Destination B School 2006

Reminder: TokBox Invitation from Ash

2007-08-06T22:01:00.001+02:00

Hello!

I have been using TokBox for live video chat, and I would still like to talk with you. I noticed you haven't signed up for TokBox yet -- maybe you missed my invitation.

I won't send you any more reminders after this, but please join me on TokBox! It's free and no downloads are required -- and you can see me even if you do not have a webcam.

To sign up, go to:
http://www.TokBox.com/view/register.php

When I am online, you can video chat with me by visiting my TokBox:
http://www.TokBox.com/ashwini

See you soon,
Ash Upadhyaya

http://www.tokbox.com
Free video chat with no downloads on any website.

And we are back

2006-10-08T07:43:00.000+02:00

Ok folks, so from now on, I am going to blog atleast once a week about my Stanford GSB experiences. The last few months have been crazy, totally nuts. I was on four continents, 7 countries, and then moved over to the bay area, found a house, got used to sitting in class again…too many emotions…and hence an equal number of blog entries to come…

So over the next few days, please expect the following blog entires

1) Preparation before going to stanford GSB

2) Pre-term (1^st week) at stanford GSB

3) Start of classes and how it is to be back at school after 5 years

4) What makes Stanford the most AWESOME B SCHOOL EVER !!! and the interesting people I have met so far

Cheers

Ash

This is the end

2006-08-07T11:32:00.000+02:00

This is the end
Beautiful friend
This is the end
My only friend, the end
-Mr Mojo !

The last few months have been amazingly hectic. Between finishing things at work, studying for Bschool (did not happen), getting personal stuff sorted out (move, visa, etc), I have not had enough time to blog about anything useful. There is alot to say about
1) stuff to do before going to school
2) logistical stuff to be sorted out
3) initial interactions with folks there...

however, this blog is now officially closed! All new posts on the above topics and my b school experience will be on my new blog (http://gsb2008.blogspot.com)

best of luck with your admissions....I can always be reached at ashblog()gmail(). It has been great blogging with fellow applicants like MBAJackASS, FG, Marina, IWillMakeIt, SoreBrek and others. Time to move on to the new chapter, and hopefully still be connected with the others.

Blog ON!
ash

chat with me?

2006-08-04T11:43:00.000+02:00

so there is this new widget called meebo me....meebo..a company founded by a Stanford GSB student (dropped out to make this company) is cool...nehow...if you see me online (look at the chat box on the right)...meebo me!

ciao ciao
ash

what's ur footprint on the earth?

2006-08-01T17:44:00.000+02:00

So I did this interesting quiz today, to understand the impact of my footprint on this planet.
and I was shocked (also that my lifestyle is much worse than the average lifestyle of someone in NL)
how bad are you?
:)
-aSh

We're Germans: Football play we better than you

2006-07-12T17:27:00.000+02:00

this cracked me up BIG TIME! its better than ask Dr.Z! (http://www.askdrz.com)
gosh..i will miss Europe big time..
ash
****************************************************************
http://www.mundstuhl.de/filme/germans.html

Ref.
We're Germans
Football play we better than you
We're Germans
Hope you like Germans too

1.
Welcome here in Germany
From the Alpen to the sea
In unsern Kneipen you can smoke (in our pubs...)
Lederhos, Oktoberfest (Leather trousers,...)
Unsre Biere are the best (our beers...)
Gebraut nach German Reinheitsgebot (brewed after German purity-ordered)
2.
And we build the better cars
German Wertarbeit nach Maß (value work after measure)
For Example BMV (off : das heißt double U !) (...that means...)
Have the Autobahn gebaut (have built the highways)
And we love the Sauerkraut
Made in West Germany
Bridge
Wir haben die Zugspitze (we have the Zugspitze (highest mountain in germany))
Do you know the Loreley?
Fahr mal auf dem schönen Rhein (have a trip on the beautiful river rhine)
Have a look to Norderney

3.
Germany is total cool
In Köln every boy is schwul (in cologne every boy is gay)
Every German has a Bauch (...belly)
My Oma is German too (...grandma...)
Our cows make also muh
Hämorriden haben wir auch (we also have hemorrhoids)

Zeidan (try this)

2006-07-11T14:23:00.000+02:00

Use the mouse and the left hand side button
<http://widelec.org/zidane.html>

Design your own music station

2006-07-06T10:21:00.000+02:00

I found this awesome site while going through Marina's blog. PANDORA.com (http://www.pandora.com). Simple to use website, just go there, enter the names of artists that you like, and viola it customises a "radio station" for you and plays songs of the group you selected or from groups similar to the one that you selected. And while listening to songs, if you dont like something, just click on the guide button and delte the song....easy...

-Ash

look right (under google ads)

2006-07-05T17:52:00.000+02:00

syndicated feeds of blogs of folks that i read...with their blog entries displayed (sort of stuff you see on admit websites and other pages!)

-Ash
PS: this blog is gonna die pretty soon...September 17th to be axact
from that date on ill be posting my mba experiences on a new site....http://gsb2008.blogspot.com

how to use google reader !

2006-07-05T17:42:00.000+02:00

Screencast on how to use google reader
http://www.sfu.ca/%7Ejtoal/presentations/g_reader/googlereader.html

Hup holland HUP!

2006-06-21T18:14:00.000+02:00

okies..so this is getting intense....last game of round 1....vs. argentina...we gotta make it...just to get some serious confidence going!

came across these cool ESPN ads from a friend's blog site...MUST SEE !

Anthem

Ivory Coast

Sick Days

the human spirit kicks ass !

hup holland hup!

-A
PS: this blog will soon be terminated....new blog for b school being worked on...

Mudwalking in Holland - a must do activity when you visit this country!

2006-06-13T21:16:00.000+02:00

for those who visit holland. Here is the encounter of our experience, mud walking as the north sea receded .

so whats hot on campus?

2006-06-08T09:45:00.000+02:00

According to this article that I read on CNN, undergrads rate apple products (ipod etc) as more "in" compared to beer.
Now when your choices on campus are bud or even better "bud light", honestly, does this come as a surprise? (yes, you guessed it, Im not a bud fan!) Im petrified of going back to college and having to pay huge amounts to drink decent beer (the good news is that carona is cheaper than the netherlands)

among other things, Im beta testing the next Microsoft OS (vista) to be realeased early next year and also have access to outlook2007 and msoffice 2007. A lot of improvements I might add.

But the point which I note is that the company has forgotten everything about innovation. Its all about adaptation now. It has a lot of neat features in it, but none of them are revolutionary or new. they are just amalgamations of great products already out there, cast into the windows OS. Personally, Im glad I sold my MSFT shares earlier last year. Im still a die hard X-box fan though :)

-Ash

how good are the vault guides?

2006-06-04T11:17:00.000+02:00

one thing that i have heard from almost everyone who goes into business school is that one should have enough focus on what they want to do there. You should go in with an open mind, but with some choices in focus, as opposed to hmm..lemme try real estate, naah perhaps FMCG!

to understand more about the choices which intrigue me, namely: Biotech, I-banking, Consulting and venture capital, besides the energy industry (which I am in), I am considering buying and reading some of the vault guides. I have used these guides in the past to get into management consulting firms, but have not looked at industry specific guides.

I went through the vault guide to the energy industry, and found it rather disappointing on the basis of the content. Hence before buying other guides to such as the ones to the I-banking, venture capital and the biotech industry, I was wondering if you folks had any opinions?

cheers
ash

how quaint

2006-05-31T22:03:00.000+02:00

now the first thing I want to say is that is post is not about HBS bashing.
I was reading the clearadmit blog and noticed a statement that HBS was the first school to require a degree for entry.
"Harvard, consistent with its avowed purposes of establishing business as a profession, was a pioneer in requiring a college degree for entrance."

And then I read about this a few days ago, College dropout enrolled at HBS. Now I really dont understand this.
1) How does one get a master's degree without having a bachelor's degree. (and NO, Im not one of those people who is hung up on degrees, but this sounds fundamentally wrong).
2) How can HBS make this claim of firsts?

hmmmm...food for thought!

Cheers
Ash

And now you can LISTEN to my blog or add it to your podcast even!

2006-05-30T10:45:00.000+02:00

I have added a talking functionality to my blog, using talkR. I think its a rather neat utility, it renders the text in the blog in a voice (of a female, I dont think they have more choices as yet). You can also click on the red "talkr" button on the right and add it as a feed to your talkr account, which will allow you to download the feeds from your subscribed blogs as podcasts, which ofcourse you can listen to while driving or riding in the train.

Neat huh? If you are inspired by this and want to start using talkR, click on the other talkR box on the right and subscribe to it. Any money made from referrals will be paid out to charity (that also goes for the adsense money). The sad part is that 6 months later, I have generated only 14$ from adsense, not enough to get the cheque, and hence not enough to give to a charity.

cheers
Ash
PS: it takes some time for the feed to get activated :D

banks and music bands!

2006-05-22T14:24:00.000+02:00

If Banks Were Musicians, Citigroup Would Be Ozzy: Mark Gilbert
funny one i got from a mate today!
cheers
ash

sundowner location with Animals!

2006-05-22T14:06:00.000+02:00

Still hungry?

