Applied to the following till now.
IIM C
IIM A
Competition is tough. Awaiting interview calls by Aug-end/Sept. Chances of a call look decent. Anything could happen after that. Expectations are modest so far, knowing the schools.
Preparing for Oxford, INSEAD, Cambridge (Cambridge app is not yet up). May also app to IE Madrid by Sept.
INSEAD has no guaranteed loans and given its costs it may be a problem. Need to find out some more about this.
US programs apps start in Oct. Need to shortlist 3-4 more besides the 2 (Cornell, NYU) to app from Oct - Jan (R1, R2).
May also apply to HEC in R2.
Friday, August 15, 2008
Where?
Going with option 1 mentioned before, looking at good option @ home first. The realistic options are one year programs @:
1. IIM A
2. IIM C
3. IIM B - details of program yet to be announced. Will start in Apr 2009.
4. ISB - Attended an informational session. Went well. Still not convinced if it adds really adds value to career. Worried about placements.
Other 1 yr programs of interest:
1. Cambridge - Judge
2. Oxford - Said
3. IE Madrid
4. INSEAD
5. HEC Paris - a little below the other in rep esp. in India.
This one is a great program but expensive an 1.5 yrs
6. IESE Navarra
US programs (2 yr):
The ones I am sure to apply to:
1. Cornell - Johnson
2. NYU - Stern
Still undecided among the following for various reasons:
3. Berkeley - Haas. Very selective but aligns well with career goals. Skeptical about chances of admit.
4. MIT - Sloan. Very selective but aligns well with career goals. Skeptical about chances of admit.
5. Chicago GSB. Expensive, cold. Bigger intake, selectivity is better.
6. Michigan - Ross. Good at everything. Great at nothing in particular. Selectivity is decent.
7. Kellogg - very selective. I feel I can explore other options a lot at Kellogg. No guaranteed loan for international apps - big letdown. May have to drop for just this reason. Also skeptical about chances of admit.
8. CMU - Tepper. Very well aligned with career goals. No guaranteed loan for international apps - big letdown. May have to drop for just this reason. Decent chance of admit although have heard rantings on pagalguy on Tepper being tough for Indians living in India.
9. Virginia - Darden. Like the positioning of this college. Good for general management. I probably will go ahead with apping here.
10. Duke - Fuqua. Interesting place. Need more information from a friend who passed out last year.
Other MBA programs of interest where I feel admit is highly unlikely: Stanford (great, great school - would apply in a heartbeat and do whatever it takes to get it if it sounded realistic), Harvard, Wharton, Columbia, IMD Lausanne, LBS. Tuck, Yale - not sure about these. Tuck intake is also small. In a nutshell, except for MIT, looking and schools just outside the big 5. Should I have bigger goals - not sure - but don't want to burn app money on unrealistic goals. Then again, you miss 100% of the shots you don't take. Torment. Need some advice. Need to talk to some friends.
Other fallback options are: Cass (London), Cranfield (UK), Imperial (London). Admit chances are high. City is in London so would be a decent fall-back option. Need some convincing about Cranfield.
Have send in profile to schools that provided prelim feedback on profile. Have received postive response from two places that I wrote to so far (HEC, Cranfield). Awaiting feedback from IESE. LBS was a bit arrogant when I sent in a request for information - may stop considering it completely. Its kinda the Harvard of UK.
Whither kismat?
1. IIM A
2. IIM C
3. IIM B - details of program yet to be announced. Will start in Apr 2009.
4. ISB - Attended an informational session. Went well. Still not convinced if it adds really adds value to career. Worried about placements.
