rni wrote:
finmaster wrote:
rni wrote:
@finmaster: what kind of activities are you considering?
Well, I myself am completely in the dark on that one. I have started volunteering at a nearby org. and will see how it shapes up. Also, I', planning to eengage myself in a few other activities/hobbies in the coming months.
hmm..the purpose of ECs is not to get a 'tick mark' for your application but to do something that you really like.I think that the adcoms can see right through such activities that are taken just to impress them. You have clearly started community service and ECs 5 months before the application deadlines. Given the plethora of indian candidates who use similar tactics there are a lot of chances that this may backfire. Again, this is just my opinion and others may differ.
Also,you have not taken the gmat yet and do you plan to balance your new ECs/Work/Gmat/community service?
AND why did you take CFA Level 1 ? It is clearly not aligned with your current work stream (Mechanical)
In the end.. 15 colleges !! you would want to slim that down ..
I understand what the point of listing EC's is. The thing is, I will have to try and bring some change in the organisation that I work for. I will try to do it and if I succeed, I will then list it in my app, otherwise, I'll just let it go.
The keyword is 'change'.
Look at it this way; if I am able to bring even a small change in an organisation other than my job in the coming 5 months, it could also make some adcom say, "Well, okay it's five-six months and he has obviously done this to tick the box, but at least he has done something rather than nothing."
If I cannot bring any positive change; I'll simply not list that stuff in my app.
That is the whole point of applying to a large number of schools. The probability of one adcom appreciating the effort is higher and all I need is one adcom.
As far as CFA is concerned, well, there were a few things which prompted me to take part in the CFA program:
1. I don't know how my Indian CGPA of 7.27/10 from my university will be taken by the adcoms. There's no rule of thumb for that. I wanted a quant-intensive course which has a strong reputation in the adcoms' country and which could give them a fair idea of my ability to handle the MBA workload. This of it as a way of telling the adcoms, "I have the ability to handle the tough coursework you guys will throw at me for two years."
2. Related to '1' above, my performance in mathematics during engineering wasn't anything to write home about. I needed something to buttress that with.
3. Although I do not seek a career in finance, my participation in the CFA program (and the knowledge of finance that comes with it) along with my technical work-ex of five years and the MBA degree should make me a pretty strong candidate as far as finding job in a consulting/general management position is concerned. Put simply, it increases my employability.
After graduating from their B-school, I will be a manager from a great school having a core technical work-ex and equipped with a pretty decent knowledge of finance. That does increase my chances of becoming more 'employable' at the end of two years.
Think of it as a way of telling the adcoms, "You guys don't have to worry about finding me a job at the end of two years.".
Coming to the point of applying to a large number of schools, well, to be honest, I'm not entirely sure about all of these schools straightaway. I might end up not applying to 2-3 of them. Right now, I'm only at the 'research' phase. In another 30-40 days, I shall have a fairly good idea of which schools to eliminate, if any. However, I can safely say that I will not eliminate more than 3 schools. Probability does count.