2006-05-21T19:07:00.000+02:00

The Cheetah run

2006-05-21T18:42:00.000+02:00

As Im sorting some pictures these days from our safari in Aug 2005, Im putting some of the nice ones up on my various blog sites!
this is one of a cheetah off after the lil Thompson gazelle baby (pic below-surrounded by elders). While the elders run, the lil ones hide in the grass to avoid the predator. The cheetah can sustain this run for only 60 seconds MAX! Too bad I did not have a digital, and got only one frame of the cheetah chase !
:(
-ash

The Cheetah from BBC "BIG CATS" documentary

2006-05-21T18:35:00.000+02:00

now that I have finally started to sort out our travel pics (these ones from Aug 2005), there should be some interesting posts. Ofcourse all the travel blogs are going to land up on (http://pooshtravels.blogspot.com), but before i get that blog sorted here are some random smatterings of our travel pics as i sort them out!
this is the famous cheetah "amber", one of the cubs of kike
she is known to sit on the cars for
1) heat
2) better vantage point for a look out
and when she gets pissed, she is also known to climb to the roof of the jeep and piss inside it!
:) fortunately she was on the other jeep and we got some great pics...
cheers
Poosh

Other reasons why B school can be fun !

2006-05-19T11:31:00.000+02:00

So, ofcourse we all rant and rave as to how we will improve our careers and future growth prospects in our essays by writing about the clubs we will join and initiatives in which we will be involved in. We speak about how we will learn from our fellow mates and enrich our lives with the diversity that the college has to offer.

But the one thing that I look forward to the most is an aspect of enriching the experiences of my life, which have absolutely nothing to do with work. Here is a classical example of an event being organised at the Stanford GSB.

I think the opportunity to be involved in events such as this and others (I seen things ranging from "10 days in Gaza" to "diving off Tanzania" to "my arctic journey"), is that I learn new things. things that will may not impact my career, or my plans for global domination (I intend to recreate sun oil and make rockerfeller look like a good hearted man); but these things impact my development as a person and as an individual.

Even though I dont participate in all the clubs, I have seen such interesting posts of events being organised on campus by the various societies/clubs, that its going to be really hard to make choices of what to go to and what not to go to !

the summary...not all choices are made for career and money alone...some of them are made so that we can be more aware human beings (the benefit might be a more humane approach when I become lord and emperor of the world).....but I feel it might make me a more aware person!

-Ash

Jogging down the memory lane

2006-05-17T10:02:00.000+02:00

Breakfast in the bush

Strange tourist with Elephant bone!

Since Im going nuts with Picasa, I thought of posting some random pics from our vacation in Africa last year.
cheers
Ash

www.ilove11.nl - Bar and Restaurant!

2006-05-17T09:54:00.000+02:00

Define modernism

2006-05-17T09:47:00.000+02:00

Random graffiti on a wall in Amsterdam. What does modernism mean to you?
-Ash

Stanford Class visit

2006-05-12T10:26:00.000+02:00

Now this is the kind of visit that one should make before they apply for an MBA program, however given the geographical separation, I decided to visit Stanford as I was in the bay area for some business.

Disclaimer: what follows is the stark un-adultrated truth...some folks will like it and some wont.

I had forgotten the whole concept of carpool lanes and clogged bay area freeways, so I was running late for my appointment. Hence I parked my car in an illegal spot on campus (and did not get ticketed later, something which never happened to me when I had lived on that campus, id get ticketed if i looked the other way) and reached the admissions office. Ofcourse they thought that I was a prospective student initially, but as soon as they realised that I was going to be an MBA1 (first year MBA) starting Fall2006, the red carpet was more or less rolled out. My liason at the MBA office came out and had a chat with me for 15 minutes. Everything about my interaction with the staff had a superb personal touch and I am glad that I chose this school. I was instantly given the admit weekend package (which i missed) and also given an admit weekend shirt, which was a good reminder of what college is all about, collecting free t-shirts at job fairs! :D

So I went for the corporate finance class, my other choice was the supply chain class, but I chose a class, out of my zone of comfort. It was given by Prof. Strebulev and I was extremely impressed with the way he conducted the class.

now here is the deal, all those brochures show spanking new classes, however to my disappointment, the carpets were worn out a little and the wooden chairs (though they were pivoted and one could have fun spinning around em) looked a little rickety. OBSERVATION 1: Im spoilt with those fancy leather chairs in our boardrooms, get back to reality ash !

the professor started off the class with a case study on US Tobacco. This was the first time that I saw the case study method in action. It was extremely interesting and now Im convinced it works. Its a balance of drawing in students, taking short deviations to "teach" things (in this case, he took a break from the case to explain what rating agencies are, and how they function and how many comapnies are rated AAA, what it means, etc) and then came back to the case.

Also, here was a learning, when you are in a class, arranged in a semicircle, the best seats are between angles 60 degrees and 120 degrees. In the other seats (0-60, 120-180degrees), you are usually in the blind spot of the professor and hence even if you raise your hand to answer questions, chances are you will go unnoticed !

the discussion in the class was extremely interesting, though I noticed that the professor chose not to pick on the IBankers, but chose students who appeared to be from a more non conventional background. He even spotted a few students saying "Aaah Mr X, so thats where you are hiding"!

however on the flip side, maybe it was just this class, I was somewhat disappointed with the level of..ummm..errr....the level of "intellectual vitality" in this class....somehow i remembered my masters classes being different, the questions being sharper, the approaches being more radical.....in this class however they seemed to be a very high level of order and chaos was starkly absent!

the other thing i was a little bummed about was that a lot of peope were surfing the internet on their wifi connnections, @45,000 for 3 quarters, 6 classes/quarter, 3 classes/week, 12 weeks/quarter ~ $70/class, and this is just tuition expenses! Thats a lot of money spent to be surfing the internet!....or am i getting old fashioned here???

the aweosme thing was that everyone was in flip flops and most people had shorts...the atmosphere was very laid back !

overall, id give my classroom experience a 8/10, the only downside was perhaps the learning atmosphere a bit, but then again..that was one class..one section on a monday morning ! but it does shed some interesting light on the grade disclosure debate...

lunch in the canteen was good...but expensive $7 bowl of mexican goulash and a bottle of water...but then again..i guess Im spoilt with our subsidised lunches where we have a 3 course meal for 4 euros. however the canteen was teeming just like a pub on a friday night and you could feel the energy among the students....

bottom line..its going to be an interesting two years !

cheers
Ash

and now the sharpened image?

2006-05-11T12:02:00.000+02:00

does it look sharper?
my verdict is YES !
-ash

test of image sharpen

2006-05-11T12:00:00.000+02:00

so im testing this new Picasa software, which I think kicks ass for the novice photographer. Im testing the image sharpening feature. this is the unsharpened image. The next one is sharpened. notice the difference?
ash
PS: this is the boabab tree in Selous Tanzania (also known as the upside down tree)

Test: Random pic from Africa

2006-05-11T09:04:00.000+02:00

to post an essay or not to post an essay

2006-05-04T09:23:00.000+02:00

that is the question !
I have noted that a few bloggers have posted their whole app essays online (I admire them for their bravery, I would not share my childllike writing on a public forum).

But that brings me to the question..is it allright to post our essays online? Do schools have copyright over the stuff that we send to them? Is it safe? Is it ethical?

I personally do not have very strong feelings on this issue. However, I would hesitate to post my essay online on several counts, most of them being related to keeping some rather personal and intimate thoughts/experiences to myself

anyone got any comments on this?
-Ash

The "what matters most" offer !

2006-04-28T13:40:00.000+02:00

The B-school journey app journey has been a tiring one...and one of the key ingredients which helped me survive was the blog community here...and keeping my sanity as I read the blogs of various people and connected with em (so what if I did not make it to the top 10 blogs of the 24 nominated blogs - sour grapes..sulk!)

so to pay back to the mba-applicant blogging community...I am making an interesting offer....to read Stanford essays for next year for 5 applicants, who (if they take up this offer) must:

1) Blog about their application experience (during and after)
2) Promise to provide the same sort of feedback to 5 more applicants the year after
3) Are applying to Stanford
4) Will buy me a pitcher of beer, if they get in !

I will do only upto 3 iterations.
The reason that Im making this offer, is not to compete with admissions consultants (and no I do not aspire to be an admissions consultant or an ADCOM member after my MBA degree - though it does sound like a lucrative business, but my writing skills are far from well developed): I'm doing this to provide feedback (based on what I have learned) to share from my experience, in case you overlooked something.

So if someone wants to take up the offer for these five spots, message me at [ ashblog &t gmail d^t com] and I will post your blog link to my site and will provide you feedback on the app process

cheers
ash

Disclaimer: I am sure that B-school will get hectic, but I will try to mantain a turn around time of 1 week. I will provide only feedback, which may or may not improve the quality of your application. It will be upto you, the applicant, to put the feedback into context with your overall app strategy and do what you think needs to be done. If I do land up working in the Stanford student adcom, then I will not review your app incase I come across it.....
Further, feedback provided my include comments like "barf", "glib", etc...the applicant must have tremendous character to withstand some very honest feedback (blame the Dutch...I lost my political correctness in this country)

Reactions to my MBA admit

2006-04-23T11:59:00.000+02:00

So, it has become official, about me leaving (still in discussion, sabbatical or quitting) and I have rcvd very interesting reactions, most of them being "why", "this does not make sense", "you dont need it" and NOT EVEN ONE positive reaction from work atleast (few positive reactions from friends). But the most interesting reaction that I felt like posting was from a friend (much older, very successful in a tech role) from bay area, who upon hearing that I will be coming back said:

It will be good to have you back in the neighborhood ... even if it does mean you're becoming a Stanford MBA. With luck, skill and dedication perhaps you'll avoid the all-to-common tendency of MBAs to forget everything they once knew about technology and common sense ;o)
Give me a shout when you're back in country... of course we'll never get together as Stanford Biz School folks have time for nothing but studying ... it's not like getting a PhD. in the sciences you know :o)

I really appreciated the frankness of his thoughts, which is why I value him as a friend so much. BUT...i ponder............

