First rough draft

Before i share my progress i want to share the Sad news!!! CK Prahlad renowned management guru passed away. Indeed sad!! CK was known for his theory - "fortune at bottom of pyramid", applicable in many emerging economies. Also, CK was esteemed faculty member of University of Michigan {Ross B-school}.
May he RIP.

Coming on to the next update -- wrote first rough draft of Career progression and why MBA essay. Must say it looked horrible. Way off the word limits, hardly giving the personal touch and mostly bragging about things that i had already mentioned in my resume.

Its very imp. that an applicant does not repeat the same things as mentioned in his/her resume. Resume mostly reflects "WHAT" part of your story. i.e What an applicant has accomplished. Every school asks for a copy of resume along with the essays. So, ad-com members would be aware of "WHAT" part of the story. I believe that through essays ad-com members are more interested in knowing the real person behind those accomplishments. Essays should answer "WHY" part of the story. i.e Why you made certain choices, why you were able to achieve certain things {as mentioned in your resume} and obviously why an MBA makes sense for you?

After writing the first draft i have decided to think hard about -- "Where i am coming from?", " Why i made certain choices in life and what i learnt from those experiences", " Where do i see myself 5 years, 10yrs from now and what's the motivation behind that.". I guess if i will answer these questions then i will be better able to answer Why MBA in the stipulated word limit.

Also don't forget to be specific in your essays. I think once we have enough degree of specificity in essays we won't have to worry about being unique ;)

Nominated -- Clear Admit Best of Blogging{BoB}

Come 2nd friday of April and clear admit announces nominations for best of blogging in the MBA blogosphere. I feel privileged because my blog has been nominated along side some of the very best blogs for this years BoB. There are 2 categories -- MBA applicants and MBA students { i wish next year i make a switch from applicant category to student category }

You can find the complete list of nominees at : BoB Nominations 2009-2010 . Next comes the voting phase where the nominated bloggers, celebrity judges and Clear admit staff will cast vote. 50% consideration is given to blogger votes and 25% each to celebrity judges and clear admit staff votes. Ballots are due on April 30 and rankings would be revealed on May 4th. There are lots of prizes to be won.

Clear Admit's blog has huge repertoire of information when it comes to GMAT prep, Applications, school selection etc. Kudos to Clear Admit and all the bloggers who have added value in MBA blogosphere.

I wish all the fellow bloggers lots of luck. {Free drinks for those who vote for me ;) }

Beat the GMAT Scholarship!!

Just wanted to draw the attention of fellow bloggers to the Beat the GMAT scholarship. There are 6 scholarships valued at approx $8, 500. The winner will get a GMAT prep course with one of the leading prep companies.

All one is required to do is to register himself/herself at BTG site and write few essays. The good thing about participating in this competition is that you get to think hard about why MBA?, why GMAT? etc. Also one of the question forces you to think hard about your story. How your story is different from others and how you are more deserving than others. Writing these essays will already propel you into the next orbit of your journey to a top b-school.

The essay questions are available here: BTG scholarship Essays, Deadline is May-20-2010. Winners will be announced within 10 days of the essay submission deadline. One can redeem the prize by as late as June-2011.

Prospective GMAT takers don't miss out on this opportunity.