tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-196770222011-11-01T02:26:36.148-07:00FooBarMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06389989308408929983noreply@blogger.comBlogger891100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19677022.post-22013409420625842622007-03-11T10:54:00.000-07:002007-03-11T11:10:37.362-07:00

This has been a long long pause in my posting, but that really means that there has been lots and lots going on my end.First, I am done with two more courses- Finance and Operations - and boy I am relieved. Both the courses were interesting although this was a gruelling term with lots of homework, cases and tests. I almost feel like taking a vacation but the new set of classes next weekend. This

FooBarMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06389989308408929983noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19677022.post-16396209871319265822006-11-21T06:25:00.000-08:002006-11-21T06:37:44.067-08:00

Another round of midterms are over and in a matter of few weeks two more courses will be done. When I was applying last year, most students would say that the MBA is a transformational experience. I quite did not know what to make of it a year back. As I am going through the first year, I do think that one goes through a transformational experience.As I am going through the marketing classes,

FooBarMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06389989308408929983noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19677022.post-28162774401281417922006-11-02T21:51:00.000-08:002006-11-02T22:17:13.620-08:00

Discussions are a big part of any MBA class. The professors try to get a good discussion going and of course the students follow - there are participation points at hand right!! Interestingly though, a lot of times as I am listening to the comments, a thought goes through my head - This is just common sense.So why am I sitting in the class and spending my time, if this is all common sense.The

FooBarMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06389989308408929983noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19677022.post-61315531027278865292006-10-16T22:15:00.000-07:002006-10-16T22:27:59.343-07:00

Just finished the Finals for MircoEconomics and Organizational Behaviour. Phew!! this was something. I did enjoy both of my professors and enjoyed the classes also. The next two classes will be Accounting and Marketing and they start next weekend. I truly wish there was one full weekend - I am starting to miss my Saturdays. On the other hand, I am done with 4 credits, that's almost 10% of the 42

FooBarMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06389989308408929983noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19677022.post-39813122664868778012006-10-02T09:30:00.000-07:002006-10-02T10:22:20.558-07:00

Last year, I was visiting Stanford, and one of the students mentioned about study trips. They were planning trips to a variety of places including one to Israel. I was really excited about this part and even mentioned this is my essay. This year Haas students are organizing study trips (in addition to things like the International Business Development and International Business Seminar that are

FooBarMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06389989308408929983noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19677022.post-18427906188193471212006-09-11T20:02:00.000-07:002006-09-11T20:32:31.661-07:00

Last year, right about this time, I was sweating bullets. I was truly having a hard time with my essays. A part of the challenge was the process of adequately defining career goals in the essays. Jeremy Dann writes in the Stacy Blackman blog about a similar issue around how to define the learning agenda in the business goals. Although, in general, I had a decent idea about what I wanted to do, I

FooBarMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06389989308408929983noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19677022.post-40092138461216157592006-09-04T19:53:00.000-07:002006-09-04T20:25:42.821-07:00

Its that time of the year for me when the midterms comes knocking at my door. The Organizational Behavior midterm is next week and the Microeconomics midterm is the week after that. I tried to prepare a bit for the midterm but it seems like most of the work is still left. I have to get back into a study groove and get some of this taken care of. I had been waiting for a while to take my career

FooBarMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06389989308408929983noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19677022.post-3189126450492453102006-08-30T09:08:00.000-07:002006-08-30T09:44:32.684-07:00

The power of network is always touted as something that most MBA applicants and candidates desire. However, apart from building a network in business school, I feel that it is equally important to develop a "rich" personal network at work. The reason, I use the word "rich" is because I have always tried to actively network with people from other functions. As I introspected a bit, I realized that

FooBarMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06389989308408929983noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19677022.post-1156391948741266352006-08-23T20:52:00.000-07:002006-08-23T21:05:38.106-07:00

This has been a moderately busy week. Classes have started, I have a Student ID card, and I went shopping for school supplies - it is finally sinking in - I am now also a student. This semester I am enrolled in two classes - Mircoeconomics and Organizational Behaviour. I have really enjoyed my first classes, and I also like the teaching style of both professors. I even managed to be _awake_ for

FooBarMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06389989308408929983noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19677022.post-1155613641441516752006-08-14T20:29:00.000-07:002006-08-14T20:47:21.463-07:00

After the wonderful orientation weekend, I have been taking it real easy. I figured that I should enjoy whatever remaining days I have left before classes begin. Haas has been offering different types of orientation classes on the weekends. They have ranged from- Basic Math- Finance- Microeconomics- Excel- PowerpointI think that the orientation classes are a great idea. Unfortunately, I have not

FooBarMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06389989308408929983noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19677022.post-1155013591916865572006-08-07T21:08:00.000-07:002006-08-07T22:06:31.993-07:00

The orientation is over and it was pretty awesome.The orientation started on Friday with an informal reception. After I checked-in, I registered myself and got my packet that contained best practices for an effective case study, a case study and the facebook. I went to my room, which was a pretty nice room in the Doubletree at the Berkeley Marina. I had a view of the Marina from my room and after

FooBarMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06389989308408929983noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19677022.post-1154569546634979282006-08-02T18:25:00.000-07:002006-08-02T19:18:39.186-07:00