Why are b school folks always perceived as zombies of b school mantras? Is that how they are? sigh...i can only hope that these are specuilations, else i need a lot of luck and dedication to avoid that !

cheers
Ash out

How not to get into HBS

2006-04-22T21:28:00.000+02:00

At the start of this post, I must totally admit that this blog entry is inspired by MBAJackAss's blog.

This is was the deal...HBS was my number one choice (tied with Stanford, I thought Id make the choice when I had to cross that bridge, fortunately the decision was made easier when I got my ding from HBS).

On a personal note, I am sorta glad that I got dinged for two reasons
1) Personally I am better off being in the bay area, as my wife is from there. So as I immerse myself into a lot of course work (though I have a feeling that she will be helping me with my cases too), she has her own network of friends and family and does not have to start from scratch.
2) I will not deny that not getting into HBS hurt my ego more, than hopefully my future career prospects and personal aspirations. Everytime in my life when I get too comfortable or cocky, such events happen, and they have a remarkable effect on cooling down my temprament and helping me focus more.

So, going back to profile analysis and why I did not get into HBS !

1) M/28/India (live in The Netherlands) - lots of applicants from this category, infact being of indian ethnicity and this age bracket hurts a little

2) GMAT 720, Undergrad - ChemEng (Bombay) top 5%, Masters - Petroleum Eng (Stanford)GPA:4.0 - I would consider this as a strong part of my app, as I am Indian but not from the traditional IT background, my GMAT percentiles were also reasonably balanced (86 percentile verbal and 90 percentile quant, 6.0 AWA).

3) 4.5 year work experience in the oil business working projects on 4 continents and 9 countries - at the outset, one could take this as a very strong point. However, perhaps the biggest frustration is (and I realised this as I had my mgmt consultant and I banking friends comment on my essays), is that most people dont understand this business, its critical issues (besides gas going to $4/gal) and whats cool here. For example, when I described some "cool" things which I did , most of my friends went...well thats not a big deal. But given that we work in a business with 4-5 other partners (competing oil firms), governments and NGOs, even simple things like agreeing on the route of a pipeline, takes one year and is a significant achievement. Also, trying to communicate the challenges faced by our business, I noticed that a lot of people could not relate to things, as they were "normal" in other businesses.
At the same time, not many people from this business apply for MBA degrees and it should have put me in the category of "novel" candidates (unless they bunched me with the "manufacturing" group)
[To understand this business better, I recommend reading a book called THE PRIZE]

4) Recommendations: reasonably solid. Though I was told by some of my recommenders that they had to talk to some of their counterparts who had mba degrees (as they told me later), because it turns out that:
a) the European style of writing recommendations is very different from the American style
b)European recommendations tend to be more generic
However, I think that my recommenders must have put in EXTREMELY solid recommendations, as I did get into Wharton and Stanford

5) Leadership skills: HBS has a strng focus on this. Since my early days as a student in school to my college days, to my current position, I have held leadership positions and hence was very confident. However in my leadership essay, I described a leadership situation in the oil business, and in retrospect I feel that though it was a really good example of leadership, people unfamiliar with the business could not relate to it (ofcourse the failing is mine, for not being able to understand my audience and cater my essay)

6) The essays: I think this was the most important part of the app for me. And I was always a little uneasy with 1 essay. I think, I nailed all the essays but for the most important one "THREE SIGNIFICANT ACHIEVEMENTS". The biggest mistake I made (or so I think), is that I chose three generic achievements. eg. my time at Stanford and how I evolved then from a student who had just lived in India, not travelled anywhere in the world to a person with a broad view, working and leading different student societies etc. But I get it generic. I put in too many details of what all I did as a student. Similarly for my other achievements, instead on focusing on something specific like ,say delivering reserves numbers for company X in country Y to the SEC, with solid detail of the challenges and what the achievement was); instead I spoke about the achievement over a protracted period of time, with too many examples, and was not able to communicate clearly, what the challenge was in each case and why it was an achievement.
Perhaps that is the reason why, I was not even invited for an interview at HBS. So my advice for essays would be:

1) Understand your audience. When you know that they might not relate to your job/line of work, dont be in denial about it. Tailor your essays so that even a high school student with zero business skills understands what you are tryin to say.

2) Focus your essay topics on specific examples and cases. The problem with being generic is that you may not be able to specify in detail what the problems were and how the solutions made sense

3) Dont shy away from hard metrics. Put in those numbers, eg. as a result of this, company X saved $50 million for the next 3 years

Any comments?

cheers
Ash

Interesting study link for Excel !

2006-04-19T17:32:00.000+02:00

http://faculty.fuqua.duke.edu/~pecklund/ExcelReview/ExcelReview.htm

Stanford Essay A: What matters most and why?

2006-04-17T16:52:00.000+02:00

As a follow on to my previous post, on Stanford Essay A, what matters most and why?

I had promised to post more on this essay, once I got to know the result from Stanford, which fortunately was positive. It is my strong belief, that:
a) This essay cannot be written in one go. It needs several iterations to evolve
b) Stanford is definitely looking for people, who are driven by certain fundamental beliefs and convictions. Deep down inside, I believe, that we all are indeed driven by some beliefs and convictions, and it takes some introspection for us to understand this. I discovered this, much to a pleasant surprise, during the application process (read previous post on this evolved)
c) Be honest, cos if you are not, it will not be your voice, and i honestly believe that a true and honest voice connects better with the reader...

So this is what I wrote in my essay. Because of the personal nature of the essay, I am not going to post the entire essay and shall just post the first few paragraphs. But this is what drives me and forms the basis of my beliefs and this is what I hope to be honest to, for the rest of my life.

I am posting this on the site, to to illustrate that the Stanford Essay A is not about one's writing abilities, but it is all about reflecting on some honest thoughts which drive the individual, and penning them down (sounds easy, but it takes a lot of time).

Cheers and best of luck with future B school apps.
Ash

As a young kid I remember being disappointed in my geography classes to learn that most of the planet had already been explored and that one could circumnavigate the world in 24 hours, unlike the 3 years that it took Magellan’s crew. I have since discovered that the joy of exploration lies in discovering new societies and cultures for oneself; even if the exploration begins by filling out forms in long immigration queues, instead of landing on sandy beaches propelled by winds bellowing in the sails of a wooden ship.
I have found meaning in exploring cultures to discover the ideas and practices that define the fabric of the society. In the process, I try to see how they could contribute to other societies, and help people break out of traditional approaches to embrace change and new ideas.

Hello from Alexandria

2006-04-06T14:47:00.000+02:00

Howdy there !

Greetings from Alexandria...Egypt...the exotic city on the north coast of Egypt...which boasts ruins right from the ancient Greek times to the Romans..to the Pharoahs....to Islamic era....a city of contrasts and a city of delights....absolutely splendid...though nothing compared to the hustle of Cairo (was there last year)....

For those of you who ever travel to Egypt....besides visiting the pyramids and other ruins..id highly recommend looking at the Roman ruins...they are quite pretty...and make sure that you step outside your wonderful hotels and instead of eating....braised duck with mandarin sauce...try some street food...here are some good recommendations...top of the list has to be something called 'Khushari'...its a medley of speghetti..rice..macroni...made in tomato sauce..topped with lentils and baked onions.....served on the side with garlic and hot sauce....mmm.....it totally kicks asss....ofcours then there is the falafel...for those of us in Europe who are used to eating this after a night of getting pissed ...this preparation is starkly different....ofcourse try the stew made with beef and okra....

well....now..im off to sit and soak some sun (desparately need that living in holland)....will keep you folks posted...on the personal front..i find that my negotiating abilties and stakeholder management skills need drastic improvement....3 days on the ship with 8 other family members...and i lost it at the dinner table last night...nice gentle thoughts...nice positive things....

ciao ciao all

ash

radio silence ....

2006-03-31T00:05:00.000+02:00

off on a vacation for the next two weeks....sounds interesting...no really..
im gonna be stuck on a BIG boat with my parents..my inlaws and their parents...wohoo....the nerves on my head are already bulging...the joys of being married....

good luck to all you folks still waiting to hear from some more schools and thanks to others who really helped me keep it together as I was about to fall apart...
cheers
Ash

Notification: Blog Name update

2006-03-30T14:29:00.000+02:00

This is to inform you all, that the name of my blog has changed.
Thank you all, who kept my hopes alive as I was jaded and almost sure that I would not get an admit...
i wish i could write more right now...but im too incoherent..

cheers
Ash

double ding?

2006-03-30T11:19:00.000+02:00

looking at BW week posts....DB has started calling...no call here yet..looks like its over
:(
Wharton or no B school..thats the option to dwell over the next weeks to come....
-A

Ding for dinner tonight !

2006-03-29T19:32:00.000+02:00

though i was expecting this...as i did not get an interview....when i read this....it really sunk in....yes sir....my hbs journey is over...before it even started...i officially suck.....striikkkeee and out !

-Ash out

**********************************************************
Dear Ash

The MBA Admissions Board appreciates your interest in our MBA Program and the considerable effort evident in your application. Unfortunately, we are unable to offer you a place in the MBA Class of 2008.

The MBA Admissions Board carefully and thoughtfully assesses each application. Because of the strength and the large number of applications we receive, we are unable to admit many candidates who have excellent credentials and who demonstrate strong promise for careers in management.

You exhibit many qualities that should serve you well as you pursue your personal and professional goals. Thank you for considering our MBA Program, and please accept our best wishes for future success.

