ~3 months before round 1 deadline. I later realized that this wasn’t enough, and my round 2 essays were much, much better than what I had sent out in round 1. So I guess, a 6-month start before the deadline is more ideal.

   3. How you approached the essays?

   The most difficult part of the essays was getting started. Being inherently self-effacing by nature, I found it very difficult to talk about all the seemingly great things that I have done in life. Unfortunately, it had to be done the hard way. After countless personal revisions, I asked 2-3 of my friends to give it a read through and suggest changes. After another round of changes/modifications, I asked a few of the senior consultants and managers, who had been to some of the schools to give their feedback, and made final changes based on their comments.

   4. Tips on getting recommendation?

   I stuck with people I had worked most with, and who I was sure will give a very good recommendation. Also, since management at Bain is very supportive of people applying to business schools, I did not face any problems there. I also tried matching getting recommendations from alumni of the school I was applying to (though that wasn’t possible in every case). One thing to note here is that if you’re applying to multiple schools, spread the recommendations out so that no one recommender feels overloaded. It also helps if people you’re asking for reccos from have themselves being through the US business school system, so they’d know how to write recommendations.

4. What was the interview process like with Kellogg?

Kellogg has two sub-parts to its application. Part one (which is due earlier) contains basic, resume-based information while part two has all the essays. Kellogg tries to interview each and every prospective student who submits part one of the application. However in my case, there was an overflow of applications and they couldn’t find enough alumni for an in-person or phone interview. So, they waived off my interview based on my part one submission. When I completed the rest of my submission, they emailed me to schedule a phone interview. But in the meantime, I had reached out to an alumnus whom I had met during the course of the admission events, and asked her to interview me. Thankfully she agreed, so as a result, I did end up having an in-person interview.

5. What was the most difficult step for you in the entire application process?

The most difficult part was getting started on the essays. As I have mentioned earlier, I was (and am still) quite uncomfortable talking highly about myself – which is what all these essays require you to do. And unfortunately, there is no easy way to overcome this. A good way to start is to make a list of all the attributes you have that you want to highlight, and match them with examples of real life situations where you displayed those qualities. Then all you have to do is to decide what attributes fit best with which essay questions, and weave them into a good story. Easier said than done, I know. But this is one situation where hard work and perseverance pay.

6. How did you prepare for your GMAT?

I actually did not get much time to prepare for my GMAT. While I had a healthy timeline when I registered for taking the exam, I got stuck in a heavy work-load project and could not give much time to preparation. In the end, I got about a month of solid, consistent preparation (2 hrs a day, and then practice tests over the weekend). I focused more on English than Math, as I felt more comfortable with numbers. In my opinion, the official guide book was one of the best resources I used. The questions in the OG, especially the tricky grammar and sentence correction ones, were the most accurate representation of how things are in the actual test. Math, as mentioned earlier, was pretty straightforward (for me at least) and any of the commonly available books are good enough. Let’s see what else….oh yaa, I got a 710 on my GMAT.

7. What do you plan to do post MBA?

I’m still experimenting with various career paths and options while at school. Talking to many of my friends and colleagues here, meeting people across different industries and companies so as to make an informed decision. Though return to consulting will always be very attractive and viable option, I still have some time before I need to decide on my full-time career, and I intend to use all of it to increase my knowledge base.

——END OF CONVERSATION—–

Thank you so much Kshitij! Lemme know if you need any specific help with Kellogg’s application. I will try my best to pass it by Kshitij. All the best guys and do not forget to Subscribe to GMATing. There will be more of these awesome stories coming. So keep coming back for more!

Today we have Siddharth with us, who got into MIT Sloan in 2010 Fall.

1) Hey Sid, tell us a little bit about your background.

I have a background in Engineering having completed a B. Tech in Electrical Engineering from IIT Delhi. Following that, I pursued a Master’s degree in Engineering Management from USC. Then, I moved onto Management Consulting and worked at KPMG in Los Angeles followed by Booz & Company in Dubai. Currently, I’m a first year MBA student at the MIT Sloan School of Management.

2) What made you decide to get an MBA?

As a management consultant, getting an MBA at a top B School is probably the best way to progress in the firm. Not only does it lend credibility to your resume, which helps position you for project selling, but also it goes a long way in enhancing our network. More than anything else, it’s a good break from the hectic work life.

3) As a successful applicant, can you tell us a little bit about your strategy?

1. How did you choose the schools you applied to?

I applied to Stanford, Harvard, MIT Sloan and Chicago Booth. This was based on their brand name and the quality of the alums I had met and worked with. I was particularly interested in Stanford and MIT due to their focus on entrepreneurship and small class size.

2. What was your timeline?

I applied to MIT Sloan and Stanford in Round 1. Booth and HBS in Round 2.

3. How you approached the essays?

I was struggling to meet application deadlines due to my busy work schedule. Needless to say I didn’t spend as much time thinking about my essays and reviewing them as I should’ve. In the end, for each essay, I would lock myself in a room for an hour and let my thoughts flow. Then, I’d read it the next day to see if it still made sense. If it did, I went ahead and submitted it. Else, scrap, delete, and restart.

4. Tips on getting recommendation?

Get recommendations from people who know you best. Don’t get recommendations from people who don’t know you too well just based on their title. A recommendation written from the heart is probably the biggest differentiator among top candidates.

5. Anything else.

I didn’t visit any schools while applying. I didn’t have the option as I was miles away from the US. For those who can visit schools, visit as many as you can.

4) What was the interview process like with MIT?

MIT Sloan’s interview process is undertaken by their admissions committee and not by alumni. I was interviewed by Rod Garcia, Director of Admissions, in Mumbai. Rod asks pretty standard questions which you can easily google and find. The key was to convert the interview to a conversation. So, finding those common grounds that would entire your interviewer into conversing with you is the key.

5) What was the most difficult step for you in the entire application process?

Essays are annoying, not difficult. Getting recommendation is frustrating, not difficult. Recalling the extracurricular activities you undertook at school is painful, not difficult. The most difficult part is short-listing schools, deciding which ones to apply to in round 1 and which ones in round 2, picking recommenders and then the wait for the decision. So, the beginning is tough, the end if tough, all else is a blur.

