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!

I am an auto enthusiast and I love reading about supercars and what makes them tick and a small car rarely holds my interest.But what caught my attention about the Tata Nano is the amount of attention its receiving from the world around.In less than 2 weeks, I have had two curious questions about this car,both from Americans…’How can anyone have come up with a car for as low as $2500′ and ‘Have you bought one as yet?It sounds so exciting!(this was from a B-School interviewer)’

I did some research and came out with how Tata has managed to pull off this rather remarkable feat.Minimalism has been their key word in manufacturing this innovation it seems,by keeping minimalistic features on the dashboard,safety aspects, no radio,reclining seats or power steering,BoM costs have been kept to a bare minimum.It will have a 650cc engine that puts out at most 70 horsepower and by the kind of experience I have had in my friend’s little Maruti 800(the closest competitor I can think of for the Nano),you might as well have cushions attached to your backsides to survive this ride!Tata’s real advantage may be in development costs as apparently India’s top-notch engineers are paid about a third of what their counterparts are being paid in other Auto companies in America.

I have very mixed feelings about this development, while this opens up avenues for low income households to do away with their two-wheelers and invest in an actual car, thereby (hopefully)increasing safety for both 4 wheelers as well as 2 wheelers(there are way too many accidents that happen on an everyday basis in keeping with the rising traffic), can India’s infrastructure actually hold up to take on the thousands that are going to be zooming around increasing traffic congestions that are already in nightmarish conditions in metros?Ratan Tata promises that emissions from the Nano will be much lesser than from scooters and mopeds but its too soon to tell.

Somehow much as I rejoice for this amazing piece of technology wherein a lot of thought must have gone in to produce such a low-cost vehicle(I am a Sales manager for a tech company and I have faced most difficulty when one is strategising a product for a mass market, creating top class technology at stringent costs is more challenging than putting together a fantastic piece of invention with no financial restraints!),when the foundation of India is not strongly built to uphold the rapid advancements that seem to inch in everyday in this country, I fear the worst for the infrastructure arena with the advent of this car in the market.

I came across this article on BW as well: Renault-Nissan has teamed up with Indian motorcycle maker Bajaj Auto to launch a $3,000 car next year. “If Tata can do it, we can do it,” says Renault-Nissan Chairman Carlos Ghosn.I wonder if the Govt. is deciding to invest in some money on physical infrastructure to keep up with these developments!

Here’s an interview article with Ratan Tata:

http://www.tata.com/0_media/features/interviews/20080110_one_lakh_car.htm

At the end of it all , I must say kudos to Ratan Tata for his leap of faith and also to have given the chance to low income earners to experience the joy of owning their own car.I believe strongly that the Nano is here to stay just as the Maruti 800 was the People’s Car for decades in India but in tandem I really do hope the Govt. realises the importance on prioritizing funding into the right channels to support and advance technological progress.

‘ 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!

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)!

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!

Send in your thoughts!

UNC – Jan 28th(I) ; Feb 4th(D)
Duke – Feb 23(I) ; Mar 7th(D)
Ross – Mar 15th(D)
Wharton – Mar 22nd(D)
Darden – Feb 20 – Mar 4(I) ; March 24th(D)
Chicago – Feb 20(I);March 26th(D)
UCLA – Mar 28th(D)

I am so glad Wharton and Ross have early decision dates as they are two of my 3 dream schools(the third being Chicago obviously!).But Id be happy getting into any of the above schools, as I think I have chosen well according to what I have achieved so far and where I see myself going in the next couple of years.Anyways,off I go to peruse interview experiences that must be floating in tiny bits in cyber world.

Overall I think one needs a year’s time of introspection and a solid case to build up toward a stunning app packet!Going into what I ve been doing the last 6 months:

(1)Prepared for my GMAT in all of 8 weeks,scored a 650(I know its not great but in the time I had and the kind of work hrs I keep, I was moderately happy).Contemplated re-taking the GMAT but I really think I would like to do my MBA now.I ve worked quite a bit and I do see a clear need for an MBA at this point in my career.

(2)After many many hours of thought, I decided to apply to 8 colleges in R2.Ross,UCLA,UNC,Wharton,Chicago,Darden,Duke and Stern.The first app is always an eye-opener as you get a real feel of how much you dont know of yourself.As my friend often reminds me, applying to a B-school is a rediscovering of oneself in every dimension.The essays need to be the right fit,the school needs to be the right fit but one finds all this out only in the thick of applying.No amount of reading opinions is going to show you which one is right for you.Decided to drop Stern as of now, maybe I ll still apply in R3.

(3)Reviews,reviews and more reviews.Let me tell you, I cannot stress on the importance of a critical reviewer of your essays.My reviewer got on my nerves one too many times by pointing out the weaknesses in each essay, but I could not have brought out a good set of essays in the end that I was confident of without a critical eye reviewing them!Please try and finish your essays at least 1 week before the deadline so that reviewer can go over them several times before you make the cut.Being a classic last-minute case myself, I struggled through many apps but I work best under pressure so i am satisfied with my work.

(4)Spent many days and nights thinking about my long term goal.I was very unclear to begin with as may be the case for many applicants who like to live life by the day and grab opportunities as they come by, but that doesnt work for a B-School.You need to be absolutely sure of where you want to take your life to, so be prepared,start introspecting!

(5)Recommendors need some pushing from time to time as the best ones to recommend you are in top positions as was in my case and they were awfully busy and I had to politely but firmly keep sending them reminders.Notifying them 1 month in advance of deadlines would be a good way to ensure the reccos are done on time.

(6)One sore point that I wish I could have done something about is the fact that I couldnt visit any colleges, which is true for most international applicants.But if possible please do attend MBA Events and fairs as they seem to carry quite some weightage in the background application questions.

Anyways that being said, I hope I ve done a good job.All I can do now is to wait and see and keep my fingers crossed that I do get an admit!