Sincerely,

Brit K. Dewey
Managing Director, MBA Admissions & Financial Aid

the longest night

2006-03-28T22:37:00.000+02:00

if the invasion of normandy by the allied forces was the longest day (day of summer solstice)......and even though tonight is not the longest night (21 dec..in northern hemisphere)...it is sure gonna feel like it...cos DB should start calling folks from tomorrow in principle....
i have been scanning the bweek's stanford board like every 15 mins..so see when the trickle starts in asia and how and when it rolls on..and if im gonna ride that wave of be swept off it (given my performance on the snowboard last week...wipe outs look more likely)...
here are my 5 reasons to be admitted to stanford

1) i know all the bars in the neighbourhood which allow underage folks in..even though we dont need it anymore..those places are fun to hang out in
2) i know the name of the campus mailing list which indicates where there if free food/beer on campus, and i would love to share the resource with fellow students
3) I have three unpaid traffic fines from the campus police...which i would really like to pay off
4) I have a dormant SFCU accont..with a world sum of $14.56 sitting in it...its time i did something with that money
5) I have to introduce the new class to the concept of "full moon on the quad" (even though its only for freshmen)

next 48 hours are gonna be tough...made even more excruciating by the hbs ding...

cheers
Ash out

Gravity is a myth..the earth sucks !

2006-03-27T15:59:00.000+02:00

That's exactly how i felt on the 4th day of my holidays.....while i was coming down a red run....and caught the front edge of my snowboard...

since i have started applying for B schools..this was the first time that I had that soaring feeling...unfortunately it was short-lived and the plummet below was inevitable....six feet high in the air, 4 feet laterally, doing trigonometry for a slope which had an angle of 60 degrees, that's another 7 feet vertically..and hence i came thundering down 13 feet...landing on my left shoulder...crunch....no bones broken..but i cannot lift my left arm ....woohooooo !

so hopefully from the law of averages this week should be nice...given that in the last week i suffered excruciating pain (which was offset by alcoholic binges)...but oh well...so here are the big days

1) 29th March - when I get my ding from HBS....no..im not one of those people who believes in last minute miracles...im a hard core pessimist.....will be extremely crushing as i read the ding (though as of now...it does not bother me)....but somehow I had always wanted to go to HBS (like many other people)....but i guess im not "HBS material".....c'est la vie

2) 30th March...Stanford decision...after my disastrous interview..im really scared...I did my masters (in engineering) there and i REALLLLLYY wanna get back on the farm...as from a personal point..its great too..cos my wife is from there too (she went to cal...hisssssss)...but that makes it easy for us to move back there as we already have lots of friends and family in the area...and our dog loves it there ! but....after my interview....i just dont feel good...

so here it is...the clock ticks...how will i react to my HBS reject...and what will I do if i get another rejection from Stanford...i dont know...but i hope to keep a straight face...as I need to be thankful for getting an admit at Wharton (an equally good school...just in a very cold place...and im getting a little tired of living in cold places)...

cheers
Ash OUT

The story continued!

2006-03-26T13:08:00.000+02:00

A continuation of the story from Riv08....very encouraging to see that Thomas Caleel (admissions director, Wharton), himeself intervened (not offering an admissions, but asking him to contact him and connect with support groups)....

more at :
Riv's Story

cheers
ash
PS: more from snowboarding and a frozen and incapacitated left shoulder to come !

Is this worth it?

2006-03-17T09:33:00.000+01:00

Just saw this string of posts on the Wharton S2S....this is totally psycho !
1) If this is a joke...then it is done in really poor taste and I am glad that such a person has not been admitted
2) If it is real....then...my question is...is it worth it? does an admission to a program define the fabric of our existence? does it define our ability to attain success in our lives? I think not...and sure hope not !

i just hope though that this was a joke in bad taste !
-Ash

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From:   Riv08          Mar-16 8:29 pm
To:     FANATICALFAN (10 of 14)

Just out of curiosity, did anyone commit suicide because of a ding?
One of my friends did over a school admission...well it wasn't Wharton MBA because she killed herself over a rejection from a college.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From:   Riv08 Mar-16 10:47 pm
To:     teladan         (12 of 14)

Unfortunately this is a real story, and this is exactly what I am going to do after this message. It will be all over by midnight.

I perfectly understood that an MBA application required taking a huge emotional risk. I also understood that an MBA is just means to an end. However, I realized that I didn't like the fact that the admissions committee had so much power over my well-being. Many people take the rejection well, and move on. I am not one of these people. Therefore, I will leave. I am just too tired to continue with anything else.

The main reason for this posting is that I want to show the admissions committee how much power they have on someone's life. It hurts to even think that they will continue business as usual. I do understand my life means nothing to many people. Admissions committee, please do know that you can kill one person, even without intention.

I really should not have applied, because on one hand, I do want to continue living. Well, last addition, I already took what I had to take so I guess this is it...no more second thoughts...bye

Edited 3/16/2006 11:21 pm ET by Riv08

Edited 3/16/2006 11:23 pm ET by Riv08
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

And then there was no email!

2006-03-16T15:42:00.000+01:00

And the lord said..let there be light....and still there was no email in the inbox !

I came back from a meeting with the director of my group, after discussing my next career move (which had nothing do to with an MBA, cos in the oil business, we dont like em suit wearing kids from schools with fancy degrees telling us how to run the oil business, just as we ran it since 1838). and there was no email....so i log onto chat and ask people...whatsssup people..no news?

and then masiosa (bless his or her soul says).....check ur application u nit..and im like..yeah sounds like a good idea.... and there it was

Congratulations, you have been admitted to the Wharton MBA program.

best words i read the whole day...now i can go and snowboard in the French Alps tomorrow in peace and get drunk ! just need to load up on my stock of jager .......

AWESOME.............
-ash out

Follow up to previous post

2006-03-14T15:06:00.000+01:00

So I obviously have an extremely brilliant audience who pointed the flaw in my formula. Ash's law stands corrected. Since figures speak a thousand words, here are some figures explaining the various lessons learned.

1) Ash's Law - The visual

Ash's Law

2) Unfortunately MBAJackAss is onto me. It is true that the party at my place did have something to do with what happened to Milosevic. Discretion has never been one of my virtues..and thus......
Mystery Solved

3) My world after 6 Vodka shots...Russian Standard..Platinum...no other way to go!
6 Vodkas Later

Lessons learned over the weekend

2006-03-13T18:05:00.000+01:00

1) Beer + tequilla + Polish vodka + Russian Vodka DO NOT MIX
2) I am 28 now, and not 21 anymore.
    Ash's Law : The ability of the human body to handle alcohol declines exponentially with age.
    Alcohol handling efficiency = 100*EXP(21-age) [assuming 100% efficiency @ age 21]
    PS: for the nerds among you, plot the formula and see how your alcohol handling efficiency is below the age of 21
3) Asprin is not always a cure for bad hangovers
4) Burger king burgers always taste nice when hung over
5) Wearing a traditional Indian outfit to your company's black tie social is not a bad idea ! (makes a statement about who you are, and the cameras on you)

6) Snowboarding indoors on slopes with ice after being hung over is a sure recipe for disaster
7) Going to ballroom dancing after that is hazardous for your health
8) Snuggling up with your dog is the cure for all these symptoms (cant speak about wifey remedies here, she forbids me to speak about her on my blogs)

Finally this post from Dave rocks, especially the stuff done by the Wharton Follies
http://daveformba.blogspot.com/2006/03/terrific-mba-videos-on-lighter-side.html

cheers
Ash

PS: oh crap.....3 more days to Wharton decisions....

thank you all...

2006-03-10T13:50:00.000+01:00

for the wonderful and supportive words in relation to my previous post......gives me good reasons to be happy !
cheers and have a wonderful weekend...for me..tonight is an experimentation in mixing alcohols (again! by now you would think i would have learnt enough)...

-Ash out....

did i blow it?

2006-03-09T17:15:00.000+01:00

i just cant help get the feeling that i blew my Stanford interview...i focused a lot on the why mba question...but not enough on how i can contribute to the Stanford community and the other contributions i have made to the community in the past !

sigh....did i blow the big one? cant help but get that sinking feeling...
i need to mope around in a corner now ...
-A

The overenthusiastic interviewee (the Stanford interview story)

2006-03-07T22:46:00.000+01:00

The day just started off all wrong...two double booked meetings..project manager not elated with my progress towards upcoming deadline...and not enthusiastic about the fact that the other project Im working on is taking my time....I have a course organised on 9th and I had not yet booked the room....etc...etc...

and then I rush up to amsterdam, beat the traffic...find parking (a tough job)...and show up at the interviewer's office...and he shows up and says
"I thought we had the interview on thursday"....i just saw the Stanford dream wither away....!
Turns out..he said....cya thursday at 16:30.....and i read that as tuesday...and i replied...sure ...cu tomorrow... and he did not catch that.. (purely my fault)...anyhow being a nice natured person that he was (or pretended to be)...he said "give me 5 mins to finish up a report I need to send away...then I need 30 mins to go through your resume and collect my thoughts"

I was ushered to a nice room....served coffee/tea/etc and waited for him as i read some papers on some simulation models im working on....he showed up again in 40 mins....as says
"okies...dont worry...dont apologize....better this way....but i have to carry my cheat sheet of questions on me...id normally memorize them..but in this case excuse me"....oh..excuse him...at the moment I felt lower that the tinest microbe crawling on the floor of the office....

he laid out some basic rules
1) Supposed to be 30 min interview - to level the playing field across applicants to ensure that no applicant gets more "air time"
2) He would offer me no feedback after the interview....and he would be informed of my result, one day after I got it
3) He would take notes, but the lenght of them meant nothing..they were to serve as reminders to him when he filled out the whole review later

so he started off with....why my mba....why now?
as i explained my answers (focussing on the requirement of the next generation of leaders at Stanford), instead of asking me "Why Stanford" he asked me "How will you get those leadership skills at Stanford"

He then referred to my resume and noticed a lot of team work...he asked me to elaborate on different situations....he asked me some probing questions on those situations..how did i react...what did i do in specific to earn their trust....would i do the same thing again?

