Good news -- i have got the TOEFL waiver from all my r-1 target schools. So that's one thing less to worry about. I would suggest all my fellow bloggers to either seek TOEFL waiver early in the process or if required give TOEFL as soon as possible.
TOEFL does not require much preparation but if one has to divert his/her focus from apps to TOEFL during the last lap then it might be a problem....last days should only be kept aside for Essays and discussions with recommenders...
Tuesday, June 22
Monday, June 21
Feeling good :)
I had written a post about "How i chose my recommendors?" and was glad to see Accepted.com's reply:
read reply here
Feeling good that my choice has been re-enforced...
read reply here
Feeling good that my choice has been re-enforced...
Friday, June 18
Godddd help !!!!!!!!!
At times i wonder luck is the most important factor in one's professional life. And this realization always happens after i meet my SVP. He is working for the company for past 30+ years now and has plethora of experience when it comes to Operations. He started his career with Operations and by sheer stroke of luck was appointed to lead the division that is involved in highly analytical work. {Who in the hell decided to place him in such a position, really want to kick his/her butt}. He does not even have a remote idea of the work that we do and to make the matters worse he wants to apply rules from Ops to this field.
What would happen if consultants at Mckinsey started measuring their performance in terms of accuracy and timelines? Does one measure the impact of knowledge services in terms of these bloody factors? Yes they can be a small part of overall performance metrics but who is going to measure the overall IMPACT of the work? What difference did the project made to profitability or share-holder value etc....this question does not even comes to the mind of our smart SVP.
I feel that our SVP is trying to make Ferrari in Suzuki's factory -- god knows what will happen. Attrition rate that was below 10% has shot up to 35% since the time this highly intelligent creature has started leading our group..Quantity has started over-shadowing quality...God help!!!!
What would happen if consultants at Mckinsey started measuring their performance in terms of accuracy and timelines? Does one measure the impact of knowledge services in terms of these bloody factors? Yes they can be a small part of overall performance metrics but who is going to measure the overall IMPACT of the work? What difference did the project made to profitability or share-holder value etc....this question does not even comes to the mind of our smart SVP.
I feel that our SVP is trying to make Ferrari in Suzuki's factory -- god knows what will happen. Attrition rate that was below 10% has shot up to 35% since the time this highly intelligent creature has started leading our group..Quantity has started over-shadowing quality...God help!!!!
Thursday, June 17
Career Goals essay
Finally after pain-staking revisions for almost 25 times i have finalized the outline for career goals essay. I think Passion, Aspiration and Vision are essential ingredients of any b-school essay but these 3 play a major role in defining the career goal essay.
Passion-- put down all the things that you have done since starting the professional life. Ask why you attended a particular under-grad college, why you graduated in a particular concentration, why you made certain career moves or joined a particular firm. Now, try to see the common linkage between all your choices. Is there a common theme? Is there something that ignites passion in you and brings out the best in you?? If yes then this will answer the WHY {Passion} part of career goals essay.
Aspirations -- By the time you attempt career goals essay you should be crystal clear about your short term goals after MBA. In many cases this crystal clear vision would be lacking but even in this case you should have a clear idea about the direction in which you want to head.
Now someone might argue that many people change their career aspirations once they attend teh college and nothing is wrong with that. True!! But you don't want to tell the ad-com that you are just meandering aimlessly...YOU HAVE TO SHOW THAT YOU HAVE GIVEN A DUE thought to your career. And you know what is it that you want from the school and how best you would use the school's resources.
Vision -- Leadership and vision go hand in hand. Don't just stop at your short term goal after the MBA. B-schools often rant about producing leaders and they are very serious about it. Show them that you have a vision to be among the higher echeleons of the management. Things that seem impossible right now will become possible once you wear the badge of a particular top b-school....
Passion-- put down all the things that you have done since starting the professional life. Ask why you attended a particular under-grad college, why you graduated in a particular concentration, why you made certain career moves or joined a particular firm. Now, try to see the common linkage between all your choices. Is there a common theme? Is there something that ignites passion in you and brings out the best in you?? If yes then this will answer the WHY {Passion} part of career goals essay.
Aspirations -- By the time you attempt career goals essay you should be crystal clear about your short term goals after MBA. In many cases this crystal clear vision would be lacking but even in this case you should have a clear idea about the direction in which you want to head.
Now someone might argue that many people change their career aspirations once they attend teh college and nothing is wrong with that. True!! But you don't want to tell the ad-com that you are just meandering aimlessly...YOU HAVE TO SHOW THAT YOU HAVE GIVEN A DUE thought to your career. And you know what is it that you want from the school and how best you would use the school's resources.