6) How did you prepare for your GMAT? (Great if you could mention your score)

Practice, practice, practice. I did atleast 10-12 practice tests. By the end I got so good at it that even when I guessed, I guessed correctly. Your brain gets trained to identify patterns in questions and therefore, you’re able to predict what the answer might look like even before you do any calculations or analysis. I scored a 770 (50 Q, 44 V)

7) What do you plan to do post MBA?

At this point, I plan to go back to consulting. But, I’m interning in Investment Banking this summer in New York. So, I’ll only be certain about what I’m doing post MBA after I experience banking this summer.

8 ) Do you have any advice for the readers?

Stop reading too many blogs and posts. Stop thinking too much. Get cracking on the application process. Oh! And Mukul’s blog rocks

——END OF CONVERSATION—–

If any of you are applying to or thinking of applying to MIT Sloan MBA Program, I will be happy to get you in touch with Sid, but sincere applicants only! Subscribe to GMATing for more success stories like these and to get the latest updates and news.

All the best!

This is what the School has to say about it’s unusual Entry process:

One MBA, Two Paths

Columbia Business School students may enroll in either August orJanuary. The two paths, each comprised of four terms, merge in the fall of the second year to complete electives as a single class. The paths are identical in terms of competitiveness of admissions, academic rigor, and student resources, however they differ in terms of timing and the opportunity to complete a summer internship.

This is what the School has to say about it’s Application rounds:

The August entry has two review periods — early decision and regular decision. Because the School uses a rolling admissions process, it is always to your advantage to apply well before the deadline.

For complete information,visit Columbia Business School’s admissions website for more. Subscribe to GMATing for latest updates and news as and when they are out.

All the best!

This is what the school has to say about when to apply:

To avoid overwhelming server traffic generated by the high volume of applications we receive, candidates are encouraged to submit their application as early as possible prior to the deadline of each round.

We encourage applicants to apply in the first or second round, as space in the class may be limited by the third round. In addition, applying in the earlier rounds will give candidates more time to address the following:

• International candidates needing visas will find that applying in Round 3 makes the timing of their visa application stressful.
• International candidates admitted in Rounds 1 and 2 find that it’s helpful to have the additional time to work on English proficiency.
• Some candidates may be required to complete preliminary course work prior to their enrollment.
• Many deadlines for outside (non-Harvard Business School) fellowships are in early spring. Only students who have been accepted are eligible for these fellowships.
• Financial aid is available regardless of when students are admitted. However, since admitted students may apply for financial aid only after they are admitted Round 3 admits have less time to prepare their application.
• Harvard Business School residence halls and Harvard University-affiliated apartments are assigned by lottery. Deadlines for both of these housing options precede Round 3 notification, and you must be admitted to HBS before you can enter these lotteries.

Essay Topics:

All application questions below are required.

• Tell us about three of your accomplishments. (600 words)
• Tell us three setbacks you have faced. (600 words)
• Why do you want an MBA? (400 words)
• Answer a question you wish we’d asked. (400 words)

Joint degree applicants:

• How do you expect the joint degree experience to benefit you on both a professional and a personal level? (400 words)

Go here for application instructions by HBS. Subscribe to GMATing for latest updates and news as and when they are out.

All the best!

This is what the school has to say about the Application Rounds:

It is important that you apply only when you feel your application is as strong as it can be.

• We offer 3 application rounds.
• If you are considering applying in either Round 1 or Round 2, we strongly encourage you to consider Round 1. Over the past few years, we’ve noticed more applicants applying in Round 2 and, as a result, this round has become bigger and a bit more competitive. You should never rush your application. But, on the margin, earlier is better.
• While we admit outstanding individuals in all three rounds, there are some advantages to applying in either the first or second round.
  • The ability to receive an aid award from the Financial Aid Office prior to the date by which you must respond to your offer of admission.
  • Ample time to complete preliminary quantitative and/or language coursework prior to arrival on campus.
  • Access to the on-campus housing lottery and/or Schwab Residential Center housing.
  • Sufficient time to complete the visa application process (international students).

The essays are not out yet. But you can have a look at the essays from 2010-2011 here. Subscribe to GMATing for latest updates and news as and when they are out.
All the best!

This week we will finish the core preparation phase of the GMAT. We will focus on finishing the last part in Quants an then gear up for a mock test on the last day (Sunday) of the week. This is again going to be a tricky week if you are not the quant joc types. But after so many drills, I am expecting you to be much better. If you are already comfortable with math, you can utilize some of your time to revise other areas and prepare for the test! So let’s get started!

SUMMARY

This marks the end of the Building-up phase in your GMAT Prep. If you survived this, you have conquered most of it. The major battle is won, now it’s time to run that last mile and win the war. So basically, even if you go and take the GMAT now, you will be good, but that’s not the way to do it really! Now we will tweak things here and there in the recovery phase which is next. Then after that we will delve into advance concepts and then eventually enter the Test phase. For now, feel good that half the journey is over and the tougher part is over. From now, it will be much easier. No crazy time limits, simply ironing out things. Enjoy!

Previous Week Next Week

Remember that GMAT asks you to choose the best answer. So many times you will have two options which are grammatically correct. In such cases GMAT prefers the sentence that is CORRECT, CONCISE & CLEAR. This gives us the golden rule of 3 C’s. Here it goes…

Keep it short

Longer sentences introduce unnecessary complexity, awkwardness and redundancy. Everything else being equal, choose the shorter, simpler version over the longer, more complex one.
One of the problems with wordy answer choices is that they contain redundancies; that is, they essentially say the same thing twice.
Be careful to preserve the meaning of the original sentence. This is another type of error. You are not supposed to alter the meaning or intent of the given sentence even if it is not correct grammatically.
There are several lists for redundant word. It’s not possible to learn every one of them. So the best way to handle this is to compare the options and figure out why one of the options is shorter than the other. And if you think that the eliminated words were actually redundant, the job becomes easy.

Style check!

A few more pointers about good style.

• The pronominal possessives hers, its, theirs, yours, and oneself have no apostrophe.
• Enclose parenthetic expressions between commas
  EXAMPLE: Marjorie’s husband, Colonel Nelson paid us a visit yesterday.
  My brother you will be pleased to hear, is now in perfect health.
• Non-restrictive relative clauses are, in accordance with this rule, set off by commas.
  EXAMPLE: The audience, which had at first been indifferent, became more and more interested. 

  In these sentences the clauses introduced by which, when, and where are non-restrictive; they do not limit the application of the words on which they depend, but add, parenthetically, statements supplementing those in the principal clauses. Each sentence is a combination of two statments which might have been made independently.The audience was at first indifferent. Later it became more and more interested.

