What does this mean?

Not to sound like a broken record, but I agree that there probably isn't a "weak" area of your application. That doesn't mean there isn't room for improvement, but it means there was no deal-breaker.

I agree that boosting your GMAT would help if you reapply, but I think it goes without saying that improving any area will make your application better (a promotion, better essays, etc..) although GMAT is probably the easiest area to focus on and improve.

No it wasnt Columbia - it was Judge Business School at Cambridge.

The challenge is that they have only 2 essays :

How would you like to be remembered?
Describe a project or task that did not go well.

Unlike some other applications' essay that allow you to highlight several other aspects of your personality, I felt these were somehow very limited in scope -maybe I am wrong and would appreciate any suggestions.

Madhu

I also wanted to add that I have had 6 promotions in 8.5 years - not sure if another promotion would help or if I could actually manage one in the next few months..............

agree with others!

"How would you like to be remembered?" is a great essay to list your accomplishements, your future as you dream it, things that make you different from others, etc, etc.

and, IMO, another promotion is not the answer!

Oh right. Cambridge. I will try and have a look into this. I know quite a few Cambridge (and Oxford) alumni. Safe to say they aren't like any "normal" type of school, though I don't know how much runs through into their Business Schools.

I have read the essays of some students that have got through both Oxford and Cambridge this year - they are, in my humble opinion, cheesy to say the least.

Most with an IT background wanting to gain MC experience go back to India and be entrepreneurs. I read somewhere on this forum this was typical for most Indian IT applicants.

Plus all have really ambitious social service aspirations - if I were to spend 50000 pounds on an MBA, I would be more concerned with ROI than charity. Again IMHO, if all Indian applicants who claim to have charitable inclinations, were to really go back to India and do what they proclaim in their essays, India would be a different place.

I am not sure if adcoms are looking for cliched responses but I would imagine reading through hundreds of applications they would be able to read between the lines.

In addition to retaking the GMAT, if I do not get through a business school of choice, I would probably redo my essays to sound like I want to get an MBA degree and return to India to devote my life to social service :-)