Vision -- Leadership and vision go hand in hand. Don't just stop at your short term goal after the MBA. B-schools often rant about producing leaders and they are very serious about it. Show them that you have a vision to be among the higher echeleons of the management. Things that seem impossible right now will become possible once you wear the badge of a particular top b-school....
Monday, June 14
Early Action - to apply or not !!!
The question that is bothering me for some time now is whether to apply in early action round? Does applying in EA increases one's chances of getting in? But, then with a binding to withdraw applications from all other schools can prevent one from getting into his/her dream school. Also, are Ad-coms more generous during EA when it comes to shelling out schols??
I have 2 schools on my radar that have EA with a binding. But both these schools are not my dream school {they are pretty close to my dream school but not no.1 }.
Need big time help on this one...
I have 2 schools on my radar that have EA with a binding. But both these schools are not my dream school {they are pretty close to my dream school but not no.1 }.
Need big time help on this one...
Monday, June 7
Indo-chinese invading the west!!
Portugese, French, Dutch and British established their trading ports in India by 16th century and later established colonies in India. By 1856 most of the India was under control of British -"east india company". What started as a business opportunity led to the forceful occupation of Indian territory and Indian resources. British sent the best of their military officers, administrative officers etc to India in order to develop an army of Indians that could be used to rule India. The influx of British technicians and technology gave India few of the best examples of world class engineering and architecture. British exploited India's rich natural resources while Indians never stood united in face of adversity and in-fighting threw them into clutches of slavery for hundreds of years.
China was never directly ruled by any western power but the hold of its Quing dynasty was weakened after British opium wars in 19th century. Like India, China was equally exploited by west for its natural resources.
At that point of time Britain was the core of power and economic well being. Britain experienced industrial revolution and soon fell short of resources. To feed its factories , britain invaded east.
Hundreds of years later.
USA is the core of power and has the largest GDP.
Most of the people involving high intellect are serving USA in variety of fields. Medicine, Space exploration, Defense, Engineering, Technology and MBAs {how can this blog forget MBAs ;)}. We have already heard allegations of Chinese spies stealing US space exploration and Nuclear ideas to develop the same for China. India is also growing in stature with time.
Indians and Chinese have already established sort of trading ports in USA and UK though in individual capacity. Various bills are proposed to stop the influx of people from these two emerging economies to the developed nations of the world. With almost 1/3 of world population India and China will soon require gigantic infrastructure and tremendous resources to meet the demand of population. When people won't find resources in their home country they will leave for other prosperous countries.
Take that -- Australia has 3 times the area that of India and a population that is 1/50 of india's population.
What remains to be seen is whether in coming centuries India and China will invade west to fulfill the demand of their population?? I am sure in next 15 years or so we will see one big war. Oil has been the reason of many wars in gulf area, next wars could be triggered in Indo-pak-china region because of scarcity of water. Or, it could also happen that India and China unite {highly unlikely at present but not impossible} and try to take control of west.
Its just a thought so take it lightly ;) ... i think a futuristic movie can be made on this theme,,....
China was never directly ruled by any western power but the hold of its Quing dynasty was weakened after British opium wars in 19th century. Like India, China was equally exploited by west for its natural resources.
At that point of time Britain was the core of power and economic well being. Britain experienced industrial revolution and soon fell short of resources. To feed its factories , britain invaded east.
Hundreds of years later.
USA is the core of power and has the largest GDP.
Most of the people involving high intellect are serving USA in variety of fields. Medicine, Space exploration, Defense, Engineering, Technology and MBAs {how can this blog forget MBAs ;)}. We have already heard allegations of Chinese spies stealing US space exploration and Nuclear ideas to develop the same for China. India is also growing in stature with time.
Indians and Chinese have already established sort of trading ports in USA and UK though in individual capacity. Various bills are proposed to stop the influx of people from these two emerging economies to the developed nations of the world. With almost 1/3 of world population India and China will soon require gigantic infrastructure and tremendous resources to meet the demand of population. When people won't find resources in their home country they will leave for other prosperous countries.
Take that -- Australia has 3 times the area that of India and a population that is 1/50 of india's population.
What remains to be seen is whether in coming centuries India and China will invade west to fulfill the demand of their population?? I am sure in next 15 years or so we will see one big war. Oil has been the reason of many wars in gulf area, next wars could be triggered in Indo-pak-china region because of scarcity of water. Or, it could also happen that India and China unite {highly unlikely at present but not impossible} and try to take control of west.
Its just a thought so take it lightly ;) ... i think a futuristic movie can be made on this theme,,....
Rajneeti - Review
Watched Rajneeti with Miss S and friends this Saturday. So, here i am to review the movie and this time i would try to incorporate suggestions of dear friend Sid.
