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Hi I am planning to apply for Fall 2009 courses in the US. Did some research, and got confused. On one hand, I want to be sure that I do get in somewhere real good, on the other hand is the fear of rejection. Of course, another factor, albeit a comparitively minor one, is the cost. I was surprised to see that a well known school like Tepper does not guarantee no-cosignor loans. But of course MIT, Chicago , etc do. Can you people help me out here? Indian Male :-D

Gmat: 760 ( 42 V, 49 Q ) AWA: 5.5 Graduated from Indian Institute of Technology as a Production and Industrial Engineer. Joined Citigroup immediately after that as a Project Manager in Business Systems; this is a part of the IT team that proactively assists the business in employing new business startegies, getting them implemented on the system, does process re-engineering and helps them achieve a better ROI. This way there is a good exposure in the business life cycle and the software life cycle. About 2 years into the job. Career highs include getting commendation from CEO and CIO of one of the global business groups in Citigroup and being the IT liason for a $ 40 Million plus deal. Not much co-curriculars after I passed out due to lack of time; in college I was the co-chair of the Program Management Committee which did all the college events and was the Student in Charge of the Annual festival of the college. Was also actively involved in managing events for all four years in campus. I am not sure how to spin this - I did my final year thesis under the Director of the institution. Apart from this, I have two national level talent scholarships. Am an active trader, doing basically deriviatives trading and a little dabbling in equity. Handle my own portfolio (of course) and my mom's. Get pretty good returns too. Long term goals: Am a little confused between wanting to be an investement banker ( the thrill of trading can be addictive ) or pursuing the general management way ( less short term thrills, but I guess more fulfilling ) My shortlist (short list is a misnomer :wink:

): University of Chicago University of Pennsylvania (Wharton) Harvard University Stanford University Darden Tepper Tuck Do suggest. Thanks a ton

3underscore · Answer

First, I suggest you leave your fear of rejection at the door.

You seem pretty viable for top schools, but if you apply to S/W/UoC/H I can pretty much guarantee you will get a ding. Such is life.

***NB - generic comment. Not all. Just one of them at least will. meant to say that rejection will happen***

Also, you will only find the ultra-elites (as termed here) guarantee to provide you loans for things.

While this is a huge win (trust me - I am in the middle of the loan apps), it should not be enough to swing which school to apply to. If it is the right school, it's the right school - maybe you will have to do some more yourself to make it happen, but it really shouldn't matter.

Are you applying for start 2009, or for class of 2009?

If the latter, don't. A lot of schools you could get in will ding you, purely because it is too late in the process and seats are very scarce.

The former makes sense - and you have time to get some extra-curriculars.

saurabh357 · Answer

I meant that I am applying for the class to begin in Fall of 2009.Sorry for the confusion. My bad. Thanks for the advice

EconGirl · Answer

what makes you say this? I don't thik that there is anything in saurabh's profile that leads to such a conclusion. 

saurabh, start assessing your weaknesses and spend the next year addressing them. Work on your 'story'. Figure out what it is you wnat to do and make sure your essays convey it well. If your future goals are vague, this will negativlly affect your chances of getting in.

johnnyx9 · Answer

Econgirl - I think 3underscore meant that she will probably get "a" ding, not dings across the board.

EconGirl · Answer

oh, that makes more sense. :oops:

johnnyx9 · Answer

I did a double-take when I first read it too and was thinking, "Wow, he's not pulling any punches!"

3underscore · Answer

Eek. Didn't see it as reading that way. It was meant as "apply to the five, one will ding you". 

It was more a reaction to not liking rejection. Rejection is going to be a big part of applying to top MBA programmes. Noone gets a clean sweep of schools - or few enough that I can say noone.

I think the profile is really strong. Much better than mine.

rhyme · Answer

Thats a nice profile. 

Personally.... I wouldn't hold out hope for Harvard or Stanford -- just being honest -- Indian IT male with meager extracurricular activities (by your own admission) is likely not going to cut it there... but then again, you never know. I'll say that, in my experience, Harvard in particular seems anti "IT". 

The rest of the list looks entirely plausible.

diegmat · Answer

In my experience, I have found that IITs have very good brand equity with the top b schools. I would think they would probably be in line with 2nd tier ivy undergrad â€“ i.e. cornell, penn. Yes, I realize admissions standards are probably toughest in the world.

Also â€“ this is sort of semantics â€“ but investment bankers donâ€™t trade. They underwrite securities for companies. And furthermore, if you like the thrill of trading your own book, look into going to work at a gun slinging hedge fund. Most traders at investment banks are on the brokerage side â€“ so youâ€™ll be executing orders for your clients. There are prop desks at the big banks, but I would think finding a job on one would be tough.

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