The Right Experience

And I graduate...

2010-05-14T05:38:00.000-07:00

Thanks Emory and Arnold Schwarzenegger... :)

Interview experiences - Fall 2009

2010-02-06T10:52:00.000-08:00

To serve the intention with which this blog was started, this entry is something I have been intending to write since a while. Thanks to my friend, Mr. Sharma for inspiring me to finally write it! :) It is specifically targeted towards all aspiring Management Consultants and is meant to give a brief on-the-ground picture of fetching a Management Consulting job - the competition, the numbers, the expectations and of course, the self-realization. :)

Management Consulting (MC) is a dream career for thousands of MBA students. According to a survey by MBA Admissions conducted in 2007, more than 30% of the entering class in all top 20 US b-schools had McKinsey & Company selected as their 'dream company'. More than 40% of these had an Investment Bank tied for this position, but unfortunately, the bank no more exists. And to add a little icing over the cake, now you also get a chance to compete with laid-off VPs and Directors who spent 10-15 years of their lives slogging behind a company only to be handed a pink slip one fine morning. Phew! These people, if fit enough to work efficiently for 10-12 hours a day, are like a bonanza package for MC firms. They not only make MC firms look great in front of clients through their years of industry experience, they also bring in those industry-wide contacts - and as we all know, America runs on contacts. I remember one of my friends saying, it's more about who you know than how much you know!!

I entered the b-school with similar aspirations as well, only to realize that Case Interviews were not as simple as they sounded. And... being in a country where businesses run so differently than your home country does make a lot of difference! If I recall the past, I think my first year internship interviews were a disaster, they make me feel how stupid I was in my first year! :) I somehow managed to get a near-MC internship which actually started building my foundation of how businesses run in the US. Summer 2008 not only re-affirmed my interest in MC, I also found myself much more confident with cases. But than came the year when many things crashed! :) Fall 2008 and Spring 2009 saw the number of open MC positions shrink to half and the competition quadruple.

A year later - in Fall 2009 - although the on-campus recruitment scene was still pathetic, I knew there were ways to fetch interviews with these firms. And this is the biggest takeaway I had in the two years. Even if a top notch MC company does not recruit from your campus, or they are not recruiting from your campus this year - you can still fetch their attention. And just two words for doing that - smart networking. Try to find out what are the hot things in the market, work on your resume and cover letter, and tell those companies how YOU can add value to their firm. I remember 'networking like a dog', literally, thanks to which I was able to fetch interviews with four of the top five firms in my field.

The good thing with case interviews is that you get better with time, your confidence grows with every case you crack. However, the bad thing is that there is only a certain level you can reach - you canNOT crack all the cases you get. The key is to note down and remember lessons from every case you bomb and keep building your tool kit.

First Round Interviews:

Generally, first round cases aren't usually very twisted, unless you get an over-smart interviewer. And I think not many students totally 'bomb' first round cases, if they are well practiced. So then how are you evaluated? Although all firms have different criteria - I think I could confidently generalize the basic ones, for the first round, into two buckets. First, your thinking process and second, your comfort with numbers. Of course, you need not be a walking PrecisionTree or a walking calculator - but showing solid strength in these areas definitely impresses most people in this industry. And then comes the lighter stuff such as your creativity, the way you carry yourself, your behavioral answers, 'the airport test' and the list goes on...

Final Round Interviews:

Firms differ a LOT in the way they give final round cases as well as the way they evaluate you. You typically deal with Partners in final rounds and so you expect to get high level 'strategic' cases. But don't let this expectation fool you. Partners in these firms can get more analytical and numbers oriented than you can ever imagine. After all, they are Partners for a reason! While all first round parameters are still important, you are also evaluated on your ability to 'influence the client'. And I think this is where experience comes into play. You either need to be a super-genius or a master in your field if you were to 'influence' C-level executives. However, here is the toughest part about cracking a final round interview day - you need to display that you rank consistently high in all these skills, 'consistent' being the key word here.

When times are tough, most 'human beings' rely on safest choices, they do not want to take chances. Management Consulting firms are no exceptions these days. They will take you only if you are CONSISTENTLY GREAT. However, if you are like me and you find Management Consulting to be your passion, don't ever give up. It might not be your first job after b-school, but consider getting into a MC firm to be your short-term goal. Take up a job opportunity that would help you get into your dream firm - something that either has a big brand name or something that is directly related to the work your dream company does. Form a solid network while you are in school - with your consultant classmates, with consultant alums, with managers/parters you meet during your interviews (assuming you did not totally bomb their case) as well as Consulting recruiters. Try to remain in touch with them all. Follow consulting magazines such as KennedyInfo/ConsultingMag and finally, keep practicing those cases! Remember - success is a journey and not a destination. Plan your journey in small steps that are aligned to your ultimate goal - whatever it is.

While I near my graduation date May 10, 2010 - I am thinking how far have I come, and its actually kinda funny! :) From someone who had very unclear motives behind attending a b-school in US to someone who exactly knows what he wants in life. It looks like pursuing my desire to fetch a Management Consulting job has actually changed me. I will now leave you with a screenshot I would definitely show my son (or daughter) if he (or she) decides to do an MBA.. haha.. :)

Take care, everyone!

A decade - definitely not lost

2010-01-04T03:55:00.000-08:00

There is no such thing as a ‘dull decade’. The arc of history is long—to maul a line by my local Atlanta hero, Dr. Martin Luther King—and it bends toward stuff happening. It’s a natural human tendency to give special attention to things close-by – be it times, places or people. Having acknowledged this, I still feel the past decade deserves a mention on the Right Experience, and this topic will hopefully lead to my re-entry as well as continued touch with the blogosphere.

There are decades when a few earthquakes shuffle the terrain and jostle the nerves—and then there are decades when the world splits open to the boiling core and remakes itself. Maybe after a generation or two have passed, the events of the 21st century’s first 10 years will recede in significance. With time, perhaps 9/11 will go back to being just another day in September. It sure seems unlikely from here. Indeed, the 10-year period beginning in 2000 has been marked by a string of colossal events that, in any other decade, would have been the undisputed story of their time. It has been a dazing and bedazzling era, almost biblical in its bookending events: the tragedy of 9/11 and the election of America’s first black president—a man whose name meant nothing to anyone outside of politics until just a few years before his ascension to the most powerful office in the world. Just think: Cataclysmic Tsunami—a catastrophe so vast it nearly wiped several cities off the map of the world—rates a distant, even debatable, third among this decade’s biggest headlines. Two ongoing wars, a global financial collapse, Hurricane Katrina, Mumbai 26/11, Gujarat riots… the list goes on and on.

The decade had its fair share of pleasant and gloomy times, almost looks like it had everything. The one thing this decade hasn’t had, oddly, is a name. People could never seem to agree on one. Is it the Double-Zeroes? The Oh-Ohs? The 2K’s? I even remember seeing at least five different ways of writing a date in 2000s. But well, it shouldn’t matter, except that it’s hard to wrap your arms around something when you don’t even know what to call it. “The ‘50s,” “the ‘60s” - the terms conjure a specific, albeit oversimplified, portrait of those eras in different nations. But perhaps it’s fitting that this decade should remain stubbornly absent a name. It’s been too vast, too shocking and too transformative, for just one.

And in any case, a decade or a year for that matter is just an empty unit of time, arbitrarily walling off of events that exist both within and beyond them. When we get close to the end of a year or a decade, it’s mere use is to be indulged in one’s favorite past-times: Looking backward and dreaming forward. With wishes that every ‘good’ dream seen by all the six billion eye-pairs turn into reality, here is wishing everyone a happy and a healthy new decade. Prosperous, who really knows? :)

Quarter Life Crises

2009-03-09T15:50:00.001-07:00

It is when you stop going along with the crowd and start realizing
that there are many things about yourself that you didn't know and may
not like.You start feeling insecure and wonder where you will be in a
year or two, but then get scared because you barely know where you are
now.

You start realizing that people are selfish and that, maybe, those
friends that you thought you were so close to aren't exactly the
greatest people you have ever met, and the people you have lost touch
with are some of the most important ones. What you don't recognize is
that they are realizing that too, and aren't really cold, catty, mean
or insincere, but that they are as confused as you.

You look at your job... and it is not even close to what you thought
you would be doing, or maybe you are looking for a job and realizing
that you are going to have to start at the bottom and that scares you.

Your opinions have gotten stronger. You see what others are doing and
find yourself judging more than usual because suddenly you realize
that you have certain boundaries in your life and are constantly
adding things to your list of what is acceptable and what isn't. One
minute, you are insecure and then the next, secure.

You laugh and cry with the greatest force of your life. You feel alone
and scared and confused. Suddenly, change is the enemy and you try and
cling on to the past with dear life, but soon realize that the past is
drifting further and further away, and there is nothing to do but stay
where you are or move forward.

You get your heart broken and wonder how someone you loved could do
such damage to you. Or you lie in bed and wonder why you can't meet
anyone decent enough that you want to get to know better. Or maybe you
love someone but love someone else too and cannot figure out why
you're doing this because you know that you aren't a bad person. You
want to settle down for good because now all of a sudden that becomes
top priority. Getting wasted and acting like an idiot starts to look
pathetic.

You begin to think a companion for life is better than a
hundred in the shack and for once you would not mind standing tall for
that special someone which otherwise you had never thought of until
now. You go through the same emotions and questions over and over, and
talk with your friends about the same topics because you cannot seem
to make a decision. You worry about loans, money, the future and
making a life for yourself... and while winning the race would be
great, right now you'd just like to be a contender!

Transcript from the Warren Buffett meeting

2009-02-14T09:38:00.000-08:00

We recently had the opportunity to represent Emory during the meeting with Warren Buffett in his hometown Omaha. The meeting this time consisted of six different universities, with around 25 students from each university.

I would describe the day as the day of surprises. I was warned by some of seniors who had been to Omaha about the sudden temperature drops. But to our surprise, it turned out to the be the warmest day of season, with temperature touching 56F at times. The day started with a tour of one of the first businesses that Buffett bought 25 years ago - Nebraska Furniture Mart. Now, if I was not there on that trip, I could have never guessed that the biggest Furniture and Electronics store in the US, is not in Texas, is not in California, but it's in Omaha!

After about an hour there, it was time then to meet the legend. This was arranged through a two hour Q&A session, where we had the opportunity to ask anything except of course, his future investments. (Since that would move markets up and down). Having read about him a lot, I was so very satisfied to find his answers exactly in the line of his writings. Once he gets into rhythm, he not only becomes more and more of a standup comedian - but every problem looks so very simple and basic when he describes it. The transcript of his responses is presented at the end of this blog entry.

It was time then to move to one of his favorite restaurants - Piccolo's. We were served a 4 course meal and to my surprise again, I found one of the best Veggie Burger's in Omaha. Although now when I think about it, I am not sure if it was the burger or the pleasure of sitting on the same table as Warren Buffett that made it taste so great. The lunch ended with a Piccolo's specialty called the Root Beer Float - a non-alcoholic carbonated drink with floating vanila ice-cream.

All in all, it was a great experience and definitely worth the long flights. On my flight back to Atlanta, I was just not able to stop myself from thinking about the simplicity in his personality and character. His two storied house with no security around it, his office so modest it could barely fit us all and his car - a simple General Motors Cadillac. I find strong similarities between him and a great businessman from India I had the pleasure of meeting - Chief Mentor & Founder of the company I worked for, Mr. Narayan Murthy.

Before I end this post, I will leave you folks with transcript from the Q&A session with Warren Buffett:

Buffett:
Did you hear they called off the Wall Street Christmas Pageant this year? They had trouble finding three wise men…and a virgin. There are many opportunities right now. The markets are very inefficient at times, and this is one of those times.

Kansas:
Would you go into the health insurance business?

Buffett:
Health insurance is so ingrained into national policy that it is a tough business. It’s pretty adversarial. I’m not really that excited about it from a business perspective. I don’t want to write policies with high loan loss ratios. That being said, I would buy the stock of an undervalued healthcare insurer.

South Dakota:
You’ve recently invested in Goldman Sachs and GE. Is the financial sector a good buy right now?

Buffett:
No sector is a good buy unless you understand the business. However, I do believe that there is good value and great opportunity now in the financial sector because it is extremely unpopular. Sector’s themselves don’t make good buys, companies that are undervalued make good buys. The earnings prospects need to be greater than the current value. Anything that is unpopular is always great to look at. If I was getting out of school right now, I would take a look.

Creighton:
How much and how does risk factor into your investment decisions?

Buffett:
In general, emerging markets are not great for me because I need to put a lot of money to work. Risk comes around because you don’t understand things, not because of beta. There are normally 10 filters or so that I go through when I hear an idea. The first is can I understand the business and understand the downside not just today but five to ten years from now. There have been very few times that I’ve lost 1% of my net worth. I might be risk averse but I am not action adverse. Mrs. B saved $500 over the course of 16 years to start and build Nebraska Furniture Mart. I just stay within my circle of confidence. When I bought Nebraska Furniture Mart in 1983, Mrs. B took cash and not Berkshire stock. Why? She didn’t understand the value of stock. She understood cash and that is what she took. I need only need to be right a few times and can let thousands of ideas go by. I call it the “No called strike game” where unlike baseball the only strikes in investing are when you swing. I don’t have to swing. When I do invest, I don’t care if the stock price goes from $10 to $2 but I do care about if the value went from $10 to $2. Avoid debt. I always try to have the odds in my favor. When I go to Vegas, I’ll take bets if the guy wants to come to my room. I like those odds better.

Emory:
How do you think about value?

Buffett:
The formula for value was handed down from 600 BC by a guy named Aesop. A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. Investing is about laying out a bird now to get two or more out of the bush. The keys are to only look at the bushes you like and identify how long it will take to get them out. When interest rates are 20%, you need to get it out right now. When rates are 1%, you have 10 years. Think about what the asset will produce. Look at the asset, not the beta. I don’t really care about volatility. Stock price is not that important to me. I don’t care if they close the NYSE for 5 years. I care more about the business than I do about events. I care about people drinking more Coke.
If I were running a business school I would only have 2 courses. The first would obviously be an investing class about how to value a business. The second would be how to think about the stock market and how to deal with the volatility. The stock market is funny. You have a bunch of silly people setting prices all the time. This is great. Graham’s Ch. 8 on Mr. Market is the most important thing I have ever read. Now think about the NYSE. You have thousands of companies to choose from. For me, that universe has shrunk because I need to put large dollar amounts to work. Attitude is much more important than IQ. You can really get into trouble with a high IQ, i.e. Long-Term Capital.

Penn State:
Why did you invest in Harley-Davidson?

