Isn't it boasting

I started to read essays of successful candidates from various backgrounds who got admitted to different schools. Some of the essays are really well written. The moment i read them, i felt like.."Yeah. i should admit this guy". They have a clear vision (at least looks like) of what they want from their MBA. Their long term and short term goals are clearly laid out. They know what they want from that particular school and how they are going to contribute to that school. All their accomplishments are deftly interwoven with lucid explanations. Some start their essays with catchy statements and for some its bland. Nevertheless they filled their essays with interesting anecdotes and crafted a beautiful story.

BUT, there is something which i felt is awkward. Plainly most of the statements in their essays looks like a total boasting. Here are the few sentences which led me to make this statement...

- I did everything from managing campaigns, schedules and marketing. (What does it sound like, if you say you did everything?)
- I am responsible for motivating, empowering, creating team structure and ensuring quality delivery to the client. (Not too much, but sounds like a little show-off)
- I am an industrious and ambitious person who is not afraid to challenge the status quo. (I think it is better to tell the adcom that you are industrious and ambitious by providing them with real life examples, rather than simply making a direct statement that you are industrious and ambitious).
- I am an accomplished multi-tasker who will fit seamlessly into X and can enrich the environment with my maturity, enthusiasm, problem solving ability blah blah blah...

There are many others but i forgot them. It was told many times by sages that mba essays are nothing but marketing yourself. The lesson is "it is better to boast rather than being humble".

Notes:
1. After reading these essays, i am clear with one thing, you can't write your essays in a day or two. Like i read in one of the blogs that you should write your essays daily (atleast for a one to one and half months). You never knew when you will be hit a kickass idea.

2. When the essay question is about the long term and short term goals, many of the applicants wrote their long term goal first and later explained their short term goals. Is it a norm or some kind of strategy. I don't understand this.

Burning Hole in the pocket

Its well know fact that mba is a costly affair. And the whole application process is of no exception.

Gmat - $250
Toefl - $150
Extra score reports - $25 for each school.
Application costs - it varies from school to school and on an average it costs around $170 for each school.
Random list:
Duke (fuqua) - $185
Ross (Michigan) - $180
Darden (Virginia) - $190
UNC (kenan flagler) - $130
Emory - $140

Very few schools charge absolutely zilch for the application. If you are planning to apply for 6-8 schools in total, it will cost you approximately $1.6k to $1.8k. Feeling the pinch? I must admit that its nothing when compared to tution and living expenses. I excluded the amount that we spent for prep books and prep course (if you are taking one). If you are planning for school visits, then travel, hotel and other miscellaneous costs will come into picture.

Red herring:
Check this out: AspirantHunt
I find this site helpful for school research to get quick facts. I dont say that it is THE BEST, but it will help us to a certain extent.

How does it work ? (source: aspirantHunt)
You as an MBA Aspirant, first need to register on our website and then have to fill your professional profile including your Gmat score and Essays. Representatives of school can search aspirants based on parameters like GMAT Score, Number of years of experience, Gender or Country they belongs to and more. While viewing your profile, They can also view your essays in advance to learn about your leadership potential, management skills and more…. They will encourage you to officially apply to their school if you are one of the potential candidate for their school.

I can share my gmat and other details. But sharing essays? hmmm.. i am not sure..

Race against time

I'm trying to figureout how the forthcoming months will be for me with gmat, essays, recos and finally office work and travel over my head. It seems a little daunting and feel the situation is something like 'Too many things to do and too little time'. Apparently, the mantra is to prioritize and just move on.

Few of the bschools have posted their deadlines and the few have their essay questions out. Some of the fellow bloggers have started identifing recommenders and few started to work on their essays and the rest are busy researching schools. But my path is not a bed of roses. Unlike others who first get rid of gmat from their way and start focusing on other aspects of application, i on the othehand have to do gmat prep, school research, recommendations and essays simultaneously. A real test to my multi-tasking skills.

Here is the plan of action for the next few months.

June - Quite eventful month, i must say. Intensified my prep in the last days and gave gmat, though i didnt get the desired score. May be i underestimated gmat or..ok whatever.

July - Enjoyed vacation. Now i'm back to den, but yet to start gmat prep for retake.

To do: Schools research and my inevitable office work.

August - To do: Retake gmat and finish it forever. Finalize the list of schools for R1. Inform recommenders about my plans and ask for recos.

September - Its essasy's time. Writing rough drafts and revamping them till we get a master piece. To do: Make sure that recommenders are doing their job.

October - Some schools have their deadlines in the second week of oct itself and few have deadlines in the first week. Its time to submit my first application.

To do: Redraft essays and make a final version of them. Send them to few close friends for reviewing. Ensure that recommenders are submitting the reco's in time. I don't want to face the tense moments in the elventh hour.

November - Few schools have deadlines in Nov.

To do: Finish with all most all the R1 applications.Start researching schools for R2. Pray to god and wait for some interview calls. If we get one, start preparing for interviews. Thank recommenders for their time and invaluable support.

December: Wait for interview calls, research R2 schools. Identify mistakes we made in R1. Reform your essays. Still no interview calls. Dont panic. Try putting one or two safe schools.

January- Submit all your R2 applications. Thank recommenders again for their support. Wait for interview calls. If you get one then all your time will be sucked for interview preparation which is worth spending.

February- Its waiting time. May be we will get results for all R1 schools and interview calls (if any) for R2 schools also. Prepare for inteviews.

March - Still no admits after interviews (yeah, sometimes i can be a real pessimist). Again don't worry. Depending on the time frame (I,being an international applicant) apply for one or two schools as a last resort in R3. Yes, one of my friend applied in R3 and got into two schools. One of them is in Top 15. This news is a real confidence booster for me.

Remember: No matter what the result is, its really important to enjoy the process. I know, its easier said than done.

So atleast till march, we have to face all this drama. If at all i got an admit by dec/jan, i will pack my bags and go to world tour. (just kidding).

Oops, i forgot about the toefl. In the middle of all this commotion, i have to find time to give my toefl because i dont want any last minute hiccups like schools aksing me for a toefl score. I will take toefl in august or september.

All along we have to manage our day jobs and any travels if req. How about friends, parties and movies during this time?

I'm back

I have been MIA for the last couple of weeks. To be precise, i was away from all the things related to MBA after my gmat for three weeks. That is a big break. Its real nice to see some new faces in the hella's list. Welcome to the fellow 2008 applicant bloggers.

Few updates..

The cat is out of the bag.
I kept my MBA plans to myself till this point. Like many applicants, I don't want my boss to know about all this hoopla well-in-advance. I am coying with the idea of revealing my plans about mba in the last week of august or in the first week of september to my boss. He is one of my recommenders. But he found this in a funny way. He saw me take prints of BusinessWeekGuideToTheBestBusinessSchools.pdf. I was a little worried because i want to inform this in a formal way. Anyhow, I divulged my plans to other teammates and now everyone knows it.I informed my other potential recommender that i am considering mba. I can't contain my curiosity on how they will react, when i ask them for reco's.

Gmat
Well. I have to start preparation for the retake. Thinking that 20-30 days is good enough. But to find the slots in the month of august/sep is a tad difficult.

Toefl
I will take this after gmat. But for now, it should be kept on the back burner.