I was just going through the MasterCard advertisement and thought of this...though this is kind of old now but still thought of writing this:
GMAT - 250$
Manhattan GMAT classes - 1400$ (though i didn't take that :) )
Application to each school - 200$
Travel cost for interview - 350$
One admit from the dream school - PRICELESS!!
After this,
Tuition fees - 80000$ ( and i believe MasterCard can't pay this)...
But...
After MBA, dreams you convert into reality.....PRICELESS!!
Friday, December 28, 2007
Monday, December 24, 2007
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
NYU Stern invites for interview
Yay!! Finally, i received my first interview invite :) and it comes from NYU Stern. I was confident of getting this invite because i think my application for Stern was the best of the three schools i apped. This is mainly because of more time i had for this application and also it was my third application i.e. after i had already submitted my applications to Ross and Darden. Thus, i think i was a little experienced while writing this application :).
I am really happy about this invite as this re insures about the quality of my app and gives me confidence both on the quality of my app and also my profile. Also NYU Stern is one of my dream colleges.
Now i can interview anytime in January but i was planning to interview sometime in last week of Jan. But i have one question - does the timing of my interview matter here? I believe it matters because some schools follow rolling admission even if they don't mention it. So what do you people say? I really need some feedback on this before scheduling my interview.
Also i need some tips on how to prepare for the interviews from fellow bloggers. Any help is greatly appreciated!!
I am really happy about this invite as this re insures about the quality of my app and gives me confidence both on the quality of my app and also my profile. Also NYU Stern is one of my dream colleges.
Now i can interview anytime in January but i was planning to interview sometime in last week of Jan. But i have one question - does the timing of my interview matter here? I believe it matters because some schools follow rolling admission even if they don't mention it. So what do you people say? I really need some feedback on this before scheduling my interview.
Also i need some tips on how to prepare for the interviews from fellow bloggers. Any help is greatly appreciated!!
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
The wait continues.....
The wait for getting an interview invite still continues for me......
I am posting after a long time since there hasn't been much updates from my side on the application front. After submitting my Stern application on November 15, i went into a relax mode which has continued almost till now. I again started sleeping on time :)
Also, was on a nice shopping spree during the thanksgiving week. Also watched couple of movies...so all in all it was a nice time.
I started working on my Chicago application but the motivation and enthusiasm is clear missing. And that i think is mainly because if the long wait required for the results. Although i am working on my Chicago application now, i am only going to submit it if i am 100 percent sure of its quality. Chicago is my dream school and i don't want to put a half hearted application there. I will prefer to wait for one more year and then apply in full swing next year.
Meanwhile R1 Chicago results have started pouring in and mbarunnergirl has already got the call. Congrats to her!! One of my very good friend is also waiting to hear from Chicago. Hope he gets in!!
I am sure coming days are going to bring lots of news on this blogosphere....
I am posting after a long time since there hasn't been much updates from my side on the application front. After submitting my Stern application on November 15, i went into a relax mode which has continued almost till now. I again started sleeping on time :)
Also, was on a nice shopping spree during the thanksgiving week. Also watched couple of movies...so all in all it was a nice time.
I started working on my Chicago application but the motivation and enthusiasm is clear missing. And that i think is mainly because if the long wait required for the results. Although i am working on my Chicago application now, i am only going to submit it if i am 100 percent sure of its quality. Chicago is my dream school and i don't want to put a half hearted application there. I will prefer to wait for one more year and then apply in full swing next year.
Meanwhile R1 Chicago results have started pouring in and mbarunnergirl has already got the call. Congrats to her!! One of my very good friend is also waiting to hear from Chicago. Hope he gets in!!
I am sure coming days are going to bring lots of news on this blogosphere....
Saturday, December 08, 2007
Top B Schools
Here are some thoughts about all top B schools written by a top B school alum.....
Source: Businessweek
Not: Views expressed below are not mine. Though i agree in some of the points but i am not eligible to comment on them. Anyways, its an intersting read:
1.) Harvard - Pros: The best academic brand in the world, people from East Timor will know where you went to school. Graduates are extremely polished and dynamic leaders. its no coincidence that so many politicians these days are HBS grads.
Cons: Students are about as pompous and pretentious as possible. Polish is a fancy way of saying full of s**t. its no coincidence that so many politicians these days are HBS grads.
Office Space Character: Lumbergh (Peter’s hated boss). He’s a quintessential Harvard grad; in charge and full of platitudes that sound great but on further inspection don’t make any sense. He also drives a nice car and makes a lot of money while being universally loathed. Kind of sums up every HBS grad you’ve ever met, right?
2.) Stanford - Pros: Small class size and focus on do-gooders leads to an incredible array of backgrounds and accomplishments of students, who thrive in tight knit community. Haven for the really interesting superstars out there. Tremendous brand. Beautiful weather.
Cons: It may be interesting to be classmates with a Buddhist monk-fighter pilot, but its also hard to relate to anyone (”So, did that vow of peace make it hard to take out bogeys?”). For super accomplished business students with the world at their fingertips, it sure doesn’t seem like any of them actually like business.
Office Space Character: Peter (main character). He seems like the most level headed, likable and down to earth of any of the characters, but for all his talents, he ends up as a damn construction worker. He’s also a major league flake, showing up to work only when he feels like it. Can you say entitled?
3.) Wharton - Pros: Arguably the best technical business education in the world. Great brand name, and the job placements are second only to H/S.
Cons: Not sure if it’s the ultra rigorous curriculum, the competitive culture, or the fact that they have to live in Philly for two years, but Whartonites are paranoid bordering on psychotic. The odds of having a nervous breakdown in your life triple after going here. Double that if you actually ask anyone at Wharton to calculate those odds.
Office Space Character: Tom Smykowski (Co-worker that invents “jumping to conclusions mat”). I’m assuming that Tom was actually an excellent technical employee, but that his constant fear of losing his job made him batsh*t crazy. Most fitting quote “I’m a People Person!!!!!!” when yelling at the consultants.
4.) Northwestern - Pros: Strong team culture and arguably the best marketing program in the country. Incredibly collaborative for such a large school. Great location next to major financial center (Chicago).
Cons: Very soft curriculum, these guys are poets. I’m pretty sure that Kellogg finance classes are prerecorded cartoons taught by Disney characters. Is it really worth it to pay $10000+ to drink every night? I mean, couldn’t you just do that without the degree?
Office Space Character: Joanna (Peter’s girlfriend). Like Peter, she’s very likable, level headed and likes to get around. Unfortunately she’s also vastly less skilled than many of her fellow characters. Thank God she’s hot.
5.) Chicago - Pros: Finance education is second only to Wharton globally (and even that’s debatable). Probably the best facilities of all the top business schools. Fantastic job placements and close proximity to Chicago. Academic horsepower of profs is untouchable.
Cons: Socially awkward is an understatement. Unlike Whartonites who are just high strung, Chicago GSBers either never learned or quickly forgot how to communicate with peers. Make sure to wear a face mask if they’re talking to you ’cause spits going to fly.
Office Space Character: Milton (Co-worker that loves red swingline stapler). Milton seems like a nice enough guy, and he might be the smartest guy in the office (he pulls off the grand caper in the end). It’s just that he’s about as charismatic as a toilet bowl. Hire ‘em, just make sure to get GSBers an office in the basement.
6.) Columbia - Pros: Great location in the middle of global financial center (New York). Most diverse student body in terms of minorities and women. Very strong finance program. New York allows great social and job placement opportunities, and draws worldly, cosmopolitan students.
Cons: Cliquish and commuterish. Columbia is like a high school with super rich kids. High ***hole factor. This isn’t the kind of school where you’ll be going to house parties, its more like the kind of school where you’re expected to order bottle service for twenty guys on a student budget or else be ostracized.
Office Space Character: Bobs (consultants that lay off workers). They seem smart, they have great jobs, but c’mon, these guys are douchebags.
7.) MIT - Pros: World class entrepreneurship program, and probably the best supply management program in America. Attached to world class research center, and location in Boston is strong. Great job placement, especially in consulting.
Cons: For all their unique academic offerings, the overall school is like 90/10 men/women including undergrads. Takes the term sausage fest to a whole new level. Nerdy culture.
Office Space Character: Michael Bolton (Peter’s co-worker and friend). Michael Bolton desperately wants to be cool, listening to rap music, talking in slang, but lets face it, he’s a dork. He’s also hampered by his dorky namesake, which seems to attract a lot of nerdy people (to his obvious dismay).
8.) Tuck -Pros: Small class size and tight culture leads to maybe the most enthusiastic students in any school. Great respect from recruiters. Alumni network is arguably the most responsive and helpful of any top school. Strong rigorous program.
Cons: Very conformist culture, and really limited social options. These guys seem so enthusiastic about their school that I’m almost certain that all students are given ecstasy at orientation. Listen, if two years in the middle of Nowhere, New Hampshire were to constitute the best two years of my life, I would kill myself.
Office Space Character: Brian (Works with Joannas at Chotchkies, wears 37 pieces of flair). Brian is well meaning and LOVES his job. Never mind that he’s a waiter at a glorified TGIF, he still loves it with all his heart. They say ignorance is bliss, in which case, maybe Tuckies have the secret after all. That or, like Brian, they’re borderline retarded.
9.) Michigan - Pros: Maybe the most hands-on practical curriculum of all the top schools. New facilities coming up in 2009. Largest alumni network of any business school. State school, so the 2nd year is cheaper.
Cons: Location proximity leaves something to be desired (Detroit? Why not put it next to Beirut). The overall atmosphere here is very fratty and college like. Every single UMich student and alumni I’ve spoken to say the highlight of their experience was tailgating and watching football. EVERYONE. Not that football isn’t awesome, but no one else had any other experience that was noteworthy? They probably forgot the rest after beerbonging Jagermeister.
Office Space Character: Lawrence (Peter’s next door neighbor and friend). Lawrence is a good guy. He’s loyal, and salt of the earth. He also has a few rough edges, and would use 1 million dollars to be intimate with two other women. Have a great time with old Lawrence. Just don’t be surprised if all you end up with is a job he hooked you up with at the local quarry.
10.) Haas - Pros: Great location in the bay, and strong ties to Silicon Valley. Great weather. Small class size and tight culture. Berkeley has very strong international brand name.
Cons: Weak ties to financial sector, and east coast in general. The culture here is definitely about as PC as it gets. This seems like the type of school where you’d need to get a permission slip before you held a woman’s hand on campus.
Office Space Character: Stan (Joanna’s manager at Chotchkies). Stan wants Joanna to do more than the bare minimum. After all, people can get an MBA anywhere, but they come to Chotckies/Haas for the atmosphere! Don’t you want to do more than the bare minimum? Then put on your flair, burn some bras and save a whale you selfish jerk.
11.) Duke - Pros: Maybe the best health care management program in the country. Great brand name, especially in the south. Strong team culture.
Cons: Relatively young MBA program, so alumni network is small. As such, the brand cache just isn’t there yet. People that come here seem very cookie cutter to me, not in a bad way, just very comfortable and relatively unambitious.
Office Space Character: Samir (Peter’s co-worker and friend). Samir is a nice guy, very practical and unassuming. You get the feeling that he’s happy as long as he has a job in hand. Won’t make waves, won’t screw up, and won’t take any risks. But he’s a happy guy, and will have a house with 2.2 kids and a dog in a suburb somewhere (probably Durham).
12.) Darden - Pros: Strong Case method program and rigorous curriculum is universally respected. Alumni network is very strong and active with current students.
Cons: Middle of nowhere. Intellectual horsepower not as strong at a lot of the other top schools.
Office Space Character: Anne (Peter’s ex-girlfriend who was cheating on him). Anne just seemed really high maintenance and uptight. You try doing twenty cases a week for a year and see what happens to you. Just don’t be surprised if it’s a bigger bi**h than you imagined.
13.) NYU - Pros: Great location within spitting distance of Wall Street. Strong finance curriculum, and media program.
Cons: Location in downtown Manhattan make this the ultimate commuter school. Weird inferiority complex with Columbia. If you don’t go into finance or media, good luck.
Office Space Character: Other Lumbergh (ex-co-worker of Peter, Joanna’s ex-boyfriend). From all accounts, the other Lumbergh was a likable guy who was good at his job and got a great job offer to move on somewhere else. We just never actually saw him. Kind of like your NYU classmates.
14.) UCLA - Pros: LA! Sun, beach, beautiful glamorous people everywhere! Strong ties to Southern California business and great real estate program.
Cons: LA. UV rays, crowded beaches and shallow, materialistic people everywhere. You get the feeling that UCLA students are there just to spend two years in SoCal rather than to get jobs. As such, this place draws vapid, materialistic people. But damn they’re hot!
Office Space Character: Drew (Peter’s co-worker, describes the famous “O-face”). Drew’s a fun-loving guy that people like. He’s also the kind of guy that would tell anyone who was willing to listen graphic descriptions of all his sexual exploits. I liked Drew when I was 19. When I’m 26..?
15.) Cornell - Pros: Maybe the best Hospitality management program in the country. Ivy league brand name, and strong ties to some top consumer management companies. Small tight knit culture.
Cons: In the middle of nowhere, and it’s definitely a cut below a lot of the top tier programs. I mean, hospitality management? Seriously?
Office Space Character: Peggy (Lumbergh’s secretary). She’s kind of in hospitality: “Initech, can I put you on hold? Thank you! Initech, can I put you on hold? Thank you! Initech, can I put you on hold? Thank you! .”
16.) Yale - Pros: World class brand name. Arguably the best social enterprise program in the country. Relatively strong job placement for the rank.
Cons: Newer program means little real rep with employers or alumni to lean on.