Plot -- The plot of Rajneeti is inspired by Mahabharat and in parts by Godfather. The first half is gripping and fast paced. A lot of characters are introduced and audience is introduced to their respective thoughts on politics.Post interval director has failed to maintain the pace. Editing is poor and last quarter is heavily inspired by Mahabharat. I would give 2/5 to Rajneeti for its plot. It has got nothing new and later half is painful.
Cast-- Rajneeti has got a powerful star cast. Naseeruddin Shah is wasted {he plays a cameo}. Manoj Vajpayee is awesome and has played the character to perfection. Nana patekar and Ajay Devgan haven't got much to do but have played their parts well. Katirna kaif looks beautiful but her acting is below par. Ranbeer Kapoor has got the best role but he is unable to carry it off. I think Ranbeer is too soft to play such a role and has still not graduated to that orbit of acting where in he could carry the film on his shoulders. Arjun Rampal has exceeded expectations {obviously you don't expect much from him when it comes to acting ;) } but he is looking hand-some. Others have played their parts well and with such a star studded cast you don't expect small names to shine through still Shruti Seth has done well to catch the EYES ;). 3/5 {manoj vajpayee - 4.5/5}
Soundtrack -- Mora Piya and Bheegi si bheegi si are good and are used in narrative. Background score is good and impactful. 3/5
Overall, Rajneeti is a one time watch with friends while munching pop-corns and sipping cold drinks.
My verdict -- 2.5/5
Plot -- The plot of Rajneeti is inspired by Mahabharat and in parts by Godfather. The first half is gripping and fast paced. A lot of characters are introduced and audience is introduced to their respective thoughts on politics.Post interval director has failed to maintain the pace. Editing is poor and last quarter is heavily inspired by Mahabharat. I would give 2/5 to Rajneeti for its plot. It has got nothing new and later half is painful.
Cast-- Rajneeti has got a powerful star cast. Naseeruddin Shah is wasted {he plays a cameo}. Manoj Vajpayee is awesome and has played the character to perfection. Nana patekar and Ajay Devgan haven't got much to do but have played their parts well. Katirna kaif looks beautiful but her acting is below par. Ranbeer Kapoor has got the best role but he is unable to carry it off. I think Ranbeer is too soft to play such a role and has still not graduated to that orbit of acting where in he could carry the film on his shoulders. Arjun Rampal has exceeded expectations {obviously you don't expect much from him when it comes to acting ;) } but he is looking hand-some. Others have played their parts well and with such a star studded cast you don't expect small names to shine through still Shruti Seth has done well to catch the EYES ;). 3/5 {manoj vajpayee - 4.5/5}
Soundtrack -- Mora Piya and Bheegi si bheegi si are good and are used in narrative. Background score is good and impactful. 3/5
Overall, Rajneeti is a one time watch with friends while munching pop-corns and sipping cold drinks.
My verdict -- 2.5/5
Sunday, June 6
How i selected my recommenders??
Selecting recommendors is a tough job. This task not only reflects your judgement ability {as to who can write favourably for you} but also decides the fate of your application. And its cliche to say that the title of recommendor hardly matters. SO, look for a person who can cover most of your professional life and who would be happy to write favourably for you. Last year i heard one of my friends abusing his supervisor for missing the deadlines to submit the reco. If you can ask right people to write good recos for you it shows that you have good persuasive skills {imp. for a manager}.
I had 6 options when it came to selecting recommendors. 4 out of 6 have supervised me at some point of time in my career and the other 2 have been my clients for whom i have worked on various projects. I have been reporting into the same person for more than 3 years now, so he was the obvious choice.
Only concern -- I might not get opportunities to travel abroad, to setup new teams, or to expand my team once i disclose my plans to him. But this person has seen me progress professionally as well as has delegated variety of responsibilities my way, so i could not afford to lose his insights on my application. I was apprehensive about revealing my MBA plans to my current supervisor but last week i did so. And to my surprise he encouraged me to go for an MBA and was happy to write recos for me.
Even schools say that one of the 2 recos should ideally come from current supervisor. In case your supervisor has changed recently, mention that in your rationale behind selecting the recommendors. {Most of the schools often ask for the rationale behind selecting a particular recommendor.}My supervisor is well versed with my shortcomings and strengths. He has seen me take numerous initiatives at work place and has also given me numer of opportunities to lead projects and people. So, my task is cut out -- simply share anecdotes from past 3 years to support his claims.
Choosing the 2nd recommendor was tough. I wanted to go with one of my clients, she has an impressive title and when i disclosed my plans to her she was very excited. She could very well write about my client handling experience and about the high impact projects delivered by my team. But, apart from project management she could hardly reveal anything.