Do i get feedback often? Does it "hurt" when I get feedback? How did i reflect from a personal growth perspective related to that experience....
A few more questions related to the personal issues.....

and then he asked me if i had questions for him
overall the interview was on a very personal level....very touchy feely personal probing questions....i have very mixed feelings about my performace...okies..in all honesty..it was either a 9/10 or a 2/10....only time will tell....

thats it for now..the only piece of advice...dont show up 48 hrs before your interview !

cheers
Ash

its today already ?

2006-03-07T12:56:00.000+01:00

just came back from Houston, got told off by another project manager about commitments related to an upcoming project deadline and suddenly realised....i have my Stanford interview today (3.5 hours from now) ! shitttttttttttt....................

did not get an "prep time" in Houston...though I had done all the basic questions when I was preparing from the Wharton interview...anyhow....1.5 hours driving over to Amsterdam should give me enough time to work through the answers mentally......hope i don't botch this one up....this is the BIG ONE !

-A

............

2006-03-03T15:33:00.000+01:00

small breath in.....small breath out...
nothing interesting to say................

Houston we have a problem !

2006-03-02T00:48:00.000+01:00

I just had to say that as Im in Houston on a business trip...the tough part is to prepare for the Stanford interview when i get back..

I love being in the US for a few reasons...ability to flick through many channels on TV and still listen to the folks speak in english...and ofcourse Im going to eat a big steak tonight at the taste of texas and will go to the rodeo over the weekend....sigh....the life...

im losing hope on HBS...i believe that they have a Paris hub interview on march 16th and i aint seen jack...so perhaps thats written off...

among other interesting news...hmm...driving in houston sucks.....and my gps sucks...it made me drive off from the airport onto the toll road..and i had five different currencies on me but no dollars....so that was an interesting experience...

work is great....but working in a large company is like working for the government....too much beauraucracy..

well...miss my wife and dog...hate sleeping in a hotel bed....

so mixed emotions...but i guess the steak on my plate tonight should make me happy

end of the week closeout!

2006-02-24T18:11:00.000+01:00

phew...this was some week..
just returned from the farewell drinks of a very close friend of mine, hez off to Houston for his next posting...and soon the layer of friends all around are going away (every 4-5 years we move to a new country in our business)....so here is another departure...im starting to feel like the old one now...

this week has its ups and ups but there are some downs too...though im excited about my Wharton interview...im not that confident about the results...and the Stanford interview..i just need to motivate myself more to perform well in the interview...and hbs..i think i have put that story down to rest......

have a great weekend folks ! its the carnival this weekend so enjoy...
ciao ciao
Ash out !

The Wharton Interview

2006-02-23T10:20:00.000+01:00

So...it happened finally...the much awaited Wharton Interview. It was a hub interview in Paris with Marilyn Yakowitz (yes she is the same lady from OECD when you google her name, which is so cool).

I arrived at the office of Bain and Company at 50 Avenue Montaigne (must say its a nice office, could see basilique mont martre and the louvre from the office over the Champs Elysse...ahh the sight) at 8:30 AM (1/2 and hour before my interview). The wait was interesting, as I was reading about the takeover bid by EON and the oil security crisis in Nigeria (in French). I glanced at my watch at it was 9:05....hmmm...running late...got me a little worried..so here is the first tip..if things run over a little...dont get nervous.

She came over an introduced herself and we walked to a small room for the interview. There was some general conversation to begin with. Then she explained to me what the idea of the interview was and what sort of things she was going to be looking for (which was kinda nice) and that we had 25 mins left from that point on.

1) Instead of asking me the "walk me through your resume", she said that it was a pretty standard question, so why dont i talk about my career progress. During my answers, she mentioned some interesting interactions that she has had in the past with my company (in the 90s) and was queried our company's current position on those topics. The cool part of the interview was that she was familiar with the oil business and its challenges so that made the conversation interesting. She asked me something targeted towards my field (and her interest), sustainable development and how i would implement it. I think i could have done better on that answer, since I gave her my current perspective only, as opposed to telling her what I would do 15 years from now if I became a leader in the energy industry

2) Next was, why an MBA....which is standard

3) Why Wharton, and after i mentioned the collaborative environment bit..and that its one of the more transparent B schools..she did chime in...saying thats the same impressions she has had being on the admissions comm. for the last 3 months

4) What is my leadership style

5) quickly (as we were running out of time), Strenghts and weaknesses...

then she asked me if I had any questions...and i asked her some questions which I have been pondering about...
she then gave me her card and walked me out...
phew....i was a little nervous..kept thinking about negatives after the interview...why did i lean back a little instead of leaning forward...aaaah i forgot to tell her about my latest performance appraisal..aaahh..i could have done better on the sustainable development question.....oh well....its over...id give the interview an 8/10..so now just have to wait till March 16th (1 day before the snowboarding week..so a pissup is guaranteed either way)....

thats the interview bit...two more things to add

A] Paris
My wife and I love going to France...the food..the wine..the shopping..the people...the country side....what was interesting on this trip however was the fact that we did it as non tourists for the first time and it was awesome..aalso this being the off seasons for tourists...everything was so not crowded and nice....we just doddled around...ate a lot of pastries and quiche Lorraine (my eternal weakness).....shopped....but here is where i found something interesting not done before and HIGHLY recommended...we went to the virgin music store on champs elysses...now when u r on this street..people goto sephora..LV..huge boss...etc (avoid the gap store)..but the virgin store rocked my world...its HUGE..and they have these cool machines..where you just need to scan the bar code of the music cd and it plays the tracks for you (do i sound like a small town person...but i have never seen that before)....we listened to a lot of old french music...and it was a lot of fun.....so next time you are in paris do that...ofcourse we then went to the supermarket and stocked up on all the cheese and meat (even though we get good stuff here in NL..variety is always fun)

B] Got an interview invite to Stanford today ! :D

phew...hows that for a long post?

cheers
Ash

wharton interview story coming up!

2006-02-22T20:19:00.000+01:00

just came back from Paris after my wharton hub interview...will post the details soon !
:)
-Ash

Few observations

2006-02-20T10:12:00.000+01:00

Today is a day of introspection and observation.

1) the last week was the most hectic week I have had in a looong time. Taking care of friend's dog (black and white dog below), pizza man rings door bell, door opens, dog escapes, manhunt launched, not found, 3 hours later hit by car ! shiiiiittttt...nehow we had to take care of the dog during the week....and now she is ok...and will undergo surgery today or tomorrow to have her hip fixed (thank god for dog surgeons)...

2) work has gone nuts ! going to Houston next week to launch my project...and then back for a few weeks and then off snowboarding in the alps...and then got my project deadline in Oman....how am i going to finish all this with the mba thingie going on...i wonder sometimes..perhaps stop time (this is when I wonder why no one ever made a practical invention from Einstein's theory of relativity)

3) I am now on Hella's list, so perhaps more people come to my blog site..so perhaps some responsible journalism is in order...no more slagging Berkeley people (kidding). Also need to start using spellcheek!

4) Wharton interview this Wednesday in Paris...my wife is excited about shopping..and ofcourse the location had to be near champs elysses :(

5) waiting for news from HBS and Stanford....interestingly enough..went to admissions 411 and noticed that all those folks called for interviews so far are either in investment banking...consulting or in "public management"....sigh whatever happens to us engineers????...

enough moping for now..back to work and interview preparation...will let you know what happens on Wednesday in Paris...

cheers
Ash

my dog ! (left)

2006-02-17T14:57:00.000+01:00

and the winner is...

2006-02-17T14:22:00.000+01:00

me...isnt that truely pathetic....i just had to log onto my page to goto the BW forum and i realise..the winner is me....
so i guess the award still stands...but to user number "1111"
-A

Prize for visitor number 1000

2006-02-17T08:56:00.000+01:00

If you are visitor number 1000 on my website, take a screen capture and email it to me at ashblog@gmail.com and I will send you something nice (no, not porn pics, but something interesting, perhaps even cash)

cheers
Ash

oooppss!

2006-02-15T13:36:00.000+01:00

just realised that my line manager (aka my boss...provider of all good things like my budget and annual ranking) reads my blogs sometimes...

the email that made my heart skip a beat!

2006-02-15T09:09:00.000+01:00

When you see an email from HBS admissions in your inbox, it definitely gets your adrenaline rushing. And then it was the email below....just a process update....oh cruel fate you...nehow i have to prepare for the Wharton Interview (EXACTLY 6 days 23 hours and 53 minutes from now)...and sit back and hope for the interview invites from HBS and Stanford....

sigh...
ash
----------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Ash:

Greetings from Harvard Business School MBA Admissions! Thank you for submitting your Round 2 application. We'd like to take this opportunity to provide you with an update on our admissions process.

Process Update

We appreciate the time and effort you invested in completing the application. Since the Round 2 submission deadline in January, we have been working hard to thoroughly review every application we received.

As we continue to review applications, we have begun to extend interview invitations. We will continue to do so up until the Round 2 notification date of March 29th.

