tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-76132235996822829262011-11-28T06:23:56.910+05:30Charuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12574336346196075265noreply@blogger.comBlogger381100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7613223599682282926.post-42414508282759143322008-11-22T04:40:00.001+05:302008-11-22T04:42:50.978+05:30

I received a sweet email in my inbox today.Dear XXX,Thank you for your interest in Vanderbilt University's Owen Graduate School of Management. Your application was thoroughly reviewed by the Admissions Committee, and a decision was made based on the relative strength and quality of your credentials in comparison to this year's applicant pool.We regret to inform you that we are unable to offer you

Charuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12574336346196075265noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7613223599682282926.post-10320462731392884002008-10-24T05:30:00.003+05:302008-10-24T05:42:33.282+05:30

While juggling my CFA studies, hectic work schedule and MBA applications, I finally submitted my Vanderbilt, Owen application in R1 - (Early Action)I have got the interview invitation and I would be interviewed on campus on Oct-27. This is my first campus visit and I'm really excited about it.Here is my brief itinerary - 9:30 AM Meet student host Eric Anderson Admissions/CMC Room

Charuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12574336346196075265noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7613223599682282926.post-35180593865549330372008-04-08T05:04:00.002+05:302008-04-08T06:14:39.011+05:30

Those of you who are already working in the US on H1B and planning to change the status to F1 need not worry too much. After completion of MBA, you wont be subject to the quota and can opt to complete the remaining of the 6 years of H1.This came as a big relief to me. Look at the following link on business week: http://www.businessweek.com/bschools/content/mar2008/bs20080318_724256.htm

Charuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12574336346196075265noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7613223599682282926.post-29186740958069733352008-04-05T23:02:00.002+05:302008-04-05T23:08:14.280+05:30

I-flex solutions, my present employer changed its name to "Oracle Financial Services Limited". Oracle anyway holds 81 % stake in i-flex solutions. Read the press release made by ORACLE two days back.http://www.oracle.com/corporate/press/2008_apr/ofs.htmlOracle Press ReleaseContact(s):Kevin RuaneOracle+1.650.506.6610kevin.ruane@oracle.com Peter Yorkei-flex solutions+91.80220.87560peter.yorke@

Charuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12574336346196075265noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7613223599682282926.post-10951526892593227252008-04-03T10:25:00.001+05:302008-04-03T10:27:02.023+05:30

Here's a link to post on wall street oasis : http://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forums/ever-hear-of-someone-hating-business-schoolThere's also a post by Alex on that. Worth reading.

Charuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12574336346196075265noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7613223599682282926.post-77388872260053453252008-03-14T08:54:00.003+05:302008-03-14T09:08:13.548+05:30

Few days back, I listened to my inner voice after long introspection. I have decided to make a career switch to finance. I won't rely completely on MBA to make this career switch happen. Yesterday, I registered for CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst) Level 1 exam in December this year. Ideal plan is : CFA level 1 Dec ' 08CFA level 2 Jun ' 09MBA - Class of 2011. CFA level 3 Jun ' 11. I

Charuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12574336346196075265noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7613223599682282926.post-41553109548223745312008-02-24T04:55:00.003+05:302008-02-24T05:10:51.166+05:30

I had applied to a strategy consulting firm, whose main focus is non-profits and small businesses. I'm really happy to report that I have been shortlisted for an interview. I cleared the first and second round where I had to write few essay questions. Selection rate till this stage is 33%. Now comes the biggest challenge.A CASE INTERVIEW. The overall selection rate is only 15%. Avg experience at

Charuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12574336346196075265noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7613223599682282926.post-64112127098543817332008-02-18T00:36:00.004+05:302008-02-18T00:49:44.008+05:30

I know this is too early for Fall 2009 cycle. But I want to be prepared well in advance. I feel really good about the decision I took to postpone MBA by one year in October last year. I will certainly have many distinguishing factors this year. I will be applying to 6 schools this year. 4 will be top schools.The applications will be distributed across R1 and R2. R1 : 3 Top schools1 Backup

Charuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12574336346196075265noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7613223599682282926.post-56884369590126692362008-01-29T09:17:00.000+05:302008-01-29T09:39:02.099+05:30

FT recently published their rankings for 2008. ISB ranks among top 20. Its great to know from Indian perspective.But certainly hard to believe that it ranks ahead of Kellogg. IE - Spain and IESE ranks ahead of NYU-Stern.There are lot of so so universities from UK such as Strathclyde, Cranfield ahead of Darden, Haas - Berkeley. Check this out : http://rankings.ft.com/global-mba-rankings

Charuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12574336346196075265noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7613223599682282926.post-36981295935811286042008-01-25T05:32:00.000+05:302008-01-25T06:34:55.976+05:30

