Breathe!!!!

Whooo!

Dread, your boy was starting to panic for a minute, but I finally got my Wharton interview invite - you should have seen me jumping around like I already got in. Of course this just the halfway point, but God's gotten me this far and I just have to have faith that everything will fall into place.

I'm still working on my Chicago app. My goals essay is good to go and so are two of the three shorter ones, but I'm all over the board on the second essay. I know what I want to say but I just can't strike the right tone. I got to get that done this weekend so I can start focusing on my Consortium apps.

Good luck to everybody else waiting on invites! Keep the faith.

Laterz

Two week recap - Chicago, Wharton, HBS

It’s been a while since my last post so I have a ton to report.

For starters, I went to the Chicago GSB’s open house and it was absolutely fabulous! I had already known that Chicago was a perfect match from a career goals and curriculum perspective, but after the open house it was clear that it was a good fit in terms of the culture of the program as well. As usual, what made it great were the people. The current students, particularly the members of AAMBAA and HABSA, were very open and welcoming. The admissions staff was friendly and candid in discussing the strengths and weaknesses of some sample applications that we reviewed. We had dinner at the home of one of the Nobel Laureates on staff (Prof Fogel) and after that kicked it at a lounge with the members of AAMBAA and HABSA. All in all, it was great weekend and was well worth the trip. I encourage anyone thinking of applying to b-school to go check out their target programs open houses; they are invaluable as a source of info for your essays and in finding out if you really want to be there or not. With the info I gathered at the GSB event, I feel like I can put together an even more compelling application. As such, I've decided to delay my Chicago and Kellogg apps until the second round.

The following Tuesday I was back in Chicago for a Wharton Diversity session at Goldman Sachs. The entire event ran about two to three hours and consisted of a presentation, an alumni panel and some Q&A afterward with the alumni and admissions directors. The session was great, particularly talking with some of the alumni panel members. The admissions folks were cool too. Since I had already submitted my Wharton app, most of my questions centered on what to expect during the admissions interview (hopefully that wasn’t too presumptuous of me). Based on what the admissions folks covered I think I did a good job on the application. The thing about my top four schools (Chicago, HBS, Kellogg and Wharton) is that you can count on everybody coming with strong applications: great stories, solid scores, solid LOR’s etc. At the end of the day you have to just put to together the best possible app and hope for the best. That’s something I learned from track and field- focus on your own race; don’t worry about what the guy in the next lane is doing.

Finally, this past weekend I went out to HBS for their prospective student day. Unlike the other events I've attended this one seemed to be almost entirely student-run; I didn’t get a whole lot of interaction with the admissions folks at all. Aside from this though, the event was great. The students again were very welcoming and helpful. Again, I had already submitted my HBS app so I was less focused on application questions and more on interview questions (there I go again assuming I’m getting an interview). From an interview perspective, the feedback was inconclusive: some of the folks I talked to said their interview was cool and laid back, some said it was pretty tough with hard questions about their application and the decisions they made in their career thus far. There was an application tips and strategies session and I almost wish I hadn’t gone. From what they discussed I feel like I covered all my bases in my essays but the session left me wishing I had focused on a few other areas of my story and even wishing that I had gone a different direction on the first essay question. Let this be a lesson to all of you- once you submit your app don’t even look at it again; it’s out of your hands and it makes no sense driving yourself crazy thinking about what you should have done differently. Still, I’m lowering my HBS expectations from “Cautiously optimistic” to “hopeful”.

Next up is Kellogg on 11/10. By then my essays for both Chicago and Kellogg should be close to final and by then I should have some idea of if I’ll be interviewing at my two east coast schools. Fingers crossed.

Laters.

Wharton's in...

...and I'm out. I think MIA has finally caught up with me, I'm about to get some much needed rest.

Laters.

HBS, Wharton, MIA

First things first, I finally submitted my HBS app and confirmed that my recommenders submitted their lor's. HBS.edu was down today and the application site was acting kinda janky. I'm not sure if it was because of heavy network traffic or not but I had a lot of trouble uploading my essays. The technical support people were very responsive though, even offering to upload my essays for me if I sent them the files. Eventually the site allowed me to do it myself; I was glad that I didn't have to email my essays around.

I am probably a couple hours away from submitting my Wharton app. I can't seem to stop fussing over it - dotting i's and crossing t's. While I am really happy that this part of the application process is coming to an end, I'm not really looking forward to the waiting game that I know is up next. I think I will be most happy in January or February when I know my fate.

MIA was a blast, I haven't had that much fun in quite a while. The carnival was great, every night was a fete 'til sunrise and I even managed to do some work on one of my HBS essays. I definitely feel that MIA is an option post-mba. It's got everything I want: easy access to the Caribbean, strong West Indian community i.e. I can get a roti when I want one, great weather (except for hurricane season), closer to family and friends.

Next up is a trip to the chi for Chicago-GSB's diversity/open house event, followed by a trip to Boston for the HBS diversity event. Hope to see you folks there.

Laters.

Kellogg visit recap

Aight folks,

These past few weeks have been rough and it doesn't look like it's going to let up. So last week yuh boy went up to Kellogg to check out a few classes, and it was well worth the drive. First off, Evanston is great. I lived there for a couple of years after graduation. I liked it then and I like it now. In general, I like Chi-town, even though a lot of my east coast friends don't. I also lived in Hyde Park for a minute, which is where University of Chicago is located, and that's a great neighborhood too. The main advantage Hyde Park has over Evanston is access to downtown is much easier.

Anyways, before I get to the actual class, I have to say that the students I met at Kellogg were really cool. From the time they found out that I was visiting, folks were ultra friendly and went out of their way to make me feel welcome. I sat in on Business Strategy with Prof. Mazzeo. The discussion started with a review of Porters definition of strategy and then segued into a case analysis of a business proposition. The discussion was lively with almost everyone contributing. The ideas and points of views were as diverse as the students. There were folks from almost every part of the world:Europe, Australia, Asia, South America. For me, the biggest thing was that I was able to follow along the discussion, and formulate some of my own ideas about what was being discussed. The whole experience reassured me that I was ready for this. I highly recommend a class visit to the schools in which you are most interested.

Speaking of which, I'll be heading out to Boston in a couple of weeks for the HBS Diversity weekend. Hopefully I'll run into some of my MBADiversity people there. Before that, i.e. next week, I'll be going to the Chicago GSB Diversity event and before that, i.e. this weekend, I'm headed to MIA for Miami Carnival and a much needed break. Now that's going to be mad fun.

As far as applications go, I've got my essays done for Wharton and HBS. One of my recommenders is kinda lagging behind, but I spoke to him today and he gave me his word that he would get it in on time. My goal is to submit everything on Friday before I head out to MIA. When I get back, I'll put the finishing touches on my Chicago and Kellogg essays and then get to work on the Consortium. Like I said, the next few weeks are going to be really rough.

Laterz.