Introspection - Part I

Introspection means self-examination. That was the need of hour for me, to find out the reason for rejection (ding analysis) and the steps that needs to be taken henceforward. In simpler words it was the time to find out answers to basic questions "Why, What, Where”

Why I did not get an interview call ---- 

1. Started the research quite late - I gave my GMAT on 8th October 2009 and after getting the score, decided to research and apply for colleges in R2. That was one of the biggest decision making errors I made. After talking to few MBA applicants and current students and reading many blogs, I realized that a successful application (in most cases) requires a holistic research of your career goals, schools selection, finding a proper fit etc.  

My 2 cents – Do spend sufficient time in researching all theses details before plunging directly into the application process else you will be in a fix.

2. No planning – I did not plan things properly. I took my date for GMAT quite late in October and then decided to apply to 5 colleges, when I had only two months left to the R2 deadline. During that period I had to travel to India too (for some urgent work), thus adding to the pressure on time line. I had two months left only and by that time had no answers prepared for the basic questions “what are my short/long term goals, which essays to start with, who will be my recommenders, what are my strengths and weaknesses, whom to ask for essay evaluations.”

My 2 cents – Do plan everything in advance. Book your GMAT date well in advance from the R1 deadline (one benefit is that you will also have a chance to apply in R2), prepare an xls with all the questions you feel are important. Do refer to the following book as a good starting point to have an overview about the whole MBA process.

MBA Game Plan

3. Not choosing the correct evaluators – It was not that the people I chose for essay evaluation were not sound people (may be they are much more sound than me), but that they were not very much familiar with the MBA application process. Second problem was that I made my essays evaluated by too many people, ending up in a dilemma.

My 2 cents – Choose evaluators judiciously, those who are quite familiar with the process and don’t go beyond 3 or 4. Also choose one person who can do the spell check. DO NOT TRUST THE MICROSOFT SPELL CHECK BLINDLY!!!

4. Did not exemplify my cases – After self-evaluating all of my essays with a very critical viewpoint, I found that I generalized my essays quite a bit. In other words, I did not use proper examples to present my side of story. I kind of generalized all the important points (team work, leadership etc) rather than giving examples of how I fit the bill in those areas. Remember that the adcom members are those who do not know you (or an outsider). The only way to present your case in front of them is to give proper examples.

My 2 cents – Exemplify as much as possible.