It all started in September ’14: I was unsure whether the frustration at work made me decide to go for another degree or was it that I really liked managing people, working with them and making things happen; but I was sure of one thing. I needed to get an MBA!
With that came a flurry of choices and indecision. Should I go for a study material or prepare by myself? Should I start with the school names? I absolutely had no idea that networking is a thing and it can take you to your dream job as well. Out of desperation, and quite obviously not knowing that Fall ’15 was out of my reach, I bought the BYJU’s GMAT tablet course.
English was always my favorite but this was different. I never paid any heed to grammar in class and this was showing an effect here. (Modifiers, parallelism, tenses
) Somehow I struggled (halfheartedly) and completed the entire course (or at least I thought so) but I was always procrastinating with the real exam. Today I’m pretty sure if I had taken an exam then, I’d have failed miserably. It was already March ’15 and by then (after taking the whole GMAT course of INR 35,000), I had dropped my GMAT plans and started focusing on my work. It was going great – I was already a team leader by the time I had two years of work experience; and I got to take my manager’s position too occasionally, go to business meets and decide internal policies. Gradually I started loving the management aspect of the business. I loved the sheer aspect that I get to decide how the project would function and either directly or indirectly, those decisions had an impact on the budget. Things were going great when the MBA Keeda came back
This time for a complete different reason – Somehow I came to know that my ex-girlfriend was planning for her masters and she was going to France. Going to Germany seemed to be a pretty good option for me (Germany – France not so far eh!) and to ice on the cake, I learnt that some German schools don’t even need GMAT
I sat for TOEFL and scored 109 with a week’s practice. Applied and got accepted (no interviews, no selection process! I guess they accept everyone). But then somehow my informed relatives made me realize that it’s not worth going to a local b-school in Germany without even knowing German and spend 25,000 Euros on tuition just for your ex-girlfriend (who might very well be married! Trust me, I had no idea). It was June ’15 and my plan dropped again
Then I looked around in my office and saw almost everyone trying to further their career – CAT, SBI exams, govt. exams and what not! Something in me told me that I should also give a try. CAT wasn’t my cup of tea and I already had some knowledge of GMAT. This time I researched heavily. Starting with introspecting on what to do and which schools to go - I won’t say I succeeded 100% but that definitely gave me a direction. After 3 months of conscious effort with GMAT Club and
E-GMAT by my side, I was ready and took the GMAT! Gosh – it was a 640 on the screen
Another try or go ahead with this? I was pretty much sure I could improve and I did. Another month and a 680 this time. I thought of giving another try to get beyond that coveted 700 barrier, but it was already November and I felt I should at least try for the 3rd round before going ahead with GMAT again. My researches and talking to students have made me understand that USA would be the place to go if technology is at the back of your mind. So I applied to 5 schools and got 2 interview calls. Bombed one and converted the other with significant scholarship after 5 months of being waitlisted! It was Illinois and probably I was the last person to enter the Class of 2018 (I received my decision on July 25th). That was it! I got an admit and I requested the admissions to defer my admission since 3 weeks are too less to shift countries. As another R1 was approaching, I felt I should keep a backup in case finances turn out to be a hurdle. Applied to 2 more schools with the same score and converted Simon Business School! Hoping for some funding as the admissions packet arrives.
Hopefully with
Prodigy Finance doing such a wonderful job, finances won’t be a hurdle and I get to complete that American dream.