First, I’d just like to congratulate my admissions consulting clients from this season who have accepted offers to their target schools. Thus far, 2 of you are headed to Wharton, 2 to INSEAD, one to Duke, and 4 waiting to hear back from one of Wharton (2 more), MIT (1) or Darden (2). I only […]
October 6, 2013
My first quarter at Wharton has been an unbelievable experience. When I last posted, I was just getting my druthers after a fun but exhausting Pre-Term experience. I had also deluded myself into thinking that I’d do a couple posts last month. Negative. Out of nowhere, I was blind-sighted by a flurry of quant problem […]
July 22, 2013
This time tomorrow, I will officially be a resident of Philadelphia. Since I was admitted during round one (December), much of this transition has been anticlimactic for me since my excitement hit its zenith during admit weekend way back in February. It’s not that I haven’t been excited about going to Wharton, but the drudgery […]
July 13, 2013
I’ve never really been the jealous type. That notwithstanding, it can be quite a challenge to not become a hater when all of your rich banker classmates are gallivanting around the globe after having quit their pre MBA jobs months ago while you report to a cube each day. So naturally, I was more than […]
June 24, 2013
Every now and again (actually, quite often if I’m honest) I get yet another confirmation of having made the right decision in choosing to attend The Wharton School to get my MBA and focus on building a company. While I’ve never looked back or even so much as wondered about my having chosen the best […]
May 4, 2013
I experienced deja vu today. I was in the middle of reviewing some statistics info when I thought to myself, “really tho”?. Allow me to explain… I’m currently in the throes of prepping for my transition from brain dead, autopilot but employed 9-to-5 life in sunny Los Angeles to rigorous, stimulating but broke student life […]
April 13, 2013
So…I’m sitting at the computer while taking a break from some freelance writing work. I’m watching this clip on YouTube that always makes me laugh so hard that I fart when my my phone starts beeping and my email notices from Facebook start blowing up. Apparently, just as I was laughing and in tears to […]
March 26, 2013
So…you’re “in” at Wharton. Congratulations on your achievement. I’ve felt kinda bad for all of you during these past couple of weeks, as the period between mid-November and late December (my waiting period) was the roughest time for me during this whole MBA application ride–definitely the upside-down-to-downward-spiral part of the coaster. While the GMAT had […]
March 12, 2013
It is incredibly gratifying to finally be busy in a way that is fun and enriching (prepping for school, prepping for Philly, networking, planning etc.) rather than oppressive and numbing (GMAT, essays, interviews, waiting for results, et. al) as it relates to this whole MBA deal. Lately, I’ve been cyber stalking events such as the […]
March 1, 2013
I’ve chosen to invest my next two years into building a company and earning an MBA in Entrepreneurship and Strategic Management at The Wharton School of Business at UPenn. First World Problems From the moment that I first got “the call” from Director of Admissions Ankur Kumar welcoming me to Wharton’s class of 2015, I […]
February 6, 2013
So last weekend I flew to Philadelphia to rendezvous with over 300 of my fellow R1 admits at Wharton’s Winter Welcome Weekend. To say that I had a blast and was impressed would be an understatement. The Whartonites definitely know how to sell their brand and showcase their culture to a horde of admits. The […]
January 29, 2013
Post Mortem Just an hour ago, I thought that I’d be writing a very different post than this. About two weeks ago, I interviewed for a spot in the class of 2015 for The MIT Sloan School of Management. While I left the actual interview feeling pretty good, I began to wonder about whether my […]
January 19, 2013
At about 3 weeks into the new year, a few things are certain: 1. I’ll be moving to either the east coast OR Midwest sometime this summer. 2. I’ve just jumped down a rabbit hole of massive spending and relentless saving and budgeting that is likely to not end until at least 2015. 3. While the stress […]
January 10, 2013
I really envisioned a carefree winter and spring after being admitting into Wharton and Booth a few weeks ago. Pipe dreams. Though, I must say that the kind of intensity that I experience now feels much better than it did when I was waiting to find out whether I “got in” to any of my […]
December 24, 2012
Woooo-saaaaahhhh (And Happy Holidays)! So about a year ago, I plunked down $250 and took my first swing at the GMAT. I had made a 650 on a practice test without studying, and felt that I should be able to do about as well without too much trouble, then pump out a few essays to […]