Buffett:
I like the 15%. I measured that 15% against other credits and it looked attractive on both a relative basis and an absolute basis. Lately, the government has become the guarantor for some companies but not for others and the “haves” and “have-nots” determined by certainty of government assistance rather than the credit quality. Any company where you can get your customers to tattoo your name on their body has quite a strong brand. For this investment I had to think what is the probability that they will not pay me back and would I want to own the company if they did not. Risk premiums in the corporate bond market went from real low to real high. Right now, they’re out of whack. The flip side is that governments are overpriced. T-bills actually had a negative interest rate. I never thought I’d see that. Buying corporates and shorting the 10-year is a great idea and smart guys went broke doing it because even if you’re right, you need to be able to play out your hand. I always think about what I would do if a nuclear bomb went off or if Bernanke ran off with Paris Hilton to South America.

Texas:
Do you feel that the might of America has changed?

Buffett:
I would never bet against America. The system in the U.S. has allowed the country to unleash more for the world than any other country. Since 1776, the U.S. had a different system than the rest of the world and that system unleashed the human potential. We were not the smartest nor did we have the best resources. This is the same system we have in place today with people of similar intelligence. I have and would bet against the U.S. currency, stocks, etc. but the United States prevails over time. There are all kinds of rocky roads but we have rule of law, equality of opportunity, and a meritocracy. We have a market system and people apply energies and imagination to come up with things someone would want. Everyone in this room is working far below his/her potential.

Kansas:
We know that you are a big bridge player. Do you think that bridge correlates to investing? Are there any traits or characteristics that might carry over from one to the other?

Buffett:
Bridge is the best game there is. You’re drawing inferences from every bid and play of a card, and every card that is or isn’t played. It teaches you about partnership and other human skills. In bridge, you draw inferences from everything and that carries over well into investing. In bridge, similar to in life, you’ll never get the same hand twice but the past does have a meaning. The past does not make the future definitive but you can draw from those experiences. I think the partnership aspect of bridge is a great lesson for life. If I’m going into battle, I want to partner with the best. I was playing with a world champion and we were playing against my sister and her husband. We lost, so I took the scorepad and I ate it.

South Dakota:
What are your views on derivatives and how do you think they have affected the global market?

Buffett:
In my 2002 letter to shareholders I referred to them as “weapons of mass destruction.” Derivatives are really just a way to create a product with a very long fuse, for example, 100 years. That kind of system allows claims to be built up. AIG called me in September and told me they were about to get downgraded which would have required higher posting requirements. Now this is an enterprise that has been built up over decades and was effectively destroyed in 48 hours by these products. With derivatives, you’re exposed to counterparties and thus reliant on others. These claims built up over time to the tune of billions of dollars and when one falls, the whole system falls. It’s kind of like venereal disease in that it’s not important who you sleep with but rather who everyone else is sleeping with. Derivatives are not evil by themselves but rather everyone needs to be able to handle them. System wide, they’re poison. Berkshire holds many derivatives but we always hold the money at Berkshire.

Creighton:
What do you think about the stimulus package? Would you rather see tax cuts or government spending?

Buffett:
We’ll come out of this just fine. The idea of a stimulus is to do things that will have an impact quickly and the current proposal won’t do that. When dealing with situations like this, you can’t do just one thing but always need to ask yourself what is the next question. We have utilized monetary policy and guaranteed everything in sight. It’s a standard Keynesian prescription. Tax cuts benefit people differently in the short term. We are basically saying, we’re not going to pay for what we’re doing in terms of government spending and that we’ll just mail you some money but it’s better than doing nothing. In the end, you should buy stock in a business that an idiot can run because someday, one will.

Emory:
How do you think differently today than you did twenty years ago? Where do you expect to see the greatest differences in 2030?

Buffett:
The fundamental things about investing that I learned when I was younger haven’t changed. I am lucky to have picked up a book at 19 that gave structure to investing and investment decisions. Over time, I learned different ways to apply it. I have learned what it is outside my circle of confidence. I bought See’s in 1972 and I think understanding the value of brand helped drive the decision to buy Coca-Cola in 1988. Through experience, I have gotten smarter on predicting and evaluating human behavior. I really enjoy doing what I do and I get to do what I want. I enjoy talking to groups like these. The Blumkins are some of my best friends and I continue to add friends by buying businesses.

Penn State:
What advice would you give the average person in the U.S.?

Buffett:
It’s hard to give advice to someone who might lose their job. My Dad went to work on August 13, 1931 to find out his company had closed. He had no job and two kids. You want to be as prepared as you can and you just don’t want to have debt. Medical problems cause a lot of the grief and lots of credit card debt. Credit cards are poison. You should be ahead of the game all the time rather than behind as it is harder to work your way out of a hole. You want to play the game from strength, and you have to think ahead. People don’t always want to hear advice when things are going well. People risked everything they had and needed for something they didn’t have or need. Charlie once said, “The problem isn’t getting rich, it’s staying sane.

Texas:
What are the biggest challenges that this country faces?

Buffett:
The biggest problem is probably weapons of mass destruction. We have always had people who were ill-fitted to society and wished harm on others. In 1945 the atom bomb was unlocked, and that changed everything. What you could do with the wrong kind of infectious disease is incredible. You can transmit things much faster today. Governments, individuals and organizations can’t control security. It’s what I would spend all of my money on if I could fix it. Everyone here in this room won what I call the ovarian lottery. You were born at the right time and we were all very, very lucky. We are in the luckiest 1% of humanity.

Kansas:
What are some of the mistakes that Secretary Paulson made during the sub-prime crisis?

Buffett:
Hank is a great guy and great friend. He’s extremely smart about markets but not so smart about politics. I sympathize with Hank. Hank Paulson was not the supreme commander. The whole situation has developed faster and at an extreme pace, more than anyone thought. The first TARP program got voted down, which changed the dynamic. All variables affect other variables. Congress did not appreciate how severe the problem was. I call it an “Economic Pearl Harbor” in September. FDR essentially had a blank check and that what people think is important and believing it makes it so. He restored confidence in the banking system. Paulson’s job may have been almost impossible given the circumstances. He was used to operating in a sphere that did not require consensus (Goldman Sachs). People that take that on [public service jobs] are laying themselves open to be unfairly attacked, criticized and scrutinized. In hindsight, letting Lehman fail was probably not the right thing but it was difficult to tell at the time. It created trust problems as money market funds fell apart soon thereafter. People want to be led at this point, but fall back into old habits very easily.

South Dakota:
What do you think about the U.S. trade deficit?

Buffett:
I talked to Barack back in August, and said: “I have good news and bad news. The good news is that the economy will be terrible, so you’ll definitely get elected. The bad news is that the economy will be even worse at inauguration.” He asked, “Do you think it’s too late to throw the election?” The trade situation is there and it causes problem and could exacerbate the situation.
We create sovereign wealth funds, buying more goods and services than everyone else in the world. The decline in the oil price has helped the trade deficit but nothing will get better until everyone feels better. Every day, we buy $2 billion of goods and service more than we produce and export. We give the exporting nations USD. The trade deficit creates claims on the United States. Sometimes we’re a little hypocritical. For example, three years ago, the Chinese wanted to buy Unocal (a small oil company in California) and Congress wanted to condemn China for wanting to buy the oil company with the money we gave them (through U.S. imports). The trade deficit creates a situation because we give people claim checks, then we get upset when they want to use them. It’s not useful to fan those flames, and that’s what’s wrong with “Buy America.” The trade deficit will come up big time when we get past the current problems.

Creighton:
Why do you live the way that you do?

Buffett:
Do you mean, why am I frugal? You can’t buy health and you can’t buy love. I’m the highest handicap member of Augusta. I’d rather play golf here with people I like than at the fanciest golf course in the world. I can do anything that I want, and I do. I buy everything I want to have. I’m not interested in cars and my goal is not to make people envious. Don’t confuse the cost of living with the standard of living. Bella Eidenberg was a Polish Jew who was at Auschwitz and some of her family didn’t make it. Twenty years ago she said she was slow to make friends, and that the real question in her mind was always, “Would they hide me?” If you have a lot of people that would hide you, you’ve had a very successful life. That can’t be bought. I know people that have billions of dollars and their children would say, “he’s in the attic.”
I estimate that I live on $100,000 per year, except for my plane which costs me about $1 to $1.5 million. I like the plane, it improves my life. My computer and my airplane changed my life in a big way and I’m not sure, if I had to choose, which one I’d give up. If I took out $3 billion of Berkshire stock, I could have paid 30,000 people $100,000 per year to paint my portrait every day. I could have paid 50,000 people $60,000 per year to dress in loin cloths and haul rocks to create the Buffett tomb. That’s not me. I believe in giving my kids enough so they can do anything, but not so much that they can do nothing.

Penn State:
What do you think of the good bank, bad bank idea?

Buffett:
It is tough to do but if it were done well, it could do a lot. Call the bad bank an “Aggregator Bank.” There is a lot to be said in cleaning out past problems. There are 7,000 banks in the U.S. with such varying degrees of conditions so it is tough to provide a sweeping overhaul. The biggest thing they’re wrestling with is pricing what goes into the aggregator bank. These are smart, well-intentioned people working enormously hard.

Emory:
You take great pride in keeping your schedule wide open. Do you believe that corporate America is overscheduled and overstretched?

Buffett:
[Showed his blank schedule book]. Bill Gates is overscheduled. I am extremely lucky and I can say no to anything because there isn’t an entity that can use economic pressure to make me do something. A lot of CEOs get into a lot of the rituals that are part of the job. I would rather deliver papers than be the CEO of GE. They have too much stuff to do that is a big pain. Don’t get me wrong, CEOs have it pretty good. I’d imagine that every CEO in the Fortune 500 would be willing to take the job for half of the money. The 76 or so CEOs that run companies at Berkshire don’t have to deal with bankers or lawyers. At Berkshire, we’ve never had a meeting for all of them anywhere. There are no presentations and no committees. They can be more productive, and it makes it attractive when they can do what they like to do best.

Kansas:
What are three traits of successful managers?

Buffett:
Passion is the number one thing that I look for in a manager. IQ is not really that important. They need to be able to work well with others and the ability to get people to do what you want them to do. I’d say intelligence, energy, integrity. If you don’t have the last one, the first one will kill you. All you have is a crook who works hard.
If you could put 10% of your future earnings on one of your classmates, you would pick the one that’s most effective at working with people. These are qualities that are elective. If you could pick one to sell short, it would be the person that no one wants to work with. You can elect to be the kind of person you want to be. Look at those qualities of the two people you’ve selected (one long and one short). They’re all qualities that you possess. It’s like marriage. If you want a marriage that’s going to last, look for someone with low expectations. Don’t keep score. Keeping score doesn’t build organizations, homes, etc. I have never had one fight with Charlie. When I took over Solomon I had to pick the best person to run it. I interviewed 15 people and I asked myself, “Who would I go into a foxhole with?” I never look at grades or where you went to school.
Chains of habit are too light to be felt until they’re too heavy to be broken. In terms of picking people how do you lead your life in a way that I’d pick you?

Mumbai, again... :(

2008-11-26T19:11:00.000-08:00

Another terror attack in India... Another 100+ people killed... Day long coverage from the Indian television media, newspapers filled with unfortunate photos... And, the same cluelessness on the part of all the intelligence agencies of the world... Everything sounds so very familiar, almost like a deja-vu... Is this the new era we are going towards, where such attacks are to be 'expected' every month? Where every person leaving his home in the morning, is not really sure if he would return back that night? Where one part of the world is working hard towards 'raising the standard of life' while the other part witnesses the 'value of human life' deteriorating every day? There are many things that baffle me when it comes to 'our' responses to such incidents... But the thing I am sure of is the answer to all these questions... And the answer is "NO"...

India has witnessed atleast half a dozen such attacks in 2008 alone... And everytime such unfortunate incident takes place, I usually try to check some Indian TV channel on the web and get all my news online... However, the way media has been reporting today has made me believe that today's incident could potentially be a game-changer... There have been at least three national news channels in the US, covering the mumbai incident throughout the day - without breaking even once for local US news.. For the first time, I am witnessing such major global coverage of a non-US incident and this indeed gives me some 'hope' that the world is finally taking a note of the plight of terrorism in 'third world' countries...

One of the famous reporters for a major US news channel mentioned that today was India's 9/11... I was actually amused to listen that because if you look in terms of the number of casualties, there have been many more attacks in India where this number was far more than the one reported today... This makes me ponder - why is the western media paying so much attention this time? Is it because 'westerners' were targeted for the first time in India? Is it because it was the most co-ordinated attack launched ever in India? Or is it because elections are over and there is nothing substantial to report? Whatever the reason is - I am happy that atleast this time, an incident as unfortunate as this one, did not go unnoticed by the West...

While I certainly appreciate the statements all the governments of the world including the 'government-elect' here in the US have rolled out, what the world really needs is action... We must realize that terrorism does not have religion and neither can it be identified by a nationality... Terrorism in any format or in any part of the world is equally dangerous and the solution can only be reached when the roots are targeted... It is said that 'good' always conquers the 'evil' and I am staunch believer that terrorism has to be, and will be vanished some day... Let this be the day, all the governments of the world unite together to target the roots rather than the branches... Let this be the day, that sparks a 'plan to eradicate terrorism' rather than a mere 'war on terrorism'...

Can I have a minute...

2008-09-10T22:04:00.000-07:00

"Can I have a minute to jot down my thoughts?"
If you are a Management Consultant or an aspiring Management Consultant, this line will certainly sound a bell... Thats what all of us, no matter from which school we come from or which country we work in, speak in the first few minutes of that roller coaster fun-ride called 'case interview'.

Here at Goizueta Business School, the Fall 2008 semester has begun and so has the full-time job search. It has just been about a week since the classes started and I am already forcing myself to make some tough choices between 'classes' and 'job search'. Same is the situation with most of the students, who like me in these tough times, were not fortunate enough to have the cushion of a PPO after our internships.

I am really excited about the classes I am taking this semester. I wish I had the opportunity to take them in the last semester because they would have helped me a lot during my internship interviews. But nways, better late then never.

I basically thought to write down something on the blog tonight coz starting tomorrow, I am going to grab that pencil and a piece of paper and practice as many cases as I can. Given the state of the economy and the increased class size, I really want to make sure that I give full justice to each and every call I receive.

Will keep you folks updated with the happenings in the Right World.

Till then,
Chow!

After Fay, its Gustav

2008-08-26T13:06:00.000-07:00

Thats true! It's indeed tough for Floridians here... Although it is my first hurricane season here in the US, I am so bugged of it... And going through the same thing, year after year! The 'Sun-shine' state deserves a lot of credit...

Tropical Storm Fay left my workplace shut down for two days. Sounds like fun, right? It wasn't.. :( You cannot go out of your hotel room, its like a curfew everywhere! I went out for a jog in the evening and returned back within 10 mins after the tornedo sirens went on... Fay was expected to be a minor tropical storm. But the amount of rain it poured over here was something that was not expected out of it...

