Soaking the Blue(s)

The feeling of getting into Ross had sunk in and I had just had a good time with fellow admits in Bangalore. While I was having lunch on 20th (Fri), I got a call from Jim, who was a current student at Ross and was in Bangalore for his MAP Project. The school was arranging a dinner meeting between the admits in Bangalore and the current students.

I decided to go formal as I wasn’t sure how things would pan out. But that evening, before I left office, I got my “Admissions Binder”. There was my admissions letter, a blue binder and a cool Ross T-Shirt. I sent a message to Brian (one of the students) and the reply came “No dress code. Go for it! Love to see the maize and blue“. And so it was, I walked into “Toscanos” at UBCity Mall at 7 pm to meet with the guys, wearing the Ross T-Shirt and a blazer (still wanted to keep it formal)

I met Karthik and Sachin there, dressed in their suits, right out of their client meetings. In like 10 minutes, the Ross guys walked in and I felt over-dressed. They were dressed in casual T-Shirts and Jeans and here we were looking like we came to close a deal (except for my Ross T-Shirt). Pat (Patrick Stack) and Rajesh were the first to arrive, followed by Brian and Jim. All 4 of them were doing a project at a start-up in Bangalore, making a personalized push-email device called Peek. They came to dinner, hoping to convince us about Ross, but we were already there

The discussion was lively, ranging from introductions to the state of the economy to the school. There was a fair bit of discussion around housing and apartments and the preparation to transition to school. They said it would have been great if we could have attended GBR, but asked us not to skip MTrek. In fact, couple of them were leading MTreks to Costa Rics and Hawaii.

Sachin and Rajesh started talking about the entrepreneurial activities at school while Brian, Jim and Karthik was talking about culture and some aspects of BSchool life. Me and Pat started talking, finding common-ground with Adobe. Pat was a web-developer in his “past-life” and an avid Adobe fan. He was also the co-president of the Entertainment+Media Club, which I want to be a part of when I get to school.

Later, they showed us the Peek and I gave my observations on the device. We had a lively chat on the market positioning, selling-points and they were really keen on getting some new perspectives on the device. Personally I thought it was a brilliant low-cost device for companies to stay in touch with employees, but it lacked an enterprise look-and-feel.

The whole meeting kind of cemented my view about Ross as a place where the students were brilliant at what they do, but down-to-earth in their approach. I enjoyed the evening, the discussions, the food (which was quite nice). The only low point of the evening was a scare that I had when I lost my keys and was running around trying to find them after all the guys had left. I managed to find them and got back home contented that Ross was indeed a great choice as I had expected it to be. Go Blue!

L-R: Pat, Brian, Karthik, Rajesh, Sachin, Me & Jim

 

Bangalore Rossies

L-R : Me, Karthik & Sachin

The news of my Ross admit is still sinking in and I have already started getting deeply involved in the community. I created my Wolverine ID, joined the Ross MBA Class of 2011 group and created a online spreadsheet to get to know my classmates

On the online group, people are all excited about going to GBR (Go Blue Rendezvous). Sadly I cannot make the long journey from India to Ann Arbor for GBR. So I decided to get together with the local Ross admits in Bangalore. I prowled the group and came to know that we were 3 guys up till now. Me, Karthik Varatharaj and Sachin Puri. We decided to meet up and today and we met at Koramangala, at one of my favorite restaurants – Little Italy.

It started with regular introductions and talking about our backgrounds and a discussion of our admission status and what we plan to do. After we were comfortable, we literally talked about everything under the sun. From business to politics, from effect of the economic downturn to movies and from loan availability to gay rights. Sachin had visited both Ross & Haas and we had a discussion on what he felt about both places and what similarities and differences he felt. Karthik is an activist for LGBT rights and probably would have been a reporter if not for his MBA. We talked about the problems of rehabilitating the tran-sexual people in India and the social antipathy towards them.

I was happy to note that while talking about our interactions with the Ross community, all 3 of us had great things to say. Having been on campus, Sachin said the students and community is as open and accessable (if not more) that what they are touted to be. In my experience too, Ross scores way more over other schools in this aspect.