Office Space character: Dr. Swanson (Peter’s psychologist/hypnotist). The Dr. has a very strong reputation, and he makes Peter go from depressed to happy (what a do-gooder!). But when it comes to the rankings, he just falls over dead.
Source: Businessweek
Not: Views expressed below are not mine. Though i agree in some of the points but i am not eligible to comment on them. Anyways, its an intersting read:
1.) Harvard - Pros: The best academic brand in the world, people from East Timor will know where you went to school. Graduates are extremely polished and dynamic leaders. its no coincidence that so many politicians these days are HBS grads.
Cons: Students are about as pompous and pretentious as possible. Polish is a fancy way of saying full of s**t. its no coincidence that so many politicians these days are HBS grads.
Office Space Character: Lumbergh (Peter’s hated boss). He’s a quintessential Harvard grad; in charge and full of platitudes that sound great but on further inspection don’t make any sense. He also drives a nice car and makes a lot of money while being universally loathed. Kind of sums up every HBS grad you’ve ever met, right?
2.) Stanford - Pros: Small class size and focus on do-gooders leads to an incredible array of backgrounds and accomplishments of students, who thrive in tight knit community. Haven for the really interesting superstars out there. Tremendous brand. Beautiful weather.
Cons: It may be interesting to be classmates with a Buddhist monk-fighter pilot, but its also hard to relate to anyone (”So, did that vow of peace make it hard to take out bogeys?”). For super accomplished business students with the world at their fingertips, it sure doesn’t seem like any of them actually like business.
Office Space Character: Peter (main character). He seems like the most level headed, likable and down to earth of any of the characters, but for all his talents, he ends up as a damn construction worker. He’s also a major league flake, showing up to work only when he feels like it. Can you say entitled?
3.) Wharton - Pros: Arguably the best technical business education in the world. Great brand name, and the job placements are second only to H/S.
Cons: Not sure if it’s the ultra rigorous curriculum, the competitive culture, or the fact that they have to live in Philly for two years, but Whartonites are paranoid bordering on psychotic. The odds of having a nervous breakdown in your life triple after going here. Double that if you actually ask anyone at Wharton to calculate those odds.
Office Space Character: Tom Smykowski (Co-worker that invents “jumping to conclusions mat”). I’m assuming that Tom was actually an excellent technical employee, but that his constant fear of losing his job made him batsh*t crazy. Most fitting quote “I’m a People Person!!!!!!” when yelling at the consultants.
4.) Northwestern - Pros: Strong team culture and arguably the best marketing program in the country. Incredibly collaborative for such a large school. Great location next to major financial center (Chicago).
Cons: Very soft curriculum, these guys are poets. I’m pretty sure that Kellogg finance classes are prerecorded cartoons taught by Disney characters. Is it really worth it to pay $10000+ to drink every night? I mean, couldn’t you just do that without the degree?
Office Space Character: Joanna (Peter’s girlfriend). Like Peter, she’s very likable, level headed and likes to get around. Unfortunately she’s also vastly less skilled than many of her fellow characters. Thank God she’s hot.
5.) Chicago - Pros: Finance education is second only to Wharton globally (and even that’s debatable). Probably the best facilities of all the top business schools. Fantastic job placements and close proximity to Chicago. Academic horsepower of profs is untouchable.
Cons: Socially awkward is an understatement. Unlike Whartonites who are just high strung, Chicago GSBers either never learned or quickly forgot how to communicate with peers. Make sure to wear a face mask if they’re talking to you ’cause spits going to fly.
Office Space Character: Milton (Co-worker that loves red swingline stapler). Milton seems like a nice enough guy, and he might be the smartest guy in the office (he pulls off the grand caper in the end). It’s just that he’s about as charismatic as a toilet bowl. Hire ‘em, just make sure to get GSBers an office in the basement.
6.) Columbia - Pros: Great location in the middle of global financial center (New York). Most diverse student body in terms of minorities and women. Very strong finance program. New York allows great social and job placement opportunities, and draws worldly, cosmopolitan students.
Cons: Cliquish and commuterish. Columbia is like a high school with super rich kids. High ***hole factor. This isn’t the kind of school where you’ll be going to house parties, its more like the kind of school where you’re expected to order bottle service for twenty guys on a student budget or else be ostracized.
Office Space Character: Bobs (consultants that lay off workers). They seem smart, they have great jobs, but c’mon, these guys are douchebags.
7.) MIT - Pros: World class entrepreneurship program, and probably the best supply management program in America. Attached to world class research center, and location in Boston is strong. Great job placement, especially in consulting.
Cons: For all their unique academic offerings, the overall school is like 90/10 men/women including undergrads. Takes the term sausage fest to a whole new level. Nerdy culture.
Office Space Character: Michael Bolton (Peter’s co-worker and friend). Michael Bolton desperately wants to be cool, listening to rap music, talking in slang, but lets face it, he’s a dork. He’s also hampered by his dorky namesake, which seems to attract a lot of nerdy people (to his obvious dismay).
8.) Tuck -Pros: Small class size and tight culture leads to maybe the most enthusiastic students in any school. Great respect from recruiters. Alumni network is arguably the most responsive and helpful of any top school. Strong rigorous program.
Cons: Very conformist culture, and really limited social options. These guys seem so enthusiastic about their school that I’m almost certain that all students are given ecstasy at orientation. Listen, if two years in the middle of Nowhere, New Hampshire were to constitute the best two years of my life, I would kill myself.
Office Space Character: Brian (Works with Joannas at Chotchkies, wears 37 pieces of flair). Brian is well meaning and LOVES his job. Never mind that he’s a waiter at a glorified TGIF, he still loves it with all his heart. They say ignorance is bliss, in which case, maybe Tuckies have the secret after all. That or, like Brian, they’re borderline retarded.
9.) Michigan - Pros: Maybe the most hands-on practical curriculum of all the top schools. New facilities coming up in 2009. Largest alumni network of any business school. State school, so the 2nd year is cheaper.
Cons: Location proximity leaves something to be desired (Detroit? Why not put it next to Beirut). The overall atmosphere here is very fratty and college like. Every single UMich student and alumni I’ve spoken to say the highlight of their experience was tailgating and watching football. EVERYONE. Not that football isn’t awesome, but no one else had any other experience that was noteworthy? They probably forgot the rest after beerbonging Jagermeister.
Office Space Character: Lawrence (Peter’s next door neighbor and friend). Lawrence is a good guy. He’s loyal, and salt of the earth. He also has a few rough edges, and would use 1 million dollars to be intimate with two other women. Have a great time with old Lawrence. Just don’t be surprised if all you end up with is a job he hooked you up with at the local quarry.
10.) Haas - Pros: Great location in the bay, and strong ties to Silicon Valley. Great weather. Small class size and tight culture. Berkeley has very strong international brand name.
Cons: Weak ties to financial sector, and east coast in general. The culture here is definitely about as PC as it gets. This seems like the type of school where you’d need to get a permission slip before you held a woman’s hand on campus.
Office Space Character: Stan (Joanna’s manager at Chotchkies). Stan wants Joanna to do more than the bare minimum. After all, people can get an MBA anywhere, but they come to Chotckies/Haas for the atmosphere! Don’t you want to do more than the bare minimum? Then put on your flair, burn some bras and save a whale you selfish jerk.
11.) Duke - Pros: Maybe the best health care management program in the country. Great brand name, especially in the south. Strong team culture.
Cons: Relatively young MBA program, so alumni network is small. As such, the brand cache just isn’t there yet. People that come here seem very cookie cutter to me, not in a bad way, just very comfortable and relatively unambitious.
Office Space Character: Samir (Peter’s co-worker and friend). Samir is a nice guy, very practical and unassuming. You get the feeling that he’s happy as long as he has a job in hand. Won’t make waves, won’t screw up, and won’t take any risks. But he’s a happy guy, and will have a house with 2.2 kids and a dog in a suburb somewhere (probably Durham).
12.) Darden - Pros: Strong Case method program and rigorous curriculum is universally respected. Alumni network is very strong and active with current students.
Cons: Middle of nowhere. Intellectual horsepower not as strong at a lot of the other top schools.
Office Space Character: Anne (Peter’s ex-girlfriend who was cheating on him). Anne just seemed really high maintenance and uptight. You try doing twenty cases a week for a year and see what happens to you. Just don’t be surprised if it’s a bigger bi**h than you imagined.
13.) NYU - Pros: Great location within spitting distance of Wall Street. Strong finance curriculum, and media program.
Cons: Location in downtown Manhattan make this the ultimate commuter school. Weird inferiority complex with Columbia. If you don’t go into finance or media, good luck.
Office Space Character: Other Lumbergh (ex-co-worker of Peter, Joanna’s ex-boyfriend). From all accounts, the other Lumbergh was a likable guy who was good at his job and got a great job offer to move on somewhere else. We just never actually saw him. Kind of like your NYU classmates.
14.) UCLA - Pros: LA! Sun, beach, beautiful glamorous people everywhere! Strong ties to Southern California business and great real estate program.
Cons: LA. UV rays, crowded beaches and shallow, materialistic people everywhere. You get the feeling that UCLA students are there just to spend two years in SoCal rather than to get jobs. As such, this place draws vapid, materialistic people. But damn they’re hot!
Office Space Character: Drew (Peter’s co-worker, describes the famous “O-face”). Drew’s a fun-loving guy that people like. He’s also the kind of guy that would tell anyone who was willing to listen graphic descriptions of all his sexual exploits. I liked Drew when I was 19. When I’m 26..?
15.) Cornell - Pros: Maybe the best Hospitality management program in the country. Ivy league brand name, and strong ties to some top consumer management companies. Small tight knit culture.
Cons: In the middle of nowhere, and it’s definitely a cut below a lot of the top tier programs. I mean, hospitality management? Seriously?
Office Space Character: Peggy (Lumbergh’s secretary). She’s kind of in hospitality: “Initech, can I put you on hold? Thank you! Initech, can I put you on hold? Thank you! Initech, can I put you on hold? Thank you! .”
16.) Yale - Pros: World class brand name. Arguably the best social enterprise program in the country. Relatively strong job placement for the rank.
Cons: Newer program means little real rep with employers or alumni to lean on.
Office Space character: Dr. Swanson (Peter’s psychologist/hypnotist). The Dr. has a very strong reputation, and he makes Peter go from depressed to happy (what a do-gooder!). But when it comes to the rankings, he just falls over dead.
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Stern Submitted - R1 Complete !!
yayyyy....i submitted my Stern application 1 hr back and with this i have completed my R1 applications. Well i am kind of satisfied in the senses that i was able to complete the decided things.....
Well, till last minute i was just modifying 1-2 things here and there in the Stern essays and application...though i think i completed everything yesterday itself. Just that i wanted to check the application for one more day that i didn't submit it yesterday..
I really need some break now...for the last 4 months either it was GMAT or the applications in my life except my 4 day Los Angeles(LA) trip....now i really need some time off from all this...and guess what i have decided to take full 4 days off from this work :):) ...also, i have really been ignoring my office work for long now, i really need to concentrate there now for sometime....work these days is very hectic and i have been somehow taking it lightly and ignoring it due to the apps....i hope to find some more time there now....
After that, i need to look on my R2 apps and my interview prep...though right now there is no sign of any call visible :) ....
Now the wait starts for the R1 results :) .......
Well, till last minute i was just modifying 1-2 things here and there in the Stern essays and application...though i think i completed everything yesterday itself. Just that i wanted to check the application for one more day that i didn't submit it yesterday..
I really need some break now...for the last 4 months either it was GMAT or the applications in my life except my 4 day Los Angeles(LA) trip....now i really need some time off from all this...and guess what i have decided to take full 4 days off from this work :):) ...also, i have really been ignoring my office work for long now, i really need to concentrate there now for sometime....work these days is very hectic and i have been somehow taking it lightly and ignoring it due to the apps....i hope to find some more time there now....
After that, i need to look on my R2 apps and my interview prep...though right now there is no sign of any call visible :) ....
Now the wait starts for the R1 results :) .......
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Stern Application - almost done
Though i initially planned to submit my NYU Stern application today, i have decided to do it tomorrow now.
Reason:- I still want to modify some of the lines in essay 2.
Also i have my essay 1 at 764 words and want to reduce it to 750 words. But if i don't get anything to remove, i will submit this one at 764 rather than removing some imp info. from this one.
Recommendations have been submitted - one of my recommenders in fact has just submitted my reco. I just got the mail in my inbox about the submission.
I have completed other small parts of application as well and the only thing left now is to upload the essays and of course pay the fees :)
Reason:- I still want to modify some of the lines in essay 2.
Also i have my essay 1 at 764 words and want to reduce it to 750 words. But if i don't get anything to remove, i will submit this one at 764 rather than removing some imp info. from this one.
Recommendations have been submitted - one of my recommenders in fact has just submitted my reco. I just got the mail in my inbox about the submission.
I have completed other small parts of application as well and the only thing left now is to upload the essays and of course pay the fees :)
Sunday, November 11, 2007
Stern Application and essays updates
Somehow, I was able to put my mind away from the personal things going on in my life right now and concentrate on NYU Stern application.
Well, i have just completed the drafts for all the 3 Stern essays. Hufff...i am feeling a sense of great relief after completing these and clicking the 'Send' button on the mail to my reviewer.
