Goin’ Thru The Grind!

Going through the MBA grind is never easy, especially if the first few schools haven’t taken the bait. I failed to impress Chicago-Booth and Kellogg, while MIT was only lukewarm to the idea of having me (deferred to R2, with interview.)

R2 has started with a glimmer of hope and clearly if you are to believe Yahoo Astrology, 2010 is going to be the time when some of my wishes (long overdue) come true. (Yes, I’ve been trolling fortune telling websites and even considered calling up Madam Cleo.)

So yes, with an interview invite from Duke, my light’s shining a little brighter.

Good luck in R2 homies! I hope to cross paths with some of you at interviews, admit weekends and as classmates.

Update on Application Volumes

Earlier this year, I had speculated that b-school application volumes will be impacted by external trends and the economic environment (Lower MBA Application Volumes in 2009-2010?) and discussed how I had factored this into my plans while selecting schools for R1 and R2.

My interactions with adcoms at MIT, Stanford and HBS revealed that R1 applications for those schools remained flat or marginally up from last year. UWBadger2005 wrote on BW forums that a Kellogg adcom member had indicated that R1 applications at Kellogg weren’t significantly higher or lower than last year – implying that application numbers remained flat.

Typically, R2 is the largest round in most schools followed by R1 and R3. The statistic of interest is the % increase in application volume in each round. While  % rise or fall in the application volume for R1 isn’t a prediction of how application volumes will turn out in R2, I believe that like last year, R1 will be the most competitive application round for most top schools this year too.  Those folks who  apply in R2 may have a slight advantage over their R1 peers because flat or lower R2 application volumes will compel adcoms to look more favorably on candidates who would under normal circumstances not make the cut.

Time to chew my nails a little and wait for word from Kellogg.

The Party’s Started…

Yes! Kellogg and MIT have begun notifying candidates about admits and interviews respectively. The first few rounds of MIT interview invites went to Boston and NYC candidates while Kellogg released its first admission decisions to a few people in Chicago on Friday, December 4th.

It’s hard to stay upbeat and focused on R2 applications right now. I’m using music as a crutch to stay positive and get my mind off the “what-if” scenarios.

Here’s a video that I play to myself when negativity begins to creep in. Don’t know what it is but something about swimming through an underground tunnel just gets my spirits up. Disclaimer: The lyrics are a bit uncouth.

Would love to hear what your coping strategies are. Just leave a comment!

MIT Interview Invite and Windows 7 Woes

MIT sent out it’s first round of invites today. But you’re probably wondering why I’m complaining about Windows 7 suddenly?

Well. It’s a long story. And you’ll enjoy it. I just got a new laptop from work. A ThinkPad T500 with Windows 7. Raj, our resident tech guru, and my go to guy for all questions relating to technology assured me that its the best thing that our hardware budget would allow. I wanted a Macbook Air, but even a company like mine that makes a killing by selling financial products to gullible investors cant afford such luxuries.

Anyways, I am in Los Angeles for work this week. I fired up my computer at a investor conference that I am attending. The speaker wasn’t really keeping my attention, so I logged on to Gmail and hit up my girlfriend on IM.

GF: When are you scheduling your interview?
LB: What are you talking about?
GF: MIT just sent out invites. Check GMATClub
LB (sh*tting melons): lemme check, don’t see it on my iphone
LB: i got nothing… F#$K!
GF: i gotta run. conf call in 5. im sure you’ll get an invite. :*

As you can understand, this was a double whammy. Not only did I not get an invite, but I had to swallow my masculine pride that too while I was IMing my woman. Sexting would have been nice (to soften the blow), but she went cold the moment she realized that I didn’t make the cut.

So what does Windows 7 have to do with this? Aren’t PCs the root of every problem known to humanity. I am a centrist kind of guy, but after today I do agree that Microsoft – no good.

I hadn’t setup my outlook email on the machine and the web client I used all day to check my email was slow. So I called Raj and asked him to walk me through the process. Why so sad? he asked me. I told him about the tragic events that had transpired earlier.

Well, check your junk filter. Your Kellogg invite was sitting there too, he reminded me. What genius I thought… Between the boring seminars, the work that my boss was making me do (despite sending me to a conference) and the melancholy mood I was in, I had overlooked that fact.

I have all my b-schools on the safe list in Outlook – you moved those over to this one didn't you? I asked Raj. He confirmed that he had migrated all my data and settings. Check anyway, he asked.

I looked. And indeed there it was. My golden and shiny interview invite.

So the takeaway for the day is – Windows 7 causes pain, suffering and agony. Any lawyers want to jump in and help me sue them for emotional distress?