My 2nd client does not have very good communication skills and getting 4 recos from her would have been a humongous task. Among my past supervisors, one of them {say recommendor b}currently audits the work that my team does. This person made most sense to me because he has supervised me in my very early days, when i was raw and has seen my now when i am a lot more mature {atleast i think so ;) }. I chose mr. b as my 2nd recommendor. He is the one who can cover last 4.5 years of my professional history and since he has worked very closely with me on some of the projects , i am sure he can vouch favourably for my candidacy.
In sum, choose your recommendors in such a way that most of the professional life is covered, the recommendations reveal various aspects of your personality and that some of the claims made in essays can be backed by recommendors.
I would be happy to see suggestions of fellow bloggers.
I had 6 options when it came to selecting recommendors. 4 out of 6 have supervised me at some point of time in my career and the other 2 have been my clients for whom i have worked on various projects. I have been reporting into the same person for more than 3 years now, so he was the obvious choice.
Only concern -- I might not get opportunities to travel abroad, to setup new teams, or to expand my team once i disclose my plans to him. But this person has seen me progress professionally as well as has delegated variety of responsibilities my way, so i could not afford to lose his insights on my application. I was apprehensive about revealing my MBA plans to my current supervisor but last week i did so. And to my surprise he encouraged me to go for an MBA and was happy to write recos for me.
Even schools say that one of the 2 recos should ideally come from current supervisor. In case your supervisor has changed recently, mention that in your rationale behind selecting the recommendors. {Most of the schools often ask for the rationale behind selecting a particular recommendor.}My supervisor is well versed with my shortcomings and strengths. He has seen me take numerous initiatives at work place and has also given me numer of opportunities to lead projects and people. So, my task is cut out -- simply share anecdotes from past 3 years to support his claims.
Choosing the 2nd recommendor was tough. I wanted to go with one of my clients, she has an impressive title and when i disclosed my plans to her she was very excited. She could very well write about my client handling experience and about the high impact projects delivered by my team. But, apart from project management she could hardly reveal anything.
My 2nd client does not have very good communication skills and getting 4 recos from her would have been a humongous task. Among my past supervisors, one of them {say recommendor b}currently audits the work that my team does. This person made most sense to me because he has supervised me in my very early days, when i was raw and has seen my now when i am a lot more mature {atleast i think so ;) }. I chose mr. b as my 2nd recommendor. He is the one who can cover last 4.5 years of my professional history and since he has worked very closely with me on some of the projects , i am sure he can vouch favourably for my candidacy.
In sum, choose your recommendors in such a way that most of the professional life is covered, the recommendations reveal various aspects of your personality and that some of the claims made in essays can be backed by recommendors.
I would be happy to see suggestions of fellow bloggers.
Friday, June 4
Second Recommendor - Finalized!!!!!
What a relief!!!!!!!! Both my recommendors are finalized. I have personally spoken to both of them and shared my plans with them. One is my ex-supervisor and current client and the other one is my current supervisor. I think together both of them can cover majority of my professional development.
Also, i believe both of them are well aware of my strengths and shortcomings, both have seen me grow in professional life and i share a good rapport with both of them. Now i need to sit with them and share my app strategy.
Now i can enjoy the weekend ;)
Also, i believe both of them are well aware of my strengths and shortcomings, both have seen me grow in professional life and i share a good rapport with both of them. Now i need to sit with them and share my app strategy.
Now i can enjoy the weekend ;)
Tuesday, June 1
Crossing the limits!!! - Is it fine???
Lately, i have been thinking hard about "word limits". Is it fine to overshoot the limits given by colleges? I have read mixed responses on this topic. Some say it is fine. If yes, then by what %age? say a college asks you to define your career goals in 400 words, is 410 right or even going upto 460 alright??
And how about falling short?? helpppppppp!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And how about falling short?? helpppppppp!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Saturday, May 29
TOEFL Waiver Mails
Sent the TOEFL waiver request mails to my target schools today. Even if one of the schools plays spoil-sport i will have to take TOEFL. I have decided that i must get TOEFL and all other nitty gritties out of my way before July-31-2010. Once essays are published i simply want to focus on putting down my story.
Will approach my under-graduate institution next week to get the transcripts done. Or can we simply send across photocopies of under-graduate degree? If transcripts can wait till admit then i will also wait ;)
Any suggestions??
Will approach my under-graduate institution next week to get the transcripts done. Or can we simply send across photocopies of under-graduate degree? If transcripts can wait till admit then i will also wait ;)
Any suggestions??
Wednesday, May 26
Kites - Movie review
Watched Kites with Miss S this morning. Miss S was disappointed with the movie and i somehow liked it.
the Plot -- 2/5 {Could have been a lot better}
The movie is the story of J {Played by Hrithik} and Linda {barbara mori}. J and Linda both want to get rich. While J is a dance teacher in Vegas, Linda is an illegal immigrant from Mexico. J's student Jeena {Played by Kangana} falls in love with him. Jeena's dad is owner of one of the biggest casinos in Vegas and has police, senators etc. in his pocket. J senses an opportunity to get rich by marrying Jeena, whom he hardly loves.