I think my essays are in good shape at present. For the first essay, i took a lot of time. Though it was a simple career goal essay but it had a word limit of 750 words. Writing those short essays for 'Ross' and 'Darden', i didn't know what more to write to express myself better :). With great difficulty, i could develop a habit of expressing myself clearly in less words and now this essay wanted me to say more. I don't know how i am going to write Chicago's career goal essay of 1500 words :). Anyways, i completed this essay of Stern exactly at 750 words :)
For Stern's second essay about community, i could express myself clearly in the required limit of 500 words. This was the first essay i completed and think it looks good. Though, i think i have answered all parts of this essay question but still i wanted my reviewer to review this one carefully. Reading your own essay, you can sometimes overlook somethings. Now that's the greatest advantage of giving essays to reviewers. Thank god we have such nice souls who are able to take out time from their busy life for reviewing our stuff.
For the third essay - well this was the most difficult one. I finalized on writing this as an essay but was unable to think anything creative on this one. But finally two days back i got an idea and started writing on it. Though i think i have written it in a very simple way but this essay clearly describes true 'Achilles' :). Also i managed to put a bit of creativity at the end of this essay. This piece also represented one of my essential qualities and provided a nice ending to this essay. Now the only problem is that this essay has a word limit of 500 words and i am presently at 560. I have to reduce this essay by at least 30 words and i was unable to remove a single line from this. So for doing this, i am relying on my reviewer now. I hope he will be able to find something in this essay which i can remove without compromising on it's quality.
Other thing pending for my app is Recommendations. I have talked to both of my recommenders and they said they are almost done with the reco and will upload the same on Monday. I hope they do it on Monday.
I have kept a personal deadline of Tuesday to complete my application, thus keeping one day as buffer. So in worst case i should be able to press the 'Submit' button on Wednesday.
Well, i have just completed the drafts for all the 3 Stern essays. Hufff...i am feeling a sense of great relief after completing these and clicking the 'Send' button on the mail to my reviewer.
I think my essays are in good shape at present. For the first essay, i took a lot of time. Though it was a simple career goal essay but it had a word limit of 750 words. Writing those short essays for 'Ross' and 'Darden', i didn't know what more to write to express myself better :). With great difficulty, i could develop a habit of expressing myself clearly in less words and now this essay wanted me to say more. I don't know how i am going to write Chicago's career goal essay of 1500 words :). Anyways, i completed this essay of Stern exactly at 750 words :)
For Stern's second essay about community, i could express myself clearly in the required limit of 500 words. This was the first essay i completed and think it looks good. Though, i think i have answered all parts of this essay question but still i wanted my reviewer to review this one carefully. Reading your own essay, you can sometimes overlook somethings. Now that's the greatest advantage of giving essays to reviewers. Thank god we have such nice souls who are able to take out time from their busy life for reviewing our stuff.
For the third essay - well this was the most difficult one. I finalized on writing this as an essay but was unable to think anything creative on this one. But finally two days back i got an idea and started writing on it. Though i think i have written it in a very simple way but this essay clearly describes true 'Achilles' :). Also i managed to put a bit of creativity at the end of this essay. This piece also represented one of my essential qualities and provided a nice ending to this essay. Now the only problem is that this essay has a word limit of 500 words and i am presently at 560. I have to reduce this essay by at least 30 words and i was unable to remove a single line from this. So for doing this, i am relying on my reviewer now. I hope he will be able to find something in this essay which i can remove without compromising on it's quality.
Other thing pending for my app is Recommendations. I have talked to both of my recommenders and they said they are almost done with the reco and will upload the same on Monday. I hope they do it on Monday.
I have kept a personal deadline of Tuesday to complete my application, thus keeping one day as buffer. So in worst case i should be able to press the 'Submit' button on Wednesday.
Thursday, November 08, 2007
Lost........(personal)
As usual, today was a busy day in office, due to the holiday season approaching its been very hectic....i was coordinating with different people on multiple things.....and then i received this phone call from India, it was from my best friend......as the phone number of my friend's home landline displayed on my cell phone, the expression on my face changed dramatically, I had an idea on what news this call can bring......and yeah my fear turned right.....
i picked the phone, but could not even speak - "hello" ....i wanted her to speak something first and she did spoke first......
she just spoke those 3 lines about 3 hours ago and all those lines are going on in my mind till now......i m even unable to concentrate on my work today....there's lots of work which requires my attention but i am unable to concentrate.....i need to put everything out and there is no one here with whom i can speak on this......so i decided to write out on my blog...
my best friend's mom has been suffering from cancer for almost an year now and recently about 3 weeks back her health started getting down......
I have known her mom ( my aunt) for very long now......and i share a very special bond with aunt......always in my good/bad times she had always been there, always giving me her blessings....she is one person i know who never did anything wrong to anyone in her life and takes care of every person who she comes in contact with......
3 weeks back my friend had to rush to India as aunt's health started degrading......3 days back was aunt's birthday and i spoke to her....but she could barely speak, still she asked about my work and how was i doing and wished me luck for my apps......but i knew something wrong is gonna happen in days to come.....so when today that number splashed on my phone, i was scared.....
today my friend just told me aunt is now in hospital in India and doctors have said that there is no hope.....its just a matter of time now..
I am in US and will not be able to go back to see her for the last time......but i want to speak to her for the last time and tell her that how much i love her.....even though we are not directly related but we have shared a special bond which is perhaps as strong as the bond between a mother and a child.....
I just hanged up the phone after i heard this, could not speak anything......this reminds me today that life is really short and you never know what's gonna happen tomorrow..you never know whether you will know the same person tomorrow or not....so its better to tell all the people you love about how much you love them!! we may not get the same opportunity again!!
I hope i get a phone call from her and i am able to speak to her once......but i know, the next time when the same number splashes on my phone, i am going to be even more scared...
Update: I lost one of the most beautiful persons i have known in my life almost a week back and i didnt get a chance to speak to her. I have been thinking about her ever since unable to do anything else. I am not even speaking much with people around me here. But i know she is there sitting right besides God, watching upon us.....thus, now i will not cry but will pray that good almighty God keeps her with all his love. I am sure God will keep her in his best comforts. I know i can speak to her anytime, i just need to close my eyes for that and she will be listening...as aunty once said to me: "You will always be there in my heart" and i know she will always be there in mine. Amen
i picked the phone, but could not even speak - "hello" ....i wanted her to speak something first and she did spoke first......
she just spoke those 3 lines about 3 hours ago and all those lines are going on in my mind till now......i m even unable to concentrate on my work today....there's lots of work which requires my attention but i am unable to concentrate.....i need to put everything out and there is no one here with whom i can speak on this......so i decided to write out on my blog...
my best friend's mom has been suffering from cancer for almost an year now and recently about 3 weeks back her health started getting down......
I have known her mom ( my aunt) for very long now......and i share a very special bond with aunt......always in my good/bad times she had always been there, always giving me her blessings....she is one person i know who never did anything wrong to anyone in her life and takes care of every person who she comes in contact with......
3 weeks back my friend had to rush to India as aunt's health started degrading......3 days back was aunt's birthday and i spoke to her....but she could barely speak, still she asked about my work and how was i doing and wished me luck for my apps......but i knew something wrong is gonna happen in days to come.....so when today that number splashed on my phone, i was scared.....
today my friend just told me aunt is now in hospital in India and doctors have said that there is no hope.....its just a matter of time now..
I am in US and will not be able to go back to see her for the last time......but i want to speak to her for the last time and tell her that how much i love her.....even though we are not directly related but we have shared a special bond which is perhaps as strong as the bond between a mother and a child.....
I just hanged up the phone after i heard this, could not speak anything......this reminds me today that life is really short and you never know what's gonna happen tomorrow..you never know whether you will know the same person tomorrow or not....so its better to tell all the people you love about how much you love them!! we may not get the same opportunity again!!
I hope i get a phone call from her and i am able to speak to her once......but i know, the next time when the same number splashes on my phone, i am going to be even more scared...
Update: I lost one of the most beautiful persons i have known in my life almost a week back and i didnt get a chance to speak to her. I have been thinking about her ever since unable to do anything else. I am not even speaking much with people around me here. But i know she is there sitting right besides God, watching upon us.....thus, now i will not cry but will pray that good almighty God keeps her with all his love. I am sure God will keep her in his best comforts. I know i can speak to her anytime, i just need to close my eyes for that and she will be listening...as aunty once said to me: "You will always be there in my heart" and i know she will always be there in mine. Amen
Monday, November 05, 2007
Next App - NYU Stern
After submitting two applications last week on 31st Oct, i haven't done much till now on the app front. I kind of relaxed even on the weekend, and now i am feeling the heat again.
NYU Stern R1 is due on November 15 and i still haven't completed even the first draft for any of the 3 essays. Though the first essay is essentially a career goal essay but it has a much longer word limit compared to the the other 2 apps (Ross, Darden) that i have written. So, i have to put in more stuff in this one and mention some of the things in detail.
The other 2 essays are completely different in Stern. Second essay is about Stern community. Though i have figured out what i have to write in this essay but still i have to pen it down.
The third essay is the real bouncer - "Please describe yourself to the MBA classmates". Now i am not getting any creative idea to put into this one and i am planning to write this one as an essay. But still no specific idea has come to my mind on what i am going to put into it.
I am really in need of some ideas for this one.
Its less than 10 days to go for this application.....i will have to start running from here on...
NYU Stern R1 is due on November 15 and i still haven't completed even the first draft for any of the 3 essays. Though the first essay is essentially a career goal essay but it has a much longer word limit compared to the the other 2 apps (Ross, Darden) that i have written. So, i have to put in more stuff in this one and mention some of the things in detail.
The other 2 essays are completely different in Stern. Second essay is about Stern community. Though i have figured out what i have to write in this essay but still i have to pen it down.
The third essay is the real bouncer - "Please describe yourself to the MBA classmates". Now i am not getting any creative idea to put into this one and i am planning to write this one as an essay. But still no specific idea has come to my mind on what i am going to put into it.
I am really in need of some ideas for this one.
Its less than 10 days to go for this application.....i will have to start running from here on...
Thursday, November 01, 2007
Ross, Darden Submitted - my first two apps :)
I have clicked on 'Submit' on Ross and Darden apps.
I submitted Darden some 2 hours back and Ross just 1 hour back. But i think, i did okay, considering i have submitted my application more than 12 hours before the deadline. :)
I planned to submit one day in advance so missed that target.
Anyways, there were many last minute tensions. I had finalized all essays and started uploading them. As i finished uploading my last Ross essay, i got a ping from my reviewer - she mailed that the last essay is just fine. I felt that 'just fine' is not what i want to submit with. I mailed her back about what's lagging. She mailed some of the comments and i incorporated them. She provided some very good last minute inputs. I think i greatly improved on that essay because of this last minute change.
Then, when i was to submit my credit card details, 'page cannot be displayed' pops up :). I felt like...come onnnnn
Tried again and it worked :)
Clicked the 'Submit' button without thinking much. Mailed adcom some of the required stuff, i mean transcripts and yayyy, i am done submitting two of my important apps.
I think, i have worked really hard on these apps...lets see what the adcoms have to say....
I submitted Darden some 2 hours back and Ross just 1 hour back. But i think, i did okay, considering i have submitted my application more than 12 hours before the deadline. :)
I planned to submit one day in advance so missed that target.
Anyways, there were many last minute tensions. I had finalized all essays and started uploading them. As i finished uploading my last Ross essay, i got a ping from my reviewer - she mailed that the last essay is just fine. I felt that 'just fine' is not what i want to submit with. I mailed her back about what's lagging. She mailed some of the comments and i incorporated them. She provided some very good last minute inputs. I think i greatly improved on that essay because of this last minute change.
Then, when i was to submit my credit card details, 'page cannot be displayed' pops up :). I felt like...come onnnnn
Tried again and it worked :)
Clicked the 'Submit' button without thinking much. Mailed adcom some of the required stuff, i mean transcripts and yayyy, i am done submitting two of my important apps.
I think, i have worked really hard on these apps...lets see what the adcoms have to say....
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Less than 18 hours to go...
Less than 18 hours to go for deadlines of Ross and Darden Applications for Round 1. I haven't submitted both of these applications till now. I am feeling a lot of anxiety while pressing that 'Submit' button for the first time.
Things still left to be completed:-
Ross
1) I am not completely satisfied with my Ross2 essay. Though the concept is very good and all my reviewers have appreciated that, i have to re frame some of the sentences in this essay. One of my reviewers has again reviewed it today and i am awaiting comments from her on this one.
2) Ross3 essay - I completely changed this essay today. The concept was good but two of reviewers gave some critical comments. I modified it completely and sent it for one more review. Waiting for comments on this one too. The essay now seems to be really good, its just that i may need to correct some grammar here and there.
3) Pay the fees :)
4) But my biggest concern, one of my recommenders has still not submitted my reco for this one. Actually she tried submitting the recommendation yesterday but couldn't open thee site :(. She will try it again in next 2-3 hours and let me know. If she's not able to open the site, either i will have to call Ross or will have to ask her to send the reco to someone in US to be uploaded, since i am able to open this page easily.
Darden:
1) Fit with Darden - Thank God i got some good comments on this essay and i was able to modify this essay accordingly. I have changed this essay completely today. I was in doubts about this essay since last 3-4 days but today one of my reviewers gave some very negative comments -"i am not answering the question asked". I immediately sat down and rewrote the essay. It took 20-3 hours to come up with something because of this end moment tension. Now again sent this one for review and got positive comments. But now the problem is that i am exceeding the word limit by good 40 words. So, i have to cut down some of the lines, unable to figure out which ones.
2) Darden 3 essay:- This essay is fine, just i have to modify the opening line once :)
3) Mail the transcripts.
4) Pay the fees :)
Ok guys, wish me luck.....i hope i am able to complete everything left in another 2-3 hours.
Things still left to be completed:-
Ross
1) I am not completely satisfied with my Ross2 essay. Though the concept is very good and all my reviewers have appreciated that, i have to re frame some of the sentences in this essay. One of my reviewers has again reviewed it today and i am awaiting comments from her on this one.