Should you be invited by the Admissions Board to interview, you will receive an email with the subject line: "HBS Interview."

Admissions decisions will be available on the Apply Yourself website at noon on March 29th. All candidates will receive an email communication from HBS on the 29th directing you to the Apply Yourself website to view your decision.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us at admissions@hbs.edu. <mailto:admissions@hbs.edu>

Sincerely,

The MBA Admissions Board
Harvard Business School
Soldiers Field Road
Dillon House
Boston, MA 02163

Phew.....finally! something from Wharton

2006-02-13T21:09:00.000+01:00

Just when I was thinking of how the "ding" letter would be written out, I still had some hope as i was checking my email every 30 mins. And then sitting at the dinner table as I was preparing for a presentation tomorrow, my wife started going out loud
"Dear Ash, your admissions...."...
my heart skipped a few beats....could it be a ding or was it an interview invite? Atleast thats the nice thing of having my gmail activated on her computer too....well..immediately logged into my account, and we had two people sitting in front of the computer with our fingers crossed...my dog joined in too ! :D
the good news....it was an interview invite ! phew........finally....
I know the last few weeks have represented an emotional roller coaster...not just for me but also for a lot of folks around me (and also in the blog world)....so all i can say is...keep the faith... :D
so....9 days to interview....the good news is that we get the day off in Paris! (my hub)..and need to start preparing SOON!
cheers all
Ash out !

here we go again!

2006-02-10T10:06:00.000+01:00

The last 6 days, though hectic (average amount of sleep/night = 4 hours) were awesome....I was in Oman on business there (my 16th trip actually in 4 years now)....the problem was the work was so interesting that i had to work till late in the night to get stuff ready for the teams the next day...however the weather was so nice that after finishing up with my work...id sit on the beach with some mates and drink a few beers and have a swim till 2 in the morning... sigh...we need to move to a warmer country soon...

on the MBA front....still no news from Wharton (assuming a ding sandwich with ding-a-ling sauce to be served soon)...though im not surprised about Wharton...as I do not have some of the "essential ingredients" required by that school.....H/S...now thats a different story...expect to do better there..especially since interview invites have started to trickle in...

so thats that...and back to work now...and its cool..as I am managing a global technology delivery project....because of which I'll get to implement some exciting technology across the whole group....and get to travel all over the world this year...cant complain !

-Ash out

Am i losing it?

2006-02-02T16:09:00.000+01:00

Well...we are into day 11 of the 21 day (working days) in the Wharton process (almost half way). HBS has not yet started off and Stanford has started to trickle in.

And I have almost accepted defeat.....I wonder why ! I do not check my emails with enthusiasm any more...i just feel like im losing hope..even though its not late in the process...and given my app is not that weak (I cannot determine that my app is strong, but its unique atleast - dont see many folks from the oil business who hop all over the world wanting to get into B schools)....

so I need to do something to get myself out of this rut....any suggestions?
the only thing is that Im atleast going to Oman for a week, getting away from this gloomy cold weather...maybe that will lift my spirits a bit...

sigh...
Ash
PS: sorry for spreading the depression...if it exists...

Tagged .....

2006-02-01T13:15:00.000+01:00

For those of you who are unaware, there is a tagging game going on in the community of MBA bloggers. I have been tagged by MBABlogger

Four jobs I've had in my life:
Teaching Assistant - Solar Energy
Gardener
Summer intern at chemical plant
Petroleum Engineer

Four movies I can watch over and over:
Austin Powers (any or all of em)
Godfather (any or all of em)
Monty Python (any or all of em)
Friday (any or all of em)

Four places I have lived:
Palo Alto
Houston
The Hague (Holland)
Dubai (UAE)

Four TV shows I love to watch:
24
Sopranos
Trailer Park Boys
South Park

Four places I have been on vacation:
Tuscany (Italy)
East Africa (kenya & Tanzania)
Oman
Pampalona (Spain)

Four of my favourite dishes:
Pork Vindalo
My wife's mutton curry
La Lanterna's Pizza Mafiosa
Alex's Tarte Flambee

Four websites I visit daily:
CNN
Times of India
Yahoo Finance
MY Blogsite

Four places I would rather be right now:
Selous - Tanzania
San Francisco - USA
Goa - India
Ischgl - Austria

Four bloggers I am tagging:
Dave
RedWolf
LaserLikeFocus
SoreBrek

And Stanford wins.....

2006-02-01T09:21:00.000+01:00

Based on the poll conducted on my website...and based on the visitors who answered it...STANFORD wins....
new poll of the week...to the right !
cheers
Ash

Are you feeling lucky ?

2006-01-30T10:53:00.000+01:00

Google in China

What does the Chinese new year hold for you?

2006-01-27T16:55:00.000+01:00

Spin the wheel below and find out your Chinese horoscope for the new year (this weekend) !
cheers
Ash

http://www.discoverhongkong.com/eng/interactive/horoscope/index.jhtml

and now I suddenly feel the urge not to pursue an MBA......

2006-01-27T14:08:00.000+01:00

well..not really....especially given the fatalistic name of this blogsite (bschool or bust)...
the thing is that I had a chat with the director of my group yesterday and he was like....work now...when the mgmt opportunities arise (and they will for me...pat pat)....then go to schools like IMD HBS Stanford for exec-ED courses to complement your knowledge of things...I can say that the ability to avoid poverty and go back to school for two years did seem tempting...but this offer did not give me the main things that Im looking for in a B school

1) Opportunity to expand my horizons
2) Learn from a diverse cohort of peers
3) Indulge myself in some flights of fancy and ideas about concepts, companies and projects
4) drink beer in the middle of the week

So...im still rather fatalistic about my blog site ! but will i get the coveted interview invite ?????? Im beginning to get a little nervous now (even though its still very early in the game.....)

-A

National Bravery awards: when was the last time that you wrestled a tiger ?

2006-01-26T13:02:00.000+01:00

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/msid-1387526,curpg-5.cms

Do you folks have a comment on this? (from BW forum)

2006-01-24T17:38:00.000+01:00

STANFORD - Local, YOung White joes with HIgh GPA GMATs
Wharton - Indian, Young and Old leadership, community types
Hardvard - Chinese, politically correct quals - right chemistry in age/work ex/college education (read liberal arts)

-------------

odd selection: more like
S= p.c. essay A plus stats
H=leadership and age/work window
W=career progress+stats+ comm service, and absolute touching of correct buttons on essays.

New poll

2006-01-24T13:28:00.000+01:00

Just to get an idea about the folks who frequent my blog. The order of the schools is purely coincidental.
VOTE ON RIGHT PLEASE
cheers
Ash

Interesting posts on interview invites for R2 from BWeek forum [HBS+Stanford]

2006-01-24T09:54:00.000+01:00

*******************************************************************

From Sandy - for HBS
FIRST DRIBBLES: FEB. 2 OR SO [MARGIN OF ERROR 3 DAYS EITHER WAY]

THE BIG SQUIRT: FEB 5-MARCH 5[MARGIN OF ERROR 5 DAYS EITHER WAY]

SLOPPY THIRDS: MARCH 5 TO D-DAY, MARCH 29.

If no interview by Ground Hog Day-means nada

If no interview by Valentine's Day, keep the faith

If no interview by Ides of March, start to worry

If no interview by March 15th: in 9 cases out of 10-- UB TOAST

internationals might be a bit later in the pack in the early dribble stage, as HBS works out kinks of when it is doing e.g. alleged India hub interviews, or actually arranges all hub interviews but puts phone interview invites [often internationals] on hold, after that, not much dif.

******************************************************************

Approximate Interview schedule - for Stanford

Round 1 Early November - Mid-January

Round 2 Mid-January - Late March

Round 3 Late March - Mid-May

If you are waitlisted without an interview, you will be interviewed after you accept your place on the waitlist.

According to the Admissions411 Data, the admission invites didn't start until a full month after apps were due (first posted invite = Nov 19, Apps due = Oct 19). If the pattern holds, no one one should expect an invite for another week.

Another look at the Rd1 data seems to show they send out most invites mid-week:

Monday | * * *
Tuesday | * * * * * * * *
Wednesday | * * * * *
Thursday | * * * * * * * *
Friday | * * * *
Saturday | * *
Sunday | *

I love Admissions411. More people should post to it.

And now a podcasting site for MBAs !!!

2006-01-23T15:25:00.000+01:00

http://www.mbapodcaster.com/Podcasts.asp#Ep3

and here come the invites....

2006-01-23T11:57:00.000+01:00

TOO BAD I DONT HAVE ONE YET !

tracking folks on the mba discussion boards on BWEEK (links on the right panel), I have noticed that Wharton has started to send out invites. Since I have decided to spend my nervous energy on useless correlations (I work in exploration, hence I extrapolate results out of one or sometimes even zero data points)

1) I don't have an invite as yet because I'm in the "special" applicants basket, and they are worsmithing a glowing invite letter for me

2) My app has dazzled the readers and hence they are unable to act out of sheer sense of being awed and overwhelmed
3) Someone dropped ketchup on an important part of my app and that never got read
4) The dog ate the application
5) Since my name (real one) is difficult to pronounce, they don't want to send me an invite out of the sheer embarrassment of not being able to pronounce my name at the interview

OR im just thinking way too much...and should shut up..work...and wait !!!!

-Ash

Do members of the ADCOM read blogs?

2006-01-21T10:57:00.000+01:00

Im wondering about this bcos I have seen people post some interesting (and honest) comments and then deleting them later, perhaps thinking...aahh..what if someone read that...it might change their perception of me?

SO THE QUESTION IS: do ADCOM members read student blogs and does it influence the decision making process?

