Next up in our series of featured MBA bloggers is "Asax," an anonymous blogger who writes at B-School Admit. Please enjoy Asax's thoughtful answers and use them to help you make your way through the MBA admissions process.
Accepted: First, can you tell us a little about yourself – where are you from, where did you go to college and when did you graduate; and what prior degrees do you hold?
Asax: I am an Indian female applicant. My dream school is Berkeley Haas. I am also applying for NUS and NTU (since they’re near). I hold a Bachelor of Engineering from a state university. I am currently working for an IT company just like a million others here ;). I have work experience of 2.5 years. I graduated in the year 2009. Besides having an IT background, I also run a family start-up side by side – though I am not involved full time. It is my post MBA plan to do so.
Accepted: When do you plan on applying to b-school? What stage of the application process are you up to now?
Asax: I am preparing for my second GMAT in September and I am looking forward to round 2 applications.
Accepted: What sort of GMAT prep have you done since taking the exam the first time?
Asax: Focused more on verbal. I realized I didn’t attack the basics last time. I was concerned about volume last time not the quality. This time, I am focusing on the quality – lots of time for solving a very few questions and analyzing them. I find this is a better method. Even though it takes time, the learning curve is much better.
Accepted: What do you think of the new IR section?
Asax: Truth be said, I am not a fan of the IR section as it requires different kind of preparation and approach. Each problem looks at myriad types of data interpretation. Till now I haven't been able to complete the section on time. So, you go to work on that. Thankfully this is the first year. I might escape from the scrutiny of the IR section scores. We can't bet that for the next year though.
Accepted: What is your dream MBA program?
Asax: Berkeley Haas is my dream school because I would like to get a good feel for the spirit of American entrepreneurship which I can do at Haas with its very close ties with Silicone Valley and the entrepreneurs there. Besides, Haas is very well known for beating the status quo – a kind of environment I would like to get used to. The batch strength is not great, thus there is scope for better ties among the graduates.
Accepted: What attracts you to Haas?
Asax: I am inspired by the culture and the mix of ideas that the graduates and professors bring to the b-school experience. I believe that the culture of thinking different has to become natural. For such a habit to be cultured, to me Haas is the perfect place.
Accepted: Once you receive your MBA, do you plan on pursuing a career in your current field/industry or a in new field/industry?
Asax: Once I get my MBA, my plan is to take on my family start-up full time. The reason I took my current IT job was because I got one and because it was easy money. Though after 2.5 years, I have realized that I want to focus on bigger dreams of mine.
Accepted: Can you tell us about your blog? Who is your target audience and what goals do you have with site?
Asax: My blog is a log of my experiences, something others can use to fine tune things that they may miss out. I also blog about things happening in the MBA world, about freebies, webinars, strategies, guides, discounts available in various sites – anything an applicant needs to know. These are the things I use. So, I just share it with the readers so that they can benefit from it. Anything I find interesting I put it on my blog. If I discover any strategy that is helpful, then that goes up as well.
Do you want to be featured in Accepted.com's blog, Accepted Admissions Blog? If you want to share your MBA/EMBA journey with the world (or at least with our readers), email us at mbabloggers@accepted.com.
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This article originally appeared on the Accepted Admissions Consulting Blog, the official blog of Accepted.com.