2) Ross3 essay - I completely changed this essay today. The concept was good but two of reviewers gave some critical comments. I modified it completely and sent it for one more review. Waiting for comments on this one too. The essay now seems to be really good, its just that i may need to correct some grammar here and there.
3) Pay the fees :)
4) But my biggest concern, one of my recommenders has still not submitted my reco for this one. Actually she tried submitting the recommendation yesterday but couldn't open thee site :(. She will try it again in next 2-3 hours and let me know. If she's not able to open the site, either i will have to call Ross or will have to ask her to send the reco to someone in US to be uploaded, since i am able to open this page easily.
Darden:
1) Fit with Darden - Thank God i got some good comments on this essay and i was able to modify this essay accordingly. I have changed this essay completely today. I was in doubts about this essay since last 3-4 days but today one of my reviewers gave some very negative comments -"i am not answering the question asked". I immediately sat down and rewrote the essay. It took 20-3 hours to come up with something because of this end moment tension. Now again sent this one for review and got positive comments. But now the problem is that i am exceeding the word limit by good 40 words. So, i have to cut down some of the lines, unable to figure out which ones.
2) Darden 3 essay:- This essay is fine, just i have to modify the opening line once :)
3) Mail the transcripts.
4) Pay the fees :)
Ok guys, wish me luck.....i hope i am able to complete everything left in another 2-3 hours.
Monday, October 22, 2007
Darden essays - doubts and updates
I have completed my first draft of Darden essays last weekend itself. But didn't send those draft to my reviewers until this weekend. Actually, i myself reviewed it multiple times during the week and everytime i improved a lot on them. Also, on Darden first essay, i changed a basic concept of this essay just yesterday. So after doing many changes, i finally sent the essay for review and got first essay with comments. They are generally positive, so not much worries. I have sent this essay to my second reviewer now.
Problem for me is that all my reviewers are first year students at B schools itself and are damn busy in their schools. I am really asking too much from them by asking them to review. Though they are doing it gladly, but i know reviewing one essay deeply really takes lots of time. Thus i am unable to ask them to hurry. Some of my essays have not been reviewed even once, which is worrying me a lot now :(. I hope they get time and give review comments to me on time.
Darden essay 1- This essay doesn't ask us to explain why Darden ? Is it still necessary to put why Darden stuff in this essay, since that will consume, lots of space and is something which is not asked. Its better to give more importance to what's asked in the essay. writing 1-2 generic lines on Darden may be fine but again i think these 1-2 lines simply undermine the importance of 'Why Darden' and its better not to write anything on school. But if 'why Darden' is necessary then we need to take atleast 100 words to explain it, thus we are left with just 400 words for the actually essay which in itself is very tough, sine here we need to relate our goals to what matters to us and also we need to explain the why MBA part.
Darden essay 2 and essay 3- now we have only 300 words limits for these essays. Should we provide only examples in these essays, without giving a starting or ending sentence? Because adding an opening and closing sentence will consume lots of words and will affect the quality of examples. And since its written concrete examples, you just cant mention that you did this, there needs to be atleast one more line given to explain each of the examples.
People, let me know your thoughts on these essays. Thanks
Problem for me is that all my reviewers are first year students at B schools itself and are damn busy in their schools. I am really asking too much from them by asking them to review. Though they are doing it gladly, but i know reviewing one essay deeply really takes lots of time. Thus i am unable to ask them to hurry. Some of my essays have not been reviewed even once, which is worrying me a lot now :(. I hope they get time and give review comments to me on time.
Darden essay 1- This essay doesn't ask us to explain why Darden ? Is it still necessary to put why Darden stuff in this essay, since that will consume, lots of space and is something which is not asked. Its better to give more importance to what's asked in the essay. writing 1-2 generic lines on Darden may be fine but again i think these 1-2 lines simply undermine the importance of 'Why Darden' and its better not to write anything on school. But if 'why Darden' is necessary then we need to take atleast 100 words to explain it, thus we are left with just 400 words for the actually essay which in itself is very tough, sine here we need to relate our goals to what matters to us and also we need to explain the why MBA part.
Darden essay 2 and essay 3- now we have only 300 words limits for these essays. Should we provide only examples in these essays, without giving a starting or ending sentence? Because adding an opening and closing sentence will consume lots of words and will affect the quality of examples. And since its written concrete examples, you just cant mention that you did this, there needs to be atleast one more line given to explain each of the examples.
People, let me know your thoughts on these essays. Thanks
Reco material sent again to Recommenders
Just sent some more insights into the application process to my recommenders. Actually, i discussed with them everything over phone previously but due to some time gap between those calls and today when they are actually writing my recos, they again want that same info.
So now, i wrote everything in a document and sent all the material to my recommenders in written.
Learning- Send everything in written to the recommenders. They are very busy people generally and already you are asking too much of their time. So try to make their work as much easy as possible.
I just hope now they complete my recommendations on time.
So now, i wrote everything in a document and sent all the material to my recommenders in written.
Learning- Send everything in written to the recommenders. They are very busy people generally and already you are asking too much of their time. So try to make their work as much easy as possible.
I just hope now they complete my recommendations on time.
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Updates on my apps
less than 10 days to go for my Ross and Darden Applications.
And here are the pending tasks:-
1) Essays sent for second review, waiting for comments.
2) Recommendation still not submitted by any of the recommenders :(
3) Transcripts to be sent
4) Small tidbits like activities and all needs to be filled in the Darden application.
5) Some modification of resume to be done before uploading it.
There is only one weekend left before the deadlines now. I will have to take 1-2 days off from the office to submit these apps on time. I want to press the submit button on October 31 for both of these application, don't want to do this on the last day.
Regarding transcripts, i am not sure if the official transcripts need to reach schools by the deadline or whether they should be postmarked by that time. I am confused on this point, so maybe i will mail the adcoms and get this clarified tomorrow.
Recommendations right now is my biggest worry. I have to get my recommenders submit my recommendation in another 4-5 days max. I don't want to get into last minute tensions as some of the fellow bloggers have been in. Also in my case, both my recommenders are outside US i.e i cannot meet them, just can talk over phone and convince them to submit recos on time :)
Lets keep the momentum going....a few more days left...
And here are the pending tasks:-
1) Essays sent for second review, waiting for comments.
2) Recommendation still not submitted by any of the recommenders :(
3) Transcripts to be sent
4) Small tidbits like activities and all needs to be filled in the Darden application.
5) Some modification of resume to be done before uploading it.
There is only one weekend left before the deadlines now. I will have to take 1-2 days off from the office to submit these apps on time. I want to press the submit button on October 31 for both of these application, don't want to do this on the last day.
Regarding transcripts, i am not sure if the official transcripts need to reach schools by the deadline or whether they should be postmarked by that time. I am confused on this point, so maybe i will mail the adcoms and get this clarified tomorrow.
Recommendations right now is my biggest worry. I have to get my recommenders submit my recommendation in another 4-5 days max. I don't want to get into last minute tensions as some of the fellow bloggers have been in. Also in my case, both my recommenders are outside US i.e i cannot meet them, just can talk over phone and convince them to submit recos on time :)
Lets keep the momentum going....a few more days left...
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Darden Essays started
Finally, i was able to complete second drafts of my Ross essays yesterday and sent it to one of my seniors for further critical review. I think my Ross essays are in good shape now. Their needs to be some modifications here and there but i think i will do those modifications once i get final comments from my second reviewer.
After incorporating these comments i will send my essays for one final review to one of my other seniors.
After Ross, finally i started with Darden essays. Darden has some unique essays this year and woohhhooooo they ask us to write just 1100 words across 3 essays.
But there is no need to be happy, as that means more work when i start cutting down on words and lines after my first draft of essays are ready :)
When i read the first essay - "What matters to you most professionally and personally and how does an MBA help you relate to those priorities", i could not even think of how to start this essay. And strangely enough Darden doesn't ask for standard- Why Now? Why School? Career Goals question.... but there is a catch, you need to put together your story in this essay itself and that too in just 500 words. Other essays don't give you a chance to put your story.
Finally, i got an idea on how to start and connect my story for this essay and i am ready with the first draft of this essay now.
Its, time for me to go to sweet sleep now, already its 2Am, i need to getup at 7AM to go to office :( .... gud nite
P.S. - I got up late at 745AM and missed my train. Took another train 45 minutes later. Finally reached to office almost 1 hour late :( ....but thank god there were no issues.
After incorporating these comments i will send my essays for one final review to one of my other seniors.
After Ross, finally i started with Darden essays. Darden has some unique essays this year and woohhhooooo they ask us to write just 1100 words across 3 essays.
But there is no need to be happy, as that means more work when i start cutting down on words and lines after my first draft of essays are ready :)
When i read the first essay - "What matters to you most professionally and personally and how does an MBA help you relate to those priorities", i could not even think of how to start this essay. And strangely enough Darden doesn't ask for standard- Why Now? Why School? Career Goals question.... but there is a catch, you need to put together your story in this essay itself and that too in just 500 words. Other essays don't give you a chance to put your story.
Finally, i got an idea on how to start and connect my story for this essay and i am ready with the first draft of this essay now.
Its, time for me to go to sweet sleep now, already its 2Am, i need to getup at 7AM to go to office :( .... gud nite
P.S. - I got up late at 745AM and missed my train. Took another train 45 minutes later. Finally reached to office almost 1 hour late :( ....but thank god there were no issues.
Thursday, October 04, 2007
Ross essays
Ross app is the only thing i have been working on these days on application front...
I started with this app and i am still doing it :)
After writing 3 out of the 4 essays, i am kind of stuck in the 4th essay, which says to describe an alternate profession i would be in if i don't follow my goals. Though i know what i would have liked to do, but i am kind of stuck up in how to present it right now.
I have started work on my resume and will complete it by next weekend. Recommender 1 has already got the instructions and letter from the adcom about the reco, but i am still to finalize on my second recommender.
I am kind of stuck up on whether i should choose my previous manager with whom i have worked for 6 months or whether to choose a colleague who is senior to me and has worked with me for more than a year. I think this colleague will be able to present a better reco, because he knows me well professionally and can very well comment upon my professional attributes. I will have to finalize something by this weekend.
November 1 is the deadline for two of my colleges and it seems to be very near. I would have to work hard now, in order to submit my apps on time.
lets see on how it goes...
I started with this app and i am still doing it :)
After writing 3 out of the 4 essays, i am kind of stuck in the 4th essay, which says to describe an alternate profession i would be in if i don't follow my goals. Though i know what i would have liked to do, but i am kind of stuck up in how to present it right now.
I have started work on my resume and will complete it by next weekend. Recommender 1 has already got the instructions and letter from the adcom about the reco, but i am still to finalize on my second recommender.
I am kind of stuck up on whether i should choose my previous manager with whom i have worked for 6 months or whether to choose a colleague who is senior to me and has worked with me for more than a year. I think this colleague will be able to present a better reco, because he knows me well professionally and can very well comment upon my professional attributes. I will have to finalize something by this weekend.
November 1 is the deadline for two of my colleges and it seems to be very near. I would have to work hard now, in order to submit my apps on time.
lets see on how it goes...
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Essays, essays. essays...
A long time status update has been due from my side and as the title of this post says, my life these days has just been essays :)
I sincerely started writing essays some 12 days back and since then i haven't had time to think of anything else..anytime i get free, i am thinking about my essays :)
I started with Ross essays and i am about the complete their last essay. I have already mailed some of those essays to my reviewers.
The most important career goals essay took much less time for me as compared to other essays. In fact i had everything in mind before i wrote this essay and just had to pen my thoughts. So that didn't take much time. Though i will know how well i wrote it when it comes to me after reviews :)
But lots of stuff is left to be done, other than the essays
- I still haven't made my resume
- I have sent my documents for getting my transcripts.
- I have talked to one of my recommenders and explained her in detail about the whole process. - I am yet to finalize my second recommender, though i have 2 people in mind
- I haven't started essays for any other school, though i have researched about my R1 schools in detail now.
I hope to progress more in coming week, in fact i have to start running now to meet those R1 deadlines....hope i am able to get things done on time..
I sincerely started writing essays some 12 days back and since then i haven't had time to think of anything else..anytime i get free, i am thinking about my essays :)
I started with Ross essays and i am about the complete their last essay. I have already mailed some of those essays to my reviewers.
The most important career goals essay took much less time for me as compared to other essays. In fact i had everything in mind before i wrote this essay and just had to pen my thoughts. So that didn't take much time. Though i will know how well i wrote it when it comes to me after reviews :)
But lots of stuff is left to be done, other than the essays
- I still haven't made my resume
- I have sent my documents for getting my transcripts.
- I have talked to one of my recommenders and explained her in detail about the whole process. - I am yet to finalize my second recommender, though i have 2 people in mind
- I haven't started essays for any other school, though i have researched about my R1 schools in detail now.
I hope to progress more in coming week, in fact i have to start running now to meet those R1 deadlines....hope i am able to get things done on time..
Saturday, September 08, 2007
Apps process started - Second step towards the goal
This week i started with the app process - the second step towards my goal after GMAT.......I hope i complete it in time and with full satisfaction...
But in just 1 week i have realized that this second step is gonna be harder than the first one :) ....
Okk i will start with the schools i have shortlisted:-
1) Chicago
2) Stern
3) Ross
4) Darden
5) Wharton
Also there are some more schools :) :-
1) Stanford
2) Duke
3) Haas
4) UCLA Anderson
5) Kellogg
6) Tuck
7) Emory
So that's make a total of 12 schools and you people can see all the confusions i am into right now :)
Also i cannot apply to more than 2-3 schools in the R-1 deadline because i am already very late for the whole process, the rest of the schools i will have to push to R-2, which will reduce my chance of me getting in due to my IT-male profile :)
I am yet to spend some serious time on putting in thoughts for my essays, but will probably start that tomorrow. I am really stuck on even how to start writing right now.....perhaps, starting to write the essays is the most difficult part of the apps. I hope i make a good start....