Fay - all around Florida:

Not even two weeks into the downpour caused by Fay, and here comes Gustav - Hurrican Gustav (read: Bond - James Bond). Weather.com expects it to just brush the western coast of Florida, but once the hurricane is over the warm waters of the gulf, anything is possible.

Gustav - here it comes:

I encounter mixed emotions when I think about the end of my internship coming closer. My last day here will be Aug 29 and because it has indeed been such a joy ride here, I am going to miss it all - my work, my convertible and the beaches :(. However, getting out of the hurricane'd' place before the next one strikes is quite a huge motivation. Atlanta, here I come!

Monday morning woes and Deja vu

2008-06-18T08:57:00.000-07:00

Few weeks into the internship and here they start. The famous 'Monday morning woes'. And I said to myself - 'welcome back to the corporate world, Righty!' Far away from the goodness of 3-day-long weekends which the academic world in the US yields, I was in the midst of a deja vu. This feeling was something I had experienced for all Mondays (almost) I saw during my brief stint with the corporate world in India. In this regards, the corporate world in the US proves no different for me. But something that is very different is the fact that the rest of the weekdays start with an enthusiasm which I seldom found earlier.

A probable reason behind this enthusiasm could be the 'German' culture of the firm, where you might have many dotted lines in the corporate hierarchy over you, but when it comes to your project, you are responsible for it completely, from metamorphosis to the eventual birth. The other day while driving back home, I was trying to draw inferences using this observation of mine and the fact that the Germans are so good at innovation. Alrite Prof. Parzen, the sample size is too small to make such inferences!! But the independence and 'space' given for tackling the task assigned to me have been amazing. The basis for this approach looks quite convincing - its my learning curve and I've got to manage it no matter what! They are interested only in knowing how good the final product is.

Another certain reason behind the enthusiasm has been my direct manager. One of the most jolly, sharp and caring managers I have dealt with. And this part of an intern's life is called 'luck'. Hardly you get such managers who, inspite of knowing that you might only be with them for a few months, show so much interest in your learning. I have been really lucky to have him as my manager.

A third probable reason behind the zeal could be my first out-of-country business trip, which the company has planned for me. Although the work that keeps me
busy these days has nothing to do with the assignment I will be working while in Germany, but still, just knowing that the company is doing so much for you makes
you give more than your 100%. The Germany trip will certainly give the much needed exposure and help me make a stronger case for myself when I hunt for full times.

Whatever the reasons are, the bottomline is - if you take off the Monday mornings, I really do not feel that I am 'working' right now. My internship experience resembles more to a 'learning' opportunity rather than a 'working' opportunity. That was exactly what I was looking for, and so far, all has been well! TW!!! :)

What tastes better?

2008-05-12T16:55:00.001-07:00

The taste of winning the most prestigious case competition of your school or the taste of home food? :) I am undecided...

Goizueta Marketing Strategy Consultancy (GMSC) is a case competition that brings weird reactions on the faces of people who have been through it. Its 20 hours of hard work every week along with an extended stay post the final exam, when all the non-GMSC students fly home. For many, it can turn out to be the worst decision they made ever since they joined GBS, but for me and my team, it was the best!

We started the GMSC process in the later part of December. Six of us, totally new to each other's working styles, were assigned a project to help one of the biggest airlines. It took more than 5 months, a wrecked spring break and a few spoiled grades in other subjects to achieve the first place on May 8th, 2008! The delight was not doubled but trippled when we came to know that along with the 'hefty' cash prizes, we were also awarded medalion status in the frequent flyer program of that airline. Wow! That was unbelievable! Just loved it! Awesome! Mind blowing!

Then came 9th of May, 2008. The day when I flew home after 10 months in the US. And it is an easy guess to imagine what must I have done in that long flight. Slept, slept and slept! The GMSC party was all over me. Thanks to the great service, I was home 28 hours after I left Atlanta. However, when I landed here, the excitement of meeting my parents, the love reflected from my sister's eyes when she first saw me was a treat to watch. Just when I had the first bite of the home cooked lunch, this was the question I asked myself - 'what tastes better? Winning the GMSC or food cooked by my mom?'

I am not sure of the answer, but I am sure that with 95% certainity (I love DIA :)), its somewhere close to 60-40, advantage mom! I have got two more weeks to enjoy this treat and I am going to make the most of it!

Take care all!

Its going to be a fun week...

2008-02-25T18:36:00.000-08:00

Visit four cities I have never been to in less than four days! Thats what I am going to do next weekend! Ofcourse, this is the time of the year when almost all the 1st year MBA students are flown all around USA by companies interviewing them for final rounds.

I will be in Chicago this Friday, followed by New York. Miami on Sunday evening and then will be driven to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida on Monday afternoon. Back to my own Atlanta that very night. This shall be a good test for a future Consultant - on the road! :)

Extremely excited, looking forward to a great weekend ahead!

Its happening again...

2008-02-10T14:31:00.000-08:00

'No time at all'... This seems to be like a constant theme of all the messages I have been posting since I joined b-school... But yes, its indeed true...

Life has again been taking the busier routes... 'Internship interview preparation' process combined with the 'for-class preparation' process leaves only 4-5 hours on an average to sleep... And then you have your new hobby - cooking! My guitar is suffering loneliness becuase of all these...

Within no time, the 3rd week of the 2nd semester is about to begin... And from tomorrow, I seriously need to devote myself to more studies and less interview preparation... Although I have a few interviews lined up, I feel I am comfortably placed to deal with them...

By the way, I was asked to list down the courses I am taking this semester.... Here they go, along with my expected time that I would dedicate towards them...

1. Core: Strategic Management - 15%
2. Core: IT and Operations - 10%
3. Core: Marketing Managment - 10%
4. Elective: Decision Modeling - 20%
5. Elective: Goizueta Marketing Strategy Consultancy - 35%

And the remaining time will be dedicated towards internship preparation and other extra curricular as well as club activities...

Exciting times ahead!

Here we go again...

2008-01-20T19:35:00.000-08:00

This probably is a universal problem... Somehow, any kind of break between two hectic school terms has always turned out to be shorter than expected... Not long ago, we were celebrating the end of Semester # 1 at a local bar here in Atlanta... The same bar tomorrow will have the pleasure of hosting a get-set-go night...
Semester # 2 starts on January 22nd, and guess what? I am already running behind my schedule..

Historically, I have always had a resolution in my mind before beginning any semester... 8 undergrad semesters + 1 MBA semester.. And the same history is also the proof of the fact that I haven't fulfilled a single one among them... But this time, I am not going to have any resolution as I have never been so sure that I am never going to fulfill it...

There is the mighty internship process first, followed by the awesome Goizueta Marketing Strategy Consultancy competition I am taking part in. Then, not to forget the two great subjects - Decision Modelling and Decision Tools (sorry marketing and strategy - you're going to be ignored) And finally, all my plans of getting the music band in place before the March Coffee House...

Its going to fun, if things go as planned... If they dont, its going to be even more fun... :)

And before I end, here is something that was never expected... Its snowing heavily in Atlanta!

Yes, its the Goizueta Amphi... It has always been green! :)

25% MBA

2007-12-17T19:16:00.000-08:00

It came, it flew and its over now! There are many adjectives that could be used to describe the first semester at a b-school. The one I am tempted to use is 'quick'.

I remember typing down the first few posts when I landed here. I planned to write something every weekend, but... There were months and months of no updates!

A long break awaits all of us but this is what most of us will be doing:

1. Bankers: Will read and prepare for their internship interviews on their ATL-JFK flights. The only time they will remain on ground will be utilized to sleep.

2. Marketers: Will gear up for the Goizueta Strategy Marketing Consultancy starting next semester. Its going to be fun, for the clients not for the teams!

3. Consultants like me: Will get bedazzled with the in and outs of 'case interviews'. And will keep praying that the economy does well someday soon!

4. Rest of them: Will travel to the lead week. And have 'fun'!

Time to get back to Case In Point!
Catch ya all laterzzz...

Happy Diwali!

2007-11-08T22:55:00.001-08:00

Diwali Wishes

Yeah... Blame the midterms!

2007-10-16T16:23:00.001-07:00

The days in typical first year b-school... Get zealed by everything thats going around you and later find that you wont have time for anything!

I havent updated my blog since a month! Sorry September!
I havent completed a set of tennis since days!
I havent played a full song on my guitar since ages!

We are on our way with midterms... Two down and three more to go!
More on the midterms and everything around later...

My first 'big' jump

2007-08-26T20:37:00.000-07:00

Climb on a 40 feet high pole. On the same height, walk on a 10 cm wide plank and jump to catch another plank dangling 7 ft above and 3 ft away from the edge of the plank you are standing on!

These were the instructions mentioned by our guide Anne at the Winshape Wilderness Retreat. I thought she had gone nuts... Only later did I realize that if hundreds and hundreds of people did this over the years, why couldnt I?

Going to Winshape, Rome, GA has been a tradition here at Goizueta since many many years. They take us to this awesome place in the 26000 acre campus of Berry College. Wait a minute... You read that? 26000 acres!!! Thats one of the largest campuses in the world!! And each and every part of the campus is so very well maintained... Just one word to describe it... 'Beautiful'... I was just flattened...

The activities were designed to help us experience the Goizueta core values - courage, integrity, accountability, rigor, diversity, team, community... No doubt the two days were very tiring, everyone of us felt more attached to one another, to the school and to the core values which form the foundation...

It was just so great to see people encouraging their less courageous groupmates and helping them come out of their 'fear' of height... It was great to see entire team repeating their assigned task just to see one of their fellows complete the task easily....

There are a lot many things I wont be able to describe here... Coz they can only be experienced... It was only after coming back from Winshape that I got the reason our Dean called the trip to Winshape as the 'requirement for the admission to be continued'... :) Thanks to it, I am starting to live the Goizueta Experience!

I guess.. We are already started!

2007-08-20T22:49:00.000-07:00

You got that corrrect....

After the fun and information filled International Student's orientation, it was time to meet all of our domestic classmates (the US residents). Dean Steve Walton kicked off the 'big' orientation program on Sunday, 19th August 2007. It was our first encounter with him and I personally, found him to be one of the most energetic persons I have ever met... Man... He walks all over the class with a blistering speed! I bet... If he takes 2-3 hours of class each day, he would have surely walked for 5-6 miles... We then had a small 'get to know each other' session on Sunday... Was fun... I saw around 100 new faces, met around 25 new people and remember around 15 new names.... Not a bad start, right?

The sessions on Monday were a bit loaded... We had to prepare a case, which we discussed with Prof Patrick Noonan... He is an amazing guy.. I am already looking forward to take some electives in DIA so that I could attend his class... :) This followed an open house with some of the faculties and the day ended with Dean Walton taking us through the different programs offered at Goizueta and how the Full Time MBA program forms the flagship program at Goizueta... I was actually surprised to find that 'most' of the full time MBA program accross the US, do not make money, inspite of sky scrapping tuition fees!

Well... Its 1:30 AM Tuesday morning and I am 'trying' to prepare the cases we are supposed to discuss tomorrow... Damn... I could have saved some time by not playing tennis in the eve... But nways, I am loving it all... C ya soon....

In the US of A and its already a week!!

2007-08-10T10:52:00.001-07:00

Landed at the LA International Airport - LAX - on 4th August and headed for Emory University, Atlanta on 5th... Shifted zones thrice within 24 hours, and I can just say - 'The ride has begun'! :)

Before I mention a word about the exciting experiences during the past week, I must THANK the MBA program office director at Goizueta, Harriet Ruskin for all the pain she took during the course of the week to see us internationals squared with our requirements... She has indeed been an angel! I have already started learning and admiring the core values upon which the foundations of this great school are based... No kiddin... I am seeing them in practice here, and I am proud of my decision to join Goizueta...

Had a great time meeting most of the international students joining this year... The MBA09s that is... The percentage of internationals joining Goizueta every year has been around 35-37, but this year the number is 45!!! And with the class strength increasing from 150 to 178, the recruitment office claims of a very high yield percentage as well!

That was about facts and figures... Now here is something related to the time... It has been flying.. You just dont realize when those 24 hours pass and you find yourself again amidst the coziness of your bed, trying to recall everything you are supposed to do the next day... No doubt, things have always been a bit leisurely as well, as the REAL classes are yet to begin... We have been shopping around for some while, ve have been getting our financial aid and loans settled and ve been travelling through MARTA - the metro... Had a great time seeing new places like the CNN Centre, the Georgia Acquarium and of course, the World of Coca Cola... More on the visits, later...

For now, m happy for being here! :) And m getting ready for the bigger challange... Let em come!

M backkkkkkk...

2007-07-15T12:51:00.000-07:00

After months of indolence, I am hereby breaking the shackles into the world of blogs....
Just to update with the happenings... I got my VISA approved... The interview lasted for 30 seconds hardly...

I will be travelling to the US of A on 4th August from New Delhi...
The flight is Air India AI 137 to Los Angeles, and from LA to Atlanta through AirTran on 5th August... Yes, a loooooooonnggggggg route... but all for the pleasure of togetherness... :-)

With the excitement multiplying exponentially, shall be back soon!

All results out finally...

2007-06-02T10:35:00.000-07:00

Not that it does not matter, but the delays in sending out the results had really taken my interest off them.... But finally, one by one, the results are out and updated on the right pane....

6 Applications - 4 Acceptances, 1 reject after interview, 1 reject before interview...
Roughly 2 months to go before I take off for Atlanta....

Why are you throwing your H1B?

2007-04-04T23:48:00.000-07:00

A strange, strange state really....

(1) I have an H1 B, the VISA most IT people yearn for, thanks to my present employer. But becuase I have an admit from a top 20, I am keen to give it up and ask the USCIS for an F1..

(2) Two years down the line, when my F1 will be near its deathbed, I will be begging for an H1 B...

Among these thoughts, just when I was about to apply for student VISA, the next step towards the education that I badly need to start this fall, my DM gave me another option... This is what he said: "Why are you throwing your H1B? Move to the US on H1-B by mid April, file a COS, work till July, get your F1, start your education in August"....

A very lucrative offer indeed.... But it has its cons...
I will be missing out on all the fun I was planning to have before I start my education... I will miss out the month long stay with my family, a vacation for which I have yearned since I moved out of my hometown for my under-grad... I had promised my mom and grand mom that I will spend a long time with them, before moving to US for MBA... :( Here are the options:

(1) Take the offer, move to US --> Financial benifits
(2) Stay at home, relax for two months --> Emotional benifits... A lot of them actually...

I am supposed to reply within a day!

Edited on 23 rd April, 2007 - Made the decision finally, tomorrow is my last day @ work!!!!!

Scholarship reconsidered!! Enrolled!!