So, the first “Bangalore Rossies” (Sachin named us that) meeting was… well terrific. These are guys I wouldn’t mind (rather would enjoy) studying with. Sharp, energetic and enthusiastic. They are passionate to their goals and sees the school as an integral part of that journey… Awesome! My next interaction with Ross is going to be on Monday (23rd March) when the 3 of us are meeting with 2 MAP teams that are currently in Bangalore. Will keep you all posted!

 

Haas Interview Prep – finding the location :)

After sitting in the apartment for a day and preparing my notes for the interview, I decided to venture out today. To the Temasek Avenue near the Singapore Central Business District (CBD) where my interview is to happen tomorrow noon. I found the Centennial Building and confirmed the address where I need to be and then walked around for sometime before walking back to my place.

Yeah the good part is that the place I stay, on Waterloo Street is walkable from the CBD. Now a jittery peace until tomorrow. Will keep you all posted. Here is a small video I shot today…

 

Flying to Singapore for the Haas Interview

Update: I got my visa today…. Singapore, here I come!

Its final (unless my visa-application is rejected). I have booked my tickets to get to Singapore on Feb 21st for my Haas Interview. Since the India leg is still undecided, I decided to do it in Singapore.

Haas says it will have an interviewer in India, but at this point it is unclear about the timelines or cities where it might happen. Since my work requires me to travel quite a bit (as I write this, I am packing my bags to Mysore) it might be difficult to accommodate an interview in my calendar on short notice. Also, flying to Singapore might work out cheaper than say doing my interview in Delhi

Its a great chance for me to meet up with my friends in Singapore. I’ll be there from 19th to 23rd Feb. If anyone wants to meetup, we can. Let me know! I might also try to visit some of the campuses in Singapore – NUS, INSEAD, Chicago… etc. But hope this trip is worth its weight in gold (well platinum) for me…

On another note, here is the link to transcript of the Haas Waitlist Chat that happened on Jan 30th…

 

Haas Coffee Chat – My experience.

Sorry for the delay in posting this. There’s been too many things happening too soon to me.

On the 14th January 2009, I made my way to the Taj Gateway Hotel in Bangalore and as usual, I had budgeted for heavy traffic which wasn’t there so I ended up a bit early. There was some confusion at the hotel as the reception didn’t know that such an event was happening. But then I decided “Hey, its a coffee chat, so should be in the coffee bar at the hotel”. I checked the reservations and they said they didn’t know of any MBA event, but a gentleman had booked a table for 10. I decided that must be it and waited there, preparing my notes for the chat.

At around 06:15 pm, I had another person join me. A fellow applicant, a doctor from Kerala who ran his own family hospital, looking to go to Haas for an MBA with focus in healthcare. We were having a chat when Vijesh and the rest of the pool arrived. At the end we were exactly 10. That’s what I call planning

Mr. Vijesh Unnikrishnan is an NRI, brought up in Kerala (that’s where I come from) and Tamilnadu and been working in the US for quite some time, I think about 8 – 10 years. He is a Mechanical Engineer by education and worked at Guidant Corporation, a healthcare company part of Boston Scientific.

We went through introductions around the table, a healthy mix of men and women, most from IT, but also banking, healthcare and in family-business. Vijesh was very genuine and enthusiastic in his approch, one he said is the hallmark of Haas. The chat was very informal and soon he was been bombarded with a ton of questions.

Referring to my notes, here were the main traits that came out:

• Haas really shares the California Spirit. A laid-back approach but not sacrificing excellence or competitiveness.
• Haas seems to big in Healthcare (something I didn’t know). Vijesh spoke a lot about it. Well it might also be because of his background.
• Haas is in the top 3 Net Impact chapters in the US, along with Ross & Yale.
• He spoke of the “Entrepreneurship Bug” at Haas and how there are umpteen number of ways you can get involved…
• Vijesh is really active in Net Impact, Entrepreneurship Association, DMEC & Heatlthcare. He is the VP of Career Development in Net Impact and a Board Fellow sitting on the board of a non-profit. He also helps out the Healthcare club because of his backgrounds.