But in just 1 week i have realized that this second step is gonna be harder than the first one :) ....
Okk i will start with the schools i have shortlisted:-
1) Chicago
2) Stern
3) Ross
4) Darden
5) Wharton
Also there are some more schools :) :-
1) Stanford
2) Duke
3) Haas
4) UCLA Anderson
5) Kellogg
6) Tuck
7) Emory
So that's make a total of 12 schools and you people can see all the confusions i am into right now :)
Also i cannot apply to more than 2-3 schools in the R-1 deadline because i am already very late for the whole process, the rest of the schools i will have to push to R-2, which will reduce my chance of me getting in due to my IT-male profile :)
I am yet to spend some serious time on putting in thoughts for my essays, but will probably start that tomorrow. I am really stuck on even how to start writing right now.....perhaps, starting to write the essays is the most difficult part of the apps. I hope i make a good start....
D-Day - GMAT Experience
I took my GMAT appointment at 8 AM and i never gave a single test at that time. Many people said that give at least one test at 8 but i didn't listen. I believe, Its all in the mind I gave all my mock tests between 10-2PM. Actually i had to go to library to give the tests.Also before the exam i only slept for 5 hrs. Somehow didn't get sleep till late Anyways, i reached my centre at 715 AM and waited will 730 to enter the center. Those 15 minutes i used for self motivation Entered the exam room at 750AM after completing all the formalities.
Selected the schools and then started with AWA. I had the format to write the essays, wrote the essays in that format and was able to put in good ideas in them. All in all was very satisfied with my performance here, given that i had put only 2 days of prep for this section. Took a 10 minute break in which i had 1 Red bull. Again motivated myself for the real test now.
Then started with Quant. Initially Quant questions were easy and i was rechecking all the answers till Q10, but after Q10 difficulty level started increasing and questions were taking lot of time. I had to speed up after Q 17 and didn't recheck any of my answers after that. I got some 2-3 probability questions in between which i was able to answer. Overall the difficulty level was same as that of GMATPrep. For the last question i had 2 minutes and i started it leisurely. It involved some large calculations and finally when i came with answer, it didn't match any of the choices, and only 15 seconds were left. I had to guess this one. I knew that i will not be able to hit 51 in Quant. Anyways, my aim was only 50, not 51. I knew with 50 in Maths i can still do well. So i was satisfied.
Now took another 10 minutes break. I took another red bull . Looked into the mirror, said to me that here starts the most imp 75 minutes test. It all depends on these 75 minutes whether i will make it or not, so just motivated myself to have confidence and give my best shot.
Started verbal with 2 SC's, average difficulty level. Then came an easy CR.Got my first RC at Q3 which i marked comfortably and i was confident of my accuracy till now. Then came a series of SC's and CR's. SC's were getting difficult. At Q 10 gt my second RC of 4 questions. It was a large RC but i handled it well. After this there were 3-4 SC's in line, some of which were difficult and took time. Then at Q24 got my third RC which was small but a difficult one. At Q33, git my last 4th RC, average length and avg difficulty. After Q31 it was getting difficulty for me to concentrate because the feeling of result kept coming in my mind. Tried hard and was able to concentrate for some more moments, but i had increased by speed now to complete the test ASAP. Also after 15 th question my speed reduced due to difficulty, so i had to increase my speed after 28th question to bring it back to 2 minutes per question. This is imp because last questions are imp and you should have time for them. Finally i had 12 minutes for last 5 questions. took my time for these question. Also now i was worried since i didn't get any bold face CR till now. So again i felt difficult to concentrate. Finally Q40 was a bold faced huge CR which was very difficult and i took 3.5 minutes to mark it. Then for last question i had 2.5 minutes still left. Marked it in 1/2 minute and clicked on next with 2 minutes still to go.
Now, i could hear the beat of my heart and was feeling very tense. The bad thing is you have to fill an 8 page survey after the verbal section and i was getting very tense while filling it .Finally i got the screen to accept / reject scores. And clicked on report scores. The page hanged to calculate my score and for me the whole world hanged in those 5 seconds. I knew had done well but still i was very nervous. I knew i couldn't have scored below 740 and somehow thought that my score should be 760.
I Closed my eyes and prayed. When i opened my eyes, i saw 770 ( 50, 45) - was shocked for 2 minutes. I couldn't utter a word just kept looking at the screen. Months of hard work just splashed in front of my eyes. Thanked God, looked out of the window to check if everything is real and called the test admin. She asked me to click next. Didn't want to get past that screen but clicked on End test.Took print out of the score, switched on my phone and already my friends were calling me :)
Selected the schools and then started with AWA. I had the format to write the essays, wrote the essays in that format and was able to put in good ideas in them. All in all was very satisfied with my performance here, given that i had put only 2 days of prep for this section. Took a 10 minute break in which i had 1 Red bull. Again motivated myself for the real test now.
Then started with Quant. Initially Quant questions were easy and i was rechecking all the answers till Q10, but after Q10 difficulty level started increasing and questions were taking lot of time. I had to speed up after Q 17 and didn't recheck any of my answers after that. I got some 2-3 probability questions in between which i was able to answer. Overall the difficulty level was same as that of GMATPrep. For the last question i had 2 minutes and i started it leisurely. It involved some large calculations and finally when i came with answer, it didn't match any of the choices, and only 15 seconds were left. I had to guess this one. I knew that i will not be able to hit 51 in Quant. Anyways, my aim was only 50, not 51. I knew with 50 in Maths i can still do well. So i was satisfied.
Now took another 10 minutes break. I took another red bull . Looked into the mirror, said to me that here starts the most imp 75 minutes test. It all depends on these 75 minutes whether i will make it or not, so just motivated myself to have confidence and give my best shot.
Started verbal with 2 SC's, average difficulty level. Then came an easy CR.Got my first RC at Q3 which i marked comfortably and i was confident of my accuracy till now. Then came a series of SC's and CR's. SC's were getting difficult. At Q 10 gt my second RC of 4 questions. It was a large RC but i handled it well. After this there were 3-4 SC's in line, some of which were difficult and took time. Then at Q24 got my third RC which was small but a difficult one. At Q33, git my last 4th RC, average length and avg difficulty. After Q31 it was getting difficulty for me to concentrate because the feeling of result kept coming in my mind. Tried hard and was able to concentrate for some more moments, but i had increased by speed now to complete the test ASAP. Also after 15 th question my speed reduced due to difficulty, so i had to increase my speed after 28th question to bring it back to 2 minutes per question. This is imp because last questions are imp and you should have time for them. Finally i had 12 minutes for last 5 questions. took my time for these question. Also now i was worried since i didn't get any bold face CR till now. So again i felt difficult to concentrate. Finally Q40 was a bold faced huge CR which was very difficult and i took 3.5 minutes to mark it. Then for last question i had 2.5 minutes still left. Marked it in 1/2 minute and clicked on next with 2 minutes still to go.
Now, i could hear the beat of my heart and was feeling very tense. The bad thing is you have to fill an 8 page survey after the verbal section and i was getting very tense while filling it .Finally i got the screen to accept / reject scores. And clicked on report scores. The page hanged to calculate my score and for me the whole world hanged in those 5 seconds. I knew had done well but still i was very nervous. I knew i couldn't have scored below 740 and somehow thought that my score should be 760.
I Closed my eyes and prayed. When i opened my eyes, i saw 770 ( 50, 45) - was shocked for 2 minutes. I couldn't utter a word just kept looking at the screen. Months of hard work just splashed in front of my eyes. Thanked God, looked out of the window to check if everything is real and called the test admin. She asked me to click next. Didn't want to get past that screen but clicked on End test.Took print out of the score, switched on my phone and already my friends were calling me :)
Tuesday, September 04, 2007
GMAT Official score report arrives - they like my writing skills
Finally i got my Official Score Report yesterday and they seem to like my writing skills :)
I managed to score 5.5 in AWA. Though i know that it just translates to 83% but personally for me, its more than enough. I hardly prepared for this section in last 2-3 days only and only practiced 1-2 essays. Also i don't think that my writing skills are that great, so i felt good on seeing 5.5
Now at least, everything which could be done from GMAT side for my apps has been done, now starts the actual game of apps when i start writing the essays.
Will keep you all updated. Also coming soon, my prep schedule and my D-Day experience.
I managed to score 5.5 in AWA. Though i know that it just translates to 83% but personally for me, its more than enough. I hardly prepared for this section in last 2-3 days only and only practiced 1-2 essays. Also i don't think that my writing skills are that great, so i felt good on seeing 5.5
Now at least, everything which could be done from GMAT side for my apps has been done, now starts the actual game of apps when i start writing the essays.
Will keep you all updated. Also coming soon, my prep schedule and my D-Day experience.
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
GMAT Rocked......it's my day....barrier broken :)
Finally, I am done with GMAT....
I scored 770 ( Q -50, V- 45)
This is exactly the score i scored in GMATPrep two days ago after re-installing it.
I was so happy when i saw the score that i didn't know how to react......months of hard work just splashed in front of my eyes.....i am so very happy that the hard work has finally paid off :):)
Believe me guys, the feeling has still not sunk in.....
I was a boy who used to read so many GMAT success stories and used to think if i will be able to get that kind of a score.......yup i did believe in myself all the time...
Just a month back, life seemed to be so dull, i felt like i was doing nothing and losing on my dreams.....but after this the whole world looks to be brighter...
Ive Leagues - here comes Achilles ;)
P.S. I really want to thank all of you fellow bloggers who were of so much support during my preps.
Also thanks to all my roommates Saurabh, Sachin and Sanket for supporting and helping me throughout my preps. You guys deserve a special mention here. Thanks
Righty - Thanks for all the support and thanks for always being there always.
I scored 770 ( Q -50, V- 45)
This is exactly the score i scored in GMATPrep two days ago after re-installing it.
I was so happy when i saw the score that i didn't know how to react......months of hard work just splashed in front of my eyes.....i am so very happy that the hard work has finally paid off :):)
Believe me guys, the feeling has still not sunk in.....
I was a boy who used to read so many GMAT success stories and used to think if i will be able to get that kind of a score.......yup i did believe in myself all the time...
Just a month back, life seemed to be so dull, i felt like i was doing nothing and losing on my dreams.....but after this the whole world looks to be brighter...
Ive Leagues - here comes Achilles ;)
P.S. I really want to thank all of you fellow bloggers who were of so much support during my preps.
Also thanks to all my roommates Saurabh, Sachin and Sanket for supporting and helping me throughout my preps. You guys deserve a special mention here. Thanks
Righty - Thanks for all the support and thanks for always being there always.
Thursday, August 23, 2007
4 days to go...
Now its just 4 days to go for my GMAT and i have started feeling bored with my preps. I have essentially slowed down this week and didn't study much.
Because of my bad SC performance in the last test i practiced SC from Kaplan 800. The reason i am getting low accuracy in SC is that i am trying to through them. I am marking SC questions very fast and many time i don't even go through all the choices, so that's one of the reasons that i am screwing up this section.
Didn't practice any other section much this week till now.
For the coming days, i will just revise my mistakes in various material i have done till now, give one full length test over the weekend, study AWA and go through Quant concepts. That's it.
Also one more imp thing i will start from tomorrow, waking up at 6 AM in the morning from tomorrow till the D-Day at least :) . I have my test appointment scheduled at 8:00 AM in the morning and haven't practiced a single test at that time. So for the coming days, i will at least try to wake up early and do some practice questions during the test time, just to get some confidence and practice. I usually sleep very late in the night and usually get up at 7:15 in the morning for office, but from today will try to sleep a little early and wake up at 6:00 AM in the morning. :)
I will be taking leave from office for Monday and Tuesday.
Just to reduce my anxiety levels and to relax i am also planning to go for a movie over the weekend.
Lets see, how i manage time during these 4 days.
Because of my bad SC performance in the last test i practiced SC from Kaplan 800. The reason i am getting low accuracy in SC is that i am trying to through them. I am marking SC questions very fast and many time i don't even go through all the choices, so that's one of the reasons that i am screwing up this section.
Didn't practice any other section much this week till now.
For the coming days, i will just revise my mistakes in various material i have done till now, give one full length test over the weekend, study AWA and go through Quant concepts. That's it.
Also one more imp thing i will start from tomorrow, waking up at 6 AM in the morning from tomorrow till the D-Day at least :) . I have my test appointment scheduled at 8:00 AM in the morning and haven't practiced a single test at that time. So for the coming days, i will at least try to wake up early and do some practice questions during the test time, just to get some confidence and practice. I usually sleep very late in the night and usually get up at 7:15 in the morning for office, but from today will try to sleep a little early and wake up at 6:00 AM in the morning. :)
I will be taking leave from office for Monday and Tuesday.
Just to reduce my anxiety levels and to relax i am also planning to go for a movie over the weekend.
Lets see, how i manage time during these 4 days.
Saturday, August 18, 2007
The Penultimate test...
So finally i gave my penultimate test -- GMATPrep2 ,and its still 1 week left for my GMAT....but believe me i really need this remaining time.
Though i scored ok on this test, but i scored my worst accuracy in SC--> 53% and i m really worried about it now. While giving the test i didn't expect my SC accuracy to be so down. I scored a 100% accuracy in CR but they were not of GMAT level, they seemed to be below that.
Though i scored 750(Q-50, V-41) in the test, i got 11 questions wrong in Verbal.
