The (almost)final decision

Looks like my app season has come to an end.

First the bad news - I got dropped from the Ross waitlist.
It was a big shock for me because I sent them two good updates, with significant info. And just a half hour before sending my third and last update, which was about my BOB nomination, I got a denial from them. After recovering from the disapoointment I typed in a note to my application manager and also forwarded her my latest update e-mail. I don't think it would make any difference, but I forwarded that update anyway.

Now the good news - I got into W.P.Carey school of business at Arizona State Univ.!!!
Aplying to W.P.Carey was one of the last decisions I took in the application season, in March actually. My move to Arizona in Jan had a lot to do with it. I skipped their Feb. deadline because I wasn't sure of my fit at the school and vice-versa. I continued my research on the school and spoke to an Indian alumni at the school from the class of 2002 and few current students, I understood their marketing department offerings, evaluated if it would help me reach my goals and finally researched their financing options etc. After 1.5 months of this research I was convinced about it and applied to W.P.Carey. I had to take TOEFL in 15 days just to make it to the deadline. A month after submitting my application I was accepted to the school with a scholarship! The best part of it is I don't have to move away from my husband. As for Carey's competitiveness, it's ranked 27(2 spots above the last year ranking) almost same as Emory , it draws a lot of recruiters because of it's branding in Supply Chain. Although I'm not looking at doing Supply Chain I feel that the school will still give me a good exposure to many companies. Also the thing about Carey is that they are very serious about improving their hold on areas other than Supply Chian. The school is eager to make a recognition for itself as a well-rounded school in all business domains such as marketing and finance. This said I know I'll be studying within a dynamic environment and working with people who are hungry for making development. Just thinking about it is exciting for me! The Marketing department at W.P.Carey and it's Centre for services Leadership have been key players in my decision. Also it was important for me to get back to school after 1.5 years of gap in my career and no delaying it any further was necessary. You see the why MBA now was very important for me. At the end I'm happy to get to where I am now. It may not be the best situation, but it's the best for me. And I'm experienced in making the best out of any situation :)

Nominated to Clearadmit's BOB!!!

Yeaaaa. I'm excited and thrilled to be nominated for the annual Best of Blogging(BOB)awards given out by clearadmit. My hearty congratulations to all the other nominees. You deserve it.

A year back I was just another MBA blogger initiating my own blog after reading tons of MBA blogs in the blogosphere. The idea behind it was to keep a journal of my MBA application journey in order to make it more organized. As I started looking around, reading the blogs of previous year's nominees and current students I was amazed to see how these blogs inspired me. I was so thrilled to see all these bloggers share valuable advice and experiences with people like me whom they've never met. As someone using this resource I wanted to give back to it. I was determined to make my blog one of the good blogs, if not the best one, around.

After an year this is what I've accomplished:
1)Countless friends, MBA applicants and current students, whose experiences and MBA application lessons have enriched my application journey
2)A feeling of mutual learning and team-work- the help from talking to other applicants, working together on essay reviews and sharing ideas of good application processes etc has been as helpful as one would get from an admissions consultant
3)A sense of distinction about myself- I can honestly say that this blog and the exposure I've gotten in the MBA-blogging world have made me feel that this hooby of mine sets gives me an edge in enhancing my aplication profile.
4) Finally, I'm happy to have shared my own experiences, good and bad. I'm glad that they have been helpful to my readers. Every e-mail that I get from a reader thanking me for my post makes my day!

My advice to people out there dismissing the idea of starting their own MBA blog simply because they think it's a cliche'- you never know what your blog can offer you. It can offer anything from new friendships to a good extra-curricular activity to free goodies from a lot of MBA admissions and GMAT preparatory companies who want to publicize thier product on your blog. So why wait? Blog away!