Friday, January 12, 2007
The Game Is Continued
I am alive :) And I am again in the application game. It was easy to finalize application to Columbia, because I started it way back in October, and now I expect my application to go under review before Jan 29.
I was in serious doubts about whether I have the courage to try any other school this year. Vacation in Paris inspired me to research business schools in France, and I actually filled in the first part of application in HEC. The school provides brief evaluation to each candidate who submitted the first part of application, and so I decided to give it a try. But as I considered whether I should submit the rest before January deadline, I started realizing that I felt really uncomfortable about low position of HEC in rankings of business schools. I tried to figure out why that aspect really matters to me, and understood that I was just looking for excuses because wasn't ready to apply to safety schools this year (under safety I do not mean HEC in particular, but any school in general for which I do not feel 100% enthusiastic).
I took the list of schools I was still interested in and revised it on the basis of the said realization. Finally, I was left with two very different options: Darden and LBS. I had not considered Europe when I picked schools for R1; if I would - LBS would definitely be my choice. As for Darden, it's the school that I really like (as much as I can like places I haven't been to). It's the case when you can list many pros, and none of these pros will make a school unique, but still you would love it in the whole. So, the news is that I applied to Darden :) I am ashamed to admit that I was nervous about that decision till the last minute, and refrained from hitting the button till a few hours before deadline, because of arrogance: I was refraining from making a first step aside from "the top". I was telling myself that I should save money for next year instead of throwing it on more schools this time, but in the end I imagined my reaction if I get admission... and again, I clearly realized that I would be happy, and there is no doubt I would accept it.
Recommenders told me that Darden asks a tricky question about the way I would spend my day at work if I could do only things I enjoy. That was a difficult question for my former supervisor, the one from job I had in 2003-2005. Time goes by, he is in finance, I am in corporate management, and he can only imagine my current duties :) It was a challenge.
I failed to submit application in LBS this time, because the school requests official transcripts to be sent by courier mail, and I did not have translation available before January deadline. The next deadline is February 23. I am taking a short break before I will finalize my pack.
And at last, I would like to ask my fellow bloggers to tell me your opinion about Haas (Berkeley). I cannot eliminate this school from my thoughts yet because I again and again imagine living in California and studying in a school supported by such an impressive academic institution (do you hear echo of Stanford here? :) Has anybody toured this school? What's your general impression?
I was in serious doubts about whether I have the courage to try any other school this year. Vacation in Paris inspired me to research business schools in France, and I actually filled in the first part of application in HEC. The school provides brief evaluation to each candidate who submitted the first part of application, and so I decided to give it a try. But as I considered whether I should submit the rest before January deadline, I started realizing that I felt really uncomfortable about low position of HEC in rankings of business schools. I tried to figure out why that aspect really matters to me, and understood that I was just looking for excuses because wasn't ready to apply to safety schools this year (under safety I do not mean HEC in particular, but any school in general for which I do not feel 100% enthusiastic).
I took the list of schools I was still interested in and revised it on the basis of the said realization. Finally, I was left with two very different options: Darden and LBS. I had not considered Europe when I picked schools for R1; if I would - LBS would definitely be my choice. As for Darden, it's the school that I really like (as much as I can like places I haven't been to). It's the case when you can list many pros, and none of these pros will make a school unique, but still you would love it in the whole. So, the news is that I applied to Darden :) I am ashamed to admit that I was nervous about that decision till the last minute, and refrained from hitting the button till a few hours before deadline, because of arrogance: I was refraining from making a first step aside from "the top". I was telling myself that I should save money for next year instead of throwing it on more schools this time, but in the end I imagined my reaction if I get admission... and again, I clearly realized that I would be happy, and there is no doubt I would accept it.
Recommenders told me that Darden asks a tricky question about the way I would spend my day at work if I could do only things I enjoy. That was a difficult question for my former supervisor, the one from job I had in 2003-2005. Time goes by, he is in finance, I am in corporate management, and he can only imagine my current duties :) It was a challenge.
I failed to submit application in LBS this time, because the school requests official transcripts to be sent by courier mail, and I did not have translation available before January deadline. The next deadline is February 23. I am taking a short break before I will finalize my pack.
And at last, I would like to ask my fellow bloggers to tell me your opinion about Haas (Berkeley). I cannot eliminate this school from my thoughts yet because I again and again imagine living in California and studying in a school supported by such an impressive academic institution (do you hear echo of Stanford here? :) Has anybody toured this school? What's your general impression?
# posted by Nat4mba : 3:19 PM
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I visited HEC in Dec to check it out. HEC is ranked #1 European B-school in Financial Times. If you're interested in working in Europe postMBA, HEC is a good choice.
it's good to see you back online. and good luck for all the r2 apps. i am hoping they go well. have a good weekend.
I believe Haas is a solid school, Berkely has got a good brand name in US, so I think Haas is also a nice choice, given its West Coast location.
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