2007-04-01T07:04:00.000-07:00

This is not an attempt to fool anyone on the April Fool's day... :-) I was trying to negotiate the scholarship amount with the Adcom at Emory - and finally they have considered me worthy enough for 'a double'... Yahhhhoooooo!!!

It took a lot of contemplation, at first, on whether to retake GMAT merely for scholarship reconsideration. It also took a weekend dipped in Sentence Correction and a missed trip to Pondichery , the low of a 650 in Kaplan and the high of a 760 in GMAT Prep 1 & 2... and finally a 740 with quant 49 and verbal 41 in the GMAT attempt 2... :-) However, when an investment of $250 yields you such high gains, you definitely do not want to crib for the efforts you put in... :-)

This leaves me with less than 20% of tuition fees to be paid from my pockets... Very close to the goal with which I started my application process... With the acceptance deposit deadline approaching soon, I have digged the first hole in my pocket and have sent the needed $1000 draft to Atlanta...

On the other hand, McCombs is still not replying... :-( and I am losing my interest as well... :-(

McCombs interview invite

2007-03-27T20:39:00.000-07:00

After a long long wait, the McCombs School of Business, University of Texas, Austin has considered me worthy enough for an interview....

I am finding things pretty stringent with McCombs. First, they do not offer telephonic interviews. The only form of off-campus interview is alumni interview. I have located three of McCombs alumni in India. All of them are in Mumbai. Did mail one of them, but no reply so far.... It has been more than 3 (business) days.. Should I mail another alum??? Any McCombs aspirants/admits/students with an off-campus interview experience listening????

Help needed... for MS aspirant..

2007-02-16T01:49:00.000-08:00

While we MBA aspirants get a lot of valuable information from the blogging community, I was just wondering if there exists such a fraternity for Master of Science (MS) aspirants...

If you know of any such resources for the tech people, plz plz drop a comment... I actually need this for a friend who is into some doubts related to MS admissions...

Thanks a lot!!

Rightzzz

Pre-MBA ponderings...

2007-02-06T22:21:00.000-08:00

Just to cross-check...

Since the time I have got an admit, I am feeling as if I have very less time and there is so much to do before August 2007... Is this the feeling everywhere?

I was talking to a current student about the pre-MBA plans, who mentioned that I was just getting a bit more excited... But when I know that I am going to be the youngest member of my batch, I seriously feel there is a lot of homework to be done before joining... And considering that I am just dumped with piles of work and a new team to handle, things get that much more time-less.... Any thoughts on keeping the papers down before verfication and VISA?

Uni of North Carolina... :(

2007-02-05T23:45:00.000-08:00

To me it seems like a sine wave, with its magnitude extending on either sides of the time line...
If last week was the positive peak, this week is the negative... :(

Dinged by UNC... :(
I now realize... It does not hurt much when you already have an admit in your pocket...
But then too, am a bit disappointed... M not sure if I would have joined UNC over Emory (which comes with $$$), but yet, a rejection is after all a rejection.... It deserves its share of sad smileys... :(:(:(...

:):)

Edited:
Just dropped back to add a note... I was going through my UNC essays and found out the stupidest mistake ever... The name of the school is Kenan Flagler Business School (KFBS) and from dont know where I have mentioned "KNBS" everywhere in my essays.... :):) Not sure, if this had an impact on the decision, but it is certainly something that should have been avoided...

Into the GBS, Emory University with $$$!

2007-02-01T08:25:00.000-08:00

Where should I start from? :):)
Just when I was thinking to write down a mail to the adcom, asking them to send in the decision as the wait was getting intolerable, I have their mail in my inbox! This is pure telepathy!!

Admitted to Goizueta Business School, Emory University with a hefty scholarship!!!
The first real taste of success for the year... :)
The feeling has not yet sinked in!!

India INC - poised

2007-01-31T08:43:00.000-08:00

The Indians waited with bated breath, and so did the steel giants of the world. The acquisition of Corus by Tata steel, though a bit costly, proved to be the biggest take over in the history of India Inc... And its not a proud moment just for the Bombay House, but for each and every Indian!!!

M not going to re-publish the details of the deal as most the news sites have them... Instead, i would close down with a comment from Mr Russi Mody - former chief of TATA steel who later became its biggest critic after falling apart with Ratan Tata, "He (Ratan Tata) has exceeded all expectations. Its a message to the world - 'India is coming'".

T(h)aT(h)as are on their way!! :):):)

What is it?

2007-01-20T02:56:00.000-08:00

M just not sure if it is this long wait for the decisions to come by, or the piles of stereotype work I am dumped into, or the dual-faced attitude of most of the managers in my company..... or a combination of every thing... but there is something which is nagging me a lot!!!

I am also reading Fortune @ BOP alongside... And thats probably another reason I am getting sick with the present work I do from morning 8 to evening 6... The book describes hundreds of ways and examples to achieve things that I want to in long term... Somehow, I want to start doing all those things right from today... Somehow, I am getting impatient... :-?

Nways, just a quick check @ things in store:

Interview invite from NUS (late jan/early feb as per the last communication)
Emory decision
UNC decision (Feb 6 is so far away!)
Any communication from McCombs.... please... do that soon...
Final ding letter from ISB.... They should atleast send me that!!!

Would leave with a note of congratulations to all fellow bloggers who got into HBS... Though it was very disappointing to see the majority of blogger-HBS aspirants not able to make it for the trip to moon as they call it... :) But at the same time, it is always too pleasing to know that all of them are already into pretty great schools if not HBS... 'One school' is all that you need after all..

Emory interview and thoughts...

2007-01-12T05:17:00.000-08:00

With each and every interview I complete, one of the things that amazes me the most is the comfort level that the interviewers provide you... They bring you to a platform where you can just open your heart out and say whatever you feel like... Such a position could be very dicy at times... If you are not (that) sure about your goals and why that school and stuff, you may end up leading yourself to a statement which contradicts what you mentioned in your essays... However, if you are damn sure of your goals, the interview proves out to be an excellent time to spill everything out... From the things that you could not include due to word limits to things that you always thought were a bit 'weird'...

Ms. Shannon Demko from Emory University conducted a telephonic interview for me last Friday... Although the administration had confirmed that they will call me on my cellphone, they finally ended up calling my permanent residence number, a place 1500 kms far from where I was waiting for their call... :) My 10 year old cousin picked the call, and after listening the US accent said 'wrong number'... :):)

Fortunately, they found my cellphone number on my resume... The interview started casually and I reminded her that we had met during the QS world MBA tour... Obviously, she was not going to recall... I later reminded her about the loads and loads of questions I had for her the other day... She said - it was her turn to ask questions then... :)

Tell me something about your work and your client...
Something about the way you handle your team with people more experienced then you...
How would your team mates describe you as an individual..
How would you describe your manager as an individual...
Long term, short term goals... Why MBA? and Why Emory?

I never realized when I exhausted the 30 mins of time I had...
Soon, it was time to say "It was great talking to you, you can now ask any questions you have.."

I wanted the interview to last longer... I wanted to speak a lot... I wanted to bring out more and more the thoughts that have gone behind the acronym 'MBA'.... But it wasnt to happen for that all powerful clock that keeps ticking...

Nways, I mailed an updated resume with a thank you note post interview...

Thats it to pen for now...

Btw, here is wishing you all bloggers a belated Happy New Year!!! Lets hope the year 2007 takes everyone of us a step (or more) closer to our goals....

UNC telephonic interview

2006-12-22T11:49:00.001-08:00

"Hello... This is Julie Wiley, Assistant Director of Admissions from UNC KFBS calling... "

This was the biggest line in terms of numbers of words the Adcom spoke... :) For the next half an hour, it was Right all the way!!

The interview started casually with questions on my under graduation... the place, how far it was from my native place... I think I was a bit lost here and later I was able to drag myself on track.....

The next question was about my work profile and how have I been handling people with more experience than me...

Then, she wanted me to talk about my long term and short term goals.... I had to do well hear...

Why KFBS? followed... Again an elaborate explanation delivered...

Next was: what do you do when you dont play the guitar?

And finally... questions (if any): I shot 3 questions which were very satisfactorily answered..

Thanks to the blogging community, the BW and PG forums, present students and alumns I was able to do a healthy research on the program and quality of life at Chapel Hill... I was complemented for that...

So... thats it for now... Will keep you all updated with more.... Chow...

Edit: My hearty congratulations to all folks who are getting their R1 acceptances! Chill out guys n gals... And keep some space for me, I will join soon... :)

Notre Dame Decision

2006-12-12T21:10:00.000-08:00

Not a great start by any means.... :(

After a waitlist from ISB, University of Notre Dame has also waitlisted my application. Not too sure of whats happening.... I thought (and so did my reviewers) that I did a good job on my essays.. Its time to scratch the basics now:

Decent GMAT score (this bagged an application fee waiver for me from ND)
Significant achievements at work
Great extra curriculars
Decent comm. service

The negative points could have been:

Just two years of work ex and that too in IT...
No intl work ex...
75 percentile in Verbal GMAT

As far as the recommendations go, I am pretty sure of them being well above average...

So... all in all... The waitlist decision seems to be based on more subjective terms.. There are some possibilities:

I might have committed a serious blunder in my essays or could have mentioned two contradictory characteristics
Probably, I was not able to highlight my plus points through my essays
I might have missed to convince them of the fact why Notre Dame...

There could be many other reasons, but at present my mind is blank... I expected an admit alongwith some schol from ND.... :(

Just pondering if it would be advisable to apply to lower ranked unis...
My mind says 'NO' -- my heart says 'I DONT KNOW'...

Done with Notre Dame Interview

2006-11-22T05:40:00.000-08:00

Hello folks,

I am through all the formalities from my end with respect to my efforts to woo the Adcoms at Notre Dame. :)

The interview started with a shocker, as I was surprised to find an answering machine replying my call inplace of Brian Lohr, Director of Admissions. Was quite a bit disappointed to find this. Just when I was about to write down a mail to them, I got a mail from Brian Lohr and he asked me to call on a number. The rest of the staff was on Thanks Giving holiday.

It started pretty well as per my expectations. Simple questions from his side, followed by long elaborate answers from me. I made sure that I spoke every word clearly and did not speed up things. The questions were pretty simple... Why MBA? Why now? Why Notre Dame? and stuff...

The long long wait begins now... Keeping my fingers crossed...

Go Irish!!! :):)

ISB results out - Its DWI... almost...

2006-11-20T23:01:00.000-08:00

The long wait for ISB interview shortlist is finally over. And here is what my status reflects:

Short-listed for Interview:
No, placed on waitlist

And what does 'waitlist' mean for ISB? :) It means 'wait for one more year'.
Though I have been told that my application will be re-evaluated with cycle 2 applicants and the decision for shortlisting me for interview will be taken in Jan 2007, i am foreseeing their decision based on what I have heard. Taking it as a DWI... :(

Nways, there are some positive news from the US schools... I will be interviewed by the Adcoms of University of Notre Dame... And it will be my first telephonic interview...

So.... The goal for the next two days is to forget ISB DWI and prepare for the interview...
Let's hope it goes fine..

C ya all...

Wait number 1i - ISB

2006-11-13T20:44:00.000-08:00

Here is what their web site mentions:
The calls will be sent out 1 week before the interview date. The interview date being 25-26 Nov...

Here is what a sweet voice confirmed on the phone:
The calls will be sent by Wednesday, 15th Nov evening... :)

Not sure why the calls are sent early than what was anticipated, but whatever the case is - the eagerness is mounting all over me...

Have been pulling some strings on my guitar and hitting some bars in the gym to avoid refreshing the same web-page every minute... :) ISB is the first school I sent my essays to and having said that, a positive response will be a solid confidence booster...

Fingers crossed??? No.... fingers on that F5 key.. :)

Btw... I cleared the Java Certification i talked about in my last post.. No more technical certifications for me!!!!! The week has started well... Let hope, it ends well too... :)

An update after a while...

2006-11-11T11:28:00.000-08:00

Am through with the first two apps finally!!!
The packets for Goizueta - Emory and Mendoza - Notre Dame are on their way to the US of A...
Hope to hear from Georgia and Indiana soon...

Had been real busy with loads of work and some pathetic Java certification coming up...
Time to get back to it again.... :(

C ya all..

Resonating Core Values

2006-10-16T06:05:00.000-07:00

I have never taken more time than what I am taking now to write a double spaced page. This one is for Essay # 2 for Goizueta School of Business, Emory:

Of Goizueta’s core values (courage, integrity, accountability, rigor, diversity, team,community), which value resonates most with you and why?

The initial problem I faced was chosing one of these values as I never wanted to gang up everyone and beat - arnd - da - bush. And once I am clear with my thoughts, I am just pondering over the way to start the essay....

This is the toughest one till date for sure... :(
Time is running with R1 ending 1st November... I better hurry up....

Done with ISB Application!!! :)

2006-10-09T06:50:00.000-07:00

Name of the Applicant: **********
Application was submitted on: 03/10/2006
Click here to Download Application (PDF Format)
Application Status: Completed Hyderabad 500 032 INDIA
Printed application and supporting documents received on : 04/10/2006

Admissions Comments : Application is Complete. Further update will be available, once the application has been evaluated.

Visit to ISB

2006-10-03T12:04:00.000-07:00

The scene was all set... It was time to pay a second visit to the only Indian b-school i will be
applying this year... The Indian School of Business, Hyderabad..

I had registered for their Friday session held on 22nd September, 2006.
And here are some observations:

The TIE-Connect program was at its peak... I could see many visitors loitering around the coridor..

The venue was changed to EC 8 because of unavailibity of class room. Though the receptionist was too shy to inform this, the pion was very courteous to escort us to EC 8..

I was one of the early birds... And so, it was time to explore...

Peaked through the glass windows in one of the ongoing class and the atmosphere was no different than what I had in my school...

The front rowers were all attentive, with a posture suggesting that they would die if they missed a word of what the prof had to say...

The lords of last benches were.... :):):)

By the time I returned to EC 8, they had distributed the brochures and the feedback form... I asked for the same, but was disappointed to hear that they were limited in number.. Common ISB!!!

The session was scheduled to start at 3 and it started at 3 sharp.. Hmmm.. Impressive!!

Amit started the session and it was handed over to Srinivas (the one who got an admit from Fuqua as well)...

The presentation was quite lively - a mix of video, audio and ppt slides... Srinivas had lot of info to be shared..

I was quite pleased to know that ISB had 4 centres of excellence and 2 more are to be added soon...

Srini was then accompanied by Nitin, an IT fellow from Trivandrum... It was such a pleasure to see a fellow IT wala.. :)

Nitin along with Srini and the man himself, Srinath took the questions...

As usual I was the first to break the silence, and it was asked just to break the silence...

The questions then flew in - there was one fellow who was stuck on the exchange program that ISB has.. Pehle admission to ho, phir exchange karna yaar... :)

It was probably coz i had researched a lot through the student blogs and ISB website and other forums, I was getting bored...

