Be Quick or be Dead

And I hope that I was quick. Quick in providing the supplemental material to my Tepper application. What would admission committee think of a waitlisted candidate who takes lot of time coming back with an update? – Not really interested!! Also, longer you wait lesser the chance of getting in as more and more seats get filled. I tried to get back with my supplement as soon as I could ready a decent write up.

I managed to cover the following
-Performance rating
-Promotion
-An exciting project at work
-Couple of certification courses in banking and securities that I have taken up
- My toastmaster’s progress
- reaffirmed my interest in tepper

and managed to keep all this to one page (approx 500 words). Whether my update went quick enough or was good enough, time will tell.

Tepper - Waitlist

I had all but settled for the final ding but instead I got a waitlist. This is Cruel. You would think that waitlist is one better than a reject but I am not too sure.

I do intend to stay on the waitlist and would appreciate if folks and provide me with strategy or comments to make the most of the oppurtunity.

Past couple of months and post application submission, I have managed to get rated in the 'best lot' in our annual appraisal cycle and also rewared with a promotion. These things I can definetly add as supplement to my application. What is the best form - e-mail note or doc with details?

Waitlist decisions are out only by June which would definetly cause me problems in terms of finances and Visa. So I am also contemplating dropping out and doing this all over next year.

hmmm why couldn't they just...

Strike Three

Ding from Duke :-((( don’t know what to say really, expect that I am very disappointed and this one's much harder to take than I had presumed earlier. 3rd one in a row, following Kellogg and Wharton, its certainly hard to digest. Just "Tepper" to go and I'll hear from them next week. Till then I have lots to think about.

Anxious

Duke results would be out in a couple of days and Tepper the following week and I am beginning to get anxious. Waiting was easy till about a week back. I kept myself sufficiently occupied so as not to think about the results. The past week I have been counting the days and "D-day" has lingered on the back of my mind.

I did keep myself busy with work and other activities. I played another match (which we won) over the weekend. We were planning a “celebration” for moving on to the next round, at “STYX” one of my favorite pubs in Bangalore but it was a non starter, everyone being so tired. For people who have not been to Bangalore, other than being known as “IT capital of India” and “Garden city” it is also known as the “Pubs city”. Maybe we should have a Bangalore version of the Bay Area "Beer challenge" for MBA Bloggers!!

Back to Duke, results would be out by 7th, let’s see how that goes. At the cost of sounding pessimistic I must say that I have planned out what I am going to do for the next one year, incase I don’t make it to any school this year. Though it would be disappointing, it wouldn’t be all that bad overall. Good things are in store for me either way.

Enough blabbering, wish me LUCK.

Dream a Dream - Sports day

Last Sunday I was part of an amazing event – The dream a dream Sports day. Dream a dream is NGO that works which children from underprivileged background, providing them the necessary tools and opportunities to help them develop further and hence make a positive impact to the society.
You can learn more about the organization here - http://www.dreamadream.org/.

We had around 250 children from 7 NGOs for the Sports day and it took us about a month to plan and organize this. Getting the kids to the venue, arranging individual events, ensuring participation, sponsorship, food, first aid and organizing the volunteers, all in all was a very challenging task. I planned on being part of the core group but had to back down due to work pressure. However, I was determined to be present at the event and contribute my bit. I am glad I did as the event was a great success and it was an enjoyable and satisfying experience for me.

I got up early morning and reached the first NGO where we took the roll call of children there, and made the necessary adjustments and pinned name labels on each kid. Once the kids were boarded we drove to the second NGO where we repeated the same exercise. From there we headed to our venue and kids being kids, it was an exciting ride. At the venue we had to get everyone registered and allocated to one of the games. Guess what - this and manning the registration desk was one of my responsibilities. Attendance list was handed over and participant list for each game was adjusted. All volunteers reporting to the registration desk had to be informed of their roles and responsibilities. As the event got underway, enthusiasm of the children was reflecting in the volunteers and we were enjoying participating, playing and communicating with the children. The individual events were a big success and later in the day I conducted one too. Following this we had some added entertainment for the kids with fun games, dance etc. Once the exciting part was over and done with, everyone settled down for ‘Thank you note’ to the organizers & sponsors and prize distribution ceremony. In keeping with the theme of the event “Co-operation NOT Competition.” all games were team building ones and everyone went home with a prize.

At the end of the day the most satisfying thing for us all and me in particular was to see the smile on the face of the children who thoroughly enjoy their day out in the sun. It felt so great to be there and be part of something significant. I hope to be involved in many more such events in the future.
What a great Sunday. DREAM A DREAM ROCKS!!