It’s been raining invites on all my friends out here – congratulations to Naija MBA Gal, TopDogMBA, hugoness, Vandana and Grant Me Admission!! Having had the privilege to blog alongside such incredibly smart and nice people, I have no doubt that they deserve admits at the schools of their dreams. I am counting down the days to hear some more good news.
In the meantime, I’m back on the horse again, this time for Round 2 applications. My school choices are up in the air for the moment, because I cannot for the life of me identify where I would have a competitive chance. I don’t want to apply to schools just because I know I’ll have better chances there, but on the other hand, I don’t want to apply to schools where I have no chance either. It’s a tough call. I’ll keep you guys posted when I finalise my schools and possibly the rationale that went behind picking. One thing is for sure though, I am not going to get emotionally attached to any of them. I’ll do my research and I’ll talk to students, but this is going to be the equivalent of a friends with benefits situation. No emotions, no commitment.
I’ve started with GMAT prep, I think it’s going well. I remember most of it, which is something of a feat considering it’s been over two years. I’m trying to get on the upper levels of both Quant and Verbal, which means a lot of targeted studying. It helps that I enjoy it though.
I literally can’t wait for March now where my fate will be decided either way.
P.S: A really weird observation. My blog got maximum hits on the day I announced my ding from Duke. People love tragedy!
Pulling That MBA Trigger 
Thanks for the shout out! 😀 I cannot believe how friendly and accepting fellow bloggers are. I’m still a relatively new bloggers, but I feel so welcomed.
As for the Friends with Benefits part…haven’t you watched any movies at all? You always end up falling in love despite your best “no strings attached” intentions 😀 (at least a tiny lil’ bit). And if you’re not emotionally invested in the school…it takes a lot of motivation to spend hours researching, writing essays and refining essays to apply to a school you’re not excited about getting into. Apply to programs that will help you get where you want to go, and which you will be happy attending. It’s obvious that there’ll be some heartbreak and not all the schools you love will reciprocate your feelings, but on the plus side, if you get in to even one program, it will all be worth it! 🙂 I understand where you’re coming from, but stay strong and stay positive. 🙂
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I agree with this and stress that business school adcoms are looking for passion, drive, motivation (intangibles). An admissions consultant once told my friend to make his application sound like attending the school was the thing he wanted most in his life.
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I do agree with you to an extent, but I think everyone does that for every school that they apply to… including the “safer” options. Suffice to say, enthusiasm and drive play a small part in admission, but of course the magnitude of their importance will vary from school to school.
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Hahaha, I actually love that movie! I think you can be interested in the school without getting emotionally invested. I mean there are obviously schools that I think are perfect and schools that are not so perfect, but I will apply to them anyway just because I want to have options open. Loving the school is also kind of different from knowing all that you need to know about it to apply!
But what I really meant was that I don’t want to get overly attached because I think over-thinking it and putting that much pressure on yourself has a negative impact on the essays and subsequent interviews. That’s just me though! Different strokes for different folks 🙂
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PTMT, exactly what she ( Vandana) said.
Just go for the ones that will provide you with most enriching route to realizing your goals. Go for it!
Your are destined for great things, love. I can feel it in my bones!
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Yes! That’s what I intend to do, without getting overly attached 😉 This also helps me in more ways than one because I was so hung up on Duke that I neglected my Yale application. I don’t want to make that mistake again. Aw, thank you for the faith! ❤
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Thanks for making me part of your post! Always an honor!
On the other hand, and as those smart guys up there already said, apply where you want to go. I am not saying you don´t keep your feet on the ground and think about your chances, but if you truly feel there is a certain place that it is for you, go for it. Of course, you can be open to other options, you had not considered at first. It happened to me with UCLA, which I was not so sure aobut, and now I love it. On the not falling in love part…. good luck with that!
I truly believe hard work pays, so keep going, results will come in the end!
Have a great Weekend! (yes, Weekend goes with apital letters)
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Thanks hugoness! I will apply to where I want to go… and I will definitely take your advice about being open to other options. UCLA is a great school, and I’m definitely sold on that one! Hope your interview prep is going well 🙂
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I agree with Vandana. It has literally been just 2 weeks into the “blogging about MBA” gig and I already feel like you’re all my besties..! 🙂 The support and encouragement is definitely a pleasant side effect of blogging!
And I get where you’re coming from. It is so hard to finalize schools! I think the best thing is to have a couple safe schools but reach out to all your dream schools. It will be difficult to not get emotionally invested in the school, though. Let me know how that goes for ya! 🙂
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I know right! I love the community. Hahaha, everyone seems to be very doubtful about my ability to disengage but I’m actually quite good at it. I can give you tips 😉
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Thanks for the shout out. I agree with what everyone has been saying. If you feel nothing for the school, its going to be a whole lot more difficult to convince the adcom to admit you. A safety school you cannot connect to, is a waste of time. Even if you get in you’ll either not go or be miserable about going. So go ahead, research schools, fall in love with a few and hope for the best. Thats the only option we have till we get at least one school that reciprocates our feelings.
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Oh no, I have the opposite problem of falling too in love with a school (Duke) that I neglected other great schools! I’m going to apply to a judicious mix of schools and like them all uniformly 🙂
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