I have been trying to find out more about various schools, reading about the site visit experience of other bloggers. Few posts on why some of the bloggers choose one school over the other were really insightful and has helped a lot in letting me understand how to go about selecting schools.
No doubt all the schools I look at look really appealing but then I cant apply to all :)
I also have to keep in mind that the school should have a financial loan program.
So here is my list as of now:
1. Wharton
2. Stanford
3. Kellog/MIT (Still deciding.. but as of now it looks like it will be Kellog)
4. Darden
5. Michigan
6. Duke
7. Cornell/UCLA
8. Stern
9. UNC
10. Emory/UT
It still is a long list and I need to trim it down further.How do I do it is a question.
I have been eagerly trying to find out about the profiles on India/IT Males who have made it to these schools to assess my competitiveness, but no luck so far at most of the schools.
I have good GMAT, good acads in my undergrad, working for a BIG brand name product development company with lot of extra curriculars and a LOT of community service with good leadership roles. But I lack international work experience and have 4 years of work ex, which I think might be a little less for some schools.
Also I wont be able to visit the schools and I think the schools do give some weightage to students who visit the school and show genuine interest in the school.
With all the research so far I have found that no one can answer the question which is on top of the mind of all applicants "What are my chances?"
I know I have been tempted to ask this myself, but the more i read about admission process the more I realize it is not really possible to answer that. May be someone can suggest if my profile would be competitive or not, but at the end of it if you are a decent candidate it all boils down to your essays and interview.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
8 comments:
your profile seems pretty strong to me. international experience is always good to have, but i think leadership at work and outside matters more(something that you have). plus it all depends on how to present your case, consider the application as a "90-sec commercial" - that's your sales pitch, and that's how they will know you and stack you against people from your pool, so try and avoid cliched essays. you have lots of time, so give it your best and you will be safe. good luck
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE don't start comparing yourself to other people and become a statistics obsessed "What are my chances" poster on Business Week forums. In my opinion it is the most arm a person can do to themselves during the proces.
You might have a similar background with some people, but you are also a unique individual and NOBODY applying has had the same life experiences as you have. This is why there are 4-6 essays for each school; to allow you to stand out of the bunch and be seen. Use them wisely.
Forrest: Thanks for the wishes, yes I am doing a lot of introspection and I hope to get a good clarity sometime soon :)
Marina: Thanks for warning me on this :) Yes I totally agree to that.. I know each one of us in unique and have had diff experiences and learned diff things.. so thats what I would try to bring out in my essays :)
I totally agree with Marina. In fact, the best gyaan I can give you is to steer clear of the BW forums (except the ones that are chats with adcoms from the schools you're applying to) till you are done applying. After that, it's a great way to distract yourself by listening to people trash schools which dinged them, or reading messages like "I have an 800 on the GMAT, with a 4.0 GPA from an Ivy, 4 yrs with BBB IB, spent a year in the Peace Corp, and simultaneously started up my own multimillion dollar business on the side while also working on a cure for cancer. What are my chances at H/S/W?". :-)
If you need gyaan specific to Stern, feel free to email me (i'll be adding an email link on my blog as soon as i sign up for an anon email acct)
I agree with desigalnyc about not be obsessed with Businessweek forums. I did not bother reading it until I was done with all my interviews. BusinessWeek forum should be treated as a little activity to occupy your time once you have nothing else to do except deciding which school to attend. Good luck!
I have to agree with everyone that try not to get so wrapped up in comparing stats. You're background, ethnicity, grades, etc. is what it is. The app focus should be on: 1) career goal & fit w/ school, 2)diverse lessons learned through your leadership, teamwork, and life experiences for your essays, and 3) selecting strong recommenders.
Your school list looks great! To narrow down the list, some places to start may be: 1) campus visit, 2) talk to students/alumni, 3) talk to student club co-chairs, 4)info sessions and forums, and 5) read through all the material you've received - brochure, internet, course & program offerings, etc. The main thing is to get a solid feel for each program. Do you sense a fit with the school's culture and personality?
Good luck!
Thanks all for such wonderful feedback!!
I wont be able to do school visit, but am trying to talk to the current students from various clubs etc, recently admitted students and spending a lot of time reading about the school on websites etc.
dude..i am exactly on the same position as you..my list also looks eerily similar to yours right now :)...let me know if you get any answers to that million dollar question?
Post a Comment