You know you're an MBA applicant

1. When you give up party nights to stay at home to edit 3 words out of Essay 1 to bring it to 500 words....
2. When you know a number can be divided by 3 if the sum of the digits can be divided by 3....
3. When you realize that you can't speak English properly....
4. When the letters H, S and W aren't just alphabets in your soup....
5. When you begin to hate people that started multi-million dollar businesses when they were 17, started 2 charity organizations, climbed Mount Everest, and scored 750+ on the GMAT....
6. When you start wishing you had sold your house 2 years ago and went to do volunteer work in Ghana/Burundi....
7. When you start discussing Round 1, Round 2 and Round 3 on forums and you're not talking about boxing....
8. When your family, friends and loved ones start giving you dodgy looks over dinner when you talk about your day at work and how it let you tap your leadership potential....
9. When you give vague answers to your colleagues and supervisors when they try and discuss dreams and ambitions....
10. When you suddenly get in touch with all your ex-supervisors....
11. When you start clicking refresh on your e-mail every 30 minutes hoping to get an interview invite....
12. When you start dreaming about talking candies...

Stuff that I've read over the past 2 years....

Early Action/Decision

Comment that was left:

What's your view on renegging (renaging?) on Early Decisions, since you are applying to more than one? What if you get into HBS and CBS/Tuck-ED?

Tuck's Early Action round is as follows:

For reapplicants or prospective students who have completed their business school research and know that Tuck is their first choice, the Early Action round is a great option. Early Action provides you with the certainty of learning that you have been offered admission to Tuck by no later than December 14, 2007. This offer is nonbinding, giving you the opportunity to explore other options up until the January 2008 response deadline. Any applicant who is accepted in the Early Action round and who would like to secure a spot in the incoming class will be required to submit a nonrefundable deposit of $3,500 by January 7, 2008, which is applied against tuition.

And Columbia's famous $6000 Early Decision round:

As an Early Decision candidate to Columbia Business School, I understand that if I am admitted I will submit my non-refundable $6000 deposit to secure my place in the September entering class. I am committed to attending Columbia Business School, and will withdraw all applications and decline all offers from other schools upon admission to Columbia Business School.


Tuck's early action round is to notify applicants of whether they have been successful admitted or not. Fortunately, Tuck's is a non-binding EA. Columbia's ED however, is a binding agreement where successful applicants are required to withdraw their applications to other schools. Given that I'm not HBSing now, I guess there's no worry :) If I get accepted to Tuck and Columbia, that might prove tricky, but I will honour my agreement with Columbia and head off to Columbia (if Tuck provides full tuition etc, then I really would be hard pressed). But that scenario is unlikely to occur.

But, I would love to get accepted at EA/ED round :) Heck, I would love to get just accepted.

dodgy

Yup. So, with my spotty work experience and my dodgy undergrad degree, what should I do?

I'm most likely dropping Wharton and Harvard for Round 1 as it may truly be too unrealistic to apply to them. They were a good dream while it lasted. So, onward ho, who's left on the list?

i) Tuck EA
ii) Columbia ED
iii) Duke
iv) Ross (possibly)

In fact, there are no safety schools on my list. Yup, that's how dodgy my background is... but heck, I'm going full steam ahead. After all, at worst, I get rejected.... *GASP* REJECTED!!!! :(

But anyway, I've started on both Tuck and Columbia and will complete them by September 15. I've also got to look at Duke or Ross. Duke requires some quant skills, so I'm hoping that if I say "I'm doing some sexy quant stuff." that Duke would be willing to look past my lack of quant in my undergrad. Surely Duke won't be that superficial? I mean, it's only quant....

I'm hoping that Columbia gives me a chance, I'm willing to put the $5000 downpayment upon acceptance and withdraw from other schools. So who knows? Maybe...

Guess it's time to move on to the actual applications. Since I'm a reapplicant to Tuck, I fully intend to apply to the Early Decision round. I understand that the ED round is THE round for reapplicants! Anything else and I'm doomed.

I'm also looking to apply to Wharton. And of course, I have to apply to Harvard - simply because. Actually, Wharton and Harvard are good for consulting - my intended post-MBA career. I have yet to begin research on Wharton or get in touch with any of their ambassadors. Depending on when I finish up the applications for W/Tuck, I might do an application to Kellogg or Chicago (haven't decided). Most likely Harvard will be a R2 application.