J also marries illegal immigrants for money in order to get them green cards. J also marries Linda for money, while J speaks English or Hindi, Linda speaks Spanish. How they fall in love is still a mystery.
J finds Jeena and Linda finds Jeena's brother Tony to get rid of poverty {quite a co-incidence}. Now J suddenly realizes that he loves Linda and Linda reciprocates his feelings. Before Linda and Tony's marriage J asks Linda to finalize their divorce before she can start a new life. Linda accepts his proposal and they spend a romance filled night together, champagne, kissing, rain dance. Both admit to each other that it would have been great if they had married for real.
J drops Linda home and while he was saying good bye, Tony comes in. Rest of the story revolves around how J and Linda run to save their lives. This part is comic, thrilling and romantic at the same time. I won't reveal the end here for it is not a typical bollywood film ;).
Plot could have been a lot better. Aesthetically - movie is good, music and back-ground music is fine {3/5}.
Performances ---
Barbara Mori -- Delight -- looking good, great acting -- 4/5
Hrithik - dancing star, awesome physique, good acting but somehow its not effortless - 3/5
Others -- they don't have much but rest of the cast works fine -- 3/5
Overall -- its a good one time watch -- if you can digest the first 30 minutes of movie, you will like the movie.
3/5 - for me.
the Plot -- 2/5 {Could have been a lot better}
The movie is the story of J {Played by Hrithik} and Linda {barbara mori}. J and Linda both want to get rich. While J is a dance teacher in Vegas, Linda is an illegal immigrant from Mexico. J's student Jeena {Played by Kangana} falls in love with him. Jeena's dad is owner of one of the biggest casinos in Vegas and has police, senators etc. in his pocket. J senses an opportunity to get rich by marrying Jeena, whom he hardly loves.
J also marries illegal immigrants for money in order to get them green cards. J also marries Linda for money, while J speaks English or Hindi, Linda speaks Spanish. How they fall in love is still a mystery.
J finds Jeena and Linda finds Jeena's brother Tony to get rid of poverty {quite a co-incidence}. Now J suddenly realizes that he loves Linda and Linda reciprocates his feelings. Before Linda and Tony's marriage J asks Linda to finalize their divorce before she can start a new life. Linda accepts his proposal and they spend a romance filled night together, champagne, kissing, rain dance. Both admit to each other that it would have been great if they had married for real.
J drops Linda home and while he was saying good bye, Tony comes in. Rest of the story revolves around how J and Linda run to save their lives. This part is comic, thrilling and romantic at the same time. I won't reveal the end here for it is not a typical bollywood film ;).
Plot could have been a lot better. Aesthetically - movie is good, music and back-ground music is fine {3/5}.
Performances ---
Barbara Mori -- Delight -- looking good, great acting -- 4/5
Hrithik - dancing star, awesome physique, good acting but somehow its not effortless - 3/5
Others -- they don't have much but rest of the cast works fine -- 3/5
Overall -- its a good one time watch -- if you can digest the first 30 minutes of movie, you will like the movie.
3/5 - for me.
Monday, May 24
Fuqua Announces essays for fall 2011 Entry
Fuqua has announced its essays for the fall 2011 entry. There are only 3 required questions { i guess till last year fuqua had 1 long and 3 short essays}.
The essays are usual b-school essays, asking for why MBA, why Duke and why you. Applicants must respind within 2 pages with a minimum 10 point font, meaning one has about 850 words to frame the answers.
Source
New Essays for Fall 2011 Entry
Three essay questions must be completed before submitting your application. Prepare your essays carefully. The Admissions Committee considers your responses to the following questions important in the selection process. Please respond fully and concisely using 1.5 line spacing. Your response to each question should be no more than 2 pages in length, with a font size no less than 10-point.
Candidates who applied to The Duke MBA between September 2009 and April 2010 are considered re-applicants. All re-applicants are required to complete the Re-applicant Essay in addition to the Applicant Essays.
All applicants have the opportunity to submit an optional essay to explain any extenuating circumstances of which the Admissions Committee should be aware.
Applicant Essays : Answer all 3 essay questions.
Today, companies must navigate through complex and interdependent issues. They must deal with health and security matters, environmental impact questions, and diversity and cultural concerns. Leaders need adaptability, imagination, emotional intelligence, and business acumen. Thus, Duke is in the midst of an ambitious global venture that will embed and connect us around the world, and we are seeking future leaders of consequence, who value diversity and collaborative leadership, and who aspire to impact the companies and communities of which they are a part in a lasting and positive way.
