School Chalein Hum

SEQUENCE OF EVENTS
- Miss flight from Cochin to Bangalore
- Miss connecting flight from Bangalore to Pune
- Fight with Jet Airways and try naatak...doesnt work! ;-(
- Shell out 40K for group tickets on Kingfisher.
- Sleepover at Bangalore guesthouse.
- Wake at 4.30am and reach the B'lore airport at 5.30am
- Chai at Cafe Coffee Day at 5.45 am
- Famous call from 00301 at 5.50 am
- Now famous dialogues at 5.55am
"I am at Bangalore because I came from Cochin and I am going to Pune"
" Thank you,sir" to Ms.Donna S
- Big grins ever since then...starting from 5.56 am.
- School chalein hum - Sep 2007!

PS: Thanks all...theres so much to say to so many people, but right now let me float around a bit...if I stretch, I can touch the ceiling,maybe! (Sheesh,what an admit does to some people!)

Tuck-Ding.

December 15, 2006

Dear GT,
Thank you for applying to the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth. After much thought and careful consideration, I regret to inform you that we are unable to grant your request for admission to the Tuck Class of 2009.

It is often difficult to fully appreciate the competition for admission to Tuck. Our decision is not a reflection on your intellectual abilities, personal achievements or potential success in management. The factor that most often contributed to our decision to not admit an applicant was the rigorous competition created by a strong applicant pool and our commitment to maintain a small class size. This year’s pool is exceptionally strong. We know that many of the applicants who were not granted admission possess excellent characteristics that will serve them well in business school and beyond.

I sincerely appreciate your interest in Tuck and all the time and thought that went into your application. You have my genuine best wishes for success in achieving your future goals.

Warmest regards,

Dawna Clarke

Director of Admissions
Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth

...and thats the way it is.

The first leaves of...spring?

Ah,ye admits have started flowing in...

JatWarrior has gotten into 1 of my fav schools - Tuck. I have been following his story from last year and I think this has been long overdue. Absolutely fantabulous-congrats dude! (slight shade of green ;-) If you were to look at his application submission dates, you can see the kind of work he has been putting in long before his apps were due...wow.

MBABlogger apparently has done some very hard work on his apps and added a pinch of pixie dust and guess what...its working! With admits from Darden and UNC, our mans on the moon already!

Heres to hoping all this rubs off on the rest of the gang too...sigh....amen.

Tuck

Submitted appl: 11-Oct
App turned complete: 31-Oct
Interview call: None
Decision date: 15-Dec
Like the school: Really do
Pref for admission: In top 3

Attitude 1
Tuck is a hands-on school-believes in interviewing all potential candidates. Its been 3 months since I applied and I havent even got any interview call. Results are due next week.Therefore I am as good as out -DINGED, OUT, KHALLAAS, MATTER-KILOSED.

Attitude 2
I have been emailing Tuck since 2005 on how serious I am about their program. I have interacted with their Dean directly and met up with their alumni/profs while they were in India last year. Since I have been doing all this, they dont think they need to meet me - they think I fit perfectly! I fit,therefore I am...likely to be admitted. A week left for celebrations! Yoohoo!

Attitude 3
If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;

Thank you, Mr.Kipling.

Darden reception at Bangalore (1/2)

SUMMARY
Attended the Darden reception at the Windsor Sheraton,B'lore on Sunday evening.Darden is a "warm" compact community driven B-school which espouses the case study method strongly. Has many things in common with Tuck like "designed to be small", located far away from the big cities with a closely knit community.If you are OK with that and the "Case Study" method, you should apply.

DETAILS
Ms.Lynn Garnett,Asst Director-Admissions and Prof.Jay Bourgeois, Asst Dean of International Affairs (whatever that means!) were present. I had just landed in from Cochin on one of the many a/cd Volvos that ply to Bangalore;awkward business of lobbing around a suit, a laptop and a airbag. Reached the hotel in time and stepped into the cloak room to change into the shoot.

ACT 1-SET WET
Step 1: Put on tie
Step 2: Put on jacket
Step 3: Bend over to wash face
Step 4: Withdraw wet tie from sink

ACT 2-EVEN JAMES BOND MAKES LOUD AND RANDOM NOISES.
Step 1:Bend to tie shoe laces
Step 2:Realize you cant bend or bow too much with a jacket on.
Step 3: Flex knee to chest to tie laces.Proud about flexible body.
Step 4: Lose balance and knock over brass flower pot and dust bin.
Step 5: A composed,serious, jacketed gentleman greets the hotel staff with an sophisticated, amused, puzzled look and turns away to tighten his tie before walking away smartly.
Step 6: 20 minutes later a panicky jacketed gentleman runs back to toilet to check misplaced mobile phone.

ACT 3-SUAVE AND SOPHISTICATED LAUGHTER
Step 1: Bend to sign in the register; ignore water droplets that drip on the table from wet tie. Disdainfully dismiss weird looks from next signatory.
Step 2: Agree with Lynn Garnett when she asks if you just flew in
Step 3: Agree with Jay Bourgeois when he asks if you are staying overnight
Step 4: Quickly join in the laughter and after 5 minutes realize it was directed at self.
Step 5: The protagonist smiles wisely at everyone again just to show he is a man of humour and walks off for a glass of Shiraz.