Questions wrong:- 7, 15, 16, 18, 22, 26, 29, 33, 37, 38, 39
SC wrong :- 8/17
So after all the preps i got my lowest accuracy in SC till now :( ....i have to put a strategy in place for next 1 week to improve in SC and also i need some more practice in CR.
Maths:- Though i scored 50 today but i made 7 mistakes, which was very disappointing. Though many of them were foolish but committing foolish mistakes at this stage is the last thing i want.
I am planning to revise Kaplan 800 in the coming week and also revise some of my concepts from Manhattan. Also i will analyze all my mistakes done in Verbal.
AWA: Though i have prepared the format of the essays but i haven't done much practice here, so need to practice more to gain some confidence in this section.
Coming week is really going to be very long for me......
Though i scored ok on this test, but i scored my worst accuracy in SC--> 53% and i m really worried about it now. While giving the test i didn't expect my SC accuracy to be so down. I scored a 100% accuracy in CR but they were not of GMAT level, they seemed to be below that.
Though i scored 750(Q-50, V-41) in the test, i got 11 questions wrong in Verbal.
Questions wrong:- 7, 15, 16, 18, 22, 26, 29, 33, 37, 38, 39
SC wrong :- 8/17
So after all the preps i got my lowest accuracy in SC till now :( ....i have to put a strategy in place for next 1 week to improve in SC and also i need some more practice in CR.
Maths:- Though i scored 50 today but i made 7 mistakes, which was very disappointing. Though many of them were foolish but committing foolish mistakes at this stage is the last thing i want.
I am planning to revise Kaplan 800 in the coming week and also revise some of my concepts from Manhattan. Also i will analyze all my mistakes done in Verbal.
AWA: Though i have prepared the format of the essays but i haven't done much practice here, so need to practice more to gain some confidence in this section.
Coming week is really going to be very long for me......
Saturday, August 11, 2007
GMATPrep 1 - And I've hit the barrier again
Today was the day when i had planned to give my GMATprep1 practice test and i have been waiting for this day throughout this week.
I woke up at 9 AM and reached library at 10, the time when it opens on Saturday morning. I looked for a quiet place and soon started the test. Started with AWA for the first time, just though about a few points and wrote down but didn't actually write it the way i should write on the D day.
Started with the Quant section and encountered 8th question as a probability question which was kind of tough. I wasted some time on this one and then marked(guessed) it to proceed to the next question. Overall Maths section was of good difficulty level, with some very good questions coming in between and some of the questions really took time. Also i had to attend an imp phone call in between this section and thus ended up wasting 2-3 minutes of test time, the importance of which i realised in the last minutes of this section.
Now when i reached question 28 there were only 12 minutes left. God...i took so much time for the first time in this section. Also initially i was rechecking my answers for each question which again wasted some of the time.....this is somewhat similar to what happens with people on the actual test day. But then i speeded up and completed this section just on time. I had to guess 2 questions due to lack of time which ultimately went wrong.
Now started verbal and it started with an easy CR. But the second question was a SC which as kind of tough. And soon started RC's and all. I came across 4 RC's but one thing different was that most of the passages were small, they were not very large...was i lucky in this test??
Finally finished this section with 2 minutes to spare. Clicked on results. Somehow, I didn't have good feeling and expected the score to be around 700 only, but.....
750 ( Q- 49, V- 42) --- Godd i am so happy for today!!
Questions wrong:-
Q- 3, 8, 24, 28, 33, 36 ----6 questions wrong. But the 3 rd question is wrong in the test strangely ....i made all my friends solve this question and they found the same answer as i marked but GMATprep shows a different answer which certainly is wrong. Has anybody encountered such a situation?
V- 2,4,14, 18, 22, 24, 32, 33, 34, 36
But now the bad part---
I screwed quant badly - fell short of time for last 10 questions and also scored 49 :(:( .....i cannot afford to go below 50 in Maths on the D-Day ....now this test has made me believe that at least there is no chance for me to score 51 in Q on the D- Day. I have to practice this section more to have any chance of scoring 51 on D- Day assuming that the difficult level on the real test is same as that of GMATprep. What say people??
Verbal though the score seems good but i made 10 mistakes and out of those 5 were SC's.
Breakup of mistakes:-
SC- 5/16 ---- just 68.75% accuracy :(
RC - 2/14
CR- 3/11
So my SC accuracy in this test was really pathetic :( . I have to revise all my concepts again and practice more in this area.
Also one other thing i am worried about is i was not at all confident when i was clicking on results that i will be able to hit this much, that means i was not confident of questions i marked which is also true.
Anyways, the only thing i can do right now is to keep the focus and practice more. Also still AWA is pending...... Now i am just 2 weeks away from D-Day. And believe me if i am able hit this score in real, i will be so very happy!!
Will be giving my GMATprep2 test next week and keep you all updated about my prep. Also may be will need help of you people, as i approach near the real test.
I woke up at 9 AM and reached library at 10, the time when it opens on Saturday morning. I looked for a quiet place and soon started the test. Started with AWA for the first time, just though about a few points and wrote down but didn't actually write it the way i should write on the D day.
Started with the Quant section and encountered 8th question as a probability question which was kind of tough. I wasted some time on this one and then marked(guessed) it to proceed to the next question. Overall Maths section was of good difficulty level, with some very good questions coming in between and some of the questions really took time. Also i had to attend an imp phone call in between this section and thus ended up wasting 2-3 minutes of test time, the importance of which i realised in the last minutes of this section.
Now when i reached question 28 there were only 12 minutes left. God...i took so much time for the first time in this section. Also initially i was rechecking my answers for each question which again wasted some of the time.....this is somewhat similar to what happens with people on the actual test day. But then i speeded up and completed this section just on time. I had to guess 2 questions due to lack of time which ultimately went wrong.
Now started verbal and it started with an easy CR. But the second question was a SC which as kind of tough. And soon started RC's and all. I came across 4 RC's but one thing different was that most of the passages were small, they were not very large...was i lucky in this test??
Finally finished this section with 2 minutes to spare. Clicked on results. Somehow, I didn't have good feeling and expected the score to be around 700 only, but.....
750 ( Q- 49, V- 42) --- Godd i am so happy for today!!
Questions wrong:-
Q- 3, 8, 24, 28, 33, 36 ----6 questions wrong. But the 3 rd question is wrong in the test strangely ....i made all my friends solve this question and they found the same answer as i marked but GMATprep shows a different answer which certainly is wrong. Has anybody encountered such a situation?
V- 2,4,14, 18, 22, 24, 32, 33, 34, 36
But now the bad part---
I screwed quant badly - fell short of time for last 10 questions and also scored 49 :(:( .....i cannot afford to go below 50 in Maths on the D-Day ....now this test has made me believe that at least there is no chance for me to score 51 in Q on the D- Day. I have to practice this section more to have any chance of scoring 51 on D- Day assuming that the difficult level on the real test is same as that of GMATprep. What say people??
Verbal though the score seems good but i made 10 mistakes and out of those 5 were SC's.
Breakup of mistakes:-
SC- 5/16 ---- just 68.75% accuracy :(
RC - 2/14
CR- 3/11
So my SC accuracy in this test was really pathetic :( . I have to revise all my concepts again and practice more in this area.
Also one other thing i am worried about is i was not at all confident when i was clicking on results that i will be able to hit this much, that means i was not confident of questions i marked which is also true.
Anyways, the only thing i can do right now is to keep the focus and practice more. Also still AWA is pending...... Now i am just 2 weeks away from D-Day. And believe me if i am able hit this score in real, i will be so very happy!!
Will be giving my GMATprep2 test next week and keep you all updated about my prep. Also may be will need help of you people, as i approach near the real test.
Wednesday, August 08, 2007
Gmat < 3 weeks to go - Updates and Doubts
Due to the work pressure this week, i am unable to concentrate on my prep this week. I have been leaving for office at 7:30 in the morning this week and coming back late. So, when i sit to study in the late evening, i feel so sleepy that i am unable to concentrate :( :( . Its just 3 weeks left for my GMAT and this work pressure is killing me.
Anyways, i started with 1000 SC collection this week and complete dome 80 of them with just 80% accuracy. I have some serious doubts in some of the questions and some of the answers seems to be wrong. What's the opinion of other people who have tried their hands on 1000 SC collection? How can i can get their explanations or maybe the correct answers at least. If the authenticity of answers is not proven for these, i really don't want to waste my time on these questions.
Also the only other thing i have been doing this week is OG revision. Also completed reading AWA Analysis of Argument section from OG, but i haven't prepared the format of my response till now and i am yet to practice with any of the essays.
I know i am lagging behind in my preps and somehow i have to manage both my work( i have a project deadline on September 3) and my preps till August 28, though my personal life is already running out of my control. I have stopped responding to calls of so many people these days, i am sure they are going to kill me when they see me next time :(
I have to gather and focus all my energy on my preps and work for the coming weeks. Please God give me strength :)
Anyways, i started with 1000 SC collection this week and complete dome 80 of them with just 80% accuracy. I have some serious doubts in some of the questions and some of the answers seems to be wrong. What's the opinion of other people who have tried their hands on 1000 SC collection? How can i can get their explanations or maybe the correct answers at least. If the authenticity of answers is not proven for these, i really don't want to waste my time on these questions.
Also the only other thing i have been doing this week is OG revision. Also completed reading AWA Analysis of Argument section from OG, but i haven't prepared the format of my response till now and i am yet to practice with any of the essays.
I know i am lagging behind in my preps and somehow i have to manage both my work( i have a project deadline on September 3) and my preps till August 28, though my personal life is already running out of my control. I have stopped responding to calls of so many people these days, i am sure they are going to kill me when they see me next time :(
I have to gather and focus all my energy on my preps and work for the coming weeks. Please God give me strength :)
Saturday, August 04, 2007
Powerprep 2 - Broke the barrier :)
Today God really wanted me to give a bday gift and see he has given it :) , i just broke the barrier which i have been thinking to break for so long. Yup i have hit 750.
Scores in Powerprep2 :-
Overall - 750 ( Q-50, V-41)
It was a very nice feeling when i looked at the score.
Quant section:- ( 1 Question wrong) - completed with 10 minutes to spare
The section seemed very easy, i don't know why, though there were some tricky questions here and there. But overall the level was easy.
And i got just one question wrong here - Q27 :( and that too was a foolish mistake. Due to this i missed hitting 51 in Maths.
Verbal Section:- Completed with 14 minutes to spare.
It was of average difficulty level, but this time i saw some of the question which i had already seen somewhere :( . So that also questions the validity of these scores since i had already seen some of the questions. I think other people also experience the same with Powerprep.
Questions wrong :- ( 6 questions wrong - 1 less than the less time.)
2, 9, 12, 17, 21, 23
Breakup :-
1- SC :)
3- RC
2- CR
I am really happy that i decided top give the test today on my birthday :) and managed to hit a good score also. Though there were some seen questions but i am happy that atleast once i have broken the barrier.
The race has started and i have started running atleast :).
The next test is going to be GMAT Prep1
Scores in Powerprep2 :-
Overall - 750 ( Q-50, V-41)
It was a very nice feeling when i looked at the score.
Quant section:- ( 1 Question wrong) - completed with 10 minutes to spare
The section seemed very easy, i don't know why, though there were some tricky questions here and there. But overall the level was easy.
And i got just one question wrong here - Q27 :( and that too was a foolish mistake. Due to this i missed hitting 51 in Maths.
Verbal Section:- Completed with 14 minutes to spare.
It was of average difficulty level, but this time i saw some of the question which i had already seen somewhere :( . So that also questions the validity of these scores since i had already seen some of the questions. I think other people also experience the same with Powerprep.
Questions wrong :- ( 6 questions wrong - 1 less than the less time.)
2, 9, 12, 17, 21, 23
Breakup :-
1- SC :)
3- RC
2- CR
I am really happy that i decided top give the test today on my birthday :) and managed to hit a good score also. Though there were some seen questions but i am happy that atleast once i have broken the barrier.
The race has started and i have started running atleast :).
The next test is going to be GMAT Prep1
Happy Birthday to me!!
Today is my birthday and here i am giving the Powerprep2 GMAT :) . There is no time to party, i have very less time left for my GMAT and cannot waste a weekend, because its only on the weekends that i can give the mock tests....
Though i will party in the evening, if the test goes fine :)
Will post you guys after the test with scores.
Though i will party in the evening, if the test goes fine :)
Will post you guys after the test with scores.
Friday, August 03, 2007
Got the GMAT Scheduled
Finally, I have taken the plunge.
Today morning when i reached office, i checked mba.com and saw one slot available on August 28, the date which i had in the back of my mind. As soon as i saw the date , i took out my credit card and booked it. Well spent 250$ :).
The center is approx. 10 miles from my home, so its kind of near :). I will have to visit the center in advance to see for the parking arrangements, don't want to take any chances on the test day.
Now i am just praying that work pressure remains low for these 3 weeks somehow and i am able to complete all the things that i have planned before the test :).
Only major cause of worry right now is that i haven't started with the AWA section. From where are other bloggers preparing for this section?
So the clock has started ticking for me now. Its a race and i have to win it somehow.
Today morning when i reached office, i checked mba.com and saw one slot available on August 28, the date which i had in the back of my mind. As soon as i saw the date , i took out my credit card and booked it. Well spent 250$ :).
The center is approx. 10 miles from my home, so its kind of near :). I will have to visit the center in advance to see for the parking arrangements, don't want to take any chances on the test day.
Now i am just praying that work pressure remains low for these 3 weeks somehow and i am able to complete all the things that i have planned before the test :).
