Long Overdue Recap

It's been way too long since I've actually posted anything here. Life has been eventful over the pasta month or so. My attention has shifted almost weekly from one school to the next. At this point, I have a couple posts in mind. Hopefully I'll actually write them before another month passes. The next one I intend to dedicate to applicants entering the process. I want to provide a few high level pieces of advice since I feel that would be useful for those of you panicking about how to approach the essays, the GMAT and the entire application process. But first, I want to recap where I've been so without further ado:

I was a reapplicant this year. Last year I applied to a handful of schools and only applied to those I was thrilled to attend (at the time). The list and results were:

- Harvard - R1 denied
- Stanford - R1 denied
OK, neither of those were surprises but I was encouraged to apply as they are far and away, career defining experiences
-Kellogg - R1 denied
- Booth - R1 Interviewed but denied
- Tuck - R1 denied
- Haas - applied in round 3 of 4 and was denied

With all rejections I took a few steps to upgrade my candidacy during the spring and summer months. I received feedback from Tuck which wasn't all that helpful since I knew most of the pieces to improve upon, more importantly, I was told everything was on the margins. In other words, none had kept me out and improve any or all wouldn't guarantee an acceptance in subsequent years. This year, I applied to:

- Tuck - R1 denied
- Kellogg - R1 denied
- Booth - R1, interviewed, denied
- Haas - R1, WL, interviewed after waitlisted, denied
- UCLA - R1 accepted plus fellowship (very recent development)
Before hearing from UCLA I began to panic that I would be rejected by each and every school. I had confidence but given the previous years results, I couldn't sit still. In less two weeks I pulled together two round 2 applications to hedge. Their deadlines were just prior to the UCLA R1 notification date. The whole experience was incredibly stressful as I really didn't want to apply to any other schools but was terrified of not having a school to attend. Instead, I applied to:
- Duke - R2 accepted
- Michigan - R2, WL, interviewed after waitlisted (yup, same as Haas which made me think I'd be rejected there too) ACCEPTED

After attending the admit weekends at UCLA and Duke, I was thrilled with my options. Neither was my top choice going into the application process but I knew I was fortunate to have the option and really enjoyed my time at both. They are great programs with a ton of assets and outstanding people attending. When push came to shove, I submitted a deposit to Duke. It was a difficult decision but for a number of reasons it felt right.

This week I was admitted to Michigan then offered a Fellowship at UCLA. It was a huge twist which forced me to revisit my decision. Again I was confused. I had no idea how to handle the situation. I reached out to as many people as I could. The most poignant piece of advice I received was to evaluate the schools without paying attention to money. I will be tied to this program for the rest of my career and these people for the rest of my life. In that context, I've decided to attend Michigan Ross this fall and couldn't be happier in my decision.

And there you have it. It's been an incredible journey. The roller coaster that everyone describes comes no where close to doing the whole process justice. I had manic highs and lows. My self esteem went through the roof hours before dropping through the floor. Reflecting back upon it all, I still don't understand how such dramatic ups and downs are possible. However, it was an unbelievable experience and I am thrilled by the results. The entire experience made me stronger. And yes, I'd do it again 100 times over. If I could, I would not want to be a reapplicant; however, I would advice you not to compromise. It is worth it to stick it out.

Interview at Ross

It's been a while since I've really posted. It's been a busy few weeks as I try to reconnect with friends and enjoy my last few months here before moving onto school and a new city/town. It's been a lot of fun and I'm excited to distance myself from the intensity of the app process. Now I'm working with some positive news and it's a great problem to have. On Friday, I was extending an interview invite at Michigan Ross, where I'm already on the WL. It's a great turn of events and I'm thrilled to have the opportunity to get to know the school better, enhance my candidacy and meet more students. It's a great opportunity. The problem is that the interview must be completed by next Friday. So I've looked into flights and hotels and everything else and every way I cut it, the cost of the trip will be around $500. At this point, I'm trying to have fun BUT save money for school. Another $500 without an actual acceptance seems a bit excessive. However, it could confirm or deny my interest in Ross. The timing could be perfect, spend a day at Ross then head to Duke for admit weekend and decide on UCLA by the following Wednesday. It'd be a crazy few days but would be very telling. Of course, it could also mean I fall in love with Ann Arbor and Ross and feel the pressure of hoping to get into a school I'm thrilled about without any guarantee. So what now...? Alternatively, I could interview in my home city but I feel it won't impact my candidacy as much as a trip to Michigan. It also wouldn't help me evaluate Ross for myself. But do I really want to drop another $500....any thoughts?