ACT 4-UNE PROBLEME DE COUTURE
Step 1: Join Prof. Jay in animated discussion-listen to how he offered free seats at Univ of Maryland desk for any Indian applicant who could get his name right. You naughty,naughty man!
Step 2: Happily explain about the beauty of Kerala, about the joy of work and ofcourse the Thrissur pooram.
Step 3: Mistake his animated gesture for a handshake and extend own hand.
Step 4: Realize mistake and withdraw hand just when hes extended his.
Step 5: Nervously laugh and spill some wine...put on "I ponder,therefore I am" look and walk off for another glass of Shiraz.
Step 6: Prop up sinking heart after realizing that the prettiest babe in room saw your fumble. Recognize the old "I saw you do it!" chuckle and put on stiff upper lip again.
(To be contd...)

MAD Part 2: The Interview

Preparation
- Trawl the internet for 4 hours on how to buy a new suit.
- Consider 3 buttons, 2 vents, more wool than polyester and ponder between classic black, quiet grey, navy blue and adventurous stripes - consider philosopical questions from friends "Are you zebra?"
- Try out 32 new suits in 4 different showrooms - blow off persistent salesman with specific requirement of "a single vented, three-button grey suit with a 75:25 wool ratio and flatfronted trousers".Run away while he's searching.
- Read up on schools; read up on courses; read up on interviews;practice talking in front of toilet mirrors, surprise maintenance staff at office.
- Hum out answers in the elevator; practice body language and try to act natural when the lift opens on your classic "If I were to slice my career into 4 signficant parts" gesture.
- Dress up for interview.
- Wear just tie, vest and boxers...walk around...just to get those streaks of juvenile lunacy off before the big hour.
- Practice "Serious look", "Thoughtful look", "Look of awe and wonder" and "Thinking fingers aka twirling thumbs".
- Look stupid in sticky new suit.
- Look stupid in sticky new suit in an auto in Bangalore.
- Look very stupid in sticky itchy new suit in front of 3 giggling schoolkids.
- Look very stupid in sticky itchy new suit in front of Nepali gurkha who says interviewers office is closed.
- Consider Vanaprastha in the Himalayas.

Week after 1 okkkkkay interview and 1 good interview
- Start gathering statistics about interviewed vs. selected.
- Pore through Business Week's selectivity and yield ratios for different schools.
- Try to create historical trends and juxtapose them against respective country GDPs and come up with a statistical trend to prove favourable future. (Only for experienced MS Office users; at this point, novices to consider The Art Of Living courses).
- Read interviewed University brochures again and again hoping that the greater laws of the universe will work in favour of those putting in really hard work...ie staring at pretty women in brochures er..sorry...assimilation of the school's culture and statistics.

Week 2 after 1 okkkkkay interview and 1 good interview
- Get smarter...install mobile Gmail on phone.
- Check Gmail on phone every 10 minutes.
- Stop just visiting applicant blogs and instead start commenting - "you got anything yet? what abt u? huh...me too ;-("
- Micro Schadenfreudish relief at people who havent got any invites from your fav schools....then realize the tilting of cosmic scales against you...quickly ask forgiveness and try to swing the scales again...muditaaaaahhhhh! (Powers of the Universe to take note)

Who says life is not beautiful...atleast until Dec 20/21.

Going MAD(MBA Applicant Disease)-Part 1

Common symptoms
Patient cuts off most social contacts.
Walks around with dazed look.
Misses meals at random and wakes up hungry at night.
Dreams on alternate nights about getting selected and getting rejected.
Dream of walking around downtown Chicago, wearing a green Tuckie Tshirt, meeting the girl in the Wharton brochure, the Boston cold and the Stanford heat.
Wakes up with cozy feelings and realizes it was all a dream...deferred.
Often starts praying in the middle of the day.

Detailed breakdown of effects

Week of submission.
Submit online application.
Check next day if application status had turned to "complete" status.
Check again in the evening. And midnight.
Consider sending an enquiry mail to AdCom about status.
Read Dave's blog about persistent applicant horror stories and decide not to.
Repeat checking business until finally breaking loose and sending a "If you dont mind, could you check my application which I submitted (along with $250) a month back and havent even received an acknowledgement yet" (Last drastic step not advisory unless one has the Bush surname.)

1st month post submission
Wake up.
Turn on lappie.
Check mail to see if any i'view invites have come in.
Act surprised that they havent.
Check HBS site to see if status has changed.
Check Stanford site to see if status has changed.
Check Wharton site to see if status has changed.
Check Ross site to see if status has changed.
Check Tuck site to see if status has changed.
Applaud the Chicago and Columbia software which sends updates for every teeny weeny status change.
Walk around with a demented smile after getting 1st invite.
Smile at high targets, smile at the over made up secretary, smile through the pollution, smile through a stupido superboss comment.
Get greedy and go through check-site routine again.

2nd month post submission
Start worrying about 2nd invite.
Invoke God's mercy, grace and goodwill in the 10 seconds that Gmail takes to open.
Option 1 - See spam in mail box that promises enlargements, vitality and every piece of crap except an interview - torn between throttling random spammers and smashing lappie.
Option 2a - See empty mail box and feel totally hollow inside.
Option 2b - See empty mail box and ponder about the mysteries of the universe-calm down with remixed classic quotes "This too shall bloody pass"..."Rome was not built in a frigging day".
Start doing the Mine Vs.Yours-compare no of invites with other applicants.
Start obsessive worrying about not getting any 2nd invite.
Get 2nd invite-do the demented smile routine again.

(The Interview - Contd in Part 2..;-)