I had a list of questions which i wanted to ask and i was raising my hand after an interval of 4-5 questions from others...

One of my question also got the nod saying 'This is a very good question'... Tussi chha gaye!!

Got to know some of the 'buzz' words which ISB looks for.. Good finding...

The Q & A session streched too long and within no time, it was 5 o clock...

Srinivas and Nitin had their class and so Srinath accompanied us for a visit around the building...

As it was raining cats and dogs, we were not able to visit the student villages.. No lose for me as i have been there before...

Found some new friends, some of them were still to take GMAT and some were still to plan if at all they ll apply to ISB..

There was a strange difference I felt this time as compared to my visit two years ago...
The student who conducted the session two years ago was kind enough to give his personal mail id in case if we had some queries... But unfortunately, i had no queries then...

I asked for mail id from one of the students this time, but i was given the google group id... :(
Though disappointing, but ye... I can understand the work pressure they must be facing.. No complaints...

All in all, come what may.. I am apping to this cross the road school...
Will be submitting the packet within a day or two...
With recos and the application form ready, i am just waiting for review comments on my essays from my friends..

Not sure how am i supposed to send them the application fees of INR 2000/-..
Will search it out on their site...

Chow for now...

Munnabhai and Ganpati

2006-09-08T04:12:00.000-07:00

A deep feeling of nostalgia, those blasting laughters and a packet of popcorn costing just 5 bucks... Thats all that struck me when I heard the Munna Bhai tune this Wednesday...

Munnabhai MBBS was a movie i had watched during my final year in college in a nearby cinema hall with more than 20 friends of mine... It was a movie I could have watched any number no of times, provided someone paid for my tickets... ;) And if you opined that Munaa-2 was
not going to reach the expectations set after the success of Munna-1, you better give a second thought... I found Munnabhai-2 better than its elder counterpart...

The movie starts with the actor who could be termed as the 'find' of Munnabhai MBBS... Guess who? Arshad Warsi ofcourse... I thought the producer should have bought him a nice kurta in last two years... But no... :) That chap was still in that black kurta, blue jeans and tons of gold wrapped around his neck and fingers... Sanju baba, one of my all time favourites was introduced in a romantic mood straight away... I have always believed that Sanjay Dutt is one of the most decent looking gentlemen in the industry... But the kind of flouroscent shirts he wears at times, really makes me go Yuk!!! Dressing apart, Sanju baba is certainly a master at the art of acting... And who plays Sanju baba's sweetheart? None other than the gorgeous Vidya Balan... Aa aa.. 'Gorgeous' wouldnt be the correct word to describe her.. You could call her glorious, marvelous, amazing.. :) In short absolutely splendid... She looks very beautiful in the movie and has adapted herself very well to the character she plays.. I was a Vidya Balan fan after
watching Parineeta, and after Munnabhai-2.. I am a buff!!! And at last but not the least.. How can i forget Mr. Boman Irani? At his best as usual, adhering 100% to the role he was given...

The reason I liked the movie more than Munnabhai-1 was probably because this one had a message... And somehow it was a message I have always tried to adhere to... I am not a Gandhian in all respects, but yes, i certainly admire few of his principles... I was able to relate many scenes in the movie with my life...

All in all, a worth watch for sure... I would love to see it for the second time and will get this opportunity during Diwali when i go home....

So much about the movie, and nothing about the man who made watching it possible on a weekday? Thats unfair!! Wednesday was Ganesh Visarjan day and this was the
reason i had a break for my office... Thanks a lot Ganapati dada.. You made me watch a good movie after a long time!!

Talking about Ganesh Visarjan - it was only later that i came to know that Hyderabadis immersed 66000 Ganesh idols into the Hussain Sagar during the past week..
Now isnt that a huge huge number!!!! The enthusiasm that people have for this festival is tremendous... I visited the lake before we went for the movie and the aura was absolutely mind blowing... Amongst the noise of bugles, and the chants of 'Ganpati Bapa Morya', you could hardly hear the person standing next to your ears... I also witnessed the the 2nd tallest idol of the city which was 32 feet long.... Though it was a major obstacle for the procession as the wires
and cables running all over the roads were to be lifted by electrians who had climbed up near the lords crown, the magnamity of the idol was mind-capturing.. I also had the pleasure of having a lathi on my back, while peeping into the lake to see the immersion... But it was worth as i was closely able to see the crane resting the idol on the surface of water and waiting till the POP melts... Here are some snaps of the grand occassion:

The procession went on till late night... And the tallest idol in Hyderabad and proclaimingly in India (40 feet long) was to be immersed at 2 in the night... But unfortunately, as we had to move to the office the next day, we planned to return home after the movie...

A very satisfying day indeed!!!

And finally, for those of you who are pondering if i am at all apping this year... :):)
Yes.. I will update the fellow bloggers soon on the developments... And thankfully, there are few things to update!!

Keep reading!!!

The Laptop Hunt ends

2006-08-20T22:33:00.000-07:00

This is Lenovo 3000 N 100 6895KA speaking... :):)

Yes, after loads and loads of research, cross-checks, bargaining and re-bargaining, i have helped myself to a sexy, slick and smart piece from Lenovo.

The final take was to be taken between Dell and Lenovo, and after the battery incident and almost no bargaining opportunities that Dell offered, the decision was pretty simple....

Few promises to be made to myself:

1. I shall speed up with the apps process
2. I shall blog more regularly (more????)
3. I shall not play games on my laptop for more than an hour per day... :)

The Laptop Hunt begins

2006-07-30T07:04:00.000-07:00

Folks,

It has been no blogging since a few weeks, and i guess i have a valid excuse for the same. With new responsibilities dropped everyday over my shoulders, i have tried hard to breath out of my office by 7:00 PM. Though my boss ensures most of the times that my intentions are not fulfilled, i have mananged to sneak out of the workplace few times, in search of a notebook.

I initially thought that my office desktop was enough to take me through the entire process of preping and apping for b-schools. But after slogging for 8-9 hours a day, you just cant sit on that same chair and think of writing a line or two of your essays!!

After almost two weeks of online and offline research, i was able to zero-on to three models.

Dell XPS M1210: 12 inch wide screen, 1GB RAM, 60 GB HD (Rs 65,000)
Lenonvo 3000 N 100: 14 inch wide screen, 512 MB RAM, 80 GB HD (Rs 60,000)
HP Pavilion 1615: 14 inch wide screen, 512 MB RAM, 80 GB HD (Rs 55,000)

While 12 inch smart screen, sylish looks and 1 GB RAM are pulling me towards Dell, the price factor makes HP very attractive. Most of the remaining features are common for all the above configurations.

Any suggestions please!!!

OFF GMAT and OFF MBA!!!

2006-07-12T08:40:00.000-07:00

I generally avoid turning this blog into a 'News Paper' and i refrain from reporting the non GMAT and non MBA incidents that take place around. However, this time i am just not able to restrict myself.

Last three days - three major mishaps. First, AGNI-3 fails, then the GSLV plunges into the Bay of Bengal and yesterday, the Mumbai misfortune. Worst way for a country to start a week!!!

Agni III missile test on Sunday morning was a failure after the missile developed a snag. It a missile with the longest of ranges (approx 3500 kms). And over and above that, its nuclear capacity would have made it a prime weapon in Indian Military Armory. However, it was not to be so... During school days, i always used to oppose the excessive investments the government of India made behind researches related to military equipments. I was not able to explain myself the necessity for spending such hefty amounts, when you know that a huge percentage of your population is thriving below poverty line. My father tried to explain me at times, but i never got convinced. It was only after the Kargil War that i realized how important it is to have such biggies with you, although you might never use them. No doubt our neighbours might be way ahead in their missile race with India, a successful test of Agni III would have helped India match its nuclear capacity with its neighbours. And talking specifically about India's north-western neighbour , :):):), it does only one thing indigenously for the missiles it possesses. Naming them!!Most of Pakistan's missiles are imports from China, and what Pakistan does after it imports these missiles?Just names them with those of muslim leaders who invaded India... (Shaheen, Ghouri and the likes) Whatever the background is, the fact is that Pakistan possesses missiles which have a range of 800 kms, using which she can target most of the northern cities in India. A successful test fire of an indigenous Agni III would have not only added to the zeal of those scientists and engineers who were working for this day since years, but also placed India comfortably ahead in this 'Missile Race'.

Geo-synchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle which carried INSAT 4C... Sriharikota has rarely launched such heavy satellites in the past. It was a satellite which was supposed to be used for commercial purposes and thus, this mishap was a great setback for Indian Space Research Organisation, and will cost Rs. 256 crores to the insurance companies. Moments after blast off from Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh, the rocket veered away from its normal trajectory. Scientists at the launch centre watched in horror and then immediately got the rocket to self-destruct and disintegrate. The debris fell into the Bay of Bengal. The disappointment on the part of all the scientists whose efforts went in vain is very much understandable. Having been trained at ISRO, Ahmedabad, I could imagine the plight of all such scientists and engineers, after the 'Destroy' command was issued by Madhvan Nair, ISRO chairman. I was told a minute to minute account of the entire incident by Neha, my friend who works for ISRO. It was so disheartening to learn about the pin-drop silence which prevailed once the rocket started shifting from its trajectory. If it had succeeded, the satellite would have increased capacity for direct-to-home satellite television services, meteorological imaging and digital pictures for improved mapping of the sub-continent. However, this was not the case. For the time being, India will still need the help of the French to launch her heavy satellites.

These two incidents were undoubtedly very lamentable. However, they were not as unfortunate as the 5 blasts in Kashmir and 7 in Mumbai. Tourists losing their lives in Kashmir and 200 odd commutors losing theirs in Mumbai. This incident reminds of the 1993-94 serial bomb-blasts in Mumbai. But there are some remarkable differences which one can sight. The explosives used for yesterday's blasts were a lot more dangerous than those used in 93. Also, the target has shifted from the city to the suburbs. What remains same is the motive. Railway station in London, railways lines in Mumbai... clerly show that the intention is not merely to kill people, but to ingest a threat, a fear in the minds of the common men. No group has so far claimed the responsibility for the event, and I dont think anyone would even do that. And who is to be blamed in this situation? Is it the hyprocrite government of the neighbouring country? Or those nomads who call themselves 'jihadis'? Is this what 'jihad' means? Many questions, not even a single answer. That leaves with only one option. Introspection. India cannot succumb to the demands of these terrorist outfits. Neither she can descent from its peace-keeping initiatives with Pakistan. Few of my friends suggest that such events could be stopped by developing the infrastructure. My question to them will be - if better infrastructure was the solution, London wouldnt have witnessed that horrifying day. The solution here, in my opinion, lies in the mind. The solution is 'intelligence'. It is not possible to have bomb-detecters placed at each and every place in a city. But given the likes of RAW and other intelligence agencies in India, it is certainly possible to trace out if any such activities are being planned. This forces me to conclude that the mishap which took place yesterday, was not a security failure. It was Intelligence Failure.

Since the time i saw this news on television and heard about the same from few friends in Mumbai, i seriously have started pondering over my roll for limiting such crisis in which India finds herself now and then. Is there some way i can contribute towards the making of India in which a comman man can breathe at peace? This is question i am asking myself.

Retake GMAT?

2006-07-02T21:04:00.001-07:00

Hmmm... This is interesting!!

Exactly a week ago, i was singing at the top of my voice that 700 is what i am aiming at.. 700 is what i deserve... Anything above that will be a bonus...

And now, when i have a 710, my inner voice is urging me to retake-GMAT!!!!!!!!!

I dont know from where this thought initiated, but yes, i am able to give lot many reasons to myself for a stint at GMAT once again!!

710 - fine.. But Verbal - 35 (75 percentile) not at all fine... :( The score is not balanced...
AWA - didn't write the issue satisfactorily, haven't got the score yet though...
Can now concentrate more efficiently on my weak points, as things are still fresh...

These were the pros which my psyche concludes... And here is what common sense inquires:

What if there is no significant rise in the score?
Will I lose a lot of time which i should devote to my applications?
Am i running after numbers???
250$, am I nuts??

Thought process going on folks!!! Need to convince myself to a conclusion soon!!!!

The G-experience...

2006-06-28T23:08:00.000-07:00

My humble journey for a 700+ in GMAT was precisely an example of the way i have taken things in life, the way i have aspired, the way i have fought and the stupid last-minute shocks i have always given to myself... :) Not to mention, the way i have always felt - "i could have done better!!!"

The G-date i had selected was Tuesday June 27th, 2006. I wanted to take it on Monday 26th, but there were no seats available and so i had to opt for Tuesday... And frankly speaking, this proved to be a blessing in disguise... :)

After a 750 in PowerPrep -2 followed by 700 in GMATPrep -2, there were hundreds of 'ifs' and 'buts' which ran through my mind.... Although i tried to avoid the GMAT thought as much as possible on 26th, i was just not able to... I tried watching some movie on the television, but while doing that, i was not at all interested in the story of the movie... I was only interested in pointing out grammatical errors in the dialogues and in thinking better ways to present them... :) Sentence Correction was getting over me!!!!

As Monday progressed, i was trying to accumulate the different rules and exceptions in a piece of paper... I would refer to the list that i had prepared after every 2 hours... And surprisingly, on the last day before GMAT, i found that my SC accuracy while practising 1000SCs was closing 100%... :) This was such a relief, it helped me boost my confidence and probably, also saved me from drowning below 700...

I dont know what was wrong with my roomies Monday night!! :) Neither were they interested in sleeping, nor were they ready to let me sleep... :) The jesting continued till 12:30 in the night... As i was about to close my eyes, i realised that the day i was waiting since last few months had started... It was the day when i was going to take the longest and the costliest of all the exams i ever took... :)

Somehow i feel surprisingly chilled before every major exam i take... I do crazy things which i dont do daily, and those things keep me relaxed... :) Nways, lets not dig into the crazy things i did in the morning, and lets straight away move to the examination center...

"Pearson Professional Center", followed by some crap thought on 'future' - was what the board read... After reaching the center at 8, i learnt that the gates were to be opened only at 8:30... So, i had no option but to watch the stray dogs performing their morning exercises... :) The watchman at the gates was quite an interesting character.. I got some statistical updates related to the number of students that come up to give GMAT and more interestingly their reactions after the exam... :)

The lady admin officer arrived around 8:20, in her white saree... She reminded me of one my high school teachers whom i feared like anything... But on the contrary, with a beautiful smile on her face, she politely called me in and commented that i was before time.. :) She then asked me to read 2-3 rules which were written in a frame hanging on a distant wall... Here was the catch... It was then that i realized this --> i was not carrying my spectacles!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yes.. i am dumb, a jerk or whatever you wanna call... Though i dont wear glasses usually, i am advised to keep them on while in front of that stupid box... I had them on, in all my practice CATs... I knew without having them on, my eyes were gonna water when i enter the crunch minutes in Verbal... But... but.. but.. i had no option... It would have taken me an hour to go home and come back... I checked with the admin officer, on whether i could start my test a bit late.. But she politely denied my request, saying that though she would have wanted to allow me, the company policies do not allow her to do so... The mighty Righty was down and shattered... :( That was such a crime to be committed...