• Restrictive relative clauses are not set off by commas.
  EXAMPLE: The candidate who best meets these requirements will obtain the place. 

  In this sentence the relative clause restricts the application of the word candidate to a single person. Unlike those above, the sentence cannot be split into two independent statements.

• Do not join independent clauses by a comma
  If two or more clauses, grammatically complete and not joined by a conjunction, are to form a single compound sentence, the proper mark of punctuation is a semicolon. 

  EXAMPLE: Stevenson’s romances are entertaining; they are full of exciting adventures.
  It is nearly half past five; we cannot reach town before dark.
  It is of course equally correct to write the above as two sentences each, replacing the semicolons by periods.
  Stevenson’s romances are entertaining. They are full of exciting adventures.

Books I used for cracking Verbal…buy them now!

I recommend you getting the books right away. One good reason is motivation. New books help you stay motivated. I am not a big fan of xerox copies. They don’t smell good. The smell of a new book excites me and gives me another reason to start early with a zest. I get all my stuff from Amazon. (Yes it even ships books to India!) You get good deals and you can club your books to get in one shipment. Don’t think too much. I can vouch for the quality and effectiveness of the books I am recommending. Happy GMATing!!!

• The Official Guide 12th Edition
• Wren and Martin English Grammar
• Manhattan Sentence Correction GMAT
• Kaplan GMAT 800: Advanced Prep
• Kaplan GMAT Verbal Workbook
• OG for GMAT Verbal Review 2nd Ed

Before we start this week, I would like to tell you something important. On the GMAT you have 75 minutes for 41 questions in Verbal. That is less than 2 minutes per question. And if you consider the relative toughness of SC, CR and RC questions, the recommended time to solve problems from each category is: 50 SC questions per hour, 7 Passages or approx 42 questions from RC per hour and 38 questions from CR per hour. When you solved the Kaplan Verbal last week, the practice test had similar times for these sections. Now considering this the target time, I have designed the following week. It has got some slack, but it is the least you have to aim. So let’s get down to it!

SUMMARY

This week was just practice, practice, practice. You finished the OG 12 this week. It may sound insane on the first go, but it is actually possible to finish the OG in one week when you have already gone through the concepts thoroughly. Most people make the mistake of jumping straight on to OG. That is very wrong. OG is the best question bank you have available. You do not want to waste it. You want to be good with concepts, so that you can actually assess your weaknesses and strengths. The whole point is to use this question bank as an actual test. So I absolutely recommend going through this week as explained. Ok now the next week we will go back to doing math and finish the word problem strategy guide by Manhattan. That will take care of our core GMAT preparation phase. After that we will take a test. So let’s move to the next week.

Previous Week Next Week

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

What Time is it?

PRESENT TENSE

• Habitual actions (regular activities):
  • Mukul exercises every day.
  • Leaves fall in winter.
• Universal truth, well known fact:
  • Sun rises in the east.
• To describe characters, events, or other matters in an aesthetic work, such as a painting, a piece of music, a work of literature, a movie, or a television show:
  • In the first chapter of Far from the Madding Crowd, Gabriel sees the beautiful Bathsheba, but she does not see him
• To describe an opinion or idea:
  • In the Marxist vision of history, the ruling classes ceaselessly oppress the working class.
• To indicate that a condition or situation is likely to last:
  • Kids love candy.
• To describe a future action that is definitely predictable:
  • The museum opens at 10 p.m.

PRESENT PROGRESSIVE

• To indicate that an action or state is occurring at the time of the writing:
  • The sun is setting now.
  • Mukul is writing this article.
• To indicate a gradual process (need not be taking place right now):
  • Traditional art is dying.

PRESENT PERFECT

• Past action touching the present:
  • I have just finished writing this article.
• An action or state begun in the past but extending into the present:
  • Scientists have begun to explore the possibility of worm holes.
  • Since the invention of airbags, many lives have been saved.
• An action performed at some unspecified time in the past:
  • I have seen the Taj Mahal.

PROGRESSIVE FORM OF THE PRESENT PERFECT

• When you want to emphasize both the continuity of an action from the past into the present and the likelihood of its continuing into the future:
  • I have been writing this article for 2 days now.
  • The cost of petrol has been increasing at a staggering rate.

PAST

• An action or state that was definitely completed in the past:
  • Man landed on the moon in 1969.
  • India got its independence in 1947.
• To report actions repeated in the past but no longer occurring at the time of the writing:
  • I always watched movies on fridays. (not anymore)

PAST PROGRESSIVE

• To emphasize the continuity of a past action:
  • His actions were becoming unacceptable.
• To state that one action was being performed when another occurred:
  • I was talking on the phone when the battery suddenly died.

PAST PERFECT

GMAT Favorite

• An action or state completed by a specified time in the past:
  • By the end of last week I had collected two thousand stamps.
• One past action or state was completed by the time another occurred:
  • By the time I called her, she had already taken a cab to my place.
  • I suddenly realized that I had left my keys at home.
• To report an unfulfilled hope or intention:
  • Mukul had planned to travel to Agra, but his car broke down while he was still in Fatehpur Sikdi

ROGRESSIVE FORM OF THE PAST PERFECT

• To indicate that the first of two past actions or states went on until the second occurred:
  • Before I got married, I had been eating junk food most of the time.

FUTURE

• A future event or state that will occur regardless of human intent:
  • The sun will rise at 6:35 tomorrow morning.
  • I will be thirty on my next birthday.
• To indicate willingness or determination to do something:
  • Mukul is determined that he will score higly on the GMAT.
• To report what will happen under certain conditions:
  • If there is sunshine while it is raining, you will see the rainbow.
• To indicate future probability:
  • The price of petrol will increase

FUTURE PROGRESSIVE

• An action or state will be continuing for a period of time in the future:
  • A decade from now, every one will be surfing the web.
• To say what the subject will be doing at a given time in the future:
  • Next year I will be studying at Stanford.
  • Also, I will be helping prospective students.

FUTURE PERFECT

• An action or state will be completed by a specified time in the future:
  • At the rate I am spemding, I will have exhausted all my earnings before the end of next month.
• An action or state will be completed by the time something else happens:
  • By the time my MBA is completed, the recession will have gotten over.