In an effort to identify, engage, and foster the development of future leaders of consequence, the Admissions Committee would like to get to know our applicants in a more holistic manner. We would like to know who you are, what has shaped you into the person you are today, and how you hope to impact both Duke and the communities of which you will be a part in the future. The essays are your opportunity to convey that to us. Please be open, genuine, and passionate. Share with us what makes you a dynamic, multi-dimensional person.
1. Describe your vision for your career and your inspiration for pursuing this career path.
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?
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 (not required)
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.
The essays are usual b-school essays, asking for why MBA, why Duke and why you. Applicants must respind within 2 pages with a minimum 10 point font, meaning one has about 850 words to frame the answers.
Source
New Essays for Fall 2011 Entry
Three essay questions must be completed before submitting your application. Prepare your essays carefully. The Admissions Committee considers your responses to the following questions important in the selection process. Please respond fully and concisely using 1.5 line spacing. Your response to each question should be no more than 2 pages in length, with a font size no less than 10-point.
Candidates who applied to The Duke MBA between September 2009 and April 2010 are considered re-applicants. All re-applicants are required to complete the Re-applicant Essay in addition to the Applicant Essays.
All applicants have the opportunity to submit an optional essay to explain any extenuating circumstances of which the Admissions Committee should be aware.
Applicant Essays : Answer all 3 essay questions.
Today, companies must navigate through complex and interdependent issues. They must deal with health and security matters, environmental impact questions, and diversity and cultural concerns. Leaders need adaptability, imagination, emotional intelligence, and business acumen. Thus, Duke is in the midst of an ambitious global venture that will embed and connect us around the world, and we are seeking future leaders of consequence, who value diversity and collaborative leadership, and who aspire to impact the companies and communities of which they are a part in a lasting and positive way.
In an effort to identify, engage, and foster the development of future leaders of consequence, the Admissions Committee would like to get to know our applicants in a more holistic manner. We would like to know who you are, what has shaped you into the person you are today, and how you hope to impact both Duke and the communities of which you will be a part in the future. The essays are your opportunity to convey that to us. Please be open, genuine, and passionate. Share with us what makes you a dynamic, multi-dimensional person.
1. Describe your vision for your career and your inspiration for pursuing this career path.
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?
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 (not required)
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.
Friday, May 21
Update
Just finished working on essays {from previous year} of one of my target schools. Must say that writing Essays is the most difficult, most interesting and most important part of the application. It took me 5-6 iterations for each essay before my story started making SOME {I think 15-20%}sense. Introspection, positioning and knowledge of target school play a huge role in crafting a winning application.
I now need to read all the essays together to get a holistic picture of my positioning effort. This is important -- don't just focus on a single essay. Start by keeping your overall story in mind. Put down everything, small or big that you have achieved in your life. Now based upon the essay segregate stories, as to which story would be used in which essay. Try to link up all the essays to one common theme but reveal different facet of your personality every time. Make sure that your passion and motivation should reflect in essays.
Would enjoy my friday night and from tomorrow back to work ... hope that by next 8-10 days i will have a set of essays that i would be able to share with one of my friend to get some feedback..Also need to explore the school in much more detail I felt that i need to know a lot more about my target schools before i even think of applying to them....
don't know how much sense this post would have made...but just wanted to share some thoughts :)
p.s: I have started thinking about safety schools :'( ... thats a bad sign for sure... hope that by october this thought fades away ..else ..
I now need to read all the essays together to get a holistic picture of my positioning effort. This is important -- don't just focus on a single essay. Start by keeping your overall story in mind. Put down everything, small or big that you have achieved in your life. Now based upon the essay segregate stories, as to which story would be used in which essay. Try to link up all the essays to one common theme but reveal different facet of your personality every time. Make sure that your passion and motivation should reflect in essays.
Would enjoy my friday night and from tomorrow back to work ... hope that by next 8-10 days i will have a set of essays that i would be able to share with one of my friend to get some feedback..Also need to explore the school in much more detail I felt that i need to know a lot more about my target schools before i even think of applying to them....
don't know how much sense this post would have made...but just wanted to share some thoughts :)
p.s: I have started thinking about safety schools :'( ... thats a bad sign for sure... hope that by october this thought fades away ..else ..
Saturday, May 15
Paintings for sale !!
I am uploading 3 paintings by Miss S, they are up for sale. In case you are interested please revert on braveheart4mba(@)gmail.com. I will share the price and delivery details.
Thursday, May 13
Career progress and future goals essay
Briefly assess your career progress to date. Elaborate on your future career plans and your motivation for pursuing an MBA. (600 Words)
I was really aghast with myself as i saw the draft of my answer to the question above. I elaborated my career and never assessed the same. And i briefly touched upon the idea as to why i need an MBA. Needless to say, i used 1200 words to shape up my response.
