ESSAY - TIME!!

Well any MBA aspirant would know that this is the toughest part of application. I am presently considering the applications of ISB and HEC Paris. However, 3 weeks down the line I have been able to complete only 3 essays. One look at me is enough to say how these essays have harassed me.
Noteworthy among these essays is the one which asks the applicant to write about a book that he felt should not have received the acclaim it got. The choice of book was easy but re-reading it was tough. "God of small things " was the clear winner for this category and Arundhati Roy found herself under the scalpel. Though her style is nice and metaphors out of the world the story was dark and paper thin almost like a formula bollywood flick. After suffering through the book when I started writing a critique words seemed to flow and 250 words looked too little.

The problem however lies in in knowing how much is too much . Criticism needs to look learned , balanced and incisive, most importantly one needs to support it with examples. All this in 250 words without diluting the incisiveness was a herculean task. I quiver when i think about the other essays that lay ahead.
To quantify the task lets look at the numbers :

avg no. of words per essay : 400
avg no. of essays per application : 5
avg no. of applications per candidate : 5
avg no. of drafts per essay :4

= (10,000 words of crisp pure sense )*4
= 40,000 words.

Well people time to pity the poor MBA aspirant tearing his hair apart.
OOPS!! I forgot to include the 900 words "Optional Essay" in the equation!! ;)

The Ant Story !!

As I start thinking about my essays , I cannot stop myself from getting nostalgic. I came across a question which asks the candidate to explain two of his annoying characteristics. As I think about it one incident springs to my mind. Well at this point of time if the reader knows me well then I am sure he/she would have guessed what I am speaking about.

It was summer holidays, and my family was lazing out in the verandah . It was about 4 pm and I had woke up after a nice siesta. Sipping hot tea as my mother handed some biscuits around, I was reconstructing my midday dream in my subconscious mind. There was some idle talk going around and I was slipping back into my dreams.

Suddenly, the talk wandered to the subject of my studies and my grades in engineering. That made me a little uncomfortable and i decided to dead bat the questions as they came pounding one after the other. Sensing my reluctance to answer the discussion veered into a different direction. I congratulated myself for doing a "Dravid on Perth" and tried to cool away.

Then out of nowhere, my mother spied a little ant, busy in its work. It trekked through the crevices of the verandah as it sought to reach its home. The ant all the while was carrying a leaf, which looked at least 10 times heavier and 20 times larger than the ant. My mother marveled at its courage and hard work. She was impressed by the ant's commitment to work and was effusive in its praise. I half-sleepily acknowledged its achievements. However, not happy with the response my mother sought to drive her point harder. She started comparing me with the ant. On how the ant struggled to finish its work and how I lazed instead of studying.

Now any self respecting egomaniac would hate to be compared to an ant let alone be shown inferior to it. What followed remains in the mind of my family till today. I went closer to the ant and witness its splendor. In sudden swift movements I picked a slipper and banged the ant twice on its head. Even before anyone could understand what happened the ant was left devoid of life. I then turned to my mother and said that this was the difference between me and the ant. My mother let out a cry and shouted at me, she picked the closest thing to her hand (which luckily was a magazine ) and hit me violently with it. She proclaimed that I was rude, heartless, cruel, psychotic and egotistic. Months later, my brother wrote an elaborate poem about a hardworking ant and a cruel man who toyed with it.

Today, as I write this I know that what I did was impulsive and wrong. In retrospect I never felt more bad about killing any ant as I did of killing this one. God forbid, if I go to hell after my life. I am sure there would be an ant waiting for me with a big slipper.

Another update on my GMAT front, I got my AWA score and it shows that I improved from (4/6) to (4.5/6). Looks like its time to complete the other half of Zoya's Story. The Ant is having its revenge already.

"To Do or Not To Do!!" - Part1

As I sieve through the tons of data about Post MBA career options and try to figure where I would fit in after 1yr MBA . The need to leverage my past IT (Telecom) experience dictates me to consider High Tech career as an option post MBA. However, the wish to become truly corporate and leverage my problem solving and analytic capabilities guide me towards consulting. Well, If you are wondering why this moron is thinking career options even before joining a college - Hold on!! Remember, I need to write an essay on my career goals Long term and Short term. Hence, the dilemma.

Before I delve into what I wish lets weigh who would choose me, as you see the power lies in the hands of the recruiter . Following is what I heard on a GMAC podcast

High Tech Recruiters: We have lot of openings for MBA's - with sales background. If a guy with technical background wants to get in to this role then he better have a relevant internship.
("Some one Tell me is there a chance to do internship in a integrated 1 yr MBA course")

Consulting Recruiters : We are looking for people with great problem solving skills and affinity towards numbers(who better than an engineer). We also look at how we can leverage their earlier work experience. We have heavy requirements and the ratio of applicants to selected candidates is 100:1 (Pretty encouraging !!)

Now can some one please tell me if consulting works out for s/w engineers with good analytical skills?

GMAT Score & Zoya's Story

After scoring a 700 I lay awake in the night cursing myself for not getting a 750 .
I was angry and peeved, I saw no point in the whole exercise where in I missed last year's window and after all the preparation improved only by 10 points.

I could see INSEAD , JUDGE , Oxford etc.. throwing my application in to their respective dust bins. I hated myself for falling prey to mediocrity, for failing to improve. It was 1:00 am and I was very agitated. I decided to pick up a book and read. I chose "Zoya's Story" and started reading it.

Zoya's Story is about an Afghan girl who describes her life in Kabul and Pakistan at the time of Taliban regime. The story describes atrocities of Mujahideen , the way the girl's family is torn apart and how the girl had to run away from her country.

Halfway through the story , I started feeling foolish and silly about my childish rants . I closed the book at about 3:00am thankful to God for my Indian nationality. I was more determined at the end to make a fight out this 700 score.

If a girl could fight such big issues, it is but a shame that I rant about some 50 points . Then I decided that my score (which I compare to "sitting on the fence") makes the challenge more interesting and worthwhile. Thanks Zoya !!

I Me Myself & GMAT

WELCOME ABOARD!!

I am Software Engineer with a dream to make it big in the corporate world !! Based in Bangalore and with 4yrs of experience in the Industry!

GMAT :: Recently I retook GMAT and made a marginal yet psychological improvement.
Latest Score :: 700 (49Q, 36V and AWA awaited ,92 %ile)
Older Score :: 690 (50Q, 32V and 4 , 90 %ile)

I Promised myself that I would start a blog if I get a 750 . Yet I later realized that people with 700 are usually more confused than those with 750.

So after I start applying and eventually get into a college this blog may help the others who follow.