PROGRESSIVE FORM OF THE FUTURE PERFECT

• An activity or state will continue until a specified time in the future:
  • By this time tomorrow, I will have been working on this for more than twenty-five weeks.

Misusing Tenses

1. USE THE COMMON PRESENT—not the present progressive—to report what happens regularly:

• Usually my day is starting at 7:00 A.M. -> Usually my day starts at 7:00 A.M. (CORRECT)

2. USE THE PAST PERFECT—not the simple past—for action completed by the time something else happened:

• By the time the game ended, many of the spectators left. -> By the time the game ended, many of the spectators had left. (CORRECT)

3. USE THE PRESENT PERFECT—not the past—for action continuing into the present:

• Ever since the steel plant closed, the town suffered. -> Ever since the steel plant closed, the town has suffered. (CORRECT)

Odds & Ends

Do not use the perfect tenses when the simple tenses will do. Remember that the GMAT prefers simplicity!

• I think that ancient peoples HAD BELIEVED in many gods. (INCORRECT) ->I think that ancient peoples BELIEVED in many gods. (CORRECT) (Only one event…no need of a perfect tense)

Although they may look strange, have/has had, and had had are correct verb construc­tions. If the verb to have is itself in the perfect tense, then:

• HAS/HAVE (PERFECT)+ PAST PARTICIPLE (TO HAVE) = HAS/HAVE HAD
  • He HAS HAD many hamburgers.
• HAD (PAST PERFECT)+ PAST PARTICIPLE (TO HAVE) = HAD HAD
  • My girl friend left me, because I HAD HAD no money. (past perfect of “have no money” = “had no money”)

Books I used for cracking Verbal…buy them now!

I recommend you getting the books right away. One good reason is motivation. New books help you stay motivated. I am not a big fan of xerox copies. They don’t smell good. The smell of a new book excites me and gives me another reason to start early with a zest. I get all my stuff from Amazon. (Yes it even ships books to India!) You get good deals and you can club your books to get in one shipment. Don’t think too much. I can vouch for the quality and effectiveness of the books I am recommending. Happy GMATing!!!

• The Official Guide 12th Edition
• Wren and Martin English Grammar
• Manhattan Sentence Correction GMAT
• Kaplan GMAT 800: Advanced Prep
• Kaplan GMAT Verbal Workbook
• OG for GMAT Verbal Review 2nd Ed

The Traps

Don’t expect simple subject-verb agreement on the GMAT. There are 3 ways to confuse you:

1. Make it difficult for you to locate the subject
2. Make it difficult to identfy whether the subject is singular or plural.
3. Insert intervening phrases and clauses to make it difficult to spot the subject and connect it to its proper verb.

Where is the Subject?

You can find the subject easily when it comes right before the verb:
Alan Paton has written movingly about life in South Africa.
Many readers consider Cry, the Beloved Country a classic.

But when the subject and verb are reversed, they still must agree in both number and person.
EXAMPLES:

Sentences starting with THERE or HERE plus a form of the verb BE:

There was once a thriving civilization in the jungles of the Yucatan.
Here is a translation of Popol Vuh, the Mayan book about the dawn of life.

Sentences with inverted word order:

Visible near Monte Alban in southern Mexico are massive pyramids constructed over two thousand years ago.

Some questions:

Have archeologists identified the builders of the pyramids?
Are you going to Egypt this year?
Will the travel agent book you on a charter flight?

The Problem Of “Of”

If you see an “of construction”, don’t be bogged down by the complexity brought in by the intervening phrase. Eliminate the “of construction” and the sentence should still sound correct.
EXAMPLE:

• The building of tall skyscrapers (has/have) increased in the past few years.
• The actions of my friend (is/are) not very wise.
• Only one of the President’s nominees was confirmed.

Can I have your NUMBER please!

Ironically, third person singular verbs often end in s or es:
He plays football.

Ground rules

In most cases, the subject affects the form of the verb only when the verb is in the present tense. Except for the verb BE and for SUBJUNCTIVE verb forms, the rules of agreement in the present tense are as follows:

1. With third-person singular subjects, add -s or -es to the bare form of
the verb:

• Mukul wants to study Finance.
• She works at the post office.
• It manages over three hundred activities.
• Each of them holds a degree.
• He drives his BMW everyday.

EXCEPTIONS: The verb have becomes has:

• Everyone has problems.
• Fear has gripped all of us.

2. With all other subjects, use the bare form of the verb:

• Biologists study the plants.
• They evaluate the results.
• We want to make a good reputation.

3. Whatever the subject, use the bare form of any verb that follows an auxiliary, such as does, can, or may:

• Does she play the piano?
• She can sing.
• He may become the President.

TO BE or not to be is the question

1. When be is a main verb, its forms are as follows:

2. When be is an auxiliary, its form depends on the subject, just as when be is a main verb:

• I am annoyed by most tax forms.
• The current one is written in incomprehensible language.
• The pages are covered with small print and confusing diagrams.
• What were the experts thinking of when they designed the form?

Misleading spellings

If the Noun means a singular object, it is singular, even if it ends in -s:

• The lens was cracked.
• The Grapes of Wrath is John Steinbeck’s greatest novel.
• Gas is cheaper this summer than it was last fall.

If the Noun means a pluaral object, it is plural, even if it does NOT end in -s:

• The lenses were cracked. His teeth are crooked.
• Women deserve to be paid as much as men are.
• The new data require study. Mice like cheese.
• Cats like mice.

If the Noun has the same spelling for its Singular and Plural form, the number depends whether it is used as Singular or Plural:

• A deer was nibbling the lettuce.
• Two deer were standing in the middle of the road.
• One means of campaigning is direct mail.
• Two other means are TV advertising and mass rallies.

The power of AND

Two singuar subjects joined by AND becomes a compound plural subject.
EXAMPLES:

• Joe and his friends ARE going to the beach.
• Mathematics, history, and science ARE required high-school subjects.

Curious case of Mr. ADDITIVE

Additive phrases such as : along with, in addition to, as well as, accompanied by, together with, including, etc. do NOT form compound subjects.
EXAMPLES:

• Joe, along with his friends, IS going to the beach.
• Mathematics, in addition to history and science, IS a required subject.

OR, EITHER … OR, and so on

• or,
• either . . . or,
• neither . . . nor,
• not . . . but,
• not only . . . but also

For all the above cases the verb agrees with the subject in its proximity.
EXAMPLES:

• Neither steel nor glass cuts a diamond.
• Not a new machine but new workers are needed for the job.