In at Duke

The title says it all. I was accepted to my second MBA program which means I now have a choice. I'm pretty excited to finally hear more good news and to be in the drivers seat for a change. I need to do some more research into the program but I'm in!!!

Almost there...

It's been a while since I've posted anything. It's been a busy few weeks catching back up on my social life. I'm still amazed how much time the whole application process took up. For all those out there looking to apply next fall, START NOW!!!!!!

To update everyone:

Haas - was dinged last week. It was very disappointing for about 5 minutes then I realized it's time to fully celebrate/embrace UCLA. Until I knew I wasn't going to Haas it was tough to be completely excited about UCLA. It's not necessarily rational but I had my mind set on getting in off the waitlist at Haas. Not to be.

Duke - I'll have more info tomorrow. Would love another admit. Even if I don't end up going to Durham, it would be great to hear that all my effort paid off and that I'm capable of making a choice between schools.

Ross - still on the waitlist. Met a couple students the other night and really enjoyed drinks. They were incredibly convincing that I must see it for myself and experience the culture before I make any decision. It's funny, almost seemed as though they were selling me more than I was selling them. A bit different from the regular process but a welcome change. Hopefully I'll be invited to interview and will have that opportunity.

In the interim, I'm going through the motions at work, trying to reconnect with friends and family (which is a huge success), returning to my former athletic life, enjoying the NCAA tourney (watching Duke as we speak...hmm...foreshadowing anyone?), and beginning to prep for school with the FAFSA, meeting potential classmates and reading as much as possible about the experience and recruiting which apparently begins NOW.

As I mentioned, I'm also watching the tourney now and it's pretty consuming. Hopefully I wrote complete sentences. Until tomorrow. At some point, I should also write a longer, what I did, basic advice and key take aways from the process. For now, the main take away is that it's all random! Hope that helps and encourages all you future applicants out there.

Waiting on the waitlist

I'm trying to keep my mind off the decisions. They will come at some point in the future. At this point, I can't do anything more for Haas. I've spoken to a ton of people there, including an admission director, all of which I felt went well. I sent 2 updates. I sent 2 more recommendations. I retook the GMAT and improved my score from 700 to 710. Most importantly, I went out to visit and interview. I'm done. It's out of my hands. That's the problem. Most of us bschool applicants are type-A, control freaks. So sitting tight and waiting for the mysterious decision to pop up is brutal. At least I have an acceptance so I'm going to a school I'm excited to attend. Now to just finalize the decision of where and begin planning for the move.

The waitlist decision at Michigan surprised me a bit. I'm still confused. I hadn't thought a whole lot about Duke and Michigan, even as I completed my application. Since then I've met more students and alums and both schools are more appealing. It might be because I still have a chance of admission. Let's face it, after receiving so many dings over the past 2 years it's nice to have positive news. That positive news does make evaluate each of the options to the fullest...well at this point, I only have one admit so I shouldn't worry about these things.

I'm thrilled by my current spot in the admissions process but I'm very eager for April 1st to roll around. By then I'll hear from Haas and Duke begin to move on with next steps. Hopefully I'll hear a final decision from each...we'll see.

Duke Interview

Prior to be waitlisted to a second school this year, I interviewed with Duke. At first I was rather indifferent to the whole scenario. With one acceptance and a waitlist at my top choice, I wasn't thrilled to prep for yet another interview. I went through the motions, reviewed my story, researched Duke a bit more and donned a suit again this application season.

The interview was much different than any I've had during the two year bschool application experience. It was with an alum in my city. She graduated a while ago but has kept in touch. We began by talking about her experience, where she is in her career, how she got there and where she hopes to go. From there the conversation just continued across a number of topics, from the culture at Duke to her other graduate pursuits to her recent interview to reunions and stories from Fuqua. Through it all there were very few questions about me. Although I had prepared for the why Duke, why MBA, leadership experiences, etc, none were really asked. I worked in some of my knowledge about the program and what I hope to accomplish after graduating but that's about it. The whole experience was longer than most interviews, though I'm still struggling to call it an interview.

Overall, it was a positive experience. It may sound a bit greedy but after applying to so many schools, I really want another acceptance. To a certain extent it would validate my efforts. It would prove I haven't shot too high for my MBA program. However, if I'm accepted to Haas, I assume all this will be insignificant.