The EWMBA orientation starts in two days. The actual event will start on the evening of Friday, 4th August and end on the afternoon of Sunday, 6th August at the Berkeley Marina. Classes will begin for the weekday cohorts in the week of 7th August and the weekend cohort starts in the week 19th August.Now that the bills for the Fall 2006 have been released, the reality of the amount of money has

FooBarMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06389989308408929983noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19677022.post-1153802029115382172006-07-24T20:54:00.000-07:002006-07-24T21:33:49.256-07:00

I was researching some laptops and I came across this article about a Dell Laptop exploding. It seems that this problem may not be an isolated one, so Dell is clearly off my list.Apart from researching laptops, I have also spent some time socializing and networking with Haas classmates. So far, I have attended about 5 different events. They have ranged from events like Happy hours to small house

FooBarMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06389989308408929983noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19677022.post-1153191550371109052006-07-17T19:28:00.000-07:002006-07-17T21:31:12.030-07:00

Very soon, the flurry of information sessions will hit the road, and applicants will get to hear from adcom members, current students and even alumni in some cases. When I started last year, I attended several information sessions, fair and special events. Initially, I would just attend these sessions and think that information was similar to what was found in the brochures. But as time went by,

FooBarMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06389989308408929983noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19677022.post-1152594475816085982006-07-10T21:14:00.000-07:002006-07-10T22:07:55.870-07:00

I got a comment on my last post about why I have included 2008 as my graduating year considering that the Haas EWMBA program is a 3 year program (Class of 2009). The Haas EWMBA program allows students to accelerate the program.For the MBA degree, one needs to complete 42 credits. Here is my distribution of classes.Fall 2006 : 8 Credits (4 Core Courses)Spring 2007 : 8 Credits (4 Core Courses)

FooBarMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06389989308408929983noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19677022.post-1152246816669739832006-07-06T21:31:00.000-07:002006-07-06T22:45:29.386-07:00

Last year about this time, I was deep into GMAT preparation. The thought of writing essays seemed like a formidable mountain. Now after getting admitted into the Haas EWMBA program some of the realities of getting back into a hybrid student life are setting in. Thankfully, I am not alone. The Businessweek forums have a discussion titled- "How to make the best of PT program?" that echoes some of

FooBarMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06389989308408929983noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19677022.post-1151558581982258082006-06-28T21:25:00.000-07:002006-06-28T22:23:54.556-07:00

I am done with the Statistics class!! I had my finals yesterday and what a relief.As soon as I get my grades, I can finally send my transcripts to Haas and be done with the Statistics requirement.Now that my classes are over, I am trying to arrive at the steps I need to take to align better with my future goals. Marina's informative post on i-banking, got me thinking about my possible choices -

FooBarMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06389989308408929983noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19677022.post-1150959869367272772006-06-22T00:03:00.000-07:002006-06-22T01:02:12.113-07:00

I am finally done with my accounting class. Phew!!The last couple of weeks has been extremely hectic for me. The Statistics class required the last dose of midterms, and class project and I just finished the Accounting finals. Thanks to everyone who filled in the survey because the class project is finally done. My statistics finals are next Monday.Once the classes are over, I was planning on not

FooBarMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06389989308408929983noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19677022.post-1150054112749858932006-06-11T12:17:00.000-07:002006-06-11T12:28:32.776-07:00

My statistics class is almost coming to an end but I still have an important aspect of this course left- the final project.Our team is conducting an anonymous survey about Body Mass Index and its correlation with the time spent on exercising. Readers please feel free to fill the survey. It will not take more than a minute to fill but it will help us get the data required for the final project.The

FooBarMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06389989308408929983noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19677022.post-1149575761850851252006-06-05T22:29:00.000-07:002006-06-05T23:36:01.936-07:00

I was reading a post on application essays by wandering yogi and it reminded me of my struggles not so long ago. As I thought through the essay writing days, some points came to my mind.- Quantify ResultsAlmost everyone applying to B-School will have numerous success stories. I was told by several applicants that a key to making essays powerful was to quantify the outcomes. For every activity -

FooBarMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06389989308408929983noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19677022.post-1149146297397566172006-05-31T23:50:00.000-07:002006-06-03T19:30:33.136-07:00

As the deadline for releasing the Haas EWMBA round two admissions decisions approached, I went back to my long lost addiction - browsing the businessweek forum. Having gone through the traumatic waiting process, I felt that I could empathize with potential applicants. As expected the Haas EWMBA thread was abuzz with activity.Let me begin with hearty Congratulations!! to all of the newly admitted

FooBarMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06389989308408929983noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19677022.post-1148591372137766802006-05-25T14:00:00.000-07:002006-05-25T14:09:32.153-07:00

Just wanted to wish the best to all of the Haas EWMBA round 2 applicants. The results will officially be out on June 1 2006. However, based on personal experience and the BWeek forums, the adcom will most likely start calling on Tuesday May 30 2006.The waiting is hard..But it is about to get over soon.. Best of Luck!!

FooBarMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06389989308408929983noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19677022.post-1148361178068385122006-05-22T20:30:00.000-07:002006-05-22T22:12:58.146-07:00

Bay to Breakers is so much fun!!I ran the Bay to Breakers yesterday, and I was able to complete the course in 1:34:49. To be really honest, I quite did not run the entire course but I am extremely happy with the outcome. This was one of my goals and I have never ran this distance before. However, this was one of my 2006 New Year resolutions, and I am happy that I completed it. I am also extremely

FooBarMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06389989308408929983noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19677022.post-1148015588451707722006-05-18T21:54:00.000-07:002006-05-18T22:13:08.466-07:00

My meeting with the "Tina"- the Haas Alumnus was awesome. After having done one casual lunch, I am truly tempted to do more. Here are some of my learnings after the meeting- Waive Core CoursesTina mentioned that consciously chose to waive some core courses, and that allowed her to take additional electives. She mentioned that this allowed her to take electives in areas that she was just "curious"

FooBarMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06389989308408929983noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19677022.post-1147724712196907802006-05-15T12:44:00.000-07:002006-05-15T13:26:16.766-07:00

Earlier this year, I had outlined that one of goals was to know other people in my company who are doing new business development. I hope to venture out to new business development and strategy post MBA ,and I am trying to network with individuals in my company for the time being to get a better understanding of the skills and assess my own gaps.While the full time folks have the option to do a

FooBarMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06389989308408929983noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19677022.post-1147329412423067432006-05-10T22:55:00.000-07:002006-05-10T23:36:54.890-07:00

Today, was one of the bad days that got worse with every passing minute. First, there were ongoing issues at work, and they kept comming and comming - one, two, three, four, five, and then finally the most dreadful of all things happened, my laptop died. Apparently, my hard drive is bust and now the IT guys dont know whether they can retrieve the data out of the dead drive. The laptop has a whole

FooBarMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06389989308408929983noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19677022.post-1147154860857902912006-05-08T22:41:00.000-07:002006-05-08T23:07:40.873-07:00

First tidbit:Marina , Brownoski and I went for some good ol' wine tasting at Napa over the weekend. The day began with a great picnic at V. Sattui. We took advantage of the $10 deal and visited 6 wineries - Casa Nuestra, Clos Pegase, Silver Rose, Zahtila, Calistoga Cellars, and Bennett Lane. The wine was great but the fish at Silver Rose was the most memorable part because these fish love to

FooBarMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06389989308408929983noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19677022.post-1146815931649516402006-05-05T00:18:00.000-07:002006-05-05T00:58:51.670-07:00

This week, I did two things MBA related- Filled up the "Statement of Intention to Register" for Haas, UC Berkeley- Filled up the online form for Tepper to let them know that I will not be joining their classBut more importantly, I had two rather interesting conversations with Bob - the guy who has asked me to write recommendation letters for B-School.The first one was a bit edgy. Bob thinks that

FooBarMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06389989308408929983noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19677022.post-1146497632221912572006-05-01T08:23:00.000-07:002006-05-01T20:55:33.546-07:00

Last month I was approached by one of my team members -"Bob".- He wants to apply to B-School and wants me to write his recommendation. Although I have not officially announced my B-School plans to my team in general, I suspect that the folks do know about my plans to attend B-School. Anyways, last week, he stopped and told me that he has decided to apply to Insead and that I need to finish up by

FooBarMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06389989308408929983noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19677022.post-1146124251850299692006-04-27T00:41:00.000-07:002006-04-27T00:51:30.636-07:00

Yes, I have decided to continue blogging for now and I intend to continue blogging as I attend Haas, UC Berkeley. I probably will be posting at a lesser frequency than before and I will try to focus on MBA related issues - especially ones that are probably more specific to part time MBA's.Unfortunately, I have a Accounting test coming up and I still cannot get debit and credit right. I got some

FooBarMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06389989308408929983noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19677022.post-1145640994254511612006-04-21T10:09:00.000-07:002006-04-21T10:36:34.310-07:00

Recently, I have been wondering if I should continue blogging as I start my journey at Haas. Originally, I was not even sure if I will be able to continue blogging past a month or two. But as time passed, I not only enjoyed having an outlet to rant and rave, but more importantly I also found an extremely supportive group of fellow bloggers and readers.Blogging in general has enriched my writing

FooBarMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06389989308408929983noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19677022.post-1145464760635556492006-04-19T08:57:00.000-07:002006-04-19T09:39:21.156-07:00

Getting an admission to an MBA program of your choice is one thing, paying for it is another thing. As a part time student, I think it is important to seek out employers support because a certain degree of financial support can really help. Although, I realize that this process is probably different for most companies, as I have tried to persuade my management for financial support I have learned

FooBarMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06389989308408929983noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19677022.post-1145334166655620742006-04-17T20:29:00.000-07:002006-04-17T21:22:46.686-07:00

I was listening to a podcast from mbapodcaster on the topic of quantitative preparedness before entering an MBA program. As I mentioned in previous post that I planned to enroll in some classes. I have enrolled in a statistics and accounting at a local community. It has been a _while_ since I last did any sort of academic stuff. The podcast made an interesting comment - that knowing a topic and

FooBarMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06389989308408929983noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19677022.post-1145079031571833852006-04-14T21:29:00.000-07:002006-04-14T22:31:23.656-07:00

I finally got some time to go through the BoB Ballot. I have had a really hard time putting name on the various categories. I have truly enjoyed reading blogs of almost all the nominees. Axechick and Marina were the first 2006 applicant bloggers I started to read. Bloggers like Sghama, Pupstar, IMWI, and Forrest have cheered for me, and bloggers like MBAJ, Tycoon, and Sorebrek have made me laugh

FooBarMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06389989308408929983noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19677022.post-1144909531429470122006-04-12T21:15:00.000-07:002006-04-12T23:25:31.496-07:00

I have been having this intense discussion with a fairly close friend on how to choose an Admission Consultant. He has a decent GMAT ( 80+ Percentile in Verbal and Quant) and is a reapplicant. While I do not want to debate the merits and the moral values behind the use of these services, I do feel that there is a lot of misunderstanding about admission consultants as fellow blogger Axechick

FooBarMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06389989308408929983noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19677022.post-1144727778329098352006-04-10T20:27:00.000-07:002006-04-10T20:56:18.443-07:00

Before, I go ahead and list the things I could have done better, I would like to thank the folks at ClearAdmit, who have nominated this blog for the BoBs. Please feel free to read my posts and vote for this blog.First, I would like to say that I am extremely happy with my admission results. That being said, I feel that I could have done some things better.3. Prepared more for GMAT.Although I got

FooBarMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06389989308408929983noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19677022.post-1144473310488600682006-04-07T20:48:00.000-07:002006-04-07T22:15:10.566-07:00

I am finally enrolled in a Statistics class. The Statistics class is a pre requisite for the Haas EWMBA program. Haas provides a list of classes but there are almost always questions on this topic (or atleast I had some). I will be summarizing some of the findings and options that are available to Round One admits and Round Two applicants.Waiver Exam: They are held twice a year. There is one

FooBarMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06389989308408929983noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19677022.post-1144303810997976602006-04-05T22:38:00.000-07:002006-04-05T23:10:11.043-07:00

Yesterday, I attended the reception at Haas for the EWMBA admitted students. The evening started with some finger food and a nice opening speech from Dean Tom Campbell. Dean Campbell outlined some interesting stats about Haas and the Student body~ 40% of incoming students had advanced degrees~ 500,000 living Berkeley alumni more than any other school including Harvard, Wharton etc.One of the

FooBarMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06389989308408929983noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19677022.post-1144117581356387562006-04-03T18:59:00.000-07:002006-04-03T19:26:21.393-07:00

3 months have elapsed since my resolutions for 2006. It is time to do a status check.- Get admitted to one of the places I applied (Preferably Haas) : Status - Done- Travel to South America : Status - Done- Run a half marathon : Status - Planning to register for Bay to Breakers- Identify at least 5-6 people doing new business development in my company and get to know them: Status - StartedI have

FooBarMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06389989308408929983noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19677022.post-1143874571067099682006-03-31T22:12:00.000-08:002006-03-31T22:56:11.116-08:00

The Stanford ding arrived yesterday. I actually realized that the results were released as I took a quick peek into mbajackass' blog. I was expecting this ding but I did feel a tad bit bad.I do have better news. Haas has been showing some love as I mentioned in my previous post. Dean Tom Campbell will be attending the April 4th reception. I had a very nice conversation with the second year

FooBarMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06389989308408929983noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19677022.post-1143699102647164022006-03-29T21:50:00.000-08:002006-03-29T22:11:42.666-08:00

Wow, I really needed this vacation. I feel rejuvenate and ready to go. I went to work briefly and found that a second year Haas student has left a voicemail with his contact information. I think it was very nice for Haas to show some "Love" for the admitted students. I also joined the yahoo-group set up for the admitted students. The most important thing that I have to figure out is how to work

FooBarMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06389989308408929983noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19677022.post-1143236994013835652006-03-24T13:42:00.000-08:002006-03-24T13:49:54.036-08:00

I am writing this post from the Retiro bus station, Buenos Aires, where I patiently wait from my bus to Mendoza. Mendoza is the Napa Valley of Argentina. March is the season for the grape harvest festival so there are lots of activities centered around wine.Punta was fabulous. I thouroughly enjoyed it. I unfortunately did not have enough energy to catch the nightlife action in Uruguay. Everything

FooBarMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06389989308408929983noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19677022.post-1143077979084316022006-03-22T17:27:00.000-08:002006-03-22T17:39:39.106-08:00

I have been doing things at a break neck speed. Last night, I was in Argentina. Tonight, I am in Uruguay. I took a ferry from Buenos Aires to Colonia , and then a bus from Colonia to Montevideo.I personally feel that I have been able to do so many things in this trip only because I took time to plan the trip out. Literally, I mean, I have a spreadsheet that outlines not only the places but also

FooBarMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06389989308408929983noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19677022.post-1142911741387891492006-03-20T19:23:00.000-08:002006-03-21T14:10:33.063-08:00

I am in Buenos Aires and waiting in line to get tickets for an opera(La Boheme) at Teatro Colon. It is a long line so I start talking to folks standing in the line. I soon discover that the group of people in front of me are from University of Maryland and are pursuing their MBA. They are visiting Buenos Aires as a part of a study trip. Later in the day, I run into them during dinner.Are MBA´s

FooBarMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06389989308408929983noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19677022.post-1142655750682285072006-03-17T19:23:00.000-08:002006-03-17T20:33:57.160-08:00

When I first started looking for part time MBA programs in the bay area, I kept hearing from people that the bay area doesn't have any options. After I researched, I came across two types of programs-Commute and StudyWharton WestHaas, UC BerkeleyTepper, Carnegie MellonUC DavisLeavey, Santa ClaraThere are other "local" programs like San Jose State etc but I really did not go after them.- Fly and

FooBarMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06389989308408929983noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19677022.post-1142489960231254772006-03-15T21:16:00.000-08:002006-03-15T22:19:20.283-08:00

The excitement of the "double whammy" on Monday is still sinking in. I received the formal acceptance letter from Haas and the status online has changed. I will be attending the welcome reception on April 4th 2006. I have sent my confirmation, and most likely I will drag my partner in. I have also filled out the paperwork to enroll in the local community college to complete the statistics

FooBarMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06389989308408929983noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19677022.post-1142317128998322532006-03-13T21:43:00.000-08:002006-03-13T22:18:49.020-08:00

I have these scores of meetings almost every afternoon. After having a healthy does of arguments over project schedules, I returned back to my desk to see my voicemail light flashing. As I picked my voicemail, I thought that it might be the a message from the Haas adcom but then I reminded myself that I have been getting several recruiter calls and I tried hard not to get my hopes too high.The

FooBarMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06389989308408929983noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19677022.post-1142289200119436382006-03-13T14:28:00.000-08:002006-03-13T14:44:03.426-08:00

Sweet:I got an email titled" Exciting news from the Tepper School of Business at Carnegie Mellon". My first thought was - what an awful time to send MBA Spam. Nevertheless, I opened the email that read -"Hello from the Tepper School of Business at Carnegie Mellon! I am writing with exciting news for you regarding your application to the MBA Program. To learn more, select the link below (or paste

FooBarMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06389989308408929983noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19677022.post-1142055552658682112006-03-10T20:45:00.000-08:002006-03-10T21:39:13.110-08:00

Doing an MBA was lodged somewhere in the back of my mind. A year since, I am anxiously waiting for my Haas and Tepper decisions. The past year has taught me a lot of things about myself because of the introspective nature of the essays. The other great thing that has happened is that I was forced to inventory my accomplishments. While I knew my accomplishments, seeing them written down gave a

FooBarMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06389989308408929983noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19677022.post-1141879836473704812006-03-08T20:28:00.000-08:002006-03-08T21:03:49.643-08:00

I keep reading how bloggers have made peace with the process and how zen they are being about this whole decision process - Ladies and Gentlemen - I am _not_ in a zen state. Since actions like incessant checking of the Haas message board, and businessweek forums are deemed as addictive behaviors, I am trying to replace this addiction by solving the good old sudoku puzzles. In other wordsOver the

FooBarMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06389989308408929983noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19677022.post-1141710269738376442006-03-06T21:27:00.000-08:002006-03-06T22:34:54.176-08:00

My mind has been going full throttle on the obsession freeway after reading a post on the Haas moderated message board. All I have been able to think over the past weekend are the upcoming decisions for Haas and Tepper. Suddenly, my mind is racing with all possibilities - one of them being, what happens if I get waitlisted? I have been told that unless you are an absolute shoe in, Haas loves to

FooBarMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06389989308408929983noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19677022.post-1141454481157675362006-03-03T22:19:00.000-08:002006-03-03T22:41:21.183-08:00

This week, I received some very kind words from the good folks at MBA Buzz . They have been extremely kind to feature my blog this week and I truly wish them best of luck. Sites like MBA Buzz and Admissions 411 have cropped up to allow prospective MBA candidates to get a jump start into all sorts of analysis - like how many Stanford interviews are yet to be sent out.As I mentioned in an earlier

FooBarMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06389989308408929983noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19677022.post-1141269744350593642006-03-01T19:11:00.000-08:002006-03-01T21:57:46.676-08:00

Things have been going really hectic at work - lots of business planning related issues are being dealt with and an interesting side effect of this is that there is big power struggle. Unfortunately I am in the middle of this and at the end of all of this, there is a good likelihood that I will be the fall guy. Handling power struggles is not my forte. I often think that my biggest learning

FooBarMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06389989308408929983noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19677022.post-1141062033066411642006-02-27T09:24:00.000-08:002006-02-27T09:46:12.336-08:00

This is going to be a real busy week for me. I have tons of meetings and deliverables this week, and in a way I am truly happy because this will leave less time for me to obsess with MBA admissions decisions. Since the completion of the MBA applications, I have had some time at hand and yesterday, I almost thought of starting an application to Chicago GSB part time program. But of course, I

FooBarMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06389989308408929983noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19677022.post-1140854230699876492006-02-24T23:44:00.000-08:002006-02-24T23:57:19.350-08:00

My vacations plans are finalized and I now have all transportation and hotel arrangements.The itinerary looking like thisBuenos Aires, Argentina( 2 days)Colonia de Sacramento/ Montevideo, Uruguay (1 day)Punta del Este, Uruguay (2 days)Mendoza, Argentina( 2 days)Buenos Aires, Argentina ( 2 days)If anyone has any travel tips for Argentina or Uruguay, please send them my way.I am really looking

FooBarMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06389989308408929983noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19677022.post-1140666634371592782006-02-22T19:24:00.000-08:002006-02-22T21:17:00.770-08:00

There is no news on the MBA front at all. The long weekend ended with an accident - I was changing lanes and a motorcycle came a hit my car on the side. After a 40 minute ordeal, I found out that the motorcycle rider did not have any insurance and although I checked for all blind spots before changing lane, the final verdict is yet to be issued.With that crappy experience, more negative thoughts

FooBarMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06389989308408929983noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19677022.post-1140460518640124882006-02-20T10:24:00.000-08:002006-02-20T10:35:18.656-08:00

When I started my application to B-Schools, I did not know about businessweek forums. I came to know about them sometime after I had finished of my GMAT and during the time I was finalizing my school choices. I was primarily looking at the rankings and to be honest, I was really struggling with the essays. So I chose to focus on my first two applications - Haas and Fuqua. Once I was done with

FooBarMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06389989308408929983noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19677022.post-1140212229052560172006-02-17T13:04:00.000-08:002006-02-17T13:40:55.686-08:00

I was recently talking to one of my friends who is planning to take the GMAT. He is working full time and is having some difficulties fitting in the GMAT study schedule. I personally think I did a good job of preparing for GMAT and I believe I did it efficiently and it got me the results that I wanted - getting a score starting with 7xx. I used the OG ( 10th and 11th editions) primarily with a

FooBarMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06389989308408929983noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19677022.post-1140061798719145682006-02-15T19:19:00.000-08:002006-02-15T20:07:50.536-08:00

The countdown has begun...28 days to go for the Haas decision26 days to go for the Tepper decisionAlmost every single day, I have some thought or other about the upcoming decisions. These thoughts usually end up with me coming up with a list of things that I might have _not_ done. For example, yesterday I was reading the clear admit blog on "Admission Tips" and immediately I remembered that

FooBarMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06389989308408929983noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19677022.post-1139858659315992502006-02-13T11:05:00.000-08:002006-02-13T11:24:19.360-08:00

Last week I got an email from Haas, asking me to register for the statistics waiver exam. Unfortunately, I will be on vacation at that time and also I want to make sure I get an admission before I embark on the journey to fulfill the pre-requisites. However, this email sparked an related thought process that I had not thought before.I really do not have a background in accounting and the last

FooBarMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06389989308408929983noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19677022.post-1139632803939903432006-02-10T20:39:00.000-08:002006-02-10T22:00:53.776-08:00

The Tepper interview is _done_ and the journey that began with the GMAT preparations in June 2005 is nearing its last phase.The Tepper interview started on time. I usually try to arrive at a interview location 15-20 minutes ahead of time and usually listen to my ipod to just relax myself. This time I was so absorbed into the music that I did not notice my interviewer approaching me at the hotel

FooBarMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06389989308408929983noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19677022.post-1139469002458255102006-02-08T22:42:00.000-08:002006-02-08T23:11:10.466-08:00

I have managed to take some baby steps for my interview preparation for Tepper. I read the accepted.com database and it seems that most of the questions are the typical ones - Why MBA, Why now, Why Tepper? Oddly, I don't feel very anxious about the interview. It will be in Palo Alto and it is not too far from work. I do plan to take about 1/2 day off because I don't want get tangled with work

FooBarMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06389989308408929983noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19677022.post-1139254313172883102006-02-06T11:18:00.000-08:002006-02-06T11:31:53.196-08:00

I really need some shaking up -- to get into my senses and to stop wasting time. I am usually very self motivated person but somehow during the last two weeks, my motivation has decided to go on a vacation. I have been procrastinating things I needed to do - like preparing for the Tepper Interview on Friday. Instead, I have just been watching TV and basically doing nothing. I was so much into

FooBarMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06389989308408929983noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19677022.post-1138869451549514732006-02-01T23:58:00.000-08:002006-02-02T00:39:55.950-08:00

Recently, I have been seeing some blogs commenting on the impact of blogging on the MBA application decision process. One of the posts on this topic by the folks at allstaressays.com and the other one is by a fellow blogger- MBA Jackass.All this got me thinking.. can blogging lead to a ding?In my opinion, adcoms in general must be pretty busy. On average at least 3 two page essays are being

FooBarMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06389989308408929983noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19677022.post-1138652459053682022006-01-30T11:59:00.000-08:002006-01-30T12:32:52.933-08:00

During the past week, there has been a flurry of activity in the BW Forums about the Stanford interview invitations. The status of my application changed to "Your application is complete and currently under review" about two weeks back. As the invitations started coming out, I went back and read my applications again. Prospective applicants : this is _not_ a good idea because the moment I read it

FooBarMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06389989308408929983noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19677022.post-1138426912364711952006-01-27T20:57:00.000-08:002006-01-31T09:02:38.670-08:00

I have been tagged by IWillMakeIt !!Four jobs I've had in my lifeFrench Fry maker @Steak EscapeRequirements EngineerResearch AssistantSoftware ArchitectFour movies I can watch over and overLegally Blonde 1As Good as It GetsAmerican BeautyThe NetFour places I have livedFort Collins, COCalcutta, IndiaBombay, IndiaCupertino, CAFour TV shows I love to watchDesperate HousewivesMonkThe Amazing

FooBarMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06389989308408929983noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19677022.post-1138159000068043772006-01-24T19:14:00.000-08:002006-01-24T23:33:09.813-08:00

When I first started looking at MBA programs I kept hearing about a good "fit". I honestly didn't know what "fit" really meant. I had looked into the rankings and everything, but I really did not get the "fit" part that people (like alumni) kept talking about. Recently, I attended the Anderson information session and it just hit me that after 8 months of looking around, I guess I have my

FooBarMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06389989308408929983noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19677022.post-1137997178173559092006-01-22T22:09:00.000-08:002006-01-22T22:29:17.070-08:00

I had promised myself a trip to South America if I got into one of the four MBA programs. Since I have the admit from Duke, it is now time to plan my trip.Timeframe- Last week of March 2006 for 8-9 days - Why then? Because ticket prices increase after 3/31 ( or so my research says).Countries:Argentina and UruguayCities in Argentina:Buenos Aires, Salta (?), San Carlos de Bariloche(?)Basically, I

FooBarMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06389989308408929983noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19677022.post-1137821174489422682006-01-20T21:11:00.000-08:002006-01-20T21:26:41.596-08:00

I was driving back to my office after lunch and my cell phone rang. I peeked a glance on the caller id to see the call was from 919-***-****. I knew it was the call from Fuqua. The call was from the adcom and the magic words were spoken - "You have been accepted to Fuqua". I will be getting my admit packet early next week.I was really thrilled to hear this great news and I took an impromptu half

FooBarMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06389989308408929983noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19677022.post-1137693572641089292006-01-19T09:49:00.000-08:002006-01-19T10:02:44.340-08:00

Knock Knock..Who's there?Email...Email from?Email from Tepper inviting you to an interview.That was a _quick_ response from Tepper, considering that the submission deadline for round 2 was 1/9/2006. I did submit my application on 1/4/2006 but I was still pleasantly surprised with the invitation. The interview has been scheduled in Palo Alto on 2/10/2006. It is scheduled to be a 30 minute

FooBarMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06389989308408929983noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19677022.post-1137561640945573582006-01-17T20:38:00.000-08:002006-01-17T21:20:40.986-08:00

The online status of my Haas online application has changed from "Interview" to "File Under Review". I complete my interview today and lets say it was not what I had expected.The interview started about 15 minutes late ( I had checked in 10 minutes before ) and interview lasted exactly 30 minutes as indicated in the email. The interviewer introduced herself ( just mentioned her name and thanked

FooBarMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06389989308408929983noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19677022.post-1137398402278414672006-01-15T23:54:00.000-08:002006-01-16T16:50:49.883-08:00

I have been meaning to take a day off in which I would do nothing remotely related to an MBA. So yesterday, my boyfriend and I decided to do the day in the city. It started with a lunch at Asia de Cuba and ended at the a small French restaurant -Le Metro on Divisadaro. In the middle, we took detours to the Asian Museum of Art and the De Young museum that I had been dying to go to since it

FooBarMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06389989308408929983noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19677022.post-1137095510384116342006-01-12T11:49:00.000-08:002006-01-12T12:31:31.356-08:00

As my interview with Haas approaches, I have been trying to work through my checklist of things to do.I have managed to read the relevant sections of the Montauk book and looked through the typical questions. I also managed to do something that was not a part of my checklist - contact current students at Haas and get a first hand debriefing on their interview experience. Now I have to say that

FooBarMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06389989308408929983noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19677022.post-1136916954165229062006-01-10T10:15:00.000-08:002006-01-10T11:50:52.483-08:00

In a recent post, I had written about the application update email that I got from Fuqua. I scheduled a phone meeting as per the admission committee's request and had a 30 minute discussion on my application. It turns out that the admissions committee feels after review that I may be better suited for the Cross-Continent MBA as opposed to the Global Executive MBA. That's not too bad, but then, I

FooBarMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06389989308408929983noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19677022.post-1136665663308251102006-01-07T12:13:00.000-08:002006-01-07T12:27:47.346-08:00

I took a quick break from my application process after I hit the submit button for the Tepper application. I am not sure that I will apply to Wharton West and if that is the case then I am actually done with my applications. I do have my upcoming Haas interview on Jan. 17th 2006. I really like Haas and therefore I have to start some sort of a preparation. Here is an outline of the steps, I intend

FooBarMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06389989308408929983noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19677022.post-1136508954438144632006-01-05T16:38:00.000-08:002006-01-05T16:55:54.450-08:00

I have got some emails asking about what's this Tepper Flex Mode MBA. Actually it is pretty simple, if you live in the San Francisco Bay Area, you get to attend the Tepper MBA program right from here. The classes are help 2 times a week in Moffett Field,CA and they start at 3:00 Pacific and go up to 7:00 Pacific. Why 3:00 in the afternoon one may ask. It is because the actual classes are being

FooBarMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06389989308408929983noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19677022.post-1136405931927509732006-01-04T12:05:00.000-08:002006-01-04T13:07:10.703-08:00

The Tepper application has now been submitted and I also saw that my recommenders have submitted their letters. I sent the additional documents yesterday and hope that they will reach Pittsburg by Jan. 10 2006.The Tepper application took me the least amount of time to prepare because I was able to rehash most of the material from my Haas, Fuqua and Stanford applications. One of the things, that I

FooBarMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06389989308408929983noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19677022.post-1136225871541221842006-01-02T09:54:00.000-08:002006-01-03T11:18:07.563-08:00