“EACH” of these rules IS important. “EVERY” guy AND girl LEARNS them

When each or every is the subject of a sentence, it requires a singular verb form.
EXAMPLES:

• Each of these shirts IS pretty.
• Every cat and dog in the neighborhood was fighting.
• Every dog and cat HAS paws.

But if the subject includes plural items, treat it as plural:

• Every cat and two of the dogs were fighting.

EXCEPTION: When each or every follows a subject, it has no bearing on the verb form.
EXAMPLE:

• They each ARE great tennis players. (Here, the plural subject they requires the plural verb form are. )

Indefinite pronouns

SINGULAR:

• He, she, it
• this, that
• anybody, anyone, anything
• each, each one
• everybody, everyone, everything
• whoever
• nobody, none, no one, nothing
• one, another
• somebody, someone, something
• whatever, whichever
• either, neither(Either and neither may require a plural verb form when paired with or/nor.)

PLURAL OR SINGULAR:
The object of the “of construction” determines the number of the subject.
The SANAM Pronouns: Some, Any, None, All, Most
EXAMPLE:

• Some of the money WAS stolen from my wallet. (Money is singular.)
• Some of the documents WERE stolen from the bank. (Documents is plural.)

Subject phrase

When the entire phrase acts as a subject, it is always singular and require singular verb forms even though the phrase has plural words in it.
EXAMPLE:

• Having good friends IS a wonderful thing.
• Whatever they want to do IS fine with me.

Collective nouns

Collective nouns and nouns of measurement are singular when they refer to a unit, and plural when they refer to the individuals or elements of a unit:

• Half of the cake was eaten.
• Half of the jewels were stolen.
• The jury was unanimous.
• The jury were divided in its opinion.

Nouns of measurement

• Statistics is the study and analysis of numerical information about the world.
• Recent statistics show a marked decline in the U.S. birthrate during the past twenty years.
• Fifty dollars is a lot to ask for a cap.

Numerical words and phrases

the number of – singular verb form
a number of – plural verb form

• The number of hardworking students in this class IS quite large.
• A number of students in this class ARE hard workers.

majority, minority, plurality — can be either singular or plural depending on their context.
If one means the many individual parts of the totality, then use a plural verb form:

• The majority of the students in this class ARE hard workers.

If one means the totality itself, then use a singular verb form:

• The student majority IS opposed to the death penalty.

Books I used for cracking Verbal…buy them now!

I recommend you getting the books right away. One good reason is motivation. New books help you stay motivated. I am not a big fan of xerox copies. They don’t smell good. The smell of a new book excites me and gives me another reason to start early with a zest. I get all my stuff from Amazon. (Yes it even ships books to India!) You get good deals and you can club your books to get in one shipment. Don’t think too much. I can vouch for the quality and effectiveness of the books I am recommending. Happy GMATing!!!

• The Official Guide 12th Edition
• Wren and Martin English Grammar
• Manhattan Sentence Correction GMAT
• Kaplan GMAT 800: Advanced Prep
• Kaplan GMAT Verbal Workbook
• OG for GMAT Verbal Review 2nd Ed

This week is dedicated to building your core verbal skills. The best book for the job is the Kaplan GMAT Verbal Workbook. We will finish CR, RC and SC from this book. Both theory and exercises. At the end of it we will revise the grammar rules and do the practice tests. So let’s begin!

SUMMARY

This week was the building block for your Verbal Section. Kaplan GMAT Verbal Workbook is a great book. I do not recommend doing the Manhattan RC and CR guides for people who are good in verbal and for whom this book will suffice. However, in the recovery week, if you feel your verbal needs to improve, you can take up the RC and CR Manhattan Strategy guides. The next week we will capitalize on what we learnt this week. We will solve the OG 12 for RC and CR using the Grid. SC has already been done in Week 3 so, next week you will have finished at least the Verbal part from OG 12. Yayy! So let’s move on to Week 7.

Previous Week Next Week

This time I decided to change my strategy. First change was to take it easy on the applications. What you feel is what you project in your essays. I did not want to sound desperate; I wanted to sound confident and valuable. And most importantly I had to find THE school which valued me for what I am. I had a very unconventional work profile and had a different career path planned ahead of me. This should be valued in your application, not frowned upon. But make no mistake, was still looking at the top schools. It had to be the best and worth every penny I spent and time I will devote for my education. The research took me back to 2006 when I had first applied to Tuck: Ivy League school, Beautiful place, highly diverse class, strong focus on general management and a big chunk of class from non-traditional (non-profit, etc.) backgrounds. This seemed to be the one for me. I wonder why you don’t get to hear about Tuck so often, at least in India.

Even though I had my entire story chalked out in the form of essays from last year, I still had lots of work ahead of me. I wanted to write fresh essays as much as possible. One thing which was lost in my essays the last year was personal touch. By that I mean writing about the quirky things about me. Not many people know I am an avid Rubik’s cube solver. I was sure there is a place to write that which I am not using. Because we are so intent on telling about our professional experiences, our rags to riches story, our community work and how we have meticulously planned each semester even before coming to the school, that we often forget how BS it can sound to them if you leave out your day-to-day life events, frustrations, constraints from your story. In general my writing is very casual and informal, but essay writing can stifle the style to the order where it becomes boring and insipid. I said to myself: I am a blogger for a long time, I can certainly write better!

I decided to write about my plans in life, and how I am going to get married and move with my wife. How all this fits into the grand design of things. I told them about so many things on a personal level which I guess struck a chord with the school’s personality. The small ‘insignificant’ things are what make life interesting and that’s what makes an essay interesting too. For example, earlier in the year I had finished an endurance race, biking for 110 kms and hiking/running for another 40 kms in a day. Now this may sound irrelevant but it is not. This is interesting stuff. If your friends think of you as a fun person, ask them what makes you so. Your friends don’t know shit about how you managed to increase the revenue in your company, but they do like you, because of your quirky little things. Try to bring that flavor in your application.