Wait Listed AGAIN

Ross sent their decisions, although I never did receive an email from them. I didn't have an interview there, which honestly surprised me. It worked out well because I was traveling nearly every weekend in February but I was a bit surprised it was the only school I wasn't interviewed by this year. Needless to say, I was expecting the worst. By being waitlist my indifference to Michigan turned to a bit more interest. My reaction seemed to be, "huh, I wonder...that's wierd...what do I do now..." And I'm still in that position. Haas is still my top choice but who knows what will happen there. Since I was waitlisted at Haas, I do have a lot of the waitlist material ready to go so hitting the waitlist wouldn't really be an issue. The biggest issue of course is my desire to end this process and focus on ONE school.

So what would you do? Accept the waitlist spot at Michigan and just see what happens or reject them (which has a certain ring to it) and focus on Haas/UCLA? Hopefully a little distance, and some insightful comments from you out there, will help illuminate the right decision for me.

700+ plus A Days

It's been an eventful few days, which means I haven't posted anything in a while. So here's just a quick recap. I would say I'll add more detail later but I've made that promise in the past and never really follow through so I'm going to stop extending myself. Without further ado:

I retook the GMAT last Friday. The whole experience was bit harrowing, from getting to the test center to finishing the test. Fortunately, I improved my score. Unfortunately, it was only by 10 points. I went from a 700 to a 710, with my quant falling just below that magic 80th percentile. Quant was higher on my last test so I'm okay with it. It's great that my score improved, but I am thinking I could have scored higher on the quant/overall if I had another week or two. Oh well, at the end of the day I improved even though my prep time was limited. Hopefully it proves the point.

Now onto A Days at UCLA Anderson. Immediately after the GMAT I boarded a flight to the west coast, which apparently was a frigid mid-50s weekend. To be honest, my expectations were not incredibly high. I know it's a great school, good people, has all the specs but I never felt the intangibles. This weekend changed that. Overall, it was a great weekend. The current students, admits, staff, faculty, alumni were incredible. Maybe it's because it was my first admit weekend but everyone was thrilled to be there. I met a ton of great people and am thrilled to be accepted into this group. The weekend made a very compelling case of UCLA Anderson and I am walking away a lot more excited about the school. The people really made the experience. It was a tiring, yet exhilarating, weekend and I'm looking forward to keeping in touch with a lot of people I met. At the end of the day, the experience is all about who you are surrounded by, and I felt engaged and excited by those around me at UCLA.

They made a compelling case...but I'm still waiting to see what happens...I'll be thrilled when the decisions are final and I can begin to move toward one or the other. Either way, I am certain I'm in for an amazing couple of years. I just want it to begin!

Moving along

I finally booked the GMAT date. After much hemming and hawing, I finally just did it. It must be done before March 3rd so I can get the results to Haas and I've waited long enough. Well, I hope I waited long enough at least. I'm still a bit concerned I haven't practiced enough. But it must be done so it will. It will also help me focus this weekend after taking a weekend away from the test. I'll keep you posted once it's finally over.

Nothing from Ross

Well yesterday came and went without an email from Ross. It's fine. It really is. An interview there would have only made for another scheduling issue. Besides, I'm very happy with UCLA and I'm focused on getting into Haas. So at the end of the day, it really doesn't matter.

I'm still surprised. I figured I'd at least get an interview. I've now been interviewed by every school to which I applied this year..except Ross. Given the list of schools, I'm pretty surprised. It stings a little bit despite that I'm not thrilled with them. I wonder if that sentiment came through in my application. Who knows...who cares...well, I still do but don't have time to focus on the negative. On to the positive...

Hard work paying off

Yesterday I received an interview invite from Duke. This morning I earned a 690 on a practice GMAT. Overall, a couple really good days. Hopefully everything will continue as I should hear from Michigan Monday and have my Haas interview next week.

Ok, so a 690 might not sound great when I'm trying to beat my previous score of 700. But it's only been a couple weeks since I began studying and the fact that I'm already back in striking range is pretty exciting. To make it even better, the last time I studied for the GMAT I never broke 660 on my practice tests. I've used ManhattanGMAT (yup, another plug for them even though I'm getting nothing from them but helpful tips and good service) during my studying which I've heard rumors provide harder quant questions than the test itself. Who knows if that's true but it makes me feel confident so I'm going to keep plugging it. Either way, in just a few short weeks I've increased by score from a 600 to a 690. That's pretty positive considering I still don't have a test date. Now for the tricky part, determining when to actually take the test.