If i want to submit winning essays i really need to understand the question before i started vomiting my useless answers on word pad. The ad-com commitee wants to understand how i have fared in my career till now and what are the various skills that i have acquired and honed. Also, they want to get a flavor of the impact of my work and most importantly want to understand the motivation behind my career moves. Elaboration of my career goals would point towards the skills that i need to acquire.
Wish i had given a lot more time to understanding the question and framing up the answer than just scribbling my thoughts down.
Plan to work on this essay during this weekend and hopefully trim it down to 700 words before finally taking it to 600 word limit.
lots of work!!!!
I was really aghast with myself as i saw the draft of my answer to the question above. I elaborated my career and never assessed the same. And i briefly touched upon the idea as to why i need an MBA. Needless to say, i used 1200 words to shape up my response.
If i want to submit winning essays i really need to understand the question before i started vomiting my useless answers on word pad. The ad-com commitee wants to understand how i have fared in my career till now and what are the various skills that i have acquired and honed. Also, they want to get a flavor of the impact of my work and most importantly want to understand the motivation behind my career moves. Elaboration of my career goals would point towards the skills that i need to acquire.
Wish i had given a lot more time to understanding the question and framing up the answer than just scribbling my thoughts down.
Plan to work on this essay during this weekend and hopefully trim it down to 700 words before finally taking it to 600 word limit.
lots of work!!!!
Friday, May 7
Clear Admit Career Guides - Review
Disclaimer: The views expressed below are my personal opinion and in no way related to clear admit or any other company.
I recently bought Clear Admit Career guide for Marketing. I am really sad to say that the publication disappointed me. Rather than a true career guide the pdf serves as a handbook for comparing Marketing curriculum of various US b-schools {that too is not a detailed comparison}.
The guide speaks about the career in Marketing only for 1 page. Yes you read it correctly, its "1 page". And this description is also limited to "Brand Management or Product development" paths in Marketing.
The publication could have been a lot better had it served the following purposes:
1. Provided clear cut distinction between a Marketing career in CPG industy and a Marketing Career in non-CPG industries {such as Financial services}
2. The guide could have explained the career progression in Marketing industry and could have explained the roles and responsibilities of Marketers at various stages of their careers
3. Also, the guide fails to describe in detail the skill-set that is required to kick start a career in Marketing,
Good points:
1. Gives you a good flavour of Marketing curriculum at various schools -- though you will have to explore the website and other resources to get the whole story
in short, for $40 the clear admit guide for Marketing is not a value for money buy...if i have to rate this guide on a scale of 1 to 5, 5 being the highest:
My verdict: 1.5/5
I recently bought Clear Admit Career guide for Marketing. I am really sad to say that the publication disappointed me. Rather than a true career guide the pdf serves as a handbook for comparing Marketing curriculum of various US b-schools {that too is not a detailed comparison}.
The guide speaks about the career in Marketing only for 1 page. Yes you read it correctly, its "1 page". And this description is also limited to "Brand Management or Product development" paths in Marketing.
The publication could have been a lot better had it served the following purposes:
1. Provided clear cut distinction between a Marketing career in CPG industy and a Marketing Career in non-CPG industries {such as Financial services}
2. The guide could have explained the career progression in Marketing industry and could have explained the roles and responsibilities of Marketers at various stages of their careers
3. Also, the guide fails to describe in detail the skill-set that is required to kick start a career in Marketing,
Good points:
1. Gives you a good flavour of Marketing curriculum at various schools -- though you will have to explore the website and other resources to get the whole story
in short, for $40 the clear admit guide for Marketing is not a value for money buy...if i have to rate this guide on a scale of 1 to 5, 5 being the highest:
My verdict: 1.5/5
Thursday, May 6
Pleasing a school viz a viz Pleasing a girl
Strange title for the post huh!! :) Well i was pondering over the question "Why xx b-school?". Like an average applicant i began listing down few stupid ideas such as: 1. XX has a phenomenol brand name 2. XX has great faculty, 3. I will learn yy at XX school
Pathetic effort isn't it? Now consider a situation where a guy sees a super hot girl and wants to woo her.