Here in this post, I am going to write about something that most of us hate. Frankly, there is lot of uncertainty in our schedule (IT people). Do we work from 9:00-5:00 PM ? Answer : Very rarely, Do we spend 9:00-5:00 in office ? Answer : More often. So what is the difference huh? spend time vs work. This happens when we have no work or very less work. I call this as "Allocated Bench". We are

Charuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12574336346196075265noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7613223599682282926.post-68673580780671868342008-01-12T06:26:00.000+05:302008-01-12T06:47:25.212+05:30

Lot of time has gone already. 3 months have already passed by since I landed in US. During the weekdays, typical lifestyle has been : wake up at 7:30 - 7:45 ,have frozen Paratha or something for breakfast , prepare lunch box, head for office @ 8:45 , lunch @ 12 :00, take a coffee break @ 4:00 , leave office at 5:30 - 6:00, reach home at 6:45, sometimes go to gym / play tennis , & then TP till 11:

Charuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12574336346196075265noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7613223599682282926.post-61467343035569451332007-12-26T02:30:00.000+05:302007-12-26T02:48:50.487+05:30

Ho Ho Ho!! I wish you all Merry Christmas !! & Happy New Year I think this is the time when one should reflect on past one year to find out what milestones were set and what were actually achieved. Analyze the gaps and come stronger next year. Also, this is the time to set new year resolutions. I wish all of my blog readers "All the best" to set up creative new year resolutions and achieve them

Charuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12574336346196075265noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7613223599682282926.post-37855165552276987962007-12-09T01:13:00.000+05:302007-12-09T01:37:26.047+05:30

I am returning to the blogging world after a long time. This year I will be out of MBA applications scene. I will only witness the admits / dings received by people on this blogging community. So this is the time for introspection (Analyze the goals), read & research more. If possible visit schools build more contacts & work on extras to improve the profile. Citigroup has been recently in news

Charuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12574336346196075265noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7613223599682282926.post-83293441373583838022007-10-09T01:46:00.000+05:302007-10-09T02:07:18.734+05:30

I'm writing this post after a long time. Last week of September went in getting myself ready for travel. Then on 02-Oct-07, I traveled to Tampa, Florida, US. I'm still not done with many formalities, but on my way to completing those. This week I joined "Citibank Center" here in Tampa ,FL.Regarding my applications, I have requested for Transcripts.Still thinking over whether to postpone by 1 year

Charuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12574336346196075265noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7613223599682282926.post-4762062226963951782007-08-22T08:09:00.000+05:302007-08-22T08:52:13.575+05:30

Its been long time since I posted anything out here.All these days I was ruminating over what all things could be done if I postpone my MBA by an year. I honestly evaluated my candidature, I realized many of my strengths and weaknesses.1)WE: This August I completed 4 years of work experience. By next fall it would be 5 years. If I postpone by 1 year I would have close to 2 years of international

Charuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12574336346196075265noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7613223599682282926.post-52201400394532246762007-08-04T14:07:00.000+05:302007-08-04T15:08:39.039+05:30

On friday, I went to US consulate for H1B interview. My visa got approved in 2-3 minute interview. Since the time visa processing started, my focus on applications and MBA is slightly getting diverted. I never had a doubt about whether to do MBA. For me,a person from middle class background, money is important and can not be ignored. H1 B is giving me opportunity to earn huge and will let me save

Charuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12574336346196075265noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7613223599682282926.post-30974589688694468222007-07-31T08:12:00.000+05:302007-07-31T08:19:24.511+05:30

Recently, I was out of the blogging world for a month or so. For past one month renovation work was going on at my home and in the office blogspot is now blocked.I was out of touch with all of my blogger pals and have not been around reading their blogs too.But now I am back...Lot of break in essay writing and application work. I have to return now with renewed vigour.~ Charu

Charuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12574336346196075265noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7613223599682282926.post-2426559824203028972007-07-21T09:13:00.000+05:302007-07-21T10:09:49.127+05:30

I'm returning to my blog after 5-6 days. Firstly, I would like to thank ClearAdmit for creating a wonderful community of bloggers. This will certainly help all of us to keep our focus intact and obtain valuable inputs from each other during the admission process.On work front, I have taken decision to move to Tampa, FL for long term. The reasons for this decision are multi-fold. I have never had

Charuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12574336346196075265noreply@blogger.com45tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7613223599682282926.post-84147290618305204662007-07-13T16:01:00.000+05:302007-07-13T17:00:07.015+05:30

At my workplace, suddenly two good opportunities have come my way.One is to move to Tampa, Florida and be responsible to interact with a demanding client. This will give me international exposure. But I am fearing that the actual work I that I will do might more or less remain same.Another opportunity is outside delivery function in IT industry. Here in i-flex, we have a department called

Charuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12574336346196075265noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7613223599682282926.post-39339222167730467912007-07-11T09:48:00.000+05:302007-07-11T10:15:15.942+05:30

Here's my timeline for applications: Today - 15th Sep : ISB (30-50 % chances of admit)15th Sep - 01-Nov : Darden , Oxford (80 % chances of admit)01-Nov - 01 Dec : NYU - Stern (25 % chances of admit)01-Dec - onwards : Melbourne Business School (90- 100 % chances of admit) In January, depending on my need I will apply to either NUS / NTU. But mostly not.First Step is to send

Charuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12574336346196075265noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7613223599682282926.post-59356598412131472942007-07-06T16:41:00.000+05:302007-07-06T16:51:22.458+05:30

I was writing all about H1B crisis...Finally God heard me....My H1B petition got approved. Will this give some new direction to my MBA plans ?I will have to think over...in detail..Only time can tell me where my destiny lies...:)Just couldn't stop myself from sharing this news with my blog readers...Cheers...~ Charu M

Charuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12574336346196075265noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7613223599682282926.post-21846048649730972902007-07-06T10:33:00.000+05:302007-07-06T11:22:50.119+05:30

Yesterday, I attended QS World MBA tour. It was mostly waste of time.After having spent so much time on research, I hardly get anything new out of admission events. No gains from information perspective, but yes it could help in networking with current students.Only top school that participated was Darden. I met Piyush Parikh who belongs to class of 2008 at Darden. I asked him about international

Charuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12574336346196075265noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7613223599682282926.post-54506023445847026482007-07-02T13:21:00.000+05:302007-07-02T13:35:48.842+05:30

I came accross good post on making most of the campus visits. This was published in Chicago GSB's newsletter. I would like to post it here because this is equally valid for any school.Admissions Insider: Getting the most out of your campus visitA big part of applying to a school or even considering it is visiting a campus. Sometimes, this isn’t possible, given a school’s location or distance from

Charuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12574336346196075265noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7613223599682282926.post-12862158595668693152007-07-01T09:13:00.000+05:302007-07-01T09:22:40.199+05:30

First of all do not study for this exam for more than a week.This is really sufficient. The material I used was Kaplan, Longman, Cambridge.Most of this material can be found on the net and downloaded for free. Cambridge tests were very close to real tests.Here are specific strategies I used: Reading: 1)Scan the passage in 2-3 minutes. This includes reading first & last passage completely, and

Charuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12574336346196075265noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7613223599682282926.post-9065507163602647472007-06-29T11:53:00.000+05:302007-06-29T12:10:51.585+05:30

Friends,I recieved my TOEFL score today. I took the test on 9th June.Here is what I got : Reading : 27Listening: 28Speaking : 23 ( This was shit man...I thought I would at least get 26 here)Writing : 28---------------Overall : 106 ( 94.2 Percentile)Thus, overall statistics looks decent now.Age at Entry : 27GMAT : 710 [ Q-48 (86 percentile), V-38 (85 percentile) ]-- 94

Charuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12574336346196075265noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7613223599682282926.post-45938649703769725122007-06-26T10:16:00.000+05:302007-06-26T11:15:17.931+05:30

Yesterday, I had long 1.5 hour talk regarding careers post MBA with one of the readers of my blog ,who is also my friend. I would not disclose his name here.He is in IT and has 3-4 years of experience. Like most of the people in IT, he is not happy with his current job and just wants to do anything else. He thinks of Investment Banking as a career, solely based on salaries in IB.One day he read

Charuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12574336346196075265noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7613223599682282926.post-22434554987880339912007-06-21T17:16:00.000+05:302007-06-21T17:43:51.578+05:30

Just read the article published in Business Week Daily. Is Talent an Easy Fix for ImmigrationThe article, giving examples, describes that changes in immigration policies of US are needed to adopt to changing economy.The more the publicity given to this issue the greater are the chances that something will change.It is worth reading Prof. Dr. Becker's article on immigration reform. Becker's

Charuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12574336346196075265noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7613223599682282926.post-52678038603796099552007-06-19T14:36:00.000+05:302007-06-19T15:24:06.848+05:30

Finally, I am settled with one of the career options post MBA. I want to get into “IT Strategy Consulting” post my MBA, particularly into financial services practice.IT Strategy Consulting may involve following consulting areas: 1) Business value of IT 2) ROI 3) Various sourcing models 4) Post merger integration 5) Risk management Following are the prominent companies practicing in IT Strategy

Charuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12574336346196075265noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7613223599682282926.post-28459866416253301222007-06-15T13:35:00.000+05:302007-06-15T14:14:12.992+05:30

