Update

I keep on getting emails on the id linked to this blog, seeking help for GMAT prep and Essay writing. Though i won't mind helping people out but i hardly log in to that e-mail id. After getting dinged by INSEAD i had an i/v invite from Booth for 2nd time in a row but i decided not to go for it. I think i lacked the motivation and self confidence. I think i am going to keep this blog as it is because it has some good articles on GMAT prep and essay writing. But going forward i don't think i will be able to keep this blog alive... it was a wonderful journey with all the fellow bloggers and readers... :)..

Love to all...

Cheers
KT

End of the game for me

After 3 years of hard work (GMAT + Essays), research and gruelling wait i have decided to call it quits. Today was a bad day, as soon as i stepped out of home i met an accident. Then received ding from one of the 2 schools i had applied to in R1. No interview invite :'(

Compared to last year i had much stronger essays and some of the current students who read my essays reciprocated my belief. Worst part is even after putting in 100s of hours i don't know what is wrong with my app. 740 GMAT (92 percentile in both sections), amongst top 3 students in undergrad (dean scholarship holder from a top engg college in India), tonnes of EC and leadership roles (played hockey at national level, chairman and cofounder of an NGO for past 5 years, various roles at my current organization) , excellent career progression (7 years of work exp at one of the global banks and leading a group of almost 30 people), have some patents to my name, one failed entrepreneurial venture, good recos...and decent essays

I am disappointed and feeling perplexed, not because i failed but because i don't know what caused this failure. And since i don't know where i am lacking i can't think of ways to improve my candidature. I have wasted almost 10% of my life on chasing my MBA dream..10% of my life WASTED..

But was it really a waste? i think i have become a better person in process of applying to b-schools. My communication skills have improved, my awareness of the world has increased..i met some of the most wonderful people in this journey..and most importantly i learnt to INTROSPECT...so it was not that bad...

something might be missing in my app that's why i am not attending a b-school..there would be a lot better candidates than me..and i have to accept it...feels bad but that's life....and i wasted lots of $$ on this game..bad bet..

I don't know how i am gonna keep this blog alive...atleast for next few weeks i just want to let go off this sad feeling....till then ciao...

Booth o Booth

Well my love for Booth grows after every interaction with alum or ad-com..

Forrest Gump - http://run-forrest.blogspot.com/

he is one of the most helpful guys i have ever met online...hats off to you dude..

Poweryogi - http://poweryogi.blogspot.com/

FANTASTIC -- he is one guy whom i would LOVE (brotherly love) to meet and seek GYAN...his blog inspires me to jump to next orbit...

AD-COM -- how hard you work guys??? you write them a mail and here comes a prompt reply ("and that too amid the ongoing admissions season...)

Attending Booth would be a dream come true...?(thats wat i feel right now...)

oops..

i am a re-applicant to Booth this year and already exhausted with my app. Today my recommender calls up and tells me that he has submitted my reco..and i thank him. After a brief pause he says but there is one small issue, i forgot to select the correct relationship in the reco form. And my jaw dropped... :'(

He is planning to write a note to the ad-com but i just can't concentrate on my app..he selected the correct info but then his explorer collapsed and whatever changes he made were lost.

I am hoping that this silly mistake doesn't prove to be a show stopper..and i encourage all the fellow applicants to update their recommenders so that they don't commit the same mistake..

Heading for disaster again...

Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.


Albert Einstein

After last year's app debacle i didn't want to repeat the same  mistakes. (I should pay heed to advice given by Einstein the great) Last year by this time, i had not only written but also re-written my essays a 20 times and had them proof read by current students and alums. (And yes they all kicked my butt harder than zidane kicked the football.) I was talking relentlessly to students, alums and taking notes. I was going through school websites and attending college info-sessions. But what i didn't do was INTROSPECTION. To make the maters worse, i only applied to 3 schools and that too in top 10.

At the begining of this app season, i was determined to get into a b-school. So, abiding by mr. Einstein's wisdom i didn't write my essays 20 times..oops i haven't even written them even once this year. I am browsing gaming and social networking sites instead of b-school websites. I am going to parties rather than attending school info-sessions. But i am INTROSPECTING...and yes i have discovered a lot about myself..But due to personal reasons my target schools have changed drastically..

Introspection has helped me a lot but i haven't written a single word on MS Word till now. I have to shortlist my recommendors and share my stories with them (last year i had already done so).

Sir Einstein (was he knighted?? who cares) - i followed your advice and overhauled my approach but i think i am again headed towards a disaster...(please RIP...no need to jump out of your grave and strangulate me...i know i am the culprit) ...

True Calling

'I simply cannot fail and i don't have to worry about fame and money. Now what is it that i shall be doing?' I have been asking this question to myself for past few weeks. But i haven't got the answer yet and i don't think i am going to get one in near future.

Why is it that only a minuscle %age of people outshine 99.9999% of the world's population. There can be 3 reasons:

1. Successful and Happy people are doing what they love to do - e.g -- Zidane loved soccer and it seems god blessed him with immense talent for playing soccer. When you do what you love to do and to add to it you have immense talent in that field, you are bound to be successful and joyous.

2. Successful people are doing what they believe is important to do - e.g -- this time i will take an example of Amrish Puri, he is regarded as the greatest villain in indian film industry. Amrish Puri wanted to be a hero but directors refused to cast him as hero and instead wanted him to play a villain.What did he do? Obviously he accepted the role and rest is the history. At times we have to accept our limitations and do what is best in our own interest. This particular category is successful but they might not be joyous.

3. People who are joyous do what is important and still nurture their interests -- i might love to play soccer and i might not have the talent to make it to top circuit. What shall i do?? Stop playing soccer?? No...i should play soccer for the fun of it..and god would have given me inherent talent to shine in some other field. Eg - Anshu Jain -- the guy who is touted as next CEO of Deutsche Bank. He is a damn successful banker but he loves to play cricket. And to sustain his love for cricket he still plays it, not only plays it but leads Deutsche's cricket team...

Then there are people who don't even think about happYness and success...they might dream about the riches but they even question their right to dream. My domestic help is a very hard working person, i once asked him why in the hell you are stuck in this menial job?Go out and do some small business. But he could not believe that he would be able to do something other than doing the dishes and cleaning homes. {Wish he could read Dhirubhai's biography...a petrol pump attendent who ended up creating India's largest private petrochemical company.}

It's time for office...more later..ciao

Sore Loser

This morning, i lost 5 consecutive games of ping pong. After every loss i whined and tried not to LOOSE the next game {i should have focussed on WINNING}. I whined about everything - height of the net, weight of the ball, the bat, lighting, table and what not. [In hindsight, i should have played without the fear of loosing, was playing with someone with whom i have history of some close matches and of some heated exchanges during the matches.]

While cooling down i realized that instead of whining i should have taken note of my opponent's weaknesses and should have played patiently [i kept on smashing the ball in net]. Then suddenly last year's app process came to my mind. Once i was dinged by all schools, I complained about high volume of apps, belonging to over-represented group {Indian Male Engineer} and not giving enought thought to essays {hell, an excuse can't get worse than this}. I should have realized that despite of all the aforementioned excuses, a lot of Indians made it to top b-schools. It clearly shows that they were better PREPARED than me.

I sincerely feel that i am a loser because i behave like one. i "Lack FOCUS", i Think about failure rather than success, i Whine after loosing the game rather than introspecting...Will i change...well i plan to :) ...