Oh! The Wait…

I thought I’d enjoy my thanksgiving if I stayed away from the forums, but my anxiety has only multiplied. With only a few days to go until Kellogg starts releasing decisions and MIT begins sending out interview invites, I’ve been draining my iphone battery checking for updates on the internet. I am almost mentally paralyzed and unable to focus on anything. Hopefully, not for long.

Last year Kellogg’s first R1 admit was reported on Dec 3, 08 and the first MIT interview invite went out on Dec 8, 08. So it’s only a couple more days until the fate of MBA applications is disclosed.

Good luck!

Done with MIT

It’s a surreal feeling. For weeks leading up to this moment, I have been a nervous wreck. But now that I am here, hours of essay writing, painstaking research and schmoozing alumni to share the secret sauce are over and it’s such a relief. I just need to hit that shiny submit button.

Over dinner, my friends compared applying to MBA akin to giving birth. Yes, I agree but the only difference is that you go through the trauma several times during the 9-month period from the R1 deadline to the time that all the waitlisters hear about their fate.

Sloan is done. Everything is locked and loaded. I’ll submit tomorrow after I’ve had one last look to make sure that there are no typos or formatting errors. Having read and re-read my essays and cover letter a zillion times, I doubt I’ll fine anything new.

Fingers crossed!

UPDATE (10/27): Submitted MIT. The wait begins.

Advice from a MIT Sloan Veteran: Cover letter, essays and beyond!

I wanted to share my take on MIT Sloan essays for 2009-2010. So, if you’re applying later in the year, read away!

Career Vision

Unlike most traditional MBA applications, MIT Sloan does not ask you to discuss your career vision. This makes the task of the applicant that much more difficult. If you don't get a chance to tell the adcom what you want to do with your life, how will your essays and cover letter add up to support your reasons for wanting an MBA.

There are two strategies to attack this problem: if you have little time, slice and dice your career vision essay and add it in the supplemental essay section. Many people who I have spoken consider this sneaky and renegade, but worth considering. The recommended strategy, is to use a narrative of an accomplishment has some logical connection to your long term and short term goals. Use this narrative as the main fabric of the cover letter and include information about your goals, motivations, timing and contributions as a seeker of an MBA from MIT-Sloan to add color.

Attending an information session or visiting Cambridge really helps distill this information. Even attending an online chat from the MBA adcom (which they cap at 100 attendees, so don't be tardy) is a good way of getting a sense for the program. (Just a quick aside, attending a chat will make you feel way more prepared than most people – there are a bunch of nutty people there who ask bizarre and outright stupid questions. Needless to say if you do get into MIT Sloan, your peer group will be way smarter.)

Cover Letter

The cover letter should follow the rules of standard business correspondence. What does this mean? It means that just like a cover letter for a job, you need to ask Rod Garcia to admit you. Your story and reasons for going to an MBA should make a compelling case, but you need to ask him in one way or another to “Pick you, Choose You, Admit You.” (Blame my girlfriend for the reference, that’s what happens when your SO is catching up on Grey’s Anatomy while you’re trying to convey your life story in 4 pages or less.)

Essays

Lets also chat a little bit about the essays. I really enjoyed doing MIT Sloan essays. The recommended formula for most b-school essays, especially for behavioral essay prompts is to pick one example each that demonstrates personal, professional and extracurricular success. I am not going to discuss what you should write for each prompt, there are a  ton of resources such as the ClearAdmit blog which can be a good start. But I will tell you what are some themes to touch upon in your essays.

The reason why MBA schools ask you to write essays is to understand  how good you are at self evaluation. Next, they match up what you say with your recommenders. So it’s very very (I repeat very very) important that you present yourself as a human being. What do I mean by that? Help the reader (a tired, caffeinated, irritable adcom member who has probably ready 20 essays from applicants, all of whom claim to be the next best thing since Jesus) connect with you.

Help him go “Hmm… This guy/gal sounds like a genuine person. And their work experience, goals, accomplishments and recommender evaluations all add up.” Get him to become your supporter  and fight for you when you application goes to committee.This is difficult but not impossible.

Second, be authentic aka you better make sure that you don’t sound like a car salesman. Don't manufacture a personality on paper that is completely different from who you are in real life. Adcoms are very good at spotting this and if you do get an interview (very unlikely), you would have lost your chance at getting in (ever) once they figure out that you’ve been deceptive.

Third, demonstrate humility. Yes, you broke the bank with your billion dollar bonus, or saved the dodo from extinction, but instead of focusing on numbers, awards and what others thought of you, focus on yourself. Why you did what you did, what you got out of it and why you will continue (or not) doing it in the future. We are good at the things we love to do, tell them why you love doing what you’re good at.

If you forget everything else I’ve said, just remember that being yourself will pay off.

Good luck!