I got the permission to attend the class at ISB. I have planned to visit ISB on 3rd July. I will get opportunity to attend Decision Models and Optimizations class. I have a couple of friends in ISB. Currently, I am feeling very excited at this opportunity.On 3rd July, I will be on ISB campus the whole day starting from 8:30 AM to 7:00 PM.I hope that I make most of the campus visit.I will post

Charuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12574336346196075265noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7613223599682282926.post-62157522496873538502007-06-13T11:33:00.000+05:302007-06-13T14:04:08.205+05:30

In this post, I am going to brainstorm my post-MBA career options.To state in one line, I am doing MBA to broaden the career opportunities available.I have technical degree in Comp Sc / IT and 5 years of work-ex in Financial Software. I want to opt for Finance concentration during my MBA. Three main categories of employers employ MBA's in huge numbers. I have opportunity to work in each of them

Charuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12574336346196075265noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7613223599682282926.post-14461039555488517372007-06-11T10:30:00.000+05:302007-06-11T11:26:22.395+05:30

This is a sequel to my last post. jolk, I must thank you for sending me that discussion link on PagalGuy forums.I was not following pagalguy forums. But after going through the thread I realized that the discussions are from the "Indian Applicant's Perspective" unlike BusinessWeek and TestMagic Forums. So in the expense and ROI matters, it particularly helped. Here is the link to discussion on

Charuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12574336346196075265noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7613223599682282926.post-23120709029653350662007-06-10T09:41:00.000+05:302007-06-10T18:24:26.260+05:30

Expenses involved and ROI are the very important factors that must be considered very early in the application process. I consider this important because if I can not manage the finances for the university all efforts of applying are in vein. I can manage overall from US$50,000 from my earning and Family funds.Costs for the universities I have shortlisted : 1)NYU - Stern Cost of Attendance for 1

Charuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12574336346196075265noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7613223599682282926.post-69734230883236889302007-06-06T17:16:00.000+05:302007-06-06T18:00:34.933+05:30

There are two categories of applicants applying to B-Schools. Category I : This category includes all those, who want to attend list of specific schools only, if admitted. If you belong to this category, you can apply in the current year to only those schools and no need to apply to safety schools. If dinged, next year again you need to assess whether you still belong to category I. Category II:

Charuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12574336346196075265noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7613223599682282926.post-11978123193383034122007-06-04T13:30:00.000+05:302007-06-04T14:14:01.271+05:30

On friday last week, I visited visa office(I-Flex's internal) to know the status of my H1 B petition. Still the status shown was "Awaiting Approval". This keeps my hope of getting H1B petition approved alive. I saw a lot of people with rejects too. I was happy for not being in the list of rejects. This was my 3rd visit to visa office to know the status.I got the same disappointing answer this

Charuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12574336346196075265noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7613223599682282926.post-11886491857620346702007-05-31T13:32:00.000+05:302007-05-31T13:38:04.067+05:30

I am regular reader of business week forums,in particular Alex Chu's posts.Alex is arguably the best admission consultant I have seen on the board. I would like to quote his very good post here.Q : You were talking to your younger bro who's headed to a top school, and he asks, how do i make the most out of these two years, what would you say ?A: Just make the most of the time you're there by

Charuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12574336346196075265noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7613223599682282926.post-2278339805429931752007-05-25T17:13:00.000+05:302007-05-25T17:25:36.034+05:30

I felt like posting few links out here.Following are the sites where lot of archived video lectures can be found. The lectures are available on diverse areas and are immensely useful.Princetonhttp://www.princeton.edu/WebMedia/lectures/MIThttp://mitworld.mit.edu/video_index.phphttp://ocw.mit.edu/index.html (Open Courseware)Berkeleyhttp://webcast.berkeley.edu/index.htmlRoyal Society - UKhttp://

Charuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12574336346196075265noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7613223599682282926.post-80546747755688157712007-05-24T15:17:00.000+05:302007-05-24T15:45:28.737+05:30

I have been doing a lot of research post GMAT on other areas such as various options post MBA,university selection, resources to use for applications.First let me write more about the resources I will be using during the application process.1) Business Week Forums and MBA Insider.2) How to Get into top MBA program -- by Richard Montauk.3) Your MBA Game plan -- by Omari Bouknight.4) Vault's Career

Charuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12574336346196075265noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7613223599682282926.post-60816514307954906212007-04-17T16:37:00.000+05:302007-05-23T12:08:12.397+05:30

This is my second attempt at blogging. I started blogging first time during my GMAT preparation, but could not keep posting consistently. Here I would like to share all my experiences so far and whatever I will gain in future as I cruise through MBA application process. I am planning to apply for Class of 2010. (Fall 2008 intake)No doubt, GMAT is the first and the most important step in MBA

Charuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12574336346196075265noreply@blogger.com2