An interesting point he made about South-Asians at Haas

In his batch, South-Asians (India + Pak + Bangladesh + others from SAARC) form about 20% of class. Of this, a lot of them are American Citizens with South Asian ethnicity and others are Non-Residents. Only about 30% of them, i.e. 30% of 20% = 6% of the class = 10-15 are from South Asia and lived there most of their life. Hmm… Interesting!

Vijesh also spoke about the points and bid system at Haas for bidding for electives and how International Business Dev is a popular but costly (in terms of points) elective. How you need to manage the points to make sure that you cater to your needs and interests as an individual. I quite liked the approach, management in practice at the school. Managing your meager resources… Sweet!

And there were a couple of funny/tough questions that Vijesh had to answer:

• Why do the school ask you to make up your mind about a career, when most people discover new avenues and make career choices right at school?
• Compare Stanford & Berkeley… Oops!

But, I was really impressed by the way in which Vijesh dealt with the “Stan Vs Haas” question. He acknowledged that Stan was a good school, so was Berkeley. The major difference is that Stan is a private school with deep pockets, while Berkeley is public. The way he spoke, I could hear the Golden Bear growling at the Cardinals. He made sure that the “Big C” trumpeted loud and clear over its traditional rival. Reminded me of the time I was in Stan in 2006 and how the Stan grads talked about Berkeley.

Here’s a video Interview of Vijesh that I did after the chat… My Flip acted up, so I had to turn to my E71 to do the job. The audio is feeble as there was too much disturbance in the hotel lobby. I will try to post a processed audio link below it soon:

* this is not an official Haas Video!

Thanks Vijesh, Thanks Haas it was a great night. Had fun, made new friends and cemeneted my reasons to have Haas high on my list. Now for “fingers-crossed” time

 

Haas Coffee Chat [Update]

I was not able to make it to the Hass Coffee Chat on the 6th January 2009 as I was travelling back to Bangalore from my hometown in Kerala. I’ll be attending the second leg of the chat in Bangalore on the 14th.

I’m getting my questions ready and brushing my flip-camera for a video interview. Hope the he/she concurs. Anyway, see you all there…

 

Haas Bangalore Coffee Chat

I just signed up for the Haas Bangalore Coffee Chat on 6th Jan, 2009. Considering my last two school meet ups: The Tuck Reception and The Ross Information Session, I am quite looking forward to this one. As the description provided by the school:

Current Berkeley MBA students will be gathering for informal coffee chats in cities around the world. Join 1-2 current students in Bangalore to learn more about their Berkeley MBA experience.

I look forward to talk to these students and also get some interviews for my blog. For the applicants in Bangalore, there are chats on 6th Jan and 14th Jan. For other Indian applicants, there are chats also in Mumbai & New Delhi.

You (from wherever in the world you are) can register for the events here

Addendum: I really hope that the recent terror attacks in India do not deter the school from visiting…

 

Ross Information Session Bangalore – The Interviews

Earlier, I had written about my experience at the Ross Information Session in Bangalore on 10/14. I had a chance to have a lot of discussions with the alumni and with Kelly and thoroughly enjoyed it. I also had a chance to interview 2 of the alumni who attended the session.

Mr. Sandeep Basrur, Ross Class of 1986, now runs his own manufacturing firm in Bangalore, after several years at Proctor & Gamble. He talked about his Ross Experience, how Ross has changed since he came out of the school and about the Ross-India Alumni Association which he is an active part of.

The other person I interviewed was Mr. Atal, Class of ‘05 and Kelly’s classmate who is now into Management Consulting with PRTM and has worked in US, Egypt and India on several projects. He was very passionate and energetic talking about the school. At the session, he was one among the alumni who was most upfront in answering questions. He talked about his experience at Ross, Ross’s stress on teamwork, his class experience, professors and his MAP experience.

