So I picked my schools and now it’s time to stick to my guns and not be wavered by general opinion… which is much harder than it sounds! I have started working on my essays, which basically means I have started reading every single essay analysis I find online and have begun to re-read ’50 Successful Harvard Application Essays’. I’m a decent enough writer but I want to make sure that I don’t fall into any of the common traps that us applicants normally do. My writing tends to both extremes — either I get excited and start writing super choppy sentences or I run out of interesting things to say and fill the page up with flowery crap. Luckily, I have a consultant to help review my essays and make sure I don’t go overboard. He’s helped plan my application strategy and I must say I’m pretty impressed. If I didn’t know me and I read about this person (a.k.a me) on paper, I would be like ‘Whoa, this person is accomplished’. But since it’s just me, I don’t see it.
GrantMeAdmission asked me on an earlier post what my application strategy is going to be like. Well, I’ve kinda always known what I was going to do, so here is my plan:
- Apply to a maximum of four schools, leaving plenty of schools open for next year in the likely event that I don’t make it in anywhere this year.
- Having chosen the four schools, I have decided to apply to Tuck Early Action because I love whatever I have heard about the school and the location is something that I am absolutely looking forward to. After all the Indian crowds and summers, I am ready for winter wonderland and solitude, although I’m pretty sure I’ll change my tune once I’m bundled in ten layers of clothing and slipping on frozen patches of ice.
- All the other schools including Yale, Johnson and Darden/Said, I want to apply in R1. I don’t see the point of stretching it out and unless something funky happens with my recommenders, I think I can make it. I am quite used to churning out words in large numbers so if I don’t suffer from a major case of writers block, I should be okay.
- If I get called for any interviews in R1, that would be the perfect scenario. If I get dinged by them all, then that’s it guys. I’m done for this year, no more rounds for me. I’ll gracefully retire and focus my energies on work and becoming a stronger applicant for next year. I’m only 22 now (I was born in 1992), so I have age on my side. I will obviously be disappointed, but this process has already been so revealing and I can only imagine how much stronger I’ll come out of it.
Yeah, so that’s about it. I think it is going to get a little hectic trying to juggle four schools but their deadlines are far enough apart, so I think it shouldn’t be too bad. Also, for everyone reading, I would love to hear your opinion on the IE and IESE business schools. They are ranked higher than Said and they do seem to place a lot of people into consulting but I’m a little skeptical. If you know anything about these schools either from firsthand information or otherwise, please hit me up. Thanks!
Pulling That MBA Trigger 