Happy New Year to all my readers. I hope that 2006 brings my fellow applicants the good news in the form of the "divine" phone call from the respective adcoms.I had a pretty eventful 2005. Some of the highlights include- Traveled to London (UK), Prague (CZ), Karlovy Vary (CZ), Hong Kong (CN), and New Delhi (IN)- Bought my new condo ( that included two months of harrowing house searching and

FooBarMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06389989308408929983noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19677022.post-1135841325975735822005-12-28T23:08:00.000-08:002005-12-28T23:29:05.083-08:00

After technical troubles with the Stanford online application system, I finally managed to finish the application. I took the rest of the day off to enjoy some of my remaining vacation time. I will be back at my essay writing tomorrow.I am applying to the Tepper- Flex Mode program and I hope to get the essays done by tomorrow night. That way ,I don't have to tag my laptop along with me to Montana

FooBarMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06389989308408929983noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19677022.post-1135646525482468302005-12-26T17:10:00.000-08:002005-12-26T17:22:05.493-08:00

I am done with my Stanford application BUT I am not able to upload my essays. I was truly hoping to get the Stanford application all complete by today.. But the fact that I cannot upload one of my essays, I will have to try again later, perhaps tomorrow.The Stanford essays were long and I do feel like I have given my best to this application. It has been a long way since I began the GMAT

FooBarMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06389989308408929983noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19677022.post-1135387691848108102005-12-23T17:23:00.000-08:002005-12-23T19:00:40.450-08:00

So I get this email titled "The Duke MBA -- application update" and my heart almost sinks. The most horrible thoughts come to my mind. If this was a good decision then why did I not get a call from the adcom. In any case, I tell myself that I still have some more applications to go and I should focus now on getting them on the mark.I open the email and find that the email is informing that my

FooBarMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06389989308408929983noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19677022.post-1135280307119623862005-12-22T10:18:00.000-08:002005-12-22T11:38:27.176-08:00

Recently, I had an interview with Wharton West. The Executive Wharton MBA program suggests that everyone applying should go through the an interview. The good part of this process is that you don't even have to apply formally and could go ahead a schedule an interview - which is exactly what I did.The interview started off on a fairly positive note for the first couple of minutes and then it

FooBarMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06389989308408929983noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19677022.post-1135146344450366302005-12-20T21:49:00.000-08:002005-12-20T22:25:44.480-08:00

We all plan for the best to happen. In this case, I am trying to put my best foot forward for each application. So far, I have been satisfied with my effort, but the final application decision is not in my hands. Although, I am applying to part-time/executive MBA programs, the competition is pretty stiff. So I have been thinking about my "plan B".I want to move into new market and business

FooBarMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06389989308408929983noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19677022.post-1134974540685034242005-12-18T22:07:00.000-08:002005-12-18T23:40:22.786-08:00

and my Stanford essay A and B are almost done.The Stanford essays were the hard hitting ones for me. I started these essays the week before thanksgiving, and they finally seem like they are "cooked". I tried to be as introspective as possible and that led to a couple of re-writes. I took the advantage of being in the bay area and visited Stanford for three separate events - class visit,

FooBarMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06389989308408929983noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19677022.post-1134691017152056942005-12-15T15:48:00.000-08:002005-12-15T16:00:27.453-08:00

I just got the call from Haas with an invitation to interview. I was in a meeting at work with passionate arguments over future product roadmaps and the works, when I saw the "510" area code. Quickly, I muted my line, went on hold and got the other call. It was "the" interview request.I regret to say that my behaviour now matches the description in MBA Cutie's post. Haas is one of the programs

FooBarMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06389989308408929983noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19677022.post-1134631543756218052005-12-14T23:01:00.000-08:002005-12-14T23:25:43.766-08:00

One of the common things that most business schools emphasize is "the network". Recently, I went to a couple of Wharton Information Sessions for the Executive MBA program. The first time was about a month back and although the presentation was slick, I was terribly disappointed with the Alumni/Current Student panel. The reasons for my disappointment are as follows:The panelists were not good

FooBarMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06389989308408929983noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19677022.post-1134426410859590552005-12-12T14:17:00.000-08:002005-12-13T13:09:08.096-08:00

Every time, I talk to my boss about supporting my part time MBA costs, my manager invariably asks me the following questions/comments- why do you want to apply to Fuqua or Wharton when you can apply to Santa Clara and get the same education- It is not about the brand but how much you can learn.Having worked for about 9 years now, one thing that I can definitely say is that - who you know is as

FooBarMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06389989308408929983noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19677022.post-1134107425718109992005-12-08T21:19:00.000-08:002005-12-08T21:56:16.243-08:00

Although I have already applied to the Global Executive MBA program at Fuqua, I still wanted to go and see the campus and get a first hand "feel" of what the program is all about.Fuqua offers four types of MBAFull timeGlobal ExecutiveWeekendCross ContinentMy main objective in getting the MBA is to get a better cross functional understanding of the business. Out of the 4 programs, my choice was

FooBarMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06389989308408929983noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19677022.post-1134009587395214122005-12-07T18:30:00.000-08:002005-12-07T22:15:19.246-08:00

I have been thinking of starting a blog because I am applying to part time MBA programs. As I finish my applications, I have more time on my hand and instead of waiting for my application results I think this will be a better way to purge my mind. I have been thinking about writing this blog for a while but I have been hesitant because the last time I tried something like this (my personal

FooBarMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06389989308408929983noreply@blogger.com0