ISB application submitted...

yay! I submitted my first business school application. The lucky school is Indian School of Business, Hyderabad ;) I feel the essays could be better though. I am pretty sure I have been given good recommendations. One recommender was out of town and gave me a scare by submitting the reco in the last moment. I just hope I have done enough for ISB, because I really want to get into it.

As they say, first application is always tricky. I just hope I will improve from now on. 

ESADE's info session at New Delhi

ESADE's information session is, well, informative! Two things I liked about the school: Flexibility and emphasis on team work and collaborative learning.

Takeaways:

1. Flexible curriculum with an option of doing the MBA in 12,15, or 18 months
2. Truly global school with students coming from diverse backgrounds
3. Small class ~ 175
4. Collaborative learning - all the classes require team work
5. LEAD program for personal transformation
6. Learning local languages is a must for those who want to work in Europe post-graduation.
7. If you have solid experience currently and plan to comeback to India post-graduation, ESADE's 12 month program is the best bet for you - best of luck choosing from INSEAD, ISB and ESADE :)
8. In 18 month MBA, if you plan properly, you could spend 6 months in a region (where you want work post-graduation ) doing both internship and exchange program.

Darden's Delhi Reception: Wah hoo wah!

Yesterday I was fortunate enough to attend the MBA information session conducted by Darden at Oberoi hotel, New Delhi. I have attended many information sessions but this one is the best. The amount of time the prospective students got to spend with the school alums is priceless. A special thanks to Darden alumnus Gokul Chandrasekaran who was really helpful. Dean's speech was excellent to say the least.

I was not so sure about Darden before, but if the alumni I have spoken to are any hint, it's a great place to be part of.

Things learnt:

1. Darden is THE best school for general management
2. If you want to learn the philosophy of business, with its case method based teaching, Darden is the place to be
3. Darden has a very rigorous curriculum
4. Class size of 300 and small city setup contribute to a very close-knit community(similar to Tuck)
5. Typically, Indians constitute 10% of the class
6. Darden = learning + fun
7. At Darden, people greet each other with the words "Waa hoo Wah," meaning a fish that drinks a lot. 

Overall a very satisfactory event; gave me a break that I needed from work and GMAT. Completely recharged.

Dragon Scroll

The more I am into the application process, the more I realize that there's no magic thing that can get me through. It's all about ME. Unless I understand the following about me, there's no point wondering what's going to happen.

• What kind of a person am I?
• What have I done till now?
• What I want to do with my life and how MBA can help me achieve that?

Introspection time ahead!

Takeaways from Kellogg's information session

Attended the information session conducted by Kellogg. The director of admissions was really nice.

Some facts I learnt about the school:

 1. Team work is given a lot of prominence at Kelogg
 2. Flexible curriculum except for core courses(which can be exempted)
 3. Curriculum has approximately 70% non-lecture sessions(case-based/projects etc)
 4. Kellogg has experimental courses which is really cool
 5. Rather large class: 1200 students
 6. Uber cool KWEST program
 7. 2-week foreign country business trip
 8. 50000+ alumni. Good presence of Kellogg alumni in India
 9. 27 Indians in the most recent branch
10. Not sure about the loans to international students.
11. Good school for married. Lot of activities for spouses(called JVs) of students. They can take part in quest, business trip etc. Separate clubs for JVs and Kellogg kid program. JVs can even sit in the lectures.

The beginning...

Hi there,

My first post. 

I created this blog to share my experiences while I travel through the exciting path of pursuing an MBA. I have a feeling that this journey is going to be one hell of a ride and probably the most difficult of my journeys. I am not sure about where I end up but one thing I am pretty sure is that this journey is going to teach me a LOT.

OK, that's enough blah for one post. My plan is to write predominantly about the pieces in the MBA puzzle - GMAT preparation, school selection, and application process.

More later.