But first, perfect the Why MBA/Why Tuck. With my spotty career and weak undergrad, I need to be crystal clear on why I'm doing this. Or is it, because of my spotty career and weak undergrad that I need to do this? :P

Meanwhile, work is great. I sit around trying to come up with marketing ideas. Lots of freedom in terms of job scope and time flexibility. I've already started on whether it's possible to link up the bank with a luxury brand. So that might be an interesting activity that's coming up.

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The weekend was great. For once I didn't have to worry about the GMAT or whether I was able to remember the 3:4:5 triangle and variations. Or whether I should use 'which' or 'that' in my sentence.

Gmat Day

Gmat day was today!

Started off at 8.00am (test at 10.00am), had a light breakfast of eggs and a muesli. Intentionally avoided anything too oily or salty. Although I didn't want to drink any coffee (as I had half a can of red bull), I decided that I should just stick to my daily habit and had half a cup of coffee.

Headed for the test center at 9.00am, reached there at 9.15am, parked the car, walked in.... and found the test center closed. To my horror, there was absolutely nobody around and all the doors were locked. Checking with the company opposite the test center, apparently there are days when the test center doesn't open. So, naturally, I started to freak (although I tried to calm myself down). Waited until 9.30am and decided to check with the building's management and try to get a contact number. However, apparently the test center was new, so the building management didn't have an emergency contact.

So there I was, sitting by the steps wondering what on earth I should do. I was mentally drafting an email to Pearson VUE regarding their choice of test centers and demanding a free re-sit. Started to look through the GMAT receipt printout when I came across another number. Called the number and got the HQ for the test center company. A few calls later, and apparently the test center administrator wasn't around but they would send somebody over to set everything up for me. Adverted pressing the panic button, but I had to get my emotions and mental mindset into check for the GMAT (not to mention I had begun to sweat).

The guy comes around at 10.00am sharp, I wanted to make some nasty comments, but decided not to get emotional. In my mind, I had decided if I scored badly, I was going to write to Pearson VUE to demand a re-sit anyway.

So first up, AWA. Go through it (I neglected my AWA since last taking the GMAT). Managed to go through, taking 15 minutes per question. Was more concerned about how I would perform mentally for the Quant/Verbal.

Take a break, finish up my red bull. And head in for the Quant.... quant sucked. The questions seemed easy, and I was really getting nervous about that. Was I screwing up so badly that the GMAT was giving me questions from the 400 - 500 range? I felt doomed. Finished the quant section with 15 minutes spare....

Took my break and started wishing that I had brought more red bull and snacks to eat.... took the verbal. Verbal seemed easy too. I started to contemplate canceling my score when I was done with the exam. There wasn't anything exceptional about the verbal section, just my wondering whether I would even get more than the 650 I scored last time.

GMAT done. I sat there for 30 seconds wondering whether I should cancel my score. I decided against it because I really didn't know when I would be able to take the exam again. And heck, if I screwed up, I could always reschedule it once again when I had a proper date, besides I was curious about my score - how badly would I score given the circumstances.

Q 48 (86%)
V 40 (90%)
710 (94%)

Yup. I did it, broke the 700. Started to laugh, must have made a bit of noise because the test center guy asked me whether I had done well.

So, that's it, I scored a 710. I'm done for good with the GMAT. Finally, I can move on without anymore nightmares or fears of being rejected for having too low a score.

p/s Manhattan GMAT was the most accurate indicator of my score. During my first time, Manhattan GMAT gave me 640s when I scored a 650. GMAT Prep only gave a 610 and a 620. This time round, Manhattan GMAT gave me a 700 and a 650, where as GMAT Prep only gave me a 670 and a 680.

Flowers for Wannabe....

Manhattan GMAT

Q 42
V 37
650

I'm getting stupider by the hour. I'm chopped liver.

.... put some flowers on Algernons grave in the bak yard....

The second GMAT Prep test gives me a 670.

Q 46
V 35

Quite a contrast to my Manhattan GMAT prep.

Ah. This sucks.

I'm doomed. 2 days before the test. I hope I get the GMAT Prep Quant and the Manhattan GMAT Verbal. Hah. That would give me a 700+...

How much can I do in the last 48 hours? Ok, on the plus side, I know that at least I should score above 670. If I recall correctly, the first time I took the GMAT, my GMAT Prep results were about 620. So maybe there's hope. Or maybe I'm just being overly optimistic, telling myself what I want to hear.

I so hope the Manhattan GMAT Verbal is more accurate than the GMAT Prep....

I'm compiling GMAT day music. Everybody needs a little music before the exam.

Ben XTC and MC Ortie - Looking Down
Pitchdiverz vs Freestylers - Voice of the Night (Pitchdiverz RMX)