Sadly, my E71 acted up and the video got screwed. I tried with all my video editing skills to get it working, but I could not get a good enough version to upload on the site. So I ripped the audio off the video (you might see/hear that a part of the audio is lost, from about 01:20 to 01:22). Also the last question got cut off, again due to some technical snag with my phone Here is a picture of Atal and the audio from our interview (or what is left off it) …

Atal, Ross MBA Class of '05

[Download the file here]

I also wanted to talk to Ms. Kelly Kong Rogers, Associate Director of Admissions and Ross Class of ‘05, but she was really exhausted driving the whole session and had to set off to Hyderabad for an event the next day. But Kelly was considerate of my request and agreed for a telephonic interview with me on 10/17 before the Ross Information Session in Mumbai.

Talking to Kelly on Friday, I was able to get a perspective on how the admissions committee views an application. I have read it several times on websites, but Kelly really explained and dispelled many myths associated with B-School admissions. I really appreciate the fact that Kelly, despite her busy travel schedule could spend time to clear a lot of the misconceptions and also share information on Ross. Here is the audio recording of the call.

[Download the file here]

I would like to thank Sandeep, Atal & Kelly for taking time off to do these interviews. I really appreciate it…

 

Ross Information Session Bangalore – My Experience

Yesterday as I set out for the Ross Information Session at Hotel ITC Windsor, I did not exactly know where the venue was. All I knew was that it was somewhere on the Golf Course Road. As I got out, the rain gods started playing hide and seek and it was drizzling on and off. When I reached the Golf Course Road, it started pouring like crazy. By the time I finally got to the venue, I was soaking wet and I actually had to blow-dry myself in the restroom before i was presentable at in a social setting

When I reached there were already a couple of people there (unlike in the Tuck session). I met Ms. Kelly Kong Rogers (Associate Director of Admissions) and an alum Mr. Sandeep Basrur (Ross Class of 1986). It was great that a person who did a Ross MBA (I think it was called University of Michigan MBA then) so long back was still passionate and willing to help out the school. That definitely told me a lot about Ross.

The room was full by the time we started and I noticed that like me, there were several of them who had completed their Ross app. I was there not for information on the applications process, but to get to know the school a bit better from a personal perspective. We had 5 people representing Ross that night:

• Ms. Kelly Kong Rogers, Associate Director of Admissions and Ross Class of ‘05
• Mr. Sandeep Basrur, Ross Class of 1986, who now runs his own manufacturing firm in Bangalore, after several years at Proctor & Gamble.
• Mr Keshav, Class of ‘02 who is in the Corporate Planning division with Infosys in Bangalore
• Mr Akshay Kamath, Class of ‘08, who did his Evening MBA at Ross and now works in Brand Marketing for Intel Asia
• and Mr. Atal, Class of ‘05 and Kelly’s classmate who is now into Management Consulting with PRTM and has worked in US, Egypt and India on several projects.

Kelly gave a presentation that revolved around Ross, its Leadership Initiative, the MAP and the Ann Arbor culture. Then the alumni answered a lot of questions from the group. There was one gentleman who went on and on about asking about teamwork and what it meant at Ross…

I had gone there to ask a couple of questions myself and here’s what I got:

1. What about aid/loans for international students now that the news says CitiBank has withdrawn the CitiAssist program for Ross?

I really liked Kelly’s answer to this. She was very frank in admitting that these were tough times. She said that though the CitiAssist program has been revoked for Ross, there is still a Citi program for international students, common for the whole of Univ of Michigan that requires a co-signer. She said the school might provide aid/loans, but people should be prepared to make arrangements nonetheless, probably get someone who can become a co-signer. She went on to say that finance, though is a problem, should never be a deterrent for applying to business school.