Yesterday my Duke invite came. It was a long day...I figured I wouldn't really care since I have the admit to UCLA, which I'm excited about, and pressing for Haas, which is my top choice. As the day wore on, I became more and more distracted. It's nothing like it used to be, though it still hit a nerve. When the invite came through, I threw my arms up in celebration. It definitely feels good to be validated. At this point, I've received an invite from every program I've applied to this year. Yes, that stat does excite me but also makes me wonder why I only have 1 admit at this point. Oh well I guess but still a bit bothersome.

Back to the scheduling, I' already going to UCLA at the end of February for their admit weekend. Between now and then, I'm heading to Berkeley for a few days with a red eye back to the East Coast midweek. Then I have a full weekend with my girlfriend. There is one week between then and my LA trip. Now I have to find time to hit Duke and the GMAT, on top of taking almost a week off from work during February. At this point, they know I'm leaving but the culture doesn't exactly forgive that. Needless to say, scheduling is quickly becoming a nightmare. I suppose these are good problems to have but they're still problems. Last year, my problem was not having anything to do but question what went wrong. I'll take this year and stop complaining.

UCLA Outreach

Unexpectedly I was contacted by an UCLA alumni tonight. I wasn't able to answer at the time but it completely caught me off guard. She also knew about my aspirations, consulting. I guess it's not that difficult to put it all together but I was still impressed. Has anyone else experienced similar situations with other schools? It's a nice personal tough. At this point, I've had this alum, a current student, and another alum (who also interviewed me) reach out to me to see if I have any questions or they could persuade me about going to UCLA. It's just getting me more and more excited that I have a great option in UCLA.

It'll be interesting to see how UCLA and Haas stack up as I'll be visiting both this month, Haas for an interview and visit and UCLA for A Days, they're version of admitted students weekend. After more than two years of persistence and dedication, things are finally starting to look up.

I've also connected with several Haas alum over the past few days...all good stuff and very exciting.

Saturdays are for practice tests

As I mentioned earlier, I'm not sure how I'm feeling about this whole GMAT part 2. Yesterday was a particularly rough day. The week before I had pushed myself hard to relearn the material and strategies from ManhattanGMAT. I took their course initially and can confidently say they were a big part of why I was able to achieve a 700 on the test. So I went back to them. Instead of retaking the 9 week course, which wouldn't help me complete my studying and the test before Haas' round 2 deadline, I am retaking it online. That means watching the class recordings and following along with the strategy books. I've also done some additional problems, but given the grueling schedule I've set for myself, that's the piece I'm neglecting a bit until I get through all the strategy/class material. So after just 1 calendar week, I've reached my goal of getting through roughly 4 weeks of the 9 week course. Yup, that's right. It was a bit overwhelming but I made it. This culminated in a practice test on Saturday morning.

Going into it, I felt pretty confident. Coming out of it, not so much. Though my score increased ~20 percentile points, it only improved by 20 points. The verbal went up a bit; the quant saw a dramatic improvement. However, it was enough to vault me close to my initial 700 and way off the map for my goal of the mid700s.

It was a bit defeating. However, now is the time to double down on my bet. Really push myself. I'm still confident in my strategy. The last time I studied, the most impactful piece was actually doing and learning practice problems. Therefore the classes and content are just the precursor to success. At least that's what I'm trying to tell myself....

2 Years Later...GMAT Again?

Two years ago in February I took the GMAT. I had studied obsessively, waking up at 5am to put my time in before heading to the office. Yup, that's right a couple hours most mornings to ensure I would get it in. Like most aspiring MBA applicants, my work involves a lot of unpredictability and long hours. I walked out of that little room with almost an even split between quant and verbal, each over that notorious 80th percentile. My face illuminated as I thought to myself, I'm done with the GMAT forever. One and done! At the time, I was thrilled by my 700. I thought it enable me to apply, competitively, to any school in the world. I buried my GMAT books, note cards and anything other reference to that damn test.

Well 1 year and 11 months later, I'm unearthing everything. With a spot on the Haas waitlist, which of course is now my top choice, I am debating whether to retaking the test. In the Haas decision email, the adcom spelled out 6 things to do to potentially improve your candidacy. The first is to interview on campus, which I will do shortly (more to come on that one). Right below that at number 2, yup, you guessed the GMAT.

2) If your GMAT or TOEFL scores fall below our averages, you may wish to retake the test and forward an unofficial score (followed by your official score) to the admissions office.

So at 700, I must be close to the average at Haas, right? Maybe a few points below? Nope, the entering class of 2010 (per their class profile) is 718. Since the GMAT reports scores in 10 points denominations, that means I must go from the 90th percentile, at 700, to the 95th percentile, 720. And that's the class from a couple years ago!

