Shorlisting B-Schools

This is one of toughest tasks of the MBA. It is necessary that one chooses schools that fit them best and they fit the schools as much. The first one still depends on your interests, strengths, persona and other factors that you can decide. The second one is a little tricker in that respect.
* Some schools have very small classes
* Some schools have a very low intake of international students.
* Some schools don't prefer applicants who do not posses business background
* Some schools lay lot of emphasis on social work and activities apart from acads.
Its a long list.

As I am aiming to apply to 5 of the top 20 or rather top 15 B-Schools in the US, it is really a tough decision to make. When I first thought of applying, I did have the idea of safe schools in mind. But one of the insightful posts from Juggler taught me a valuable lesson. There is no point in applying to schools where you would surely get in, but that is not where you want to be. How true.
I want to be ambitious, I want to chase my dreams, but I want to be sensible and pragmatic as well.

Keeping all these factors in mind, I have been doing my school selection.
I attended the Wharton event in Bangalore and felt that it would be a great place to be. It is my dream school as well. So there goes 1.
I spoke to students in Chicago GSB. I browsed their websites and forums and am really impressed. It is ranked highly in Wall Street and has good hold on Consulting. What more do I want. That is 2nd one.

I have 3 more to decide and my thoughts are in a state of flux. Hope to get some clarity by the end of next week. I should decide on the final 5 by the end of this month.

Miles to go before I sleep!

Hectic schedules at work and GMAT prep have been keeping me from blogging for a while.

Things are getting stagnant with respect to my preps. Have loads to do before the D-day, but I am bored.
I need a break from work and preps. Should do something different to get out this boredom and to get back into the groove.

Last weekend, was very upset because I had slipped my schedules big time. I was not studying at all. Things were not progressing on any front. Every weekend when I took the test, I did not feel that was some progress over the week that would reflect in the tests. As expected, it would be the same scores, same mistakes.

Enough of cribbing. Time to do something about it. I have chalked out a plan post that to make amends. I have lot to catchup. On the study front, on the universities front. I got to stick to the plan and slog it out for 2 months to get there, to get my dream!

Plan for Week #1 - Reflect on Self.

I should spend considerable time this week reflecting on my life :- Where I stand now, What do I aspire to become, What are my goals, What am I passionate about.
Time to dissect myself and create a character sketch. This will give me a good idea of what is that I want to do? Which is the kind of schools that are apt for me.
Have been procrastinating this activity for quite long now. High time, I ponder about these things more seriously and pen it down.
Deadline : Weekend - 26th Aug

Plan for Week #1 - GMAT Prep

I have almost 2.5 months (10 Weeks) for the D-Day.
Although I kick started my preps almost 6 weeks ago, I have been studying since only the last 2 weeks. Time to get more organised and serious about the whole thing.
As I have started late in my preparations, lagging quite a bit on the application front. I have not researched on schools or thought about essays. Long way to go and lots to do.

Things I intend to complete before GMAT:
1. OG 11 and Revise
2. Kaplan 800 - Math
3. Kaplan - Verbal
4. 1000 SC
5. 1000 CR
6. 3000 RC
7. OG Quant Book
8. Manhatan SC
9. LSET CR

I have taken only one Powerprep FLT till date, which is no good. I should resolve never to miss any weekend and get regular with my tests so that I can gauge the progress better.

Completed till date.
1. OG Quant - PS section
2. Princeton Review - PS and Verbal Bins
3. OG 10 - Parts of SC,CR

Study Plan for the week
-------------------------------
1. OG 11 CR - 124 Qns
2. Revise Grammar.pdf for Rules
3. OG 11 SC
4. Powerprep Test 2
5. Revise PS, CR, SC.

The journey

From MBA being a dream, to realising it is what I call a journey. I hope to make this journey a memorable and pleasurable one.
Here I am, inspired by other fellow bloggers to narrate my share of experiences of the journey..
Fellow aspirants, join on..