Only major cause of worry right now is that i haven't started with the AWA section. From where are other bloggers preparing for this section?
So the clock has started ticking for me now. Its a race and i have to win it somehow.
Wednesday, August 01, 2007
GMAT Prep continues....
This week is going on well at least for my preps. I was able to complete the OG Verbal Review book today.
And my accuracy levels have improved in CR and RC from what they were in when i was doing OG.
In SC, though initially i was performing very well but towards the end i somehow managed to screw it up and ended up with less than 80% accuracy(78%) :( :( . Though one reason for this is that i was very tired up in SC towards the end but since I wanted to complete it so I stretched myself a bit. But whatever maybe the reason i have to concentrate on my SC again now.
I have started with OG second round now. Started with SC :) , I did first 100 questions and i had a very decent accuracy (89%) till now. I will start with CR and RC revision also by this weekend.
Now the missing parts, i haven't practiced Quant section since last 20 days, except the tests which i have been giving over the weekends. So i will have to gear myself up for quant right now.
I have to ensure that i hit 50 in Quant in the actual test. Though i have not been worrying about Quant till now, because on all the Kaplan tests i have been hitting 50 easily, though in the Powerprep 1 test my score fell down to 49. But in actual test i cannot afford that. Also i have heard that these days Quant section has some very tough questions coming up so have to gear for that.
Planning to revise the basics first from OG and then complete OG Maths again, i think that should give me the required practice.
Second thing which is missing in my prep now is the AWA section which i haven't started. Now i will have to start with this section tomorrow for sure. It's high time now. I have to practice at least some arguments before my actual test.
Though i haven't been able to take the date yet due to unavailability, i have thought of taking the test in August last week, also i am studying and making my schedule with August 28 as date in my mind. Lets see if i am able to take some date. But as other bloggers have pointed out, i should be able to get it because of cancellations happening at the last moment. I hope i am able to get it.
And my accuracy levels have improved in CR and RC from what they were in when i was doing OG.
In SC, though initially i was performing very well but towards the end i somehow managed to screw it up and ended up with less than 80% accuracy(78%) :( :( . Though one reason for this is that i was very tired up in SC towards the end but since I wanted to complete it so I stretched myself a bit. But whatever maybe the reason i have to concentrate on my SC again now.
I have started with OG second round now. Started with SC :) , I did first 100 questions and i had a very decent accuracy (89%) till now. I will start with CR and RC revision also by this weekend.
Now the missing parts, i haven't practiced Quant section since last 20 days, except the tests which i have been giving over the weekends. So i will have to gear myself up for quant right now.
I have to ensure that i hit 50 in Quant in the actual test. Though i have not been worrying about Quant till now, because on all the Kaplan tests i have been hitting 50 easily, though in the Powerprep 1 test my score fell down to 49. But in actual test i cannot afford that. Also i have heard that these days Quant section has some very tough questions coming up so have to gear for that.
Planning to revise the basics first from OG and then complete OG Maths again, i think that should give me the required practice.
Second thing which is missing in my prep now is the AWA section which i haven't started. Now i will have to start with this section tomorrow for sure. It's high time now. I have to practice at least some arguments before my actual test.
Though i haven't been able to take the date yet due to unavailability, i have thought of taking the test in August last week, also i am studying and making my schedule with August 28 as date in my mind. Lets see if i am able to take some date. But as other bloggers have pointed out, i should be able to get it because of cancellations happening at the last moment. I hope i am able to get it.
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
My GMATPrep -- confusions, prepration and status-help required :)
Since my last post i have been regularly looking at mba.com for getting a date in last week of August, but still there are no appointments. If that continues for another week, i will take a date in the first week of September.
Now my current status in prep:-
OG11 - Done except AWA, but its been a while since i completed this.
Kaplan Premier program- I started my prep with this book and completed it.
Kaplan 800- Verbal completed - but again its been more than a month now.
OG verbal Review - Presently doing. Completed SC and CR , RC is left.
Now my goal for the coming weeks is :-
1) Complete OG verbal review in 1-2 days now.
2) Revise OG11
3) Revise Kaplan 800
4) Go through the standard noted like Spidey's notes.
5) Revise some concepts from Manhattan SC.
Tests already taken:-
All kaplan tests - Avg. 0f 650
Powerprep 1 - 730
Tests left:-
GMATPreps , Powerprep2 and Manhattan tests
Confusions:-
One major thing i am worried about is that i haven't touched the AWA section till now. I am planning to go through this sectionjust 15 days before the test and also i don't have much tie to devote to this section. People i need your opinions here that how much time is needed for this section and what all should i do in this section?
Also should i revise OG11 and Kaplan 800 right now or should i revise them when i am more near to the test.
I think the time which i have kept between now and my planned GMAT date - 1 month is sufficient for completing what all is left over. Actually i have kept a month because i will get very less time during the weekdays to prepare because of the hectic work schedule.
Should i do some more material or is the material sufficient? If no, then what can i do for the next 1 month.
Hope to see some very serious suggestions from you people who have already been through this prep. Your suggestion can really help me.
Thanks
Now my current status in prep:-
OG11 - Done except AWA, but its been a while since i completed this.
Kaplan Premier program- I started my prep with this book and completed it.
Kaplan 800- Verbal completed - but again its been more than a month now.
OG verbal Review - Presently doing. Completed SC and CR , RC is left.
Now my goal for the coming weeks is :-
1) Complete OG verbal review in 1-2 days now.
2) Revise OG11
3) Revise Kaplan 800
4) Go through the standard noted like Spidey's notes.
5) Revise some concepts from Manhattan SC.
Tests already taken:-
All kaplan tests - Avg. 0f 650
Powerprep 1 - 730
Tests left:-
GMATPreps , Powerprep2 and Manhattan tests
Confusions:-
One major thing i am worried about is that i haven't touched the AWA section till now. I am planning to go through this sectionjust 15 days before the test and also i don't have much tie to devote to this section. People i need your opinions here that how much time is needed for this section and what all should i do in this section?
Also should i revise OG11 and Kaplan 800 right now or should i revise them when i am more near to the test.
I think the time which i have kept between now and my planned GMAT date - 1 month is sufficient for completing what all is left over. Actually i have kept a month because i will get very less time during the weekdays to prepare because of the hectic work schedule.
Should i do some more material or is the material sufficient? If no, then what can i do for the next 1 month.
Hope to see some very serious suggestions from you people who have already been through this prep. Your suggestion can really help me.
Thanks
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Kaplan GMAT CAT 4 - 660 ( Q- 50, V- 36)
Gave my last Kaplan test this Sunday afternoon. And that's the only thing i did related to GMAT this weekend. I couldn't study anything this weekend. :(
Anyways, coming to the test, this time i gave the test in the afternoon when i was feeling a bit sleepy to check my alertness levels.
The pattern of questions was pretty much similar to the previous Kaplan tests which i gave.
So coming to the results:-
660 ( Q- 50, V- 36)
Quant - 4 wrong ( 7, 12 , , )
Verbal - 10 wrong ( 3, 22, 23 , 29, 31, 33 , 36, 38, 40,41)
One thing which went good in this test was verbal. Though the verbal score is essentially same as the previous test's score but what drastically reduced is the number of mistakes in the first 20 questions. There was only 1 single mistake in the first 20 questions and that too was a CR question which i misread. So that was satisfying. Also the total number of mistakes in the verbal section has reduced from the last time. I screwed it up in the last 7 questions though. Actually i also fell short of time in the end. So that is one reason i screwed it up in the last, will have to improve on my speed in the next test.
Now the tests which i am left with are Powerprep2 and both GmatPreps. Although i also have access to Manhattan online tests, i am not sure how useful are they. Anybody has idea about Manhattan test's quality? Are they really worth doing?
Now i also have decide on the actual test date. I was looking for dates between 25th to 30th August but no slot is available at that time. Rechecking daily if some slot gets available. Also these days i am unable to study on the weekdays due to the work load which is really giving me tension now. I am only able to study over the weekend, thus the time devotes for the prep is reducing. I need to figure out some way.
Anyways, coming to the test, this time i gave the test in the afternoon when i was feeling a bit sleepy to check my alertness levels.
The pattern of questions was pretty much similar to the previous Kaplan tests which i gave.
So coming to the results:-
660 ( Q- 50, V- 36)
Quant - 4 wrong ( 7, 12 , , )
Verbal - 10 wrong ( 3, 22, 23 , 29, 31, 33 , 36, 38, 40,41)
One thing which went good in this test was verbal. Though the verbal score is essentially same as the previous test's score but what drastically reduced is the number of mistakes in the first 20 questions. There was only 1 single mistake in the first 20 questions and that too was a CR question which i misread. So that was satisfying. Also the total number of mistakes in the verbal section has reduced from the last time. I screwed it up in the last 7 questions though. Actually i also fell short of time in the end. So that is one reason i screwed it up in the last, will have to improve on my speed in the next test.
Now the tests which i am left with are Powerprep2 and both GmatPreps. Although i also have access to Manhattan online tests, i am not sure how useful are they. Anybody has idea about Manhattan test's quality? Are they really worth doing?
Now i also have decide on the actual test date. I was looking for dates between 25th to 30th August but no slot is available at that time. Rechecking daily if some slot gets available. Also these days i am unable to study on the weekdays due to the work load which is really giving me tension now. I am only able to study over the weekend, thus the time devotes for the prep is reducing. I need to figure out some way.
Sunday, July 15, 2007
GMAT PowerPrep 1 -- Missed the barrier again
As per my schedule i gave GMAT Powerprep 1 test on Sunday afternoon. So after doing a light breakfast i went to the library to give the test. I just took a coke can with me to drink it while taking the test.
As soon as i started the test, i found that the font of the test was not good and i was experiencing difficulty while reading things sometimes. I think the font size was bigger than usual and also the type of font didn't suit my eyes. I hope the actual GMAT doesn't have this kind of font.
Anyways, started with Quant and as usual it started with some DS questions initially. I was not confident while marking 1-2 questions in the first 10 but overall it seemed fine. I think took a good amount of time while doing the first 10 questions. Thus increased my speed after this. First 10 questions were coming increasing order of difficulty but after 11 there were some very easy questions, which made me wonder if i am doing the questions correctly. The difficulty level of questions again started increasing and i really encountered some good questions. Overall the maths section was of average difficulty level with some good questions. Due to my increased speed i finished the section 8 minutes earlier from the time limit.
While doing the maths section a couple came and sat beside me. They were constantly chatting even in the Quiet Area of the library which was very annoying. I decided to change seat when Quantitative section gets over but in the break i couldn't find any free seat with a slot to plug in my laptop. So just got back to my seat and started the Verbal section :(
Verbal started with first 4 questions of SC in which i was unsure about 1. Then came RS which was okay i think. And then on the 8th question cam bold faced CR, which gave me some confidence. After that at 11th question came my second RC which again was fine. Overall the section was good. I was struggling with speed in the middle but was able to catch up and finished the section with 2 minutes to spare.
As soon as i clicked on the results i was having a feeling that i have done good. And the result was:-
Overall --- 730 ( Quant - 49, V - 40)
Ohh god i screwed my Quant this time, how come, maybe i was very fast and i did some foolish mistakes, i cursed myself for this. Verbal score seemed to be fine.
But again i missed 750 barrier by miles. I have to figure outr how to break this barrier in coming few weeks. But my work schdule these days is so hectic that i only get time on weekends to study.
When i analyzed the test i found that it only showed only those questions which were counted for scoring, rest were ignored in the review which was kind of strange.
Quantitative- 28 questions
incorrect - 7, 19, 20, 25, 26 - Total 5 questions wrong
I think i messed up the score in the last questions , where my speed was high for without any reason. Also i don't think i did that many mistakes that the score should plummet to 49. Again messing up the last questions is the only thing i can think of right now.
Verbal - 30 questions only - 11 were ignored here it seems
incorrect - 4, 13, 16, 18, 20, 27 , 30 - Total 7 questions wrong.
It was again messy in the end. Also 4th question which a SC got wrong. I had a doubt in this one. During analysis i found out powerprep excluded one entire RC ( my third RC) from evaluation. Also one important analysis was that first 7 questions and last 8 questions were taking into account for scoring, so that means starting and ending questions are important.
Break up of mistakes in Verbal - SC- 2, CR - 3, RC - 1
Now i have to take the GMAT date. Planning to take it August end. I want some inputs from my fellow bloggers now, is 1 month enough now for my preparation. Will make a separate for this, analyzing my current levels of prep and things left to be done. Any suggestions are welcome...
As soon as i started the test, i found that the font of the test was not good and i was experiencing difficulty while reading things sometimes. I think the font size was bigger than usual and also the type of font didn't suit my eyes. I hope the actual GMAT doesn't have this kind of font.
Anyways, started with Quant and as usual it started with some DS questions initially. I was not confident while marking 1-2 questions in the first 10 but overall it seemed fine. I think took a good amount of time while doing the first 10 questions. Thus increased my speed after this. First 10 questions were coming increasing order of difficulty but after 11 there were some very easy questions, which made me wonder if i am doing the questions correctly. The difficulty level of questions again started increasing and i really encountered some good questions. Overall the maths section was of average difficulty level with some good questions. Due to my increased speed i finished the section 8 minutes earlier from the time limit.
While doing the maths section a couple came and sat beside me. They were constantly chatting even in the Quiet Area of the library which was very annoying. I decided to change seat when Quantitative section gets over but in the break i couldn't find any free seat with a slot to plug in my laptop. So just got back to my seat and started the Verbal section :(
Verbal started with first 4 questions of SC in which i was unsure about 1. Then came RS which was okay i think. And then on the 8th question cam bold faced CR, which gave me some confidence. After that at 11th question came my second RC which again was fine. Overall the section was good. I was struggling with speed in the middle but was able to catch up and finished the section with 2 minutes to spare.