Other 1 yr programs of interest:
1. Cambridge - Judge
2. Oxford - Said
3. IE Madrid
4. INSEAD
5. HEC Paris - a little below the other in rep esp. in India.
This one is a great program but expensive an 1.5 yrs
6. IESE Navarra
US programs (2 yr):
The ones I am sure to apply to:
1. Cornell - Johnson
2. NYU - Stern
Still undecided among the following for various reasons:
3. Berkeley - Haas. Very selective but aligns well with career goals. Skeptical about chances of admit.
4. MIT - Sloan. Very selective but aligns well with career goals. Skeptical about chances of admit.
5. Chicago GSB. Expensive, cold. Bigger intake, selectivity is better.
6. Michigan - Ross. Good at everything. Great at nothing in particular. Selectivity is decent.
7. Kellogg - very selective. I feel I can explore other options a lot at Kellogg. No guaranteed loan for international apps - big letdown. May have to drop for just this reason. Also skeptical about chances of admit.
8. CMU - Tepper. Very well aligned with career goals. No guaranteed loan for international apps - big letdown. May have to drop for just this reason. Decent chance of admit although have heard rantings on pagalguy on Tepper being tough for Indians living in India.
9. Virginia - Darden. Like the positioning of this college. Good for general management. I probably will go ahead with apping here.
10. Duke - Fuqua. Interesting place. Need more information from a friend who passed out last year.
Other MBA programs of interest where I feel admit is highly unlikely: Stanford (great, great school - would apply in a heartbeat and do whatever it takes to get it if it sounded realistic), Harvard, Wharton, Columbia, IMD Lausanne, LBS. Tuck, Yale - not sure about these. Tuck intake is also small. In a nutshell, except for MIT, looking and schools just outside the big 5. Should I have bigger goals - not sure - but don't want to burn app money on unrealistic goals. Then again, you miss 100% of the shots you don't take. Torment. Need some advice. Need to talk to some friends.
Other fallback options are: Cass (London), Cranfield (UK), Imperial (London). Admit chances are high. City is in London so would be a decent fall-back option. Need some convincing about Cranfield.
Have send in profile to schools that provided prelim feedback on profile. Have received postive response from two places that I wrote to so far (HEC, Cranfield). Awaiting feedback from IESE. LBS was a bit arrogant when I sent in a request for information - may stop considering it completely. Its kinda the Harvard of UK.
Whither kismat?
Why?
What benefit will an MBA provide? Thinking through this really hard these days. Lot of research, networking, and soul searching to answer this question. Let's see how this one goes. Has significant influence on the schools I app to.
For now, I figure I could look to two options in my career:
1. Move up the chain in technology in software product development. Corporate strategy, general management. Skeptical about consulting - need to understand the consulting role a bit more.
2. Something else - a completely different field. Not consulting, not finance, not marketing. Could be entrepreneurship or teaching or something like that. Sounds very romantic but its very appealing to the heart - esp teaching.
The head says 1, heart says 2. Let's stick with the head while exploring 2.
For now, I figure I could look to two options in my career:
1. Move up the chain in technology in software product development. Corporate strategy, general management. Skeptical about consulting - need to understand the consulting role a bit more.
2. Something else - a completely different field. Not consulting, not finance, not marketing. Could be entrepreneurship or teaching or something like that. Sounds very romantic but its very appealing to the heart - esp teaching.
The head says 1, heart says 2. Let's stick with the head while exploring 2.
The search begins
This is where the search for the right MBA program begins (it actually began about a month back, but what's a month here or there on a blog hardly anyone else is going to read anyway).
Facts first. My ammo for applying to schools :
1. Engineering degree - Electrical Engineering from a NIT.
2. Work Ex: 14 yrs - 4 in manufacturing, 10 in IT
3. Start-up experience : 5 yrs
4. GMAT 770/6.0
5. Acads: top of class in college & school.
6. Extra curr: Excellent in school & college, minor stuff at work.
High end of work ex -> tad difficult to explain why MBA now. The one real chink in the armour.
Facts first. My ammo for applying to schools :
1. Engineering degree - Electrical Engineering from a NIT.
2. Work Ex: 14 yrs - 4 in manufacturing, 10 in IT
3. Start-up experience : 5 yrs
4. GMAT 770/6.0
5. Acads: top of class in college & school.
6. Extra curr: Excellent in school & college, minor stuff at work.
High end of work ex -> tad difficult to explain why MBA now. The one real chink in the armour.
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