My Application Plan

Question

Alright, here's my plan after the GMAT is over. For those of you experienced, do you think it's feasible? Did I forget anything or underestimate/overestimate any part of the process? weekend of 8/4 - Party after GMAT is over

8/10 - brainstorm/outline of all the essays for Stanford and Berkeley (UCLA is not out yet) 8/18 - download applications from schools, start filling out the logistics; create list of extracurriculars and stuff; write very ROUGH draft of all the essays 8/25 - refine the drafts of essays and get it to the point where I can have someone look at it; Revise resume and work experience history. 9/1 - finish first cut of all essays, work with friends, current students, alums, GMAT clubbers to review. Prepare outlines for recommenders From that point on, refine essays until they're ready. Add in things from class visits in September and talks with students/alum. Help Recommenders with the recommendations. I think that's enough time... the month of August for preparation and drafts, the month of September for refinement and class visits/school research to strengthen the examples in my essays and work on recommendations. Month of October to do final touches and submit. What do you think?

riverripper · Answer

Sounds pretty good...I am doing the brainstorming of essays right now. Getting lists of examples and rough outlines. 

I have to talk to my supervisor and department head about recs, give them a little letter on what schools want...provide them with a few examples and statistics of things I have done that could be useful.

I also have started signing up for information sessions, my first one is in the 12th. Then a several more in september. I also am planning a trip to Chicago for the end of sept or beginning of october to look at Chicago and Northwestern. I live close enough to do Tuck and MIT as a day trips. Figure I will visit my brother in NYC and check out NYU and maybe continue on to Wharton just to see...if I get an early admit in R1 I may try for Wharton in R2 just to see.

gmatmba · Answer

I would advise you to prepare the recommendation outline sooner and inform your recommenders sooner. You will be surprised how long that may take. I think other experienced applicants would agree.

aaudetat · Answer

You're blowing me away. Do you want to come by and plan my life for me? I could use the help right now!

aviroop · Answer

one small hitch in your plan - given that you are applying to 4 schools atleast, and each school has a average of 3 essays (some are similar, but you have to adapt them for each school), I think your plan of starting the essays on Aug 10, and finishing the drafts by September 10, is practically infeasbile, or rather impossible.

methinks that you need to alter your end data - target 10/1 as the end date of all your essays (including final drafts - free of all errors).

Give the essays time - I think you are trying to rush through the applications, especially the essays

finishing all essays in 2.5 weeks is not a good idea...It will take you a week to just make a good outline and first draft of each individual essay.

kryzak · Answer

to gmatmba: My recommenders already know they're writing for me, I asked them back in June. I promised them around 1.5-2 months to write the reqs. I really can't give them good detail until I finished my own draft of the "Why MBA/Why Now?" essays, thus beginning of September. I might be able to get it out a week or two earlier, but 9/1 is my goal. to aaudetat: Haha, yeah, I've been told that if you want to plan a trip for 200 in 2 weeks to antarctica, call kryzak

I guess I should emphasize that strength in my essays

to aviroop: I'm only applying to 3 in R1. 4 only if I'm done with the three and actually have time for the 4th. I think having a draft out by 9/10 is feasible if you have 4 weekends devoted to it. I'm not saying it's anywhere near the finished item by 9/10, but it'll be a draft that can be critiqued and read by others. All three schools I'm applying to will have a "Why MBA/WhyNow/Why this school" essay, so that's the most reuseable. Stanford's "What matters to you most" will take me a lot of thinking. I have no idea what UCLA's essays are yet, which sucks because I wanted to do that application first. Berkeley has a lot of short essays, which I can crunch out a draft in a few weekends. I do plan on having final drafts without errors done by 10/1, with changes only to add details about a class I visited and things like that. I need to have first drafts down by 9/10 if I am to have final drafts done by 10/1.

ncp · Answer

You mean, you actually have a plan for this gig. :roll:

bsd_lover · Answer

Mate, do mention 'organizational and planning' skills in your essay

aviroop · Answer

and add MS Project skills,

Your engineering skills clearly show in your posts. Dude, you will give me an inferiority complex - no one, and I repeat, no one can beat me in being un organized.

aviroop · Answer

BTW, Does the GMAT party include jell o shorts and a shiny pole in the living room?? Just curious :wink:

aviroop · Answer

crap.. make that jell o shots..

kryzak · Answer

oh c'mon aviroop, your humor puts me to shame! =)

And if anyone has seen my room, all sense of "organized" goes out the window. I'm very selective on what I'm organized about, usually for things I care a lot for.

Jello shots eh? I was trying to picture what jell-o-shorts looked like... sounds dirty...

aurobindo · Answer

not bad..I have a brother in arms.. :wink:

aviroop · Answer

one more and we can have an in house three muskeeters group - one for all and all for one, in being unorganized

ncp · Answer

Oh boy! oh boy! Finally a club that I can join.

aurobindo · Answer

Here is something I wrote as a part of project management :wink:

********** Dear xyz, I don't fully understand the constraints you are facing. For that I need to step into your shoes

As far as I can see... PC tracker is an endless cycle like life itself

One more day of effort and this project will be out of our way. Which one will you choose to complete

? Expecting the PPT and database xls by end of tomorrow. A

abhishek.sardana · Answer

I think the party time can be cut short if you are running short of time. 

I personally feel that you should give a little more time to the first draft of the essays because one day you might feel the essays are top class but after 3-4 days you might feel that you need to change them completely.

zakk · Answer

https://www.liacs.nl/~hoogeboo/calvin.gif :wink:

aurobindo · Answer

haha....thats a good one..

abhishek.sardana · Answer

Good going ZAKK!!!!!

Thats a great one!!!!!

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