Lurenamedambition’s Weblog

Just got my official ding letter from Chicago,without even an interview!Well what else should I expect, I wasnt even sure until a day before the deadline that I should apply to Chi!Tomorrow is the last day for Wharton interview invite and I guess I should have kept the title of this blog for tomorrow, ah well I am down in the dumps anyway,might as well go the whole way.The timing is just so unfair though, I just received news that the venture that I have been part of since inception may not receive funding after 2 whole years of working odd hours on shoestring budget to make it a success and I wish at least some school would love me.

Last night was my first ding, a sneaking suspicion I had all along as this was my very first application and I used it as a learning process for my other apps.I did feel a bit let down as UNC was my safety school and though I might not have joined here if I had an admit, I definitely did want some assertion in a positive way to just give me a bone in my long wait to hear from other schools.

I am still perturbed at why I didnt get an admit at this place though, the interviewer sounded so positive about my getting an admit there!I wonder if this could have been because of the yield rate, I had quoted truthfully about the other schools I was applying to and it was very evident that this was my safety school, did they ding me thinking I would not join here if admitted?Well anyways I hope at least one of the other 6 schools think im worthy of an admit!

Two days ago,my app status at Darden changed from Complete to Pending along with the below message:

‘ Your application is now with the Admissions Committee for evaluation. You will be notified of your decision by email on the decision date assigned to the application round in which you applied.’

Now wasnt I supposed to get an Interview Call before this status?Or is it after?Applicants on BW seem to be saying the status updates on Darden seem to keep toggling between pending and interview call and I am yet to go to the brighter side of the toggle!

Also according to BW, interview invites from Chicago and Ross have started rolling out but I havent heard from them as yet and much as I am trying to stay calm here considering the interview invite slots end sometime mid-Feb, I would like some sort of a pacifier from some college indicating that I am a smashing candidate!

Now anyone just absolutely anyone, living, dead or godly,please send me a darn invite!

Had my first interview(telephonic) this morning at about 12 am with UNC which last for about 40 mins.30 mins before the interview, power blanked out at my place thereby taking me to a heightened sense of anxiety and nervousness, I most definitely did not want to speak with Adcom in the dark!Thankfully the lights came back on just in time for the interview.

Interviewer made me feel quite comfortable and overall it was an enjoyable one.I had put in about 8 hrs of preparation the whole of yesterday, writing out my answers(obviously did not recite them out during the interview) so that I would have a clear idea of what I wanted to say.Questions were as follows:

(1)Walk me through your resume(a lot of questions on this one as I have a rather uncommon career path)
(2)Describe yourself
(3)What do you do for fun?
(4)What challenges do you see facing India’s growth today?(I am from India)
(5)What books do i read, specifically on leadership?
(6)Where have you travelled(since I have done quite a bit of globetrotting in the last 2 yearas)
(7)A bit on my alumni contribution for my undergrad
(8)Why KFBS?
(7)What do you see yourself doing after an MBA?
(8)Do you plan on staying in US after your MBA?
(9)Any questions from me to him?

Thats about it, he was very kind and suggested a book on leadership that he thought I should read.All in all I think it went well, fingers and toes crossed(decision deadlines on Feb 4th)!

Now that essays are done, there seems to be too much time to wade into the nitty gritties of each college in hopeful anticipation of interview calls!While I have come across couple of blogs that host up their interview experiences, I do know only of one website that actually collates interview transcripts(http://www.clearadmit.com/wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page).I would be so grateful if any of you could send me your inputs on interview transcripts that you refer to for the schools I have listed.

One more question at the cost of sounding ignorant,what type of questions does one typically ask an interviewer, is it more of a how will your univ help me or more of a first-hand account on what they can offer in terms of courses and clubs etc?Send me your thoughts!