In principle, members of the ADCOM should not be influenced by what they read off the net. But here lies the dilemma, some of us are rather honest on our blogs and that offers more insight into who we are. My blogs reek insecurity on occasions (which might be percieved negatively by someone). Not all blogs are anonymous (mine isnt!), and thus it is easy for someone from the adcom to trace my app. Hence, if a member of the adcom comes across my blog, should he/she take it into consideration? (after all, this site represents another data point). Could his/her judgement be influenced (negatively or positively) by what he/she reads?

Given that ethics is (and should be) a strong focus in b schools, should adcom members take into account what they come across (perhaps accidently) on our blog sites or in the spirit of neutrality not even explore this domain?

Perhaps I have not been very coherent about I am trying to say, but if someone understands what I trying to say, Id really appreciate some comments. How open are we all / how open should we all be on our blog sites?

cheers
Ash

My take on HBS essays

2006-01-19T09:58:00.000+01:00

Well, this was the most fun part of the application process (up there with Essay A).
Seven essays asking you about various aspects of your life, but giving you not enough space (or so I thought initially). So how what was my strategy (again the disclaimer: I'm a R2 applicant and not yet rcvd. an interview call or an admit).

1) Start with the "important" essays - Leadership story - 3 accomplishments and Why HBS. I also bought this book from Amazon: 65 successful HBS essays. Gave me a great idea of what HBS essays are like.

HBS ESSAYS BOOK

2) HBS is definitely looking for leadership (which is an aspect of the school i like, as there is a huge leadership lacuna in my business ). It is important to highlight this trait in you, in some manner in all the essays that you write. If you refer to the letter which HBS sends to admitted students (read below, I got this from a BW forum), you can note that it welcome the future leaders on campus. This is the trait that DEFINES HBS and you should weigh your options about whether you want to pursue that belief (I do!).

3) Though this advice might be hard to digest, pretend that there is not word limit on these essays. Pour your heart (and head) out in the initial drafts and DO NOT focus on your wordcount.

4) Once you done that, start distilling out the less impactful/useless components of the essays. Use friends and family to get verbosity of the essays under check. For instance, I reduced my wordcount by appx. 20% using the wonderful English language skills of my wife, did not change content, just trimmed the fat.

5) Try to break your essays into 4-5-6 paragraphs. do not have 400 words put out in two or three paragraphs. I just believe that it makes the reading easier.

6) remember, you know your work well, the other person does not. Avoid using company/professional jargon.

7) Ensure that your essays have your touch. Breathe some passion into what you write.

8) What does one feel after reading the seven essays. Do they read like 7 different chapters of the same book or do they read like seven different books? One should avoid the latter.

When I started off, I thought that 400 words could not be enough to convey things I wanted to say. At the end of the process, I was amazed, how 400 words is ALOT of space to say what you want to convey. My tendency to be verbose (espoused by my past belief that more words = more content = better results) was conquered while writing these essays.

Any other thoughts/comments?

cheers
Ash

HBS Admit letter from the BW forum
(if I am violating some copyright law, please inform me and I will take it off)

Dear Ms. xxx:

Congratulations!
On behalf of Harvard Business School, I am delighted to offer you
admission to the MBA Program. Your admission recognizes your outstanding
record of accomplishment and your potential for future success.
Each year, the MBA Admissions Board selects a class from among the
brightest and most accomplished young individuals in the world. We
aspire to find leaders like you who have the highest standards of
integrity and who understand that leading is a privilege.
The Harvard MBA Program offers more than just an academic degree; many
find it to be a transformational experience. By immersing yourself in
the case study method, and by working with distinguished faculty and
students, you will teach others as you learn. You will build deep,
practical knowledge while developing your leadership capabilities. In
joining our community, you will become part of an influential worldwide
network of alumni who will support you throughout your life.
We hope that you will accept our offer and want to make sure that you
have all the resources you need to make this important decision. Our
Prematriculation Web site will be your main source of information over
the next few months. It will direct you to key activities that will help
you learn more about HBS, such as Admitted Students' Weekend; in
addition, it highlights key requirements and logistics related to
joining HBS. You can immediately access the Prematriculation Web site by
using your username: xxx, email domain: mba2008.hbs.edu, and password:
xxx.
Your offer of admission is exclusively for the MBA Class of 2008,
entering in 2006, and it is contingent upon the verification of your
transcript(s), verification of your employment history, a signed copy of
"Joining the HBS Community" (a document that highlights our Community
Standards), and a tuition deposit.
We believe that you have the potential to make a real difference in the
world and hope that you will decide to become a part of the Harvard
Business School community.
Sincerely,

Brit K. Dewey
Managing Director, MBA Admissions & Financial Aid

Stanford/HBS R2 interviews?

2006-01-18T12:39:00.000+01:00

when can one expect them? when should one expect to start hearing about them? since they have not mentioned anything like Wharton about dates, Im curious.

any comments?
-A

Mixed feelings about my blog

2006-01-18T09:20:00.000+01:00

So I decided as a new years resolution to blog my Bschool experiences for two reasons
1) To help other folks out there, share and learn from my experiences, since I benefitted alot by reading other folks blogs
2) To serve as an outlet of the nervous energy building up in my system

Two weeks later, I have mixed feelings. While I have had some good comments on my blog, I somehow feel that Im not reaching out to enough people, or if I am, for some reason the number of comments on my site are low. Makes me wonder why?

Any comments? or am I speaking into space again?

cheers
Ash
PS: the stats of the week look like this....

Im going nuts! how are the R1 applicants handling it?

2006-01-17T16:49:00.000+01:00

Not even two weeks since I have submitted my apps and Im a bundle of nerves. Wonder how the R1 applicants are handling things with results coming out over the next two days?

-A

A hotel in a harbour crane, a lighthouse or a rescue boat

2006-01-17T10:17:00.000+01:00

A very interesting recommendation from a colleague of mine, why not spend a night in a rescue boat or a lighthouse or a harbour crane, refurbished as a hotel for the night?

sounds awesome ! doesnt it? click on the link below and be amazed ....and if you are visiting NL sometime add this to your list....lonely planet...you listening ????

http://www.vuurtoren-harlingen.nl/eng/index1.html

cheers
Ash

The Wharton application Story

2006-01-16T13:49:00.000+01:00

For those of you applying to the H/S/W trio, I would definitely recommend beginning with the Wharton essays. They should serve well to help you structure your thoughts and accomplishments.
The problem that I found with the Stanford essays was that there were just two of them, without any word limits. So there was no end to my ramblings (and yes I do ramble a lot when not controlled). So I rambled for 10 pages in my Stanford Essays, talking about everything from my wife to my dog and ended up by writing something about my MBA aspirations. The issue with the HBS essays is that 400 words is too short (or so I thought to begin with, 3-4 drafts later, 400 words seemed to be the right length).
I stopped working on the H/S essays and focused on the Wharton essays because the topics helped me focus better and the wordcount of 500 was somewhere inbetween the two limits. This helped me a lot.
Common things that I learned while writing in the essays
1) Slot in the metrics. Don't talk about your projects, etc in intangible terms. Write the project value, mention the cost saving or increase in revenue due to you. USE those METRICS to highlight your achievements.
2) The focus is on you. Ill give an example for the HBS "undergrad education" essay1. Initially I wrote, Prof. XYZ organised alot of lectures from leading industrialists to ensure that we learned about the experiences of setting up industries in an emerging economies ======NOW READ AS======> I learned a lot from lectures organised by Prof. XYZ from leading industrialists on key traits of entr.....
notice...the focus on the apps is on you...not the situations around you...but on more on how you reacted/imbibed from them
3) Use the active voice if possible. eg. I was selected for the diversity team ===NO READ AS====> I volunteered for the diversity team. (both these are true), but the active voice sounds better
4) Dont just mention facts and events. Try to weave them together into an interesting story.
5) HAVE A THEME/RED THREAD through all your essays: make sure that your essays are not disconnected from each other, but they are well linked.
Eg. in my case, I want to bring changes to the oil business in its approach to a few technical and management practices, that forms the basis of my MBA aspiration (read older entry on why I want an MBA), and that was my red thread coupled with my international experience (in 28 countries).
6) Do not use company/professional jargon: Assume that the person reading your essays knows nothing about your job and try to get that message across. All people do not know what MS&E and PE means.
7) be yourself, be honest (do not misrepresent) and ensure that your essays have your flair. eg. a feedback from a friend of mine was that initially my essays were stiff (much like my posts here), and they lacked the "ash touch", the ash who likes to party with mates, watch B rated Hollywood movies (like big trouble in little china), is intensely passionate about his work for its social ramifications, who has travelled 28 countries, and i made sure that my essays represented my "voice"

any comments ?

cheers
Ash

What is a Wiki?

2006-01-14T15:37:00.000+01:00

so I have been reading the ClearAdmit wiki for the last few days. And i was pondering on why they called it a wiki !!! (ofcourse at this point wikipedia did not pop into my mind)

And then i read this entry on what a wiki means.

Wiki is a piece of server software that allows users to freely create and edit Web page content using any Web browser. Wiki supports hyperlinks and has a simple text syntax for creating new pages and crosslinks between internal pages on the fly.
Wiki is unusual among group communication mechanisms in that it allows the organization of contributions to be edited in addition to the content itself.

Interesting isnt it? Gosh working in the oil business I feel so removed from things out there. When I was in college, I was so on top of these things and now I feel like a rusting person.....
note to self: cant rust no more ! Nehow I think that CA's wiki is quite interesting and I would encourage you folks to contribute to it.

cheers
Ash

PS: anyone know of good tech podcasts I can listen to (driving to and back from work) to ensure that Im not "wikied" the next time !