Also, Guys fall in love with what they see {How often we fall in love with a school that has a superb brand equity ;) } and Girls fall in love with what they hear {Schools love applicants who express themselves well -- ESSAYS ARE V-IMP}
We have seen one approach above to woo a girl. Now consider this:
Guy: Hi Gorgeous!! I just wanted to tell you that i often dreamt of an angel whose eyes had innocense and sensuality, whose cheeks were crafted out of rose petals and whose lips were like strawberries. An angel whom god crafted out of marble and whom god coated with honey. You are the one whose smile is more beautiful than the rainbow. I can spend rest of my life watching you smile. When i saw you first i couldn't believe that someone could be so beautiful. {This was why XX school and how it fits in your scheme of things?}
You are the one for whom i would die a thousand times, if you would say i would get the most precious jewels for you, i would keep you like a prized possesion. I would kiss your lips and play with your sensual hair. I would peep into your hypnotising eyes for hours, i would really love to make love to you. {What would you do for the school?}
Pathetic effort isn't it? Now consider a situation where a guy sees a super hot girl and wants to woo her.
Thousands of guys would love to hang out with a beautiful chic, like thousands of applicants want to get into a reputed b-school. So, be it a beautiful girl or a reputed school - both have a problem of plenty. Now, if a guy makes a strong case and tells a girl why he has fallen for her {Why XX B-school?}, what will he do for her {How will you contribute to the school?} and How will she fulfill his dreams {How will the school help you in achieving your goal} there is a chance that girl would give the guy a chance.
Also, Guys fall in love with what they see {How often we fall in love with a school that has a superb brand equity ;) } and Girls fall in love with what they hear {Schools love applicants who express themselves well -- ESSAYS ARE V-IMP}
We have seen one approach above to woo a girl. Now consider this:
Guy: Hi Gorgeous!! I just wanted to tell you that i often dreamt of an angel whose eyes had innocense and sensuality, whose cheeks were crafted out of rose petals and whose lips were like strawberries. An angel whom god crafted out of marble and whom god coated with honey. You are the one whose smile is more beautiful than the rainbow. I can spend rest of my life watching you smile. When i saw you first i couldn't believe that someone could be so beautiful. {This was why XX school and how it fits in your scheme of things?}
You are the one for whom i would die a thousand times, if you would say i would get the most precious jewels for you, i would keep you like a prized possesion. I would kiss your lips and play with your sensual hair. I would peep into your hypnotising eyes for hours, i would really love to make love to you. {What would you do for the school?}
Half the battle is won if you market yourself well. School might call you for a date {read interview}
While addressing "Why XX school?" question don't just mention how good a school is. Ad-com already knows that, that's not unique ... Tell the ad-com exactly what are your scheme of things and how you found the school fitting in...all the courses, faculty, clubs, alum network, placements, student projects, guest speakers etc. anything and everything that you can think of -- and those things that add an extra punch to the story. Now, don't just stop here, express what would you do for the school once accepted. Most of the top b-schools are student run organizations and schools are looking for students who will pro-actively contribute to the activities of school....
More later...
Wednesday, May 5
Best advice for GMAT preparation
Clear Admit BoB results are out!!!
Congrats Dramchaser{DC} and Orlando for winning the best applicant and best student category awards respectively. DC is headed to Kellogg and Orlando is studying in Kellogg!!! Actually Kellogg students have swept the awards :)
And this very blog was voted the "Best Advice for GMAT preparation". I feel honored and would like to thank Clear Admit and Fellow bloggers.
The results can be found here .
Worked on my resume yesterday. Still looks pathetic and needs a lot of work. But as compared to my previous resume the new version looks impressive :). Will share some tips for crafting Resume...And any suggestions from fellow bloggers are welcome !!!!!
Congrats Dramchaser{DC} and Orlando for winning the best applicant and best student category awards respectively. DC is headed to Kellogg and Orlando is studying in Kellogg!!! Actually Kellogg students have swept the awards :)
And this very blog was voted the "Best Advice for GMAT preparation". I feel honored and would like to thank Clear Admit and Fellow bloggers.
The results can be found here .
Worked on my resume yesterday. Still looks pathetic and needs a lot of work. But as compared to my previous resume the new version looks impressive :). Will share some tips for crafting Resume...And any suggestions from fellow bloggers are welcome !!!!!
Saturday, May 1
10k hits
Finally my blog recorded 10k hits. Thanks to all the readers.
As expected max. no. of hits are from USA..followed closely by India. One interesting trend that i noticed -- Normally Indian hits are almost half of US hits on other blogs. But in my case they are almost 80% of US hits.
Is it because Indians love my blog or people in USA hate it?? I would like to believe the former :).
On Apps front haven't made much progress for last 2 weeks. Only good thing was that i disclosed my MBA plans to one of my recommendors. She is my client and was very pleased to hear my decision to go for an MBA. Now i need to intimate my 2nd recommendor -- my current supervisor. I have been working with him for past 3 years now. He knows my strengths and weaknesses, he is the one who has seen me grow professionally. I think he won't mind writing a reco for me but then you never know!!!
My back pain has returned with a bang and has not allowed me to read or write much. Ortho department failed to heal my injury and now i am under the supervision of Neuro department.
More later...ciao
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