I went to the rest room, sprinkled water on eyes, looked into the mirror and said to myself... "If you think about your spectacles and crib, you will waste all the money and time you have invested... But if you dont think about it, there is a chance that you might still reach the score you are here for..."

I then tried to divert my mind by talking to the fellow aspirants... We were 4 and two amongst us had glasses on their eyes... :) I tried not to look at those two, so that i could keep my mind off that thought and chatted more with the person without specs... :):)

All four of us were asked to place everything from our pockets into the respective lockers... I found this very idiotic... You cant even carry your hankerchief inside!!!! What the hell!!! I asked the admin officer whether i could carry a tissue.. And she again denied very courteously...
I was alloted the system number 2... The gentle man besides me on system 3 was taking his GMAT for the second time and was only 32 years old!!! :) Kudos to him and his attempt!!!

The test started smoothly, with a very simple argument. I had thought of a structure for the argument and i think i have done well there... Then came the issue.... And my Goddd!!! I was blank!! I was literally blank!! Dont know was it the anxiety of the examination or the absurdness of the issue, but i was finding it very difficult to accumulate the thoughts... This was very unusual for me as i have done well with respect to my writing skills in the past... Still managed to type around 30 lines stuff... Dont exactly know how well i will score in AWA... :(

Break number 1: Had some water sprinkled on my eyes, a sip of Tropicana for my dry throat, few smiles for the admin officer:) and off i was!!

Quant: Hmm... My strong point, right? It was only the second question, which made me ponder for a while and that too because of the terms that were used in it... All the other questions were like pieces of cake... I had 2 probability questions, and both of them were very simple... I was getting into my rhythm and it was such a good feeling to have... Its like you start realizing that you are clicking the correct option... I was initially rechecking every answer twice before i clicked the next button, but later i found it to be very boring... and so with all the trust that i have developed in my rhythm, i sailed through the section with more than 9 minutes to spare.... And i knew, i had done well!!

Break number 2: Eyes were paining by now!! There was this burning sensation i was able to feel!!! I just repeated the same procedure of sprinkling, sipping and smiling :) and went inside the test room..

Verbal: Something that i did then, saved my verbal section... I reduced the brightness of the monitor and placed it a bit away from its usual position... And this did work!! I found that my eyes were not burning, and i was not missing my glasses... :) My confidence in Sentence Correction was sky high, and when i started with one of the SCs, it only added to my confidence.. The RCs were ok... 4 of them, with around 15 questions in all... What did me, i feel, were the CRs.. In most of the questions, i was only able to eliminate 1 or 2 and for spotting the correct answer from the rest, i had to rely on my guessing abilities... Though i dint guess in the first 15, i had to do so in the CRs after 15, as i thought i was going to run short of time other wise... Finished just in the nick of time, with 4 seconds left... And the battle called GMAT, for me, was over!!!

You just feel like kicking that Dell monitor in front of you, which asks hundreds of questions you already answered while registering... While i was reading them just for the sake of reading, i heard scores like 650, 670 from the people who started the test with me... And then came the most stupid question of all times... "Will you like to see your score?" I wonder if there are any GMATters who click a No here.. With no one else in the room, and just the admin officer and a office boy viewing me from the security glasses, I clicked Yes with all the zeal i could gather... It tool exactly 4 and a half seconds for it to calculate my score... I had placed my right hand on the screen and was hiding the score for a while, in order to give myself the feeling of a dramatic end... :) I pushed my hand slightly to the left and saw a Zero at the last.. :):) This was very obvious... I shifted my hand to the right now... and ... and.... there you go!! There was a seven (7)!!! I was least interested in the middle number now and so i took my hand off the screen and had a close look at the score '710', the scaled scores '50' and '35' and the percentiles '95' and '75'...

I thought i could have done better in Verbal, especially after a damn good Quant... But nevertheless, i was happy...

The admin lady gave me the prints of my score and escorted me off the PPC.... The watchman too was happy to know my score.. :)

So, this was it... My date with GMAT... Though this was the end of the test, this was just the beginning of a great journey and hopefully, a great success story!!! :)

Now, I just need to save this world a couple of times, get an olympic gold or two and get few promotions in my office.. and then i stand a 50% chance at Harvard!!!! :):):):):)

Yes.... M into the 700 club!!! :)

2006-06-27T21:41:00.000-07:00

Hi folks...

The mighty Righty is into the 700 club... :):):)
Scored a decent 710, with Q:50 and V:35...

Could have done better though in Verbal... :(

@inblue: Yes mam... I got a 3 question RC in the last 5 and all that i could remember after seeing that RC was your advice... :)

@iday: Yes mate... Our last two test scores were indeed similar... And another similarity was the schedule that we followed... Sat -> PowerPrep, Sun -> GMATPrep, Mon -> break and Tues -> the GMAT... Couldnt match you with respect to the Verbal score though... Nways, thanks a lot... Your advices were very helpful....

@juggler, marina and leoaueb: Thanks a lot for your wishes....

@889: That was an excellent attempt mate... :) The answer to that question would be: "Mein achhaa hoon"... :)

@ankush: Thanks for your wishes dear.... But you are supposed to perform better than me... All the best for your preps...

Got to complete a lot of work today, as i was on leave for two days...
Will come up with a detailed description of the GMAT experience very soon...

C yao...

My final mock - GMATPrep test 2!!!

2006-06-24T23:39:00.000-07:00

It has been 8 successive weekends that i have envied my roomies as i saw them watching movies & football, playing cricket and doing all kinds of stuff... :) I have made this very office building to be my destination for weekend freak-outs since last 2 months... And today was the final Sunday i was here before the G-day...

After yesterday's 750, obviously the hopes were high... GMATPrep test2, people say, gives you an approximate idea of your standing and a glimpse of your final performance... I took the same GMATPrep test2 today and was presented with a score of 700, Q:48 and V:35....

Quant:

The quality of questions this time was better... Probably i needed a break, which i duely got, from those boring OG 11 questions that kept coming in PowerPrep 1 & 2... I was having fun solving them, without realizing that i might run short of time... I thought my pace in the initial 15 questions was ok... But what did me was that i assumed the difficulty level to subside a bit after 20th question, so that i could pace up with my answers... But this assumption, proved costly... There were more complex DS questions in the later half of quant and that meant i had to give more time to each of them... And as a result, i had to randomly mark questions 33, 34, 35, 36 and 37 and i got just one correct in them... I even had no time to do a "Akkad Bakkad Bumbai Bo"... :) Questions i got wrong were: 8, 28, 29, 30, 31, 33, 34, 36 and 37... In all, 9 incorrect, 28 correct and you would say - boy, how did you still score 48??? :)

Verbal:

Started with a CR this time... Followed by another CR and then a RC... First SC was only the 11th question in the flow... The idea of a bad quant, was hauting me throughout this section... This made me unnecessarily speed up through verbal questions... I was on 11 question after 20 minutes... And on 40th after 65 minutes... This means i did 30 quesions in 35 minutes, which makes me wonder how i did that!!! Ended up with 10 minutes to spare for 1 last question, only to find in the review that i clicked the wrong option there as well... :) Questions i got wrong were: 3, 6, 10, 12, 21, 23, 25, 26, 29, 32, 36 and 41... 12 incorrect, 29 correct... verbal:35 was nothing but an unexpected gift!!!

Learnings:
1. Never assume or guess the difficulty level in quant - the last few questions could be the toughest and yes, they do carry some importance if not more!!!
2. Never let the aftershocks of a bad section, affect other sections... Bad quant does not mean you will be hanged!!
3. Do not unnecessarily spead up through RCs... Concentrate more!!!
4. Guessing in first 15 questions in verbal is an unforgivable crime!

Summing up, this was an ideal case of what shouldnt be done on your G-day...

With less than 45 hours to go before kick-off, i now know one way you can screw yourself up...
And i am sure... my today's test experience will not only help me, but also all the GMAT aspirants who read this post...

There is a usual tradition following which people thank everyone who helped them in their preparation, after they are done with their exam... :) But not abiding by this tradition, i would just like to thank everyone who helped me, before i actually take my GMAT... :)

And as far as my last thoughts on my score are concerned - 700 is what, i feel, i deserve.... Anything above that will just be a bonus... Anything below that will be a similar goof-up!!

Wish me luck people!!! :):):)

Was that me???

2006-06-23T23:29:00.000-07:00

I am amazed, stunned, shocked, astonished, bewildered, astounded, perplexed and ... and... and...

So what if most of the questions in Quant as well as in Verbal were a copy-paste from OG 11? :) :) :) I have scored my highest so far, and it gives me immense pleasure in presenting b4 you the score card for ETS PowerPrep - 2, which i took today in the morning:

The reason for all the adjectives used above is:

750, i know is not my potential... Its not that i am underestimating myself, but frankly speaking, i dont deserve to be in the 99th percentile category... Yes, when it comes to GMAT quant, if i keep my eyes wide open and do not misread any of the question stems, than i can score a decent 49 or even more... But when it comes to GMAT verbal, i cant help myself to 90+ percentile, even if i keep my eyes, nose, ears, head everything open.... :)

So, with 2 more days to go before the G-day, i shouldnt get carried away with the score i have today and shouldnt get over-confident, but should stay focused on the major weakpoint that i have: Sentence Correction!!!

I remember the time when i used to go for AIMCATs last year.... Those 2 mark Sentence Corrections were quite easy pickings for me... In fact, those were the times when i hardly used to open a grammar book and refer any grammar related stuffs.... And today, after having done tons of practice, i find that my accuracy percentage has only deteriorated... Nways, enough of cribbing, here is the flow of the test:

AWA:

Pretty simple argument.. Mentioned 4 assumptions on which the argument was based... I havent prepared a template for the same, just wonder if it proves useful??? Any idea over this folks??
Even simpler issue... Listed the pros and cons of the approaches, and finally described the basis on which i agreed with one of them... Was not able to end the way i would have liked to... :(

Quant:

I was not calculating the answers here, but was trying to remember the page number in OG 11 from where the questions were picked... :) Completed the section with over 14 minutes to spare...

Verbal:

First question was SC as per my expectations... Followed by another SC, followed by two successive RCs... Some of the questions here, were again from OG 11 but unlike in Quant, in Verbal i was not very confident before clicking on an answer... The only odd thing in the Verbal Section was that i was given a CR only after the 14th question!!! I felt I was kind of hurrying through the questions, and it was then that i noticed that i was on 35th question with 25 minutes to spare.... Got through the remaining 6 questions in another 10 minutes...

The score:

As seen above, quant was ok... I probably got over confident and in the meanwhile clicked 14th, 35th and 36th incorrect... 3 incorrect, 33 correct... Scaled score: 50

U maaaaaaaaaaa.... Verbal:41!!! Just crossed the '40' mark i dreamt... :) But SCs again were the enemies... 5 SCs, 2 RCs and 1 CR incorrect... The question numbers i got incorrect were: 2, 20, 21, 25, 33, 34, 37 and 40... Hmmm... it pays more to do better in the top half of the Verbal section than in the bottom half!!!

All in all, taking ETS Powerprep - 2 after doing OG 11 certainly boosts your confidence... :) But you got to understand that the questions in the actual GMAT, wont be from your tamed OG 11...
68 hours to go before kick off!!!!!!

Where am i going wrong??

2006-06-18T02:20:00.000-07:00

Huh!!!!!!! All the motivation and excitement was botched after i saw a '30' in verbal..... Could you believe this? I have just broken all bounds and have touched a score which is just equal to the very first Kaplan that i gave... Given that ETS -1 had most of its questions from OG 11, i am just speechless about my preparations... :(

The statistics were as seen below:

The probable reason, i guess for such a pathetic verbal score could be that i did 4 wrong in the top 10, inlcuding question 2 & 3.... And to supplement to this debacle, i again did 12 & 13 wrong... Though the accuracy improved after question 13, it was too late and i was already stamped a score in the lower 30s...

Yes, i know that i should keep my cool...
Yes, i know that i shouldnt get frustrated....
Yes, i know that i should be more positive...
Yes, i know that i have some more days to go...
Yes, i know that i have done all the hard work...

The only thing i dont know is - Where am i going wrong????
The least i deserve is 700!!!!

The day is nearing and where m i heading????

2006-06-17T09:02:00.000-07:00

A mixed day from every aspect. The most satisfactory thing of the day was that I was able to stretch my limits and was able to take 2 full length tests in a day. Wow!! And the worst thing that happened today was when i found that the hard disk on which i had kept my GMAT material was formatted.... :(:(:( I had transfered most of the material to my new system, but some of it, which i had stored in C drive was all gone... But the best part of it is that i dont remember what all i had with me, and so i dont regret so much as time left with me, is just sufficient to cover the remaining material i have... :)

It was a Kaplan morning today... The last of the four tests... Just when i started taking the test, i was confronted by a pop-up which said "Due to lack of questions in the database, take this test as a practice test and do not consider the scores". Hmmm... interesting i thought.... Started with quant, was in no mood to write AWA.. Fount all the questions very new for my eyes.. Dont know that message meant? The performance: 4 incorrect, scaled score: 45 (low probably coz i got the 1st question wrong) Coming further down to Verbal, found a few questions familiar... Good performance this time... 12 incorrect, scaled score: 36

The overall satisfaction rating of the test was 4 out of 5, but the low quant score brought the overall total to 650.... Too low, but characteristically good for Kaplan.... Nways, time to bid a farewell to the Kaplan 2006 CD... It has been a real eye-opener at times, not only becuase of its level of toughness but also because of its minuscale fonts... :):)

That hard disk format problem also meant that i had to give my GMATPrep - 1 again to have newer questions in GMATPrep - 2. Started with quant.. and was confronted with questions i had solved twice... But the level of toughness increased in the later part of the test.... Thought i performed satisfactorily at the end of the section.... Verbal... RCs were something i least prefered at 9 o clock in the night... But had 5 of them... Was feeling very tired by the time i ended the test...

The scoring was something like this: Q50 (10 wrong, with only 1 wrong in top 20)
V35 (just 10 wrong, but with errors spread throughtout) Overall score 730...

Though this score no way reflects that i can definately cross 720 in the finals, my confidence now says that 700 is certainly on cards... Keeping my fingers crossed... And hoping to have a better test day tomorrow...

Chow....

13 days to go!!!!

2006-06-14T04:34:00.000-07:00

Ok... Its coming three days late, but i have all the reasons to explain...