I was preparing my applications in the midst of my engagement’s arrangements. I had to research diamond rings and optimize carat/clarity/color vs cost equations! And finally that interview invite from Tuck came! I did NOT jump in joy because this has happened to me a lot and every time I was left hurt. So this time I took it easy on me. I said silently to myself: You have screwed this up a bit too many times and may be this is the time you bring some changes. First thing was make sure I don’t end up giving a phonic interview. I suck at phone conversations. No alum interviews, if possible. I had a bad time with one of the alum interviews from a top school. They can throw odd balls and they generally tend to talk more about themselves than the candidate. And anything you know about the school is not going to satisfy them, which is natural. Luckily for me, I was to be interviewed by an Adcom member, in person.

I did not prepare for the interview at all. And this was the best strategy. And I strongly feel that if you have done enough research about the school while deciding on it and then while writing the essays, you do not need this. I like the Pune-Mumbai Expressway a lot. And so while I was driving to Mumbai from Pune, for the interview, I found the best time to ‘prepare’. In my mind I imagined how the interview will go and what will I talk about. The good thing about making mental notes is that you don’t sound rehearsed as opposed to if you practice by writing them down.

I arrived to Mumbai at my mother’s place; changed into a business suit and a tie. Funny fact: the diamond ring had burnt such a big hole that I wore the suit I had bought for my engagement, for which I intentionally got a business suit. Poor yet clever me J Anyway, so I touched my mother’s feet and with her blessings with me left for the interview. There I was in the beautiful Gateway Taj hotel, all sharp and confident. I started to feel I am going to rock this time and that helped my confidence a lot. The interviewer was a nice lady, who sat through the entire interview listening to my rants and encouraged me to talk very candidly. The interview went very well.  I could sense it. If I was getting to a B-school, this was it. After the interview I gulped down a pitcher of beer at The Pizzeria on the Marine Drive J with my school friend. What a day!

In a week I got engaged in the same business suit and eventually the D-day came. The results were going to be out 3 o ‘clock in the morning India time. But I got a call from a US number, starting with +1-203, in the evening. And I knew I had done it. I couldn’t say anything other than “thank you”, but that was more than enough. This was a time to just feel it, to sink in. The next morning I woke up and felt as if I had lost 10 kgs. Just for this feeling, everything is worth it. I cannot really write much after this point, as these things are best left to be experienced. I wish everyone who dares to dream, all the best. Always remember, no goal is unachievable and the best choices are the ones that you make. Hard work, sincerity, perseverance and good wishes will always fructify. Be relentless.

Road to B-School: Part 2

This week is going to be another toughie. Again for non-quants people it might seem impossible, but its not. The idea is to go through the material once. Another thing is that on GMAT you are expected to solve one sum in less than 2 minutes. These chapters have typically 15-20 problems and so it is very doable. You can take proper notes when you solve the OG problems. And again the schedule is made assuming you will study for only 4 hours daily. Some days you can push a bit more and clear the backlogs. This week you will try to finish two strategy guides: Manhattan Equations, Inequalities, and VIC’s and Manhattan Fractions, Decimals, & Percents. The former is tougher, but the latter should be relatively easy. If you get stuck at something, do not waste time understanding it, ask some one. Ask me, but do not waste time and lag. All the best. If you can make it through this week, the rest is going to be easy. For people with quants background, this is going to be a cake walk. Go, go, go!

SUMMARY

So this week you again  finished two entire Quants strategy guides and solved corresponding problems from OG. Again the trick is to cover the topics and get to know what they are. You do not need to delve deep in any of the topics. If you are actually putting in the suggested time, it should be doable. Be fast when you are reading, solving. Many people get in the habit of doing everything very slowly. That will not work. Also do not worry if you think that some topics were not very clear. We will again revisit the concepts in Recovery phase (Phase 3). For now revise everything properly. Make cheat sheets and flashcards. And do not get stressed. Enjoy!

Previous Week Next Week

If you read my story in part 1, you know that by March 2007, I was left dejected and in complete shambles. But two great things happened in my life. Not by chance, it’s never chance, but by positive attitude and risk taking. I joined another company. It hadn’t even started by then, but I jumped ship anyway. It was a small company, trying to start operations in Pune. It was a great opportunity for me, to leave the routine IT job and become a part of an Animation Technology company. It was great. It gave me three things: startup responsibility, role which used my tech and artistic skills both and most importantly something to do which I was passionate about. It also took my mind off the B-school application disaster. The other great thing which happened was I found the love of my life. In fact I met my wife because she was preparing for GMAT and needed my help. We had a great time together in Pune after which she left to pursue her MBA at Tepper, Carnegie Mellon. She scored a 740, another testimonial of my awesome teaching skills

The next two years were fun, lots of learning and a complete transformation in terms of professional maturity. I was a completely different person. I knew what I wanted in life, I knew where I was headed to and I had a vision. And there was always this inner voice which kept reminding me that I had to apply very soon, which kept my target in front of me. I was just trying to figure out a suitable time. I had some free time in between which I used to clear the CFA Level 1. At the time I did not know why I took this certification, but I am glad I did. It has enhanced my knowledge at least to an extent where I can go through a business article without as much as looking up the Wikipedia every time in vain. I understand so many things and I am much more confident going into a B-School with this level of knowledge.

June of 2009, four months before Round 1 deadlines end. Time to prepare for war. The competition was going to be tough. Post recession, the pool of applicants was crowded with Investment bankers, consultants and basically everyone who had a lower opportunity cost outside a B-School at that time. And this as a tough pool to compete with, because everyone already had the right kind of credentials to start with. And here I was, with a totally non-traditional background. But I was game. I reckoned it was the right for me, because by the time I will start school, my wife would have finished it and we could live happily ever after. But life is not so simple. Is it, ever?

Once again the era of sleepless nights and tiring days ushered. I meticulously planned the entire application strategy. Starting with a list of schools, categorized by rounds to apply in, deadline dates, number of essays, recommendation questions, additional documents, application website logins, special requirements (TOEFL, etc.); everything was filed properly. Made a schedule as to when should the first draft of the essays should be finished, and which schools will be taken up first, etc.

The plan was great, everything looked good. I wrote beautiful essays. I showed them to alums, friends, and people with English language skills. Everyone liked them. This time the essays were structured, answered everything in a logical manner. My goals were crystal clear, the vision was believable, and the fit was well portrayed. The applications were submitted well before deadlines. I was all set to make it big this time around.

A few rejects here and there, but I still got interview calls from Booth, Wharton, Kellogg, Duke. And Stern wait listed me. So it all looked positive till I got a reject from Wharton, and then from Duke. Then Booth and Kellogg wait listed me too. Now I was on three wait lists and things started looking very dim. I went into a state of total dejection. I was disappointed and desperate: a bad combination. I wrote additional letters to improve my candidacy, but nothing worked out and eventually I was rejected from all them!