As soon as i clicked on the results i was having a feeling that i have done good. And the result was:-
Overall --- 730 ( Quant - 49, V - 40)
Ohh god i screwed my Quant this time, how come, maybe i was very fast and i did some foolish mistakes, i cursed myself for this. Verbal score seemed to be fine.
But again i missed 750 barrier by miles. I have to figure outr how to break this barrier in coming few weeks. But my work schdule these days is so hectic that i only get time on weekends to study.
When i analyzed the test i found that it only showed only those questions which were counted for scoring, rest were ignored in the review which was kind of strange.
Quantitative- 28 questions
incorrect - 7, 19, 20, 25, 26 - Total 5 questions wrong
I think i messed up the score in the last questions , where my speed was high for without any reason. Also i don't think i did that many mistakes that the score should plummet to 49. Again messing up the last questions is the only thing i can think of right now.
Verbal - 30 questions only - 11 were ignored here it seems
incorrect - 4, 13, 16, 18, 20, 27 , 30 - Total 7 questions wrong.
It was again messy in the end. Also 4th question which a SC got wrong. I had a doubt in this one. During analysis i found out powerprep excluded one entire RC ( my third RC) from evaluation. Also one important analysis was that first 7 questions and last 8 questions were taking into account for scoring, so that means starting and ending questions are important.
Break up of mistakes in Verbal - SC- 2, CR - 3, RC - 1
Now i have to take the GMAT date. Planning to take it August end. I want some inputs from my fellow bloggers now, is 1 month enough now for my preparation. Will make a separate for this, analyzing my current levels of prep and things left to be done. Any suggestions are welcome...
Sunday, July 08, 2007
Kaplan GMAT Test 3 - , Am i still away from my dream?
I am posting after a very long time now.....Anyways, will put a separate post for what all has been going on in my life, this post is just for the test i wrote today - Kaplan GMAT test 3.
After a long time i wrote a full length GMAT test and chose to write Kaplan CD test. I wrote the test 3 since i have already written first two tests.
Since it was very difficult to give test at home ( can't maintain concentration at home for 3 hours) so i went to library to give the test. It was very quiet. In fact, in the beginning i was feeling very sleepy.
Quant started with an easy question, but after that next 11 questions i got were from DS....and after every question there was an increase in the difficulty level. Anyways Quant went fine overall. I believed i had done well and i just thought that i will only get a few DS questions wrong. I finished the Quantitative section with 8 minutes remaining.
Verbal started with a boom, the first question was a SC and it was very very tough. Somehow answered that after 2 minutes, but i was highly unsure. Second question was a CR and again it was dicey and i lost another 3 minutes here. But after that a few questions seemed fine, which made me believe that i have answered first 2 questions wrong.
I decided not to think about what has happened and instead to concentrate in the present question. Overall the verbal question was difficult., and i was feeling short of time in the end. When i was on 30th question only 16 minutes were remaining. I decided to increase my speed but was stuck with a RC on 34. This time i just read the questions first and took a quick scan of the passage and marked the 3 questions very fast. Now i was on Q37 and time remaining was 4 minutes. But now i was going at good speed and finished Verbal with 1.5 minutes remaining.
So i think my speed was satisfactory.
Results:-
660 ( Q- 50, V- 36)
Quant :
Wrong - 3 (Q 24, 31, 35)
The first question i maked wrong was Q-24 . So that was good performance i think:)
Also i marked only 1 DS question wrong (Q 35), rest 2 were of PS. So overall this section went good
Verbal:
Right - 29
Wrong - 12 ( Q - 1,2, 14,15,16, 22, 29, 31, 33, 36, 38, 40)
As expected i marked first 2 questions wrong :(:(. This proved to be my nemesis.
But thank god i marked next 12 question right else my score would been very scary.
But again 14,15,16 - 3 consecutive questiions wrong - this again was very bad since consecutive mistakes plummets the score faster. And there were some regular alternat mistakes after Q- 29.
Overall i will say if first 2 questions would not have been wrong, i would have done much much better in this test.
Anyways, right now i know i have to practice a lot in order to achieve my dream score and i need to be regular. Also i plan to give 1 more test and then take the GMAT date. Since there are 3 centres where i can give the test ( SFo, San Jose, Oakland) i think i will be able to get the dates for August easily.
Any comments and suggestions from the fellow bloggers who have already taken the GMAT will really help me and are really welcome.
Ok friends till the next one, cya....
Verbal
After a long time i wrote a full length GMAT test and chose to write Kaplan CD test. I wrote the test 3 since i have already written first two tests.
Since it was very difficult to give test at home ( can't maintain concentration at home for 3 hours) so i went to library to give the test. It was very quiet. In fact, in the beginning i was feeling very sleepy.
Quant started with an easy question, but after that next 11 questions i got were from DS....and after every question there was an increase in the difficulty level. Anyways Quant went fine overall. I believed i had done well and i just thought that i will only get a few DS questions wrong. I finished the Quantitative section with 8 minutes remaining.
Verbal started with a boom, the first question was a SC and it was very very tough. Somehow answered that after 2 minutes, but i was highly unsure. Second question was a CR and again it was dicey and i lost another 3 minutes here. But after that a few questions seemed fine, which made me believe that i have answered first 2 questions wrong.
I decided not to think about what has happened and instead to concentrate in the present question. Overall the verbal question was difficult., and i was feeling short of time in the end. When i was on 30th question only 16 minutes were remaining. I decided to increase my speed but was stuck with a RC on 34. This time i just read the questions first and took a quick scan of the passage and marked the 3 questions very fast. Now i was on Q37 and time remaining was 4 minutes. But now i was going at good speed and finished Verbal with 1.5 minutes remaining.
So i think my speed was satisfactory.
Results:-
660 ( Q- 50, V- 36)
Quant :
Wrong - 3 (Q 24, 31, 35)
The first question i maked wrong was Q-24 . So that was good performance i think:)
Also i marked only 1 DS question wrong (Q 35), rest 2 were of PS. So overall this section went good
Verbal:
Right - 29
Wrong - 12 ( Q - 1,2, 14,15,16, 22, 29, 31, 33, 36, 38, 40)
As expected i marked first 2 questions wrong :(:(. This proved to be my nemesis.
But thank god i marked next 12 question right else my score would been very scary.
But again 14,15,16 - 3 consecutive questiions wrong - this again was very bad since consecutive mistakes plummets the score faster. And there were some regular alternat mistakes after Q- 29.
Overall i will say if first 2 questions would not have been wrong, i would have done much much better in this test.
Anyways, right now i know i have to practice a lot in order to achieve my dream score and i need to be regular. Also i plan to give 1 more test and then take the GMAT date. Since there are 3 centres where i can give the test ( SFo, San Jose, Oakland) i think i will be able to get the dates for August easily.
Any comments and suggestions from the fellow bloggers who have already taken the GMAT will really help me and are really welcome.
Ok friends till the next one, cya....
Verbal
Thursday, May 03, 2007
Life in San Francisco
hey people,
I have moved to SFo now, my company has again changed my location. Its been 2 weeks now in SFo. And Bay Area is really cool :) ....there in Minneapolis i hardly used to see people outside after work but here its lot more crowded. But even in this crowd i am alone :) ...yeah i don't know many people here, so i get extremely bored up in the evenings. Though if you have a group of friends here, this place is certainly the best, one can really enjoy a lot. It is really a very happening place...
Also, i have a travel a lot here for office, almost 1 hour 15 minutes each way :( ..... I have to first take a Caltrain and then a bus to reach office, so its kind of hectic...but i am planning to somehow utilize this time now.
I just took my apartment here in Sunnyvale 2 days back and i think it will take a while before i get settled down here.....today i found that there are Salsa classes every Friday evening in my apartment complex and they are really cool, planning to attend them regularly from now on....
On my GMAT i have been unable to make any progress since a long time now due to all this shifting and hectic work pressures. But i have realized this now that all these are just excuses, one can do the prep no matter what the condition is, you just need to have the determination....Earlier i used to think that let me first settle down then i will prepare for the GMAT but that way i think i will only be postponing it forever. Now i have realized that one just needs to set his eyes on the goal and rest all things will work out automatically.
So today i found out a large book shop here - "Borders". So went there and picked up Kaplan and started reading it and i really enjoyed it after touching on GMAT prep after so long. Planning to go to this shop regularly now and keep the focus. No more setting of goals for right now until i keep the enthusiasm and momentum going...
Any of fellow bloggers here in Bay Area who are also preparing for the GMAT or have their eyes set on applying for MBA for 08'....
OK Friends, till the next one.....Cheers!!
I have moved to SFo now, my company has again changed my location. Its been 2 weeks now in SFo. And Bay Area is really cool :) ....there in Minneapolis i hardly used to see people outside after work but here its lot more crowded. But even in this crowd i am alone :) ...yeah i don't know many people here, so i get extremely bored up in the evenings. Though if you have a group of friends here, this place is certainly the best, one can really enjoy a lot. It is really a very happening place...
Also, i have a travel a lot here for office, almost 1 hour 15 minutes each way :( ..... I have to first take a Caltrain and then a bus to reach office, so its kind of hectic...but i am planning to somehow utilize this time now.
I just took my apartment here in Sunnyvale 2 days back and i think it will take a while before i get settled down here.....today i found that there are Salsa classes every Friday evening in my apartment complex and they are really cool, planning to attend them regularly from now on....
On my GMAT i have been unable to make any progress since a long time now due to all this shifting and hectic work pressures. But i have realized this now that all these are just excuses, one can do the prep no matter what the condition is, you just need to have the determination....Earlier i used to think that let me first settle down then i will prepare for the GMAT but that way i think i will only be postponing it forever. Now i have realized that one just needs to set his eyes on the goal and rest all things will work out automatically.
So today i found out a large book shop here - "Borders". So went there and picked up Kaplan and started reading it and i really enjoyed it after touching on GMAT prep after so long. Planning to go to this shop regularly now and keep the focus. No more setting of goals for right now until i keep the enthusiasm and momentum going...
Any of fellow bloggers here in Bay Area who are also preparing for the GMAT or have their eyes set on applying for MBA for 08'....
OK Friends, till the next one.....Cheers!!
Sunday, April 01, 2007
Updates on my MBA journey and life
Hey people,
Its been more than 4 weeks since i came here in US and now i am feeling settled. I have taken a nice apartment at rent and have set my routine here now. The weather here is still cold but certainly better than when i came here. But i am loving this place now, and the feeling of home sickness has also almost vanished :).
I have not been able to find time to look for any community service organizations in Minneapolis, as i want to continue on this. I have been part of teaching in poor children's school back in Hyderabad(India) and want to do something of this sort here too. It really gives a sense of satisfaction and gives me a feeling that at least i am doing something in life. Though i started this just 6 months back, but i really enjoy doing it.
Now on my MBA thing, last week i have again started working towards my GMAT ( not much though) and also i have started seriously on my search on B schools thought i have done it loosely sometimes previously. But now i am doing it thoroughly, one school at a time. After reading through the blogs of Iday, Inblue, juggler and many other people, my search at this point of time is pretty much organized. Thanks to these guys. As i search more on these B Schools there are many questions popping in my mind and i need to clarify them from someone who has been through all this process. Will need help from my fellow bloggers on this.
I will definitely start my GMAT prep in full swing this week and will give a computer based test in 2 weeks time to gauge my present level of prep. This will help me decide what more i need to do and how i need to spend my prep time on various sections. So in next 2 weeks i will practice each section a bit and give one Kaplan test. (I don't have any other test right now, powerprep and GMATprep i don't want to use them, right now, i have saved them for the last 15 days of my prep).
As mentioned in my previous posts, i have already completed OG 11th Edition and Kaplan premier program book. Now after some amount of practice from online material and 1000 collections i need to start with my Kaplan 800.
Lets see how it goes. I just need to keep that motivation and enthu going and keep up my confidence.
Any suggestions are always welcome.
Its been more than 4 weeks since i came here in US and now i am feeling settled. I have taken a nice apartment at rent and have set my routine here now. The weather here is still cold but certainly better than when i came here. But i am loving this place now, and the feeling of home sickness has also almost vanished :).
I have not been able to find time to look for any community service organizations in Minneapolis, as i want to continue on this. I have been part of teaching in poor children's school back in Hyderabad(India) and want to do something of this sort here too. It really gives a sense of satisfaction and gives me a feeling that at least i am doing something in life. Though i started this just 6 months back, but i really enjoy doing it.
Now on my MBA thing, last week i have again started working towards my GMAT ( not much though) and also i have started seriously on my search on B schools thought i have done it loosely sometimes previously. But now i am doing it thoroughly, one school at a time. After reading through the blogs of Iday, Inblue, juggler and many other people, my search at this point of time is pretty much organized. Thanks to these guys. As i search more on these B Schools there are many questions popping in my mind and i need to clarify them from someone who has been through all this process. Will need help from my fellow bloggers on this.
I will definitely start my GMAT prep in full swing this week and will give a computer based test in 2 weeks time to gauge my present level of prep. This will help me decide what more i need to do and how i need to spend my prep time on various sections. So in next 2 weeks i will practice each section a bit and give one Kaplan test. (I don't have any other test right now, powerprep and GMATprep i don't want to use them, right now, i have saved them for the last 15 days of my prep).
As mentioned in my previous posts, i have already completed OG 11th Edition and Kaplan premier program book. Now after some amount of practice from online material and 1000 collections i need to start with my Kaplan 800.
Lets see how it goes. I just need to keep that motivation and enthu going and keep up my confidence.
Any suggestions are always welcome.
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