I am supposed to describe the two tests i took since last Sunday, but before that will just like to write a few lines on the things that are distracting me from my GMAT preps... :)

1. ATG: This is the new app server on which i am supposed to work for my new project. Dont know whether its actually difficult to get a hang of it, or it is because of my 1 year old ATGphobia - but one thing is for sure... ATG is bugging me like hell... I spent the entire Monday and Tuesday, trying to install ATG and few other accessories... Took help from N number of people and at the end of Tuesday, the conclusion was that i needed to change my machine.... Got a new machine today, which no doubt is a lot advanced than the original one, but is still NEW... The boring task of dumping everysingle bit of data from your old system to the new one than started... It is 5:15 at the moment, i have successfully installed ATG and the new application and have also moved the data from my older machine to the new one, with only songs folder remaining now... ;) The actual work of going through the usecase and starting with the coding (hopefully) will start tomorrow.....

2. FIFA world cup: Just felt yesterday that i should have been taking the GMAT a week earlier than i am actually taking... Brazil playing its first match against Croatia, and i had to sleep so that i could get up early and study a bit, which actually never took place!!! :) Got a very tight scolding for not getting up!! :(

3. Food: The randomness is at its peak in this area of distraction... Just cant go to those costly restuarants every night for dinner!! Once the G is over, i will make it a point to have my dinner in office or somewhere on the way to home...

Well, actually these are just the excuses that i am trying to convince myself... and you know that, right? Haven't studied much this week and that is probably frustrating me...

Forget this crap, let's come to the point...

Sunday 11th June: Took 800score.com's test 4... Very interesting and confidence boosting...
Good accuracy in quant and sober one in verbal... 4 wrong in quant and 11 in verbal..... Scaled score: Q:50, V:38 ----> Total:680... Again... would have sailed above 700, had it been GMATprep... Just keeping my fingers crossed...

Tuesday 13th June: Was seriously in no mood to do GMAT 800.. dont know why? So started with ETS test 31... And put up my best performance in quant... 52 of 52 correct!!!! Verbal was ok with 41 of 56 correct... The questions were actaully very very very very easy in quant and that helped me to this accuracy.. No doubts i have been making stupid mistakes with easy questions as well, and so gettting all correct this time was very boosting... Keeping my fingers crossed again....

Its 14th today and i have 13 more days to go... The 13th day from now will decide many things!! Work hard, righty!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Signs of a b'right' score?

2006-06-10T05:42:00.000-07:00

Yes, i am happy and i am smiling... Some good signs finally.... Took Kaplan 3 today, which is supposed to be one of the four toughest mock GMATs that i have.... And scored 670!!!!! Q:50 V:38.... I never expected to cross 650 in Kaplan.. And 670 was always a distant dream... Well, i have it now and i am satisfied....

The only thing that is still bothering me is my verbal accuaracy... Got 15 wrong and 26 correct... Pathetic, right?? And the worst part of it is, 8 out of those 15 incorrect questions, were SC, something that i am working since a week....

Seriously, seems like i have to work a lot hard on my SC.... Is there something that i am missing? Can i have some guidance from anyone for my SC accuracy??????? Lets not waste time, by pondering over these questions, but lets straight away start working.... Will be taking a sectional SC test now.... I need to get 12 out of 14 correct at any cost!!!!

And yes, got to know that one of my good friends in Infy also gave GMAT a week back!! Hahaha... there is so much of hiding factor nowadays!!! Seems every even numbered person is giving GMAT, but still no odd numbered person knows about it!! hahaha.... He scored a 690 with Q48 and V35... Comparing my today's score with this one, looks like i would have crossed 700 easily had it been the GMAT scoring pattern... But Kaplan, dont know why they are so desperate to screw everyone's score!!

Nways, time to start working deligently...
C ya all!!!

All fine... but where is GMAT?

2006-06-09T04:26:00.000-07:00

No no no no... Please dont think i have lost the track for my GMAT preparations, after going home... The fever has got over & above me now... Anything i do during the whole day - eating, working, talking, playing - anything for that matter, there is always this 'G' which resides at the back of my mind...

With respect to my GMAT preparations during the last two weeks, emmm... nothing much on the preparations side, but yes i took 3 CATs + 1 paper test during this time.. The test were:

1. 800 score - test 2: The effect of almost a week break was showing.... RCs were too difficult to concentrate... Scored pathetically and landed up with 620, a break up of Q47 and V 29.... The only inspiring thing for me in this test for that i didnt go below my lowest score so far (600 in Kaplan 1) :):)

2. Big CD - teset 1: Hmmmm... interesting.... The graphics and everything on the CD and on the home page, were quite impressive... But frankly, either i am misunderstanding their scoring pattern or they have some pathetically weird scoring system!!! I scored a 420 here!!!!!!!!!
Didnt even wait to see the break ups for quant and verbal... Infact, while taking the test, i found few questions from OG 11 and this made me confident of crossing 700.. But with 420, i was left speechless!!! Didnt do anything the entire day, just slept!

3. 800 score - test 3: Things were getting on track at home now... I was slowly getting used to 44 C temperatures of Rajkot afternoons... This test was pretty comforting... It had some good questions and i did quite well.... Totaled 680 with a break of Q49 V 35...

4. ETS paper test code 28: Wow!!! The accuracy in quant was spectacular, probably becuase most of the questions were sitters from OG 11... :) Still got 4 wrong in quant, which meant a quant raw score of 46, which maps to section score of 45!!! Had it been a CAT, i would have scored a definite 50. Verbal - dont know when will i improve here... 11 wrong... Guess, i need to concentrate just and just on SCs now.... Raw score in verbal: 39, which meant a total score of 680....

The conclusion of this entire post is that i am still a dullard, as far as SC is concerned... Steps to be taken:

1. Go through OG SCs method
2. Go through OG practice SCs
3. Complete 250 SCs
4. Complete manhat stuff, though very boring
5. Start with Kaplan 800
6. Keep giving score top SC tests whenever time permists in office...

Enough for today, i feel... its time now to go home, relax a bit and then jump over to the two paper tests i am caring today.... 800-gmat.com (test 11) and ETS (test 31).

Lets hope, i give both of them today itself and perform satisfactorily....

See ya tomorrow folks...

bbye....

And yes, ek kaam ki baat to mein batana bhool hi gaya - hum sirf itna chahte hain, ki aap baratiyon ka swagat Pan Paraag se kijiye... :);):0@#$@# Bad PJ, i know!!

I have taken the G-date.... And the date is 27th June, 2006!!! Still havent figured the unique features of the date :-), except that 27 totals to 9, which happens to be my lucky number and 27/6/6 has a repetition in it which is my lucky combination.... :):):)

My next two weeks will determine how lucky these facts prove to be for me!!!

Alright... M back finally...

2006-06-08T23:00:00.000-07:00

I dont exactly remember when was the last post i published. Probably, it was after i took GMATPrep -1 for the second time and scored a 730. The day seemed so very beautiful... Seemed as if the gorgeous weather in the evening that day, was just set for me to cheer my score... :) Also had hundreds of butterflies enjoying themselves in my stomach as 26th May was coming closer... No no, 26th May wasnt my GMAT date, it was instead the date when i was going to fly to my state, Gujarat!!

There was so study, no GMAT till 26th... I kept dreaming and planning about the times i was going to spend in Ahmedabad and in Rajkot, my hometown... My stay in Ahmedabad was limited to just a day & half and so, i knew there wasnt going to be any studying there... But Rajkot, yes... though i knew i have never studied at home, since the time i left for my Engineering College, i was constantly telling myself to study atleast this time... :)

I had wonderful time in Ahmedabad... Had to stay in a hotel, as i was not supposed to inform any relative/friend of my being there.... ;) If any of these people read this post someday, they are going to kill me!! hahah... After a very emotional day, i had to depart from Ahmedabad and i tell you, going to Rajkot was never so difficult for me... There was a unique bond that was pulling me to Ahmedabad, and somehow i dint feel like leaving the city... :(

Days in Rajkot were as per my expectations from all fronts. Had a good time with my parents and my sis... Things look so very perfect when all the family members are together!! Had many many rides on my CBZ... The more i drive this bike, the more i fall in love with her... Papa gave me many chances to have a feel of our car as well... :) He normally fears everytime i drive, coz my driving is very haphazard as compared to his... :) Also, had 3 tiring games of cricket with one of my cousins and a dinner outing with them at one of the costliest restaurants in Rajkot, 'The Temptations'!!!

Just when i was planning the date when i could return to Ahmedabad to catch my flight on 4th, we got a very good news from my maternal uncle... His daughter, and my elder cousin Vandana was to be engaged on 2nd June in Ahmedabad... The date - 2nd June - was decided so that i could attend it!! Wow... Its so nice to find how much important your presence is, for people you love so much... :) but this meant, i had to depart a day earlier from Rajkot... :( Had many things to complete before leaving... Had to meet my grandma again, spend some time with her... Help mom with some snacks preparation... Get my bike and car serviced... Had to meet some relatives and of course, had to go for a bye-bye visit to Ramkrishna Ashram!! :)

Got up at 4 in the early morning on 2nd... Though an hour late of what was decided.... I had my packing done so the only hurdle between me and the 250 km long run to Ahmedabad from Rajkot was a bath....

Didi's engagement, in Ahmedabad, was a treat to watch!!! She was looking very very pretty.... And jiju too looked smart and dashing... They formed an indeed great pair!! Jiju was so very caring towards her and i felt so nice after observing a few 'stints' that he did.. :) I have learned one thing from him - when you pick a glass of water from a tray which had just two glasses before you picked one, it shows courtesy on your part if you move the remaining one to the center, so that the tray doesnt get imbalanced.. Small thing, but i liked it!! :)

It was the big big time then... Two ladies who love me the most in this world - my mom and my best friend, Neha - were going to meet each other for the first time.... :) Now... What can i write about this meeting?? Both of them complement each other so much... There was constant chatting for a period of 45 mins we were together.... Netiher front was ready to give up!! My sis, who also happens to be a great chatter box, had to take a back seat for a while... My God!!! Why do females have so much to talk always??? Seems, i will have to be a very very very very patient listener throughout my life, as these three ladies are going to stay around me forever!

3rd June now: was the best day of my trip to Gujarat... It had everything i had thought of... Movie, snaps, shopping, dinner, more snpas, bike-ride and above all... the first rain of the season in Ahmedabad... Just too romantic to be described here!!! :):):)

Well, thats all about my Gujarat experience this time.... With success in everything i had planned and with no goof-ups, i certainly felt very lucky and very very blessed with His blessings....

Hope, He keeps showering them on me and everyone, forever and ever...

More on my GMAT preparations

2006-05-20T23:38:00.000-07:00

My dear blogger mates.....

It has sincerely been a very good weekend so far...
Took two computer based tests:
1. GMAT Prep -1 (again) [read somewhere that questions will be different and found them to be so]
2. Score top online - Quant 1

It has been quite a long time since i wrote anything other than my GMAT preps... So, amm... lemme just bore you all a bit by descrbing the kind of time (other than GMAT) i had during the last week....

There were three major things that happened to me during the last week. The first one was something that is not very unusual now... It was my desperation to go home!! As the day 25th May is coming closer, the excitement is increasing in inverse proportion to the time left before i land in Gujarat... It has been almost 2 months now that i am waiting for the day... For some reasons, my trip to home this time will be a lot more special than it has ever been... :) With just 3 and a half days to go before i fly, lemme make a promise to myself that i will uitilize all these days, fully dedicated to my GMAT preps, whenver i am away from office work....

The second major thing that has been happening is the new challange that i m facing w.r.t. my work in office... No no, it is not technical challange, anything technical has hardly ever tumbled me so far... But this time, it is the whole new drama of project allocation... Just when i thought i will have a peaceful life before i give my GMAT, i see IDI clouds building up over my head (IDI is the worst project my IBU has)!! :( You sometimes pay panelties for doing a good job! This is one those punishments... I know it will be tough to sneak out of this, but i will try a lot for sure... I havent been officially told anything about it so far. Just waiting for the moment when some PM comes to me and says me officially that i am supposed to work for IDI.. I will make sure that even if he eventually pulls me into it, i give him a tough time pulling me!!

And the third and the final major action that took place was that i accidently found a school friend of mine, called Shivangi Gajjar... We were class mates in 3rd - 4th standard and then she left the school and went to a girl's convent school, probably coz the boys in our school were just too troublesome!! :):):) She is presently doing her masters in New York..... It was wonderful to find a friend whom you havent met/talked since last 15 years!!! The credit goes to Mr. Orkut and his wonderful creation called 'orkut.com'...

Coming on to my GMAT preparations and the tests:

GMAT Prep1, the java application you can download from mba.com was pretty good this time.... Though i had atleast 10% questions that i thought were from GMAT or were a part of GMAT prep1 that i gave earlier, the overall confidence i had after giving the test was quite satisfactory. The one strange thing about these GMAT Prep software is their scoring pattern. I find it to be too very liberal when it comes to quant section. I made 11 wrong out of 37 in quant and then too landed up with a score of 50... Amazing, isnt it??? Out of these 11 mistakes, i got 6 wrong in PS and 5 in DS. I could have ceratinly done better, but even with just 5 incorrect i would have scored 50!!! I just hope that a similar scoring pattern is followed in actual GMAT. Verbal was OK this time... 6 wrong in RC, 7 in SC and just 1 in CR... 14 wrong overall with a sectional score of 38.. Something needs to be seriously done about my SC preps... SC and CR are the key to a 40... I cant bank on RC as it has never been my most comfortable area. Overall score was 730, but the figure is just a bit more than what i deserve with my present preparation.. and i know this!!
Early Sunday morning is always a time to relax and dream... But i will have to forget these pleasures atleast till June 26th.. Got up early, had a quick breakfast and off i was to office... Took the scoretop quant 1 test and found 2 questions out of 38 to be incomplete.. But the wonder was i got just 1 of them incorrect!! hahaha... Seems my guessing power is improving.. Amogst the questions which were fully visible, i got 3 wrong... Found the test to be very very easy... Had completed it with 45 mins left in my bank account... Hope the level is a bit tougher in the next 11 quant simulations in score-top.

Well... this is all about this week's stuff... I will be seeing the movie Gangster today with my roomies.... It will be a movie i will see in theatres after a gap of 2-3 months.... But i am more excited about the movie i will be seeing on 26th may and even more excited about the movie on 25th may as i will be the hero myself on 25th!! hahaah....

Chow folks...

My first realistic 700!!!!

2006-05-13T05:52:00.000-07:00

I will remember today's day for many reasons...

1. Dipped my i card into a curry during lunch, and pasted it on my t shirt, just to find that i dint carry a hankerchief... :)
2. Crossed the 700 mark for the very first time with a 710, though dint see this figure reflecting on my screen, as the 800Score.com test that i gave just only gives sectional scores. I was able to zero on 710 after refering their site where they let you know your overall score if you give the test no. and your sectional scores.

