mere funde

Category: MBA Apping

  • MBA apping

    I had initially thought that I would document the entire apping process on my blog. However, after a lot of thought I have decided that it might not be very wise to do so.

    I track a lot of blogs of MBA aspirants (will add the links to the sidebar soon), and feel that they are awesome places to look for wise words and help. However, I have noticed that they are mostly anonymous. I think that this makes sense in today’s digital world, where a simple Google search can reveal a lot about an applicant, and I do not want to stand any disadvantage due to something I post on my blog. Therefore, I have decided that, other that some gen things or occasional rants about the entire process, I would not be writing much about the process on my blog. At the end of it I might do a comprehensive post, but that is another story. Meanwhile do check out the blogs listed on the sidebar – they are awesome!!

    I am right now in the process of shortlisting schools I want to apply to. I think I want to join a school that fits the following criteria:

    • Provides loans without co-signor
    • On campus study – I love being in contact with people
    • Should focus on Strategy (and probably helps some Biotech/Pharma/Healthcare related courses)
    • Should be fun!

    I have kind of decided on 2 schools already, and I think I would end up applying to 3-4 other schools. Any suggestions are welcome. Also, due to all the apping work and a busy social calendar, posting will be very very irregular.

  • The GMAT Experience

    I decided to get a MBA degree somewhere around the middle of May. I took the first Princeton GMAT Diagnostic Test on 16th May, and scored a pathetic 580 on it. However, since I had decided to go down the MBA path, I went ahead and booked my GMAT on June 10 for August 6th, which was the closest available date to the 2 month time required to prepare for it.

    I knew from the diagnostic test that I sucked at the verbal, and was rusty at quant. Sentence Correction and Critical Reasoning were the toughest.

    The preparations began slowly in June. I was swamped with work in office and also had no habit of sitting down to ghot. I was doing mostly 30-40 min sessions some 3-4 times every week. The first round was a quick review of the Official Guide, 11th Edition. Its a great companion for GMAT. All kinds of questions are reviwed with multiple examples. A must do (and redo) for all GMAT aspirants as mentioned here and here.

    Anyways, after the first round of OG, took a test from the GMATPrep software and scored a decent 680. This was the mid of July. After a quick trip to Hyd, and some time wasted at office, I was back at prep. This time it was practice using the Kaplan Comprehensive Program. Another GMATPrep Test and scored a good 720. I knew I was doing better and then started focussing on the rough edges. I was already hitting 48-50 on the quant and regularly doing 35+ on the verbal.

    Next came the Kaplan GMAT 800. This nearly shattered all the confidence and I felt like a noob!! So bad I was at it that I almost gave up all hope.  However, some friends wisely advised that this was not the easiest of the tests and I should not give in to despair. I now entered the last week before the actual day and started working on OG GMAT Verbal Review. I must confess that this was the wisest decision ever made by me. And all credit goes to Dharmesh for this. I was able to up my scoring on the verbal part and reached 40 a couple of times.

    The last 5 days before the actual date were spent taking additional tests. I scored 690 and 710 on two Kaplan tests and 750 on a Princeton Review test. I also did some general sentence correction exercises (thanks to Akanksha and GTalk for that.)

    Finally, the I flew to Kolkata on August 5th and spent the night at my brothers place. I woke up early the next day and started for my test centre a couple of hours before the scheduled time of 10AM. Since the test center was not open yet, I spent the time at the Haldiram shop opposite the center drinking iced tea. When the center opened I went there and waited for the test to start, doing some Sudoku (and failing miserable at it.)

    The test started after the standard photo and passport check. A novelty was the finger print scan. Anyways, sailed through the AWA essays. Took a break and started the Quant. The first question totally stumped me and I spent a good 5 minutes on it. I started off very slowly and did only about 10 questions in the first 25 mins. However, I was very careful and did well on it. The next set of questions were easier and I strolled through them and completed the section with around 7-8 mins of spare. Took a quick break and started the verbal section. First question was easy. But right next up was the RC. Damn it!! Ate up a lot of time and again I took a lot of time in the first 8-10 questions. I upped my speed after that and was able to complete the section with some time to spare. Went through the formalities then till it came to the point where I could submit or cancel. The last leg of the quant was too damn easy and for once I thought that I had screwed up and might have cancelled. However, I thought better and submitted the test. After some agonizing wait the score showed up and they were so good that I nearly fell off my seat.

    Verbal – 50, Quant – 42, Total – 760. AWA (reported later) – 5.5

    I think that the last week before the test was crucial and taking all those tests at the same time as the original test helped me quite a lot. First, it gave me the patience to sit down for those long hours. And second, it conditioned my brain to function effectively during that part of the day. Thanks to a lot of people – Akanksha, Misra, Bansal, Ankur, and all you great bloggers (Necromonger in particular).

    So that was the GMAT Story. Now to choosing the schools and writing essays.