My Stanford Essay A journey : what matters most and why?

2006-01-14T11:57:00.000+01:00

Each essay written over the last 3 months was a lot of fun, insightful and allowed me to discover more about myself. Perhaps the most difficult/revealing/introspective was the Stanford Essay A. Ofcourse, I am still in the Stanford appplication cycle and I have not yet been invited for an interview, so these are my thougts, without any associated "success".

I read the essay topic, 3 days before going to Africa on a holiday. This was the best thing that happened to me. In Africa in the midst of the wildlife and the stunning setting with my wife, I started to distill and piece together elements of my life with a view to understand "What matters most and why?"

Now here are my thoughts

1) Reaction 1: My wife edits and provides me feedback on my essays. So obviously I was inclined to write that she matters most to me, to ensure the continuity of my marriage. However, one thing became obvious, I am not sure that I could get into Stanford professing my love for my wife (though surprisingly, later I did figure out how she fits into the cosmic sense of things of what matters to me).

2) My first drafts were based on what I thought I wanted Stanford to hear, a bloke, grew up in one part of the world, studied in another, working in all the other parts of the world. Sounds good right? Well the answer was NO ! When my wife read that essay, she said, "THATS NOT YOUR TONE AND VOICE" (so heed to the advice of asking your friends and relatives, does that sound like me)

3) I wrote 4 different drafts, with a new (slightly modified theme) each time. Eventually it happened. What matters most was always clear to me. However, when I started penning it, I was overwhelmed by an urge to please the adcom, I felt the need to be literally profuse and I felt the urge to sound "unique". That was the problem. And I knew it was a problem because after each draft I was uncomfortable with "voice" of the esssay.

4) I then scarpped all my drafts and wrote the most interesting events(note not SIGNIFICANT or ACHIEVEMENTS)in my life to date, including my family, friends, studies and work. Put them on yellow stickies on a wall. And then I could see the thread, because deep down inside I am driven by certain beliefs (which I will post once Stanford tells me whether Im in or not), and these beliefs drive me personally and professionally.

5) I put this belief down in an essay, without trying to impress the adcom or myself even. It was more like "Hi ! Im Ash. This is what I have done and what I like because....Do you think I'll fit into your community?"

It took me 3 months to reach my final draft, but when I read it, the tone was me and I felt truly honest about everything that I wrote.

Any comments on what you did for essay A?

cheers
ash

why are there so many bay area bloggers?

2006-01-13T14:27:00.000+01:00

Reading several blogs of folks over the last few days, I realised that there are loads of em from the bay area. Makes me wonder why?
Too bad when I lived in that area (4 year ago), the did not have blogs then. But Im intrigued by the proliferation of blogs from there...
-A

Interesting article on B School rankings

2006-01-13T08:48:00.000+01:00

was looking around for something on Stanford (my dream school, cant wait to get back on the farm again), and came across this VERY INTERESTING article, about B school rankings (a personal ranking done by the author, takes a good shot at BW).

If you are bored, this should be amusing.

cheers
Ash

Who am I and why do I want to do an MBA?

2006-01-12T10:42:00.000+01:00

I got an email from someone out there (which is encouraging to hear that Im not rambling alone and that atleast a few people read my blogs), asking me, who am I and why am I considering an MBA?

About me:
Ash
Male
28 yrs old
Married w/ wife
Have a dog
Love fusion cooking
Can read palms of women (men..only when im not drunk)
Born in India
Undergrad in India
Masters Stanford (CA)- college beerpong champion
Working and living in The Netherlands for 4 years now(and yes I speak some Dutch)
Most of my business in The Middle East, US and CIS countries
and I do eat cows (not Indian cows though)

Why do I want an MBA
It took me two years to arrive at this answer. And I need to thank my wife for this as she pushed me out of my comfort zone, where I have a decent secure job where I am reasonably recognized.
Im in the energy business. In this business people do not react kindly to MBAs, infact they are generally distrusted. However, this business has perhaps the most archiac management techniques you will ever come across (which can also be a good thing sometimes). Bottom line is that I see enormous amounts of inefficiency around me, in terms of investment decision procedures, organisational set up, management procedures, etc.

Doing an MBA will not impact my salary at all, infact it will hurt me a little, as I will miss out on two years of "seniority" (the structure in oil companies is very much like civil service), but I am driven by the belief that an MBA will broaden my horizons and allow me to be extremely efficient (and hopefully revolutionary - power to the people) when I return to this industry, a few years later.

so my reasons are
1) bring about some fundamental change in the way the energy industry works by learning about management procedures and tools
2) Sharpen my wits - i would like to spend some time with people from different fields and hear their views and basically sharpen my wits by immersing myself in a pool of extremely smart and ambitious people
3) build a network - I already feel connected to a few people out there, and Im not even in Bschool. Im sure networks help a lot
4) Sample something different out there, just in case I feel Im better at something else (GOOGLE watch out)

So these are my reasons. What are/were yours?

cheers
Ash

how often do you check your app status?

2006-01-12T10:41:00.000+01:00

I just wanted to check, how many of you are obsessive compulsive like me? I have been checking my app status atleast twice a day, sometimes even on weekends for Wharton, even when I know that they wont send out interview calls before jan 19 (assuming I get one, forget getting one on the first day). I know its wierd and hence I confess to doing it. How many of you do the same?

cheers
Ash

IMD

2006-01-11T21:13:00.000+01:00

IMD - started exploring this school as Im also considering a European MBA! I am quite attracted to their program. Need to explore this some more. Have asked for an alumni listing. Any comments folks?

cheers
Ash

uggh

2006-01-11T21:12:00.000+01:00

Re-read my essays today....big mistake...they did not feel as awesome as i felt them to be when i wrote them...bottom line is..the application has been submitted...no point reading it all over again and stuff like that...let it be....

sigh
Ash

why he fears rejection? and why do i?

2006-01-11T16:25:00.000+01:00

I read this blog on Murlov's site WHY I FEAR REJECTION

An amazing thing to read, though I must confess Murlov, I am not convinced with the answer. I have two reasons why I fear rejection

1) Internal belief in my own abilities: each success serves to boost my confidence in my abilities and I use success to feed my aspirations/desires. Hence I am fearful of failure. I know that the reason is not good enough, but thats how it stands.

2) External perception: perhaps this is where my shallowness surfaces. I am scared of how my failure with impact people's perception of me. "Inspite of all what he did, he never got into HBS". "Not Stanford material". This part worries me the most that I am concerned about external perception. Must work on this weakness of mine

Perhaps over the coming months, I will get to develop more ideas and views on this topic, but I will keep this thread alive. Post your feelings here?

-A

Some info on preparing for the GMAT

2006-01-11T13:38:00.000+01:00

Here is what I think of GMAT, or so I have learned....I may stand corrected.

1) A good GMAT score helps, but does not ensure that you get into a good B school. I know folks with GMATs ranging from 760-800 who have been rejected from B schools. B schools are looking for the overall package and the GMAT is only one element of that package.

2) A bad GMAT score may hurt, again they are looking for ur ability to handle the course load of B schools. A good GMAT score coupled with good grades indicates your ability to handle this workload. However a "bad" (define bad, for Indians a 710 might even be a "bad" GMAT score) score might be overcome by providing other evidence of analytical and quantitative ability.

I spent something like 2 months preparing for my GMAT (typicall 1 hr/day, and did a few practice tests). Initially, my scores were not improving and the verbal section was not going so well. Also the quantitative section was not great because of stupid mistakes. Here are the tips which helped me get a 720 on my GMAT.

1) I read this blog on Dave's site. This is where I discovered the world of online blogs and this helped me a lot in my admissions process (far from complete). Scroll to below on Dave's site and read about the article. Also on the side bar, refer to the GMAT stories, including this dowload. 700+stories

2) I used the GMAT CLUB

3) The Testmagic Forum had good articles and discussions.

4) Finally I have posted documents that I used a lot on my Yahoo briefcase site. Since I cannot publically share that information, please send me an email at [ashblog -AT-gmail.com] and I will send you the documents. Also suggestions on how to share documents on the web are welcome.
EDIT - Okies so I have put all my stuff on this esnips site!

The bottom line is, GMAT was all about nerves. In my preparation, it was important for me to understand where I was making mistakes and work on it. For sentence correction, I had to understand the different question types and that helped a lot. Finally, do not loose your cool. At the end of my GMAT test, I almost felt like cancelling my score. I am glad that I did not as I got a 720. So the bottom line is, READ BLOGS, WORK ON A STRATEGY, DONT LOOSE YOU COOL and you will do great.

cheers
ash

Calling all passengers: B School 2006 has started checkin

2006-01-08T22:04:00.000+01:00

Howdy to all you folks out there !

I have used the blogs of many folks over the last fed months to prepare for my GMAT and my Bskool apps.

Having applied to H/S/W, R2, I join the huge number of hopefuls out there trying to get into B schools.

On an interesting note though, I do not feel competitive with the people trying to get in. Its rather strange that via this blog, I feel connected with some of these people, even though I have not emailed them or spoken to them, or even met them. But reading their journey, listening to their hopes and fears and aspirations, I can connect with them, and do not feel like a dork anymore.

So as I wait for interview calls, admission letters (hopefully), I have decided to bare my thoughts and the milestones of my journey on this blog. I have benefitted a lot from the blogs of people out there and the least I can do (whether i succeed on getting into a BSkool or not) is to put my thoughts and views on things.

hope this helps

Cheers
-A