Now the questioning begins. Do I retake the test to achieve a higher score? Could I achieve a higher score than 700? If I end with, say, a 680 would that demonstrate that I tried and thought I could do better? Or would that hurt my already below average GMAT standing? Of course, I realize no one piece is going to make or break my candidacy at this point. I could end up with a 750 and still not be offered a place at Haas. But that's no longer my question. The question is do I put myself through it for the next few weeks or not.

One additional constraint: I must take the test by the end of February. With Haas' round 2 deadline in early March, any additions to my candidacy must be completed before then to be considered when they re-review the waitlist which I'm told will be at that time.

With all of this in mind, I started by taking a practice test. No sense in diving in if it's too far out of reach. While the total was not good at all, there was one promising feature of the split. My verbal score only went down by a single-digit percentile. Theoretically this means I could do minimal work and still end up roughly around where I was last time. However, this means my quant was MUCH lower than my actual test. Some of the questions about rate/work and geometric questions weren't too difficult, that is, if I had remembered the formulas. Since I didn't they were complete guesses.

So now I have to decide whether to invest the time and energy or not. I'm hesitant to begin, knowing how much effort and time it will require. But I have to ask: if I don't get into Haas, will I regret not retaking the GMAT?

Anyone else in a similar spot? Any thoughts or advice?

Taking Stock

Now that I've had a couple of days to digest last week, I've come to one conclusion. Although I'm thrilled with the acceptance to UCLA, I'm ready to press Haas for an acceptance. Don't get me wrong, I feel fortunate to be in this position with an admit to a great program that I am excited to attend. However, for my career aspirations and expectations for MY MBA program, Haas is my top choice. With that said, it's time to be extra critical on myself. Now only must I question all the minute details of my application and why I was close but not quite thrust over that threshold, but also, I must be realistic in what I can do to make a difference. It's not difficult to be critical of oneself during this process. I find it's much more difficult to be confident in what to do next, or more importantly, what I can do to make a difference. The email from Haas outlines a number of potential improvements to anyone's candidacy. I'm now in the process of defining which ones to emphatically attack. When I know a bit more, I'll be sure to test my theories here. In the mean time, if anyone else has experience with this, I welcome your input!

And it continues!

Haas waitlisted me. I'm actually really excited by it, especially since I have the admit from UCLA. It's going to be along, uphill slog but at least I'm close...it's reassuring to some degree that I'm close enough. Of course now the question is whether I can get off the wait list, how best to handle that, and what I can improve my chances. For now, I'm going to bask in the glory of being accepted and waitlisted to a couple top schools (that plus the few beers in celebration tonight). I'll post more when I learn more.

Topics for later:

A Days
Wait list
Haas visit/interview

UCLA

I woke up this morning to the cryptic, check your status email from UCLA. As I rolled over and realized the decision was released, I was still not awake enough to panic. When it hit me I pulled up my computer which was conveniently beside my bed of course. Opened the link and I was accepted! It took a minute to realize but this incredibly long, tiring journey is coming to close. Finally. And, more importantly, I'm about to embark on the next one! An even more exciting one. I can't wait to learn more about UCLA and get things in motion.

In other news, I'm snowed in trying to work from home. It's becoming increasingly difficult with all the info now at my fingertips thanks to UCLA.

Hope others received good news from their schools this week. For those still waiting or on the other end, I've been there. It's painful but hang in there.

Anxiously waiting

Well with 2 deadlines in the next couple of days I am anxiously awaiting the response. As a result, I am doing whatever I can to keep my mind off the process. It’s so easy to be consumed by the thoughts and wonder what to do next. How and when the results will come. What the outcome will be. As you can see, I quickly fall into this trap. With that, I’m going to try to take my mind off this. I’ll come out of my hole shortly…or retreat further depending on the results…either way, more to come.

D O N E

This is going to be a relatively short post but I wanted to say: I'M DONE!!!!

I just submitted two more applications to Michigan and Duke. I've had them "complete" for about a week now but I couldn't seem to let go. Although I only tweaked a couple of words between last week and now, I just wasn't ready to hit the button. As the deadlines drew near, I finally gave in and hit submit.

At this point, I'm exhausted. Who knows what the next step is or where it'll be. I just hope I hear positive news in the next week or so. I really can't take all this pressure and indecision. I certainly don't want to think about next steps that aren't going back to school this fall.