December 20, 2012
After getting an early morning acceptance call from the Chicago Booth School of Business two days ago, one would think I’d be more calm and zen than I was when I got up this morning. I was actually–its a huge relief that you have somewhere (really good) to go to for b-school after all of […]
December 10, 2012
During the next 10 days, I’ll know the final decisions for 4 out of the 5 programs that I applied to during R1. HBS graciously gave me my walking papers back in October; and Stanford’s silence has spoken volumes. I expect a ding notice from there this Wednesday. That completes the list of schools where […]
November 16, 2012
I can finally see some light at the end of this very long tunnel of pre-MBA exam prep, test-taking, app and essay writing, interviewing, waiting, worrying, and just plain ‘ole stress. So here’s the status of my round 1 applications going into the weekend before Thanksgiving (alphabetically): Chicago – invited to interview; interview complete HBS […]
November 1, 2012
So the short version of the story is that the MBA Gods have smiled once again. I’ve just been invited to interview for a spot at The Wharton Business School, just 28 hours after receiving an invite to interview at The University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business (for which I’ve already been matched with […]
October 16, 2012
So today was boss’ day. Who knew? I sure didn’t–at least not until I arrived at work this morning to the sight of a whole grain and berry mini cake from Whole Foods on my desk decorated “Happy Boss’ Day”. I’d love to be able to tell you that I ate some and brought the […]
October 7, 2012
I’ve been hard pressed to achieve an insomnia-free night as of late; and to be fair to my fellow pre-MBA applicants, I must concede that I am probably not unique in that respect. At first glance, I’m just another one of thousands of applicants who has recently turned in a set of Round 1 applications […]
October 1, 2012
I’ve just burned the last few drops of midnight oil between September 30th and October 1st, 2012. The bad news is I need to be up and out of bed in 5 hours for cardio. The good news is that I’ve just submitted apps for Wharton, Booth and Stanford after an all Sunday marathon of […]
September 21, 2012
Well, its official. I’ve jumped down the MBA admissions rabbit hole. Just a few hours ago, I successfully submitted my first app to HBS; and my last of 3 recommenders submitted his recommendation about an hour and a half later without my having to be a pest about it. I also received an invite today […]
August 22, 2012
Introspection About a week and a half ago I published a blog post about my experiences at both a Wharton info session and the Riordan Diversity MBA Admissions Conference (CA) just 2 days apart here in Los Angeles. Each event was exceptionally well-run and worthy of due praise. Though anyone applying during the 2012-13 season has […]
August 11, 2012
So I’ve logged quite a bit of face to face time with MBA ad/coms over the past few days. The first opportunity to that end was the Wharton Diversity Info Session held by two of its admissions officers at the Deloitte tower downtown last Thursday. When I first realized that the event was being held […]
July 31, 2012
So, after several days of feverish button mashing and tedious edits, I’ve ended up being just one essay away from having all of my R1 non-consortium essays done. Of course, there will still be edits and iterations after what I have; however, each set of essays that I’ve completed thus far is solid enough where […]
July 26, 2012
In just a few days, it’ll be August. For many reasons, that is the month that things really begin to heat up in Top 20 MBA land. For starters, August is when the vast majority of people seem to be joining the app race. That is also the month during which every application that has […]
July 5, 2012
So it’s been exactly ten days since I unloaded a huge weight off my back by hitting the 700 GMAT mark–if only by a hair. Though I am about 85% sure to go for a retake, my “700 Club” status has decreased the pressure of this whole process to the point that I’m actually enjoying […]
May 31, 2012
Recently, Poets & Quants published an article highlighting the trend of more and more MBA students in top programs shunning traditional corporate jobs to start their own businesses. In particular, the piece highlighted that Stanford and HBS grads are 3x and 2x more likely to start a business upon graduation, respectively, when compared to their […]
May 24, 2012
Yeah, so I recently missed an opportunity due to reading too fast (NOTE TO SELF: get that together before the GMAT). A few days ago I was writing some marketing copy at work when I received an email about an opportunity to meet representatives from Wharton in my city. I was juggling tasks between integrating […]
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