Now I was in a total quandary. I did not know whether it was the insane competition or sheer bad luck or was it my profile/application. My plans for my life went for a toss. I had to get married, and if I had to stay with my wife in US, I had to find something quickly. And so much of other nonsense. Basically everything looked very dismal.

This was the worst phase in my life. Basically my plans, my backup plans, everything bombed. And I was under a lot of pressure. From people around me and even career wise I thought I was about to become stagnant very soon. I hate to admit, but I was literally in tears. I did not even know where to go from there! Is applying again worth it. Is there something I can fix or decide better to have it all sorted out the next time? Time was against me. My awesome score could only last the next year and after that it would be useless. I had to do something!

END OF PART 2 of 3

Next read about how I picked up the pieces from here and succeeded eventually!

Road to B-School: Part 1 Road to B-School: Part 3

It was October of 2006, when I took the GMAT. My plan was to get into a B-School where I would surely get in and then go to US and forget all about the failure in CAT (for those who don’t know, it’s the entrance exam for top Indian B-Schools). I had no clue about how the whole thing around US B-School admissions worked. I started my research. Business week articles, rankings, Pagalguy forums, friends at IIT were my top sources for the research.

It did not take long for me to realize that I have certainly missed the Round 1 of applications and even the Round 2 will be bit of a stretch. I did not have enough time to write essays, get my transcripts, get the recommendations, etc. And to be very honest, I was mentally underprepared for such a big endeavor. I was tired after the GMAT. I needed some rest. On top of that I had over-committed at work in order to compensate for my early absence from office during GMAT preparation days.

As I researched, one thing became clearer: I can target top B-Schools with this score but maybe I needed more time. I had hardly one year of professional work experience on my Resume. But I saw those stupid statistics where I could see that 2% of the class had below one year of professional experience. And I said to myself, “Hey if they can, maybe I can too!” And that was a very stupid thing to say, because B-School admit is not about numbers, never about statistics. It’s about you and the school. How you fit in their picture. Do they want you? And do you want enough to be there? Stupid me, I decided to apply to Wharton, Tuck, Ross, Yale and McCombs.

If you are not laughing right now, may be you don’t understand how stupid this list is. Let me tell you again, that the only professional experience I had was of one year and I was competing in the dreaded IT + Male + Indian pool. Basically, disadvantaged from all sides; add to that my IIT degree (which creates an extra bit of expectation and peer competition), I was destined to be screwed, royally!

The only school in which I had a fair chance was McCombs, which is a good school, around 20^th rank among US schools. But I didn’t listen to people around me, who had an objective view of things. In fact I was spending my sister’s money to apply to those schools and making wrong decisions. I feel so stupid now.

Anyway, I started writing the essays, without a clue as to what should be written. I just tried to answer the questions, with my shallow understanding of what they actually want to see through those essays. I did not give proper instructions to my Recommenders as to what is expected from them. I realized that I really didn’t know what I was doing. What I wanted from an MBA. What my goal was, what my vision was. And even though I became surer of my failure every day, I started to like the process.

The essays were on my life story, my decisions, my goals, what I wanted in life, from that school, about tough situations, about things I liked. And as I continued doing a crappy job in writing all of them, I liked the process. I loved the introspection. I liked that it bared me to my bones and made me aware of myself. It was like looking at your flaws, standing naked in front of the mirror. B-School applications are not for those who are not yet ready to ask the tough questions about their life.

With cigarettes all night long, and Pink Floyd playing, the days went by in a blur of tireless essay writing, editing, proof-reading. And in Feb 2007, I started getting the reject mails. I did get an interview call from Ross and McCombs. There was a ray of hope in the form of the Ross interview invite. I knew it was a good school and if I make it, it’s all good. Again, the interview brought out all that which was weak in me. I couldn’t frame proper answers while speaking. I clearly lacked experience, not just work skill wise, but more importantly people skills. I just had not worked long enough to have encountered tricky situations, dilemmas. I did not know what my style of work was. Till that time it was: get work assigned by your boss, work on it, take coffee breaks, cigarette breaks, finish the work, go home and drink beer. Come next day, repeat the above.

So basically, even before the interview was over I knew I will not make it. I did well on the McCombs interview though. I even got waitlisted on that. And the interviewer had told me specifically to call up because he knew I would at least be waitlisted and he would like to put a good word. I could have done that, and may be even made it, but I didn’t; because something had changed inside me. I was not the same impatient guy as before, I was more educated, more aware of my flaws. And I knew that I can make it big, it’s just a matter of having that goal always in front of you and working towards it, not for it, but towards it.

Make no mistake, it was tough. The time after that was very hard. I had a plan which totally bombed, I ended up wasting money, I had no immediate plans and there was a distant target which seemed even further that time. This is the part of the story where Frodo has the ring and he has to travel to Mordor, but he doesn’t know how. All he knows is that he is the only one who can do it, if it can be done. And help will come his way. He just has to stick to the task and not to be distracted. Till now I have been just trying to get away. I did not have the want to go somewhere. I had to find that place and give my best. But that will take time, I just need to stick around.

END OF PART 1 of 3

Next read about how a new chapter started in my life and how I failed again in 2009!

Road to 770 Road to B-School: Part 2

This week we will focus only on Quants. Our goal would be to finish Manhattan Number Properties and Manhttan Geometry. The idea is to somehow manage to finish the theory, even if you are not able to understand everything at the first go. There is lot to cover in Quants and the best way I feel is to brush up, rather than dig deep inside the material. Quants and SC are the two areas where you got to know the “formulae”. So after SC we will try to finish Quants as soon as possible. We will keep the Word Problems for later because that is a bit tricky. So let’s start. Remember this week can be very tough on the “non-quants” people, but go on. These strategy books are fairly easy and does a decent job of covering the topics. All the best.

SUMMARY

So this week you finished two entire Quants strategy guides and solved corresponding problems from OG. I know many of you will say it is impossible, especially people who are not strong at Quants. But the trick is to cover the topics and get to know what they are. You do not need to delve deep in any of the topics. If you are actually putting in the suggested time, it should be doable. Be fast when you are reading, solving. Many people get in the habit of doing everything very slowly. That will not work. Also do not worry if you think that some topics were not very clear. We will again revisit the concepts in Recovery phase (Phase 3). For now revise everything properly. Make cheat sheets and flashcards. And do not get stressed. Enjoy!