2. How does the industry characterize a Ross MBA ?

Here are the points from what Kelly and Atul said:

• The Ross MBA is viewed as a strong General Management MBA, but with a lot of flexibility built in.
• Students are down-to-earth and not uptight.
• Students are greatly prepared for the real world, owing to MAP.
• Collaborative spirit and teamwork shines out in a Ross grad.
• Recruiters are amazed at how well the students excel at the internships, owing to the MAP course that precedes the internship…

As at the Tuck reception, i was able to get the interviews of some people at the event, but sadly the videos are still under processing and I’ll put them up in a bit. Both Atul and Sandeep spent quite a bit of time with me making sure that all my questions were answered. Anyway, here are my takeaways:

I really liked this quote in the Ross MBA Book on Action-Based Learning…

You can read a case study anywhere. Be the case.

My Hurrays!!

• I was really impressed by the alumni passion for the school. The fact that Sandeep, class of 1986 turned up to help for the event itself was a testimony to that.
• MAP as per the descriptions, met and exceeded my expectations.
• Ann Arbor community to me looks a lot like Manipal (where I did my undergrad). It would be fun to go back to that setting after all these years in the din of the city.
• I see a common thread in how these alums consider the school and in what makes me tick…. Passion, Passion and more passion.

Disappointments and Scary Stuff

• Frankly the loan stuff is making me uncomfortable. Every time!
• Disappointed that I couldn’t get an interview with Kelly. She was totally exhausted by the end of it. Working as an Evangelist and having done a variety of events myself, I definitely understand. Hope I can catch her for a telephone interview sometime..
• I confirmed my fears about the Michigan weather. Minus 30 degree Centigrade is tough stuff…

I went to the session to get a clear picture of life and community at Ross. I must say I got what I was looking for. I found them to be warm, open and down-to-earth. Sandeep spend quite a lot of time with me asking me what I was looking in an MBA and helping me analyze if Ross was a good fit for me. He even spent time reviewing my other school choices and gave his comments. Thanks a lot Sandeep, I really appreciate it.

Ross, Tuck and Haas are really my prime choices for my MBA destination. I really cant pick a winner amongst them at this point, but my interactions with Ross at the session has clearly got Ross scoring some brownie points in my book. I think I will be a good fit at Ross, now its for the school to decide if I am one that they would like to have in the class.

Go Blue !

 

Tuck Reception Videos

Here’s an aggregation of the Tuck reception videos… It was hosted by Martin Keck (Tuckie Class of ‘08).

Martin’s Intro speech

Martin’s MBA Experience

Interview with Martin Keck

 

Registered for the Ross Information Session in Bangalore on the 14th

I think I really broke the jinx. I have registered for the Ross Information Session in Bangalore on Oct 14 2008. See you all there. I have finished my apps to Ross but I’ll still go. I want to see how the Ross guys are…

After my Tuck Reception, I am really looking forward for this. I hope it will live up to my expectations. I hope atleast this time, I can get to talk to an Ad-com person.

You can register for the Ross Information Sessions here [http://www.bus.umich.edu/Admissions/Mba/forumsreceptions/RossReceptions.htm]

 

Tuck Reception Bangalore – My Experience

After all the luck/divine intervention, I finally made it to the Tuck Reception yesterday. I was a bit apprehensive as Nitin had commented on my blog and mailed me saying that the Ad-Com couldn’t make it to the Delhi Tuck Reception due to some reason.

Anyway, I was at the venue a bit early and was the first person there even before the Tuckies. People slowly flowed in and I had a chat with several of them.One of them mentioned that Tuck curriculum lacked focus to Operations which was interesting to me. I need to dig this a bit deeper.

The Venue – Taj Residency

Another one…

At sharp  7:00, Martin Keck (Tuckie Class of ‘08) walked in and we got started on time. But like any other IST (Indian Stretchable Time) based event, people kept trickling in long after the session began.As feared Marin started by announcing that the Ad-Com couldn’t be there because they had to go cancel after a huge surge in applications due to the economic slowdown. Here’s a video of Martin’s intro speech.

Martin’s Intro speech

A bit more about Martin Keck. Martin is from California and was working in Venture Capital & Private Equity prior to Tuck and is switching to a consulting role at Bain post MBA. He had a great GMAT score and was offered a scholarship at Tuck.