Getting more than 700, i think is more of a physchological phenomena.... Your verbal and quant skills can get you upto 700, but anything about that has to come from your pshchy, your concentration power and above all your patience...

Today's experience was again satisfactory in general... More than reaching the 700 mark, i am much pleased with my graph so far... The positive slope of this graph is something that is boosting me a a lot, and today's 700 was just like icing over the cake!!

Speaking about cake, reminds me that i am getting very very hungry.. :) So, i try and rap up the test description and mistakes in short.

Started with Quant as usual... Got a question which i had seen almost a year back... And despite of this, i got is wrong!! Silly mistake again... Nways, the section was good... 50 overall for my effort in quant, even after getting 7 of out of 37 wrong... Dont know whats the logic behind such scoring... Had it been ETS paper tests, 7 wrong would have never given me a half-century in quant...

Verbal now.... Found the initial few question very simple, as was the case with quant.... My real tests were RCs this time... I guess mentioning 'this time' would lead to a conclusion that RCs are not always tough for me. So, i better check my sentence here, coz they indeed give me a tough time in each and every test... RCs this time were more related to finance, and one of them fully dedicated to investment banking... Luckily, i dont have any plans for doing IB coz if i had any such plans i would have had to change those after my miserable performance in this particular RC...

The concentration you can develop and the ease with which you can feel that you are doing great are directly dependent on your surroundings.... While i was on my 34 question in Verbal, which was again the first question of another RC, one of the house keeping guys of my office comes to me and asks, "Is your company a call centre or a software firm?" He must have regreted for asking me such a question coz the stare that i gave him after this question was too scary.. :)

Nways, the test ended smoothly with arond 5+ mins to spare... And the results were:

Q: 50
V: 39
Total: 710

My performance was quite satisfactory.... But still - i havent reached my zenith - is the feeling that i have....

Lets c if i again cross 700 in the next test, next weekend....
Chow!

Sorry... Sorry.. Sorry...

2006-05-08T03:44:00.000-07:00

First of all.... My sincere apologise for not updating the status of my tests this weekend... The weekend infact proved to be one of the most happening weekends as far as my GMAT preps are concerned...

Saturday: 6th May, 2006

Landed in the office around 10:30 AM in the morning... And got very unpleased to see lot many folks on my floor.... No no... I am not a misanthrope.. :) Just that, many people -> many questions on GMAT -> many explanations from my side -> many questions again -> many explanations again... The sequence goes on... Newer mind i said, moved to a silent place in one of the corners of the floor where i could hide myself from all Derek O Brians... :)

Wished to take some new test this time... No ETS or Kaplan.. Luckily found a gmattest software which i had downloaded a year back... A time when i was never sure what i wanted in life... :) Started the test and sailed through it with great ease... Quant was complete before 10 mins and verbal was complete with 5 mins to spare... Whenever the test is easy, it sounds a bell in my mind and makes me all the more conscious about my answers... But luckily enough, i dint make too many mistakes this time with simple questions, and reached a mind-boggling score of 760!!! Whoo!!Whoo!!! Though it was great to see this figure on the monitor, it wasnt satisfactory, as i knew real GMAT was never going to be so very easy....

It was time now to come back to reality.... 760 had provided me with wings using which i was flying in the skies of over-confidence... So, thought lemme come back to ground realities.. decided to take another test on the same day....

Opted for Kaplan-2 this time... I knew it was going to be a sure shot landing to ground with Kaplan, but just hoped the landing to be a bit safer than Kaplan-1... :) Found many questions repeating in the quant section, which wasnt much encouraging and the verbal section was again tough as expected... Was easily able to complete both these sections in time and that was very pleasing... Scored 600 with 50 in quant and 29 in verbal... Verbal: 21 correct and 20 incorrect!! Dont know what happens with me when i give these full lenght tests... With sectional tests i usually sail with a better accuracy...

Sunday: 7th May, 2006

Had the hardcopies of ETS 25 with me today.... The day was too hot and it wasnt possible to sit for the test till it was evening... ETS tests though good, have some disadvanatages: 1. Their quant is very simple 2. There are no explanations for the verbal answers

The test neways was a good experience... Quant was simple as expected and it was tough to sit patiently for 1 hour 15 mins while solving verbal... :) Probably, my low accuracy has everything to do with the fact that Verbal is the last section is these full length tests.. Well, nothing can be done about it though.. I will have to train myself with this routine by giving more tests... The timing during the test was comfortable... Results: Poor accuracy in Verbal, Good in quant... Scores: V-38 Q-49 Overall: 690

Expected to reach 700 today atleast... But couldnt... :(:(:(:( Very very disappointed!!!
Something needs to be seriously done with respect to my verbal accuracy in full length tests...
Should i start with the OG now? Thats the question i am asking myself...

Tough ka baaappp!!!

2006-05-01T02:50:00.000-07:00

The date today is 1st May, 2 006 and the day - Monday... This being a day so very important for all the laborers, we, the laborers here in Infy were given OFF... So, i thought why not to make the most of this holiday by writing a test??

The last time i wrote a test was on last saturday. The test i wrote was a pen-paper test and so i was in a mood of giving a Computer Adaptive Test (CAT) this time... Came to office after changing 2 autos and 2 buses... Was half exhaused by then.... Booted the PC and was disappointed to see the mailbox deprived of any mail from my CHARGER... :)

Nways, i thought.... Life goes on and i started with Kaplan GMAT CAT - 1. After skipping the AWA section, i was into the quant section and was hardly realizing that i a hell of a toughy in front of me!! The questions in the quant section were a bit tough, and so i had to do them with a bit more precaution. This resulted into poor time management and i was left with 2 mins and 4 questions unanswered. Completed 2 questions somehow and left the other two unseen... This was indeed bad!!! This is the last thing i can think of happening with me on the D day!!

Verbal started with some easy CRs... I was getting a lot of confidence on my Critical Reasoning abilities... The SCs were again tough, as expected and the RCs were also horrifying... All in all, they were so very time consuming, that i had no option but to guess most of the RC answers so that i can complete the entire section... Though i completed the section with a min to spare, i knew the accuracy was going to be real bad!!

These Kaplan people have indeed desinged a very good software for test analysis.. Quickly i was able to see the questions on which i had spent most of my time, the questions in which i had changed my answers... Not to mention, it also showed me the questions i answered incorrectly... :) Things were fine till now... But a real shocker was experienced when i clicked on View My Score.. Quant: 42 Verbal:33 with an overall score of 620!!! My Gossshhhhhhhh!!!

I was determined to hit a 700 this time, when i entered the office premises today... But dint realise that Kaplan GMAT CATs are certainly not recommendable if you are searching for a score of 700... If you get a 700 here, you are bound to get 770+ in actual GMATs!!!

Read PG's post then where he describes streching your limits!!!

Its time for me too to strech my limits!!!

My second test

2006-04-29T05:40:00.000-07:00

Another weekend, another test....
This time, i was a bit cautious about the limited number of CATests that i have have, and so, i decided to plunge upon the Disclosed Actual GMAT paper tests, that ETS disclosed before Pearson took over from them...

I wrote the test with test code 14 today...
Before i landed in the office today, i had in my mind that i was supposed to give test 14...
But hardly did i knew that these paper tests have a different number of questions and sections than the CAT that we have nowadays....

I took a print of the paper and was just going through it when i found that it had 6 sections!!!
And each section had a timing limit...
Never mind, i said and started with the tests...

Section 1: Data sufficiency.... Was a smooth ride...
Section 2: Problem solving 1.... Was another smooth ride...
Section 3: Problem solving 2.... Was a bit bumpy, as i had some stoppers...

The three quant sections were over before time... I was just relaxing a bit when i got a call from my CHARGER... (guess who??) :)

Started with verbal sections then-
Section 4: Critical Reasoning.... Dont know why i feel that they are becoming easy day by day...
Section 5: Reading Comp... 3 very simple passages with 23 sections in all... was a cake wake, but
i missed on the time again.... Had to leave 4 of them unattempted...
Section 6: SC.... To be considered as one of my strong points... Was ok!!

After having another talk with my CHARGER, i was soon back to business... Had to complete the exciting task of counting my score!!

Started with verbal:
Section 1: CR - Just 1 incorrect and 15 correct... U ma... i was in command of the test now!!
Section 2: RC - Just 1 incorrect + 4 not attempted with 18 correct.... was still in command!!
Section 3: SC - Got dumped!!! Made 7 wrong and had 15 correct.... over confidence????

Quant:
Section 4: DS - 2 incorrect + 18 correct... Dont still understand why those 2 are wrong..
Section 5: PS - 2 incorrect + 14 correct... Silly mistakes, they happen sometimes...
Section 6: PS - 3 incorrect, which were all the stoppers that i had.... cant figure them out still..

The overall scores after a lot of struggle with the steps...
Quant: 44
Verbal: 40
Total: 670

Though 10 points less than my last touch, m a bit satisfied....
Had an amazing accuracy in RC and CR, the two most dreadful arise, is what is making me feel happy....

I can do it!! Touching 700 isnt too far now!!!

Numbers and me!!

2006-04-23T22:16:00.000-07:00

I have always had an usual liking for numbers.... I somehow always try to figure out symmetries in the kind of numbers that i see around.. These numbers can be in the form of dates, or in the form of my Id numbers, or exam hall ticket numbers... Dont know if this happens with most of the human beings :), but it certainly happens with me in large numbers!!

This time it is the date that is bothering me!!! 24th March, 2006 was a day that i felt was the best day i will have in this year, and 24th April, 2006 is probably the worst. Though no bad news so far have come from any direction today, and though it is still 10'o clock in the morning, the day is giving me a serious displeasure in anything i do...

And here it comes... Got the call that i expected, which surmounted to all the discomfort i was having since morning... The day is indeed pathetic!!!

Giving GMAT'Prep' 1 without any 'Prep'

2006-04-22T04:51:00.000-07:00

Gave my GAMT Prep - 1 today.... Mixed feelings to sum up... Made horrible mistakes in Quant and have no having to say as far as Verbal goes...

The problem with GMAT Prep verbal sections is that these fellows are too lazy to give explanations... As seriously, there were a few questions in verbal for which i could have entered in a sure debate if anyone contradicted my answers... But this software does not give any such opportunity.. :( When it throws at you an answer that they say you got incorrect, you cant argue or even ask for an explanation for... :(:(

But nways, i know.... Thats too much to ask for from a free softare.. :)

As far as the scores are concerned... Here they are:

Quant: 49 (37 attempts, 10 wrong)
Verbal: 35 (38 attempts, 19 wrong!!! )
Total score: 680

Frankly speaking, verbal was very disappointing.. Not only coz i got 19 wrong.... I ran short of time as well... Couldnt complete all 41 questions... Had to hurry through the last 10 questions i attempted and got 8 wrong out of them!!

But then too.. what saved me a bit in verbal, i guess, was that i got the initial ones correct... No mistake in the first 10... That probably took my score to 35...

All in all, a slightly disatisfactory performance in quant and a heavily disatisfactory performance in Verbal... Could have certainly done better in quant and... in verbal... well, i need loads and loads of practise to make my line of thinking and reasoning parellel to that of the testmakers!!

Practise, practise and more practise is the conclusion today and also the key to 720+..

My most astonishing b'day so far!!!

2006-04-15T02:19:00.000-07:00

Before i go on to write anything in this blog, it becomes mandatory for me to mention a few lines on :

Being 23 now, shouldnt i have thought of something better, than to write an essay on such an infantile thingy, just like any high school kiddy??
Wont the people who even dont know me, find this piece absolutely 'roobish' as Geof Boycott would call it?

Well, well... The answers to both these questions can be summed up in a single word, 'YES'. Yes, i could have thought of something better to be described, but somehow this day left an impression on my mind, heart and soul, it made me realize many many things that i couldnt have otherwise, leaving me with a new horizon in which i breath today. So, for me this day becomes a slight twister of thoughts and confidence and hence finds a place in my first ever blog.

Coming on to the second question and its answer, yes... People who do not know me (and also some who know me) might find this piece to be folderol.. and so... Ammmm.... I cant give them a refund for the few minutes of broadband they might have spent to read till here... Instead i can just offer them my apologies... :)

Well.. well... So, here i go.. The date was 24th March, 2006. Celebrations had already begun a day earlier on 23rd, as my roomies had brought a nice lil cake with loads and loads of chocolate icing.. People at my place, all tired after a tough day at office were desperately waiting for the clock to show 12 since evening 8 o clock... :) And exactly at midnight, amongst the buzzing of the phones, i had the pleasure of cutting the most chocolaty cake i ever had!!!

The morning of the b-day was very usual... After attending many phone calls and acknowleding all the wishes that were showered, i was again busy replying people who succumbed to sleep as my phone was busy the other night... And when i reached the office, i hardly knew that i was to be presented with a surprise... Few of my colleagues showed me a beautiful pinnaple cake... It felt nice to find that they remembered this day!!

But this was not all... We had a group activity event which was co-incidently planned on the same day... We were supposed to go to a place called Ramoji Film City and stay in a 5-star hotel called Sitaara... I wasnt all that exited about going there, as i had been to Ramoji earlier as well, but the idea of spending a day in a 5 star hotel wasnt all that bad!! So, i decided to join in for Ramoji Film City....The route to Ramoji was totally new for me, as the driver, totally baffled & bewildered in his approach, was in search of a short cut to reach there.. :) We had a nice time in the bus, and i found a lot many new faces... I predicted them to be new joinees to the IBU, as they had the usual question marks painted all over there foreheads... :)

The b-day wasnt yet over, and this got reflected in Ramoji Film City. I was presented with yet another cake, this time a bigger one. It was so very enchanting to cut that strawberry cake in front of almost 150+ people, standing in a lush green lawn of a 5 star hotel. It made me feel for while that it wasnt me who was doing the honors... I just felt as if i was a son of a millionaire or may be a virtuso, and was celebrating my bday, with all the guests applauding and singing.. :)

The day was indeed one of the best days i had seen.... I dont know if all the smiles i saw or all the giggles i heard, were real or not :(.. But one thing is for sure, they were huge in number.. :) The day certainly made me realise that sometimes you get happiness from places where you dont really expect.. Made me realise that its not always important to plan everything, there should be some room for randomness in your life as well... :)

Inspite of having an amazing day, when i was about to shut my eyes at night, in that auspicious room of the hotel, there was a sense of dampness that i felt... I had everything i had always wished for... From fame, to luck... From applauses, to wishes.. But then too, there was something that i was missing badly... I tried to figure it out... It was probably the abominable thought of being away from home, away from the people you love, away from the person you love to be with... And with this thought in my mind... off i was... now, with 1 year less to achieve all that i want to!!