Previous Week Next Week

Let’s dissect this argument based on the obvious criterion: SCORE

Below 700

I know there is this weird psychological thing to get past 700. And it’s okay, but not always wise. So what I would recommend is that you assess your score based on what schools you are applying. Because let me tell you, GMAT score is not for massaging your ego, but showing the admissions committee that you are fit for their schools. And not every school is Stanford. Your score may be just good enough to get you in the school you want to. So that brings to the next case.

50 or more below

Your score is 50 or more below the average score at the schools you are applying to. In this case my feeling is that you should retake it.

1. But, but, but, if you don’t have much time, use your time drafting a stellar application (Essays, resume, recos, etc.) and if they ask you to retake it, then retake it or you may want to retake it anyway after you got dinged or something.
2. But if you do have time, retake it. I will talk later more about how to retake it.

Less than 50 below

Your score is only 30-40 below. In this case the choices are not so obvious. You may be in two of these situations: You do not have time left for application or you have lots of time.

1. You have time
   Again you can have two situations: 
   1. Stellar Profile: You can easily offset the lower GMAT score. So retaking is not the best use of time.
   2. Average or below average profile: Then you might think about retaking it. But ask yourself or someone who is close to you and honest about your chances of getting a better score. Many a time people end up getting a lower score because this time around they may not get enough day-offs from their work or they were a bit lucky in their first attempt and might not be on their next one. So basically do an honest assessment because you can always use the time to write awesome essays which can offset any negatives of your lower GMAT score and Profile. But if you think you can totally crack it the next time, take it. Many people have given another 1 month or 2 maybe and had drastic improvement.
2. You do not have time

In this case it’s best to apply with a solid application. And if you can show the other aspects of your personalities, you are better off working on our application rather than retaking an exam.

SUMMARY

Let’s summarize. See there are so many aspects to an application: GMAT, Profile (Resume points: work profile, extra-curricular, social work), Essays, Recommendations. Now GMAT is the least important in them; everything else in higher on the list. But it does matter that you are in the zone. Every school has a GMAT range which they take. Harvard’s FT MBA middle 80% range is 680-770. So there is a 680 in the class. This starts getting lower as you go down the rankings. So you just have to make sure that you are in this zone. You can probably add another 20 to the lower 80% range and then assess your situation.

An admit is the sum of so many things which makes your life story. You have to make the right decisions. Smart people do not waste time massaging their egos. They look for the next best alternative.

But yeah if your score is low and you feel you have time, you should definitely retake it. But that’s just what I feel. But make sure that your are equally focused if not equally this time around.

EXCEPTIONS

But the above argument was solely based on score and the time you have. There maybe other criterion, like:

• Getting scholarship
• Vast difference between mock test performance and actual GMAT
• Big imbalance between verbal and quant scores
• You later on realized that you used absurd material or bad advice.
• You fell sick on the exam day.
• You are from a pool in which you will be killed because of the competition. Like Indian IT male
• Your school asked you specifically to improve your score (let’s after waitlist or feedback, etc.)

In these cases, it makes sense to retake the exam. But do consider the earlier argument, because time plays a very important role in career decisions.

There are some cases when you should NOT retake it.

• You honestly know that this is the best you could do.
• You did everything you can, read all books, took all tests, etc.
• Your score is already good enough for the schools you are applying to.
• You have already taken GMAT twice or thrice without much improvement.

At the end of it all, I would say one thing, if you are really confused, talk to me. Shoot me an email and I can give you my thoughts on the situation. It’s free!

If everything is going fine with your preparation and we have been honest and hard working, we should be pretty comfortable with the GMAT format by now. By now you have a fair idea of all types of questions that are asked on the GMAT. Also you know what your strengths and weaknesses are. This week we will take it up a notch higher. We will dive in depth into Sentence Correction (SC). In fact we will finish the Manhattan’s Sentence Correction book, which is a MUST buy. We will also solve the corresponding set of problems from the Official Guide. Manhattan’s SC has a list of OG questions at the end of each chapter which are relevant to that topic, very useful.

SUMMARY

So this week you finished SC manhattan and also the OG SC section. This is great. Keep it going!

Previous Week Next Week

Last week we got a solid idea of how the Verbal Section looks like on the GMAT. This week we will do the same for the Quants section. For this you will refer to the same standard Kaplan GMAT or Princeton GMAT book. The sections in these books are fairly easy and the number of problems are also less. So they are perfect books to begin with. I had a Kaplan GMAT for myself. In two weeks we will finish the entire week. First week will be devoted to Verbal and second week to Quants and a diagnostic test. As I said earlier I am expecting you to at least study for 3 hours at a stretch daily. Ladies and gentlemen, put on your seat belts!

SUMMARY

Feel good that you finished one book completely and took one full length test.

Previous Week Next Week

In the first week we will get to know the Verbal Section on the GMAT. For this you will need to buy a standard Kaplan GMAT or Princeton GMAT book. The sections in these books are fairly easy and the number of problems are also less. So they are perfect books to begin with. I had a Kaplan GMAT for myself. In two weeks we will finish the entire week. First week will be devoted to Verbal and second week to Quants and a diagnostic test.

As I said earlier I am expecting you to at least study for 3 hours at a stretch daily. If you could take out 4 hrs, that will be awesome. I will from here on refer to a 3-4 hours sitting as a Session. See my earlier post on how to set up your study area and generic techniques to follow throughout the GMAT Preparation. This is going to be so much fun!

SUMMARY

So this week was a glimpse of what your weeks should look like…productive! Many people would feel that it’s a bit tough to follow this kind of schedule. But hey! Who said it was going to be easy. I don’t believe in insincerity, laziness and doing things without passion. I believe that GMAT is the first step in your endeavour. Its better to crack it on the first go rather than crying later after you have screwed it up. If you can’t find time, do one thing: write down all the things you do in a day, for a week. Spot items which you can sacrifice, like going to a movie, chatting, watching TV or going out just like that. I am sure you can take out 3 hours daily for this. If you feel you still don’t have time, you can schedule it for 4 months and stretch the schedule. But be honest to yourself. Nothing comes easy and certainly not a rock star score on GMAT. Good luck!

Preparation Overview Next Week