It was clear that Marin was called on at the last minute as he fumbled through the presentation and did the formal presentation, mostly reading from a piece of paper. I sympathize with him as I am sure he wasn’t aware of it in advance. The formal presentation covered all aspects of life at Tuck and the then we moved on to questions.

I was hoping this doesn’t turn out to be a “What do I need to get in?” kind of a session. Thankfully, due to the fact that the Ad-Com couldn’t make it, there were more questions about Tuck and the program rather than the admissions. There were people asking questions on opportunities at Tuck to pursue Social Enterprise, Entrepreneurship, Private Equity, Marketing… among others. We then had a small tea break and then Martin got talking about his MBA experience which was the highlight of the day

Martin’s MBA Experience

We had a bit more formal questions and then we concluded. Even after that a whole lot of people surrounded Martin, bombarding with questions. I must say Martin was gracious and was at ease tackling them. Anyway once the crowd cleared, I caught Martin for the interview that I had requested in the beginning of the session for my blog. Here it is (the voice fades off for a bit in the middle. I am still trying to get used to using my E71 for podcasts)

People surrounding Martin

Interview with Martin Keck

My Observations

What I liked/loved:

• The session gave me insight to Tuck that was not on the website.
• I have been in touch with a few Tuckies and Martin echoed their sentiments of Tuck being the best days of their lives.
• Reiterated Tuck’s general management focus and alumni network.
• Martin’s MBA experience got many of us licking our lips

What was disappointing:

• I hope an Ad-Com member could have made it.
• I hope there were more Tuckies. I had hoped to meet Ad-Com, Students, Alumni to get varied perspectives.
• Martin scared a whole lot of us by saying that this year is going to be a huge jump in applications
• Finally there was mostly non-veg food around, so I had to go hungry

As i said at the end of Martin’s interview, I went to the reception thinking I will apply to Tuck. But I left the place excited to apply and praying I get in. Now back to my essays so that I can finish the Tuck apps for the early action round on the 15th…

 

Serendipity or Hand of God? I am going to the Tuck Reception

Happy Vijayadashami/ Dussehra to one and all. For people who are clueless what Vijayadashami is (read the wiki page for sure), it is a day when many families in South India start formal education of their kids as it is the day of Goddess Saraswati, the Goddess of Learning.

The practice has been so old, that it has even grown secular in parts of South India. For example, in some parts of the state of Kerala, many churches formally adopted the same tradition of introducing young children to education on Vijayadashami. What’s Vijayadashami got to do with my MBA application? Well, today I got a pleasant surprise in the morning. I am unsure to call it Serendipity or Hand of God/Goddess

You might remember my frustrated post on not being able to attend the Tuck reception. All the Tuck alumni I interacted with have told me that they fell in love with the school at the Tuck reception (well that might be a bit exaggerated) and so I was mad that I missed the window. I wrote to the school explaining my circumstances (the fact that due to my traveling job, i was unable to decide till the last minute if i will be in Bangalore for the event) in a desperate attempt, but this too (as expected) was in vain as they had limited space.

But today morning I woke and something/someone (not able to still decide which )told me to check the Tuck website again.  And lo, there was a slot available for today’s Tuck reception at Taj Recidency. Bless the soul who pulled out So seems like I have broken my jinx and am going to attend my first MBA event (though I planned to attend 3 of them before this). If you are coming, see you there. You know what I look like (if not, see the side bar)

 

What’s with me and MBA Events??

What’s with me and MBA events? They just seem to be running away or I happen to run away myself

It started with the ISB events. I registered for both of them in Bangalore (wasted 400 bucks) but had to be out of town on work on those exact days.

Then the MBA Tour on 29th Sep in Bangalore. I register and I get an intimation from the passport office in Trivandrum on my application for a new passport (I had changed my name and had applied for a new passport)…

The last straw today was the Tuck Reception. Every damn venue in India is available except Bangalore. WTF…. It seems I can never make it to an MBA event… ~!@#$%^&