2002 & 2005

Many schools have reported an increase in applicant numbers this year. Naturally, this has led some to believe that this was an unbelievably tough year to get into business school. Something to note here that the increase in applications is only in comparision to last year (which probably was the easiest year to get admission in the last 10 years) and nobody knows yet how much the increase is. Another thing to factor in that the increase has been widely observed for international applicants, it may or may not be true for domestic applicants.

It is therefore quite possible that the "difficulty factor" has only been restored to previous normal levels from an apparently easy 2005. Now I dont mean to take anything away from people who applied and succeeded in 2005 or make assumptions about those who applied and didnt succeed. Applications are very subjective and anything could happen, such is the nature of the game. But it begs the question of why? and was this the same at other schools as well?

Here are the numbers for HBS (source: Sandy on BW) I have changed graduation year to their respective application years.

Year of Application--No. of Applicants
2000--8124
2001--8893
2002--10382
2003--8526
2004--7130
2005--6552
2006--????

The above data is for HBS and we dont even know for a fact if 2006 numbers have actually gone up. But 2 numbers come out clearly - a) what the heck did one have to do to get admitted in 2002? and b) 2005 indeed looks like an easy year in comparision although numbers dont reveal everything. A difference of almost 4000 applications to a top business program is a lot by any standard, it almost doubles the acceptance rate for HBS.

2001 was a bad year for the economy so that probably explains the spike in 2002 numbers. At the same time, 2005 was not as bad as 2001-2002 but it wasnt kicking ass either so these numbers cannot be influenced by the economy alone. Whatever it is, it does make one (atleast me) think "what if I had applied last year," albeit only for a brief moment.

Decisions

My re-app efforts will officially kick off in June. I will do a little bit of research on schools and stay engaged on the extra-curricular and community fronts but will not be in a position to actually write essays and visit schools. Speaking of schools, some of the schools that I might re-apply to have already been visited multiple times so I dont know if I'll do that again. Luckily, I have made some good friends with people who got in to various schools this year so I can approach them for help.

One major decision made in the last few days was to not re-apply to Harvard. I loved the school, facilities are top notch, students are sharp and its a great experience for anyone attending, but after repeated self-evaluations I dont think I am ever getting in there (or let me say the chances are really slim). But isnt that applicable to most applicants who still get in? Yes it is, but my candidacy lacks certain elements that seem to matter a lot at HBS. I have plenty of leadership experiences to share but none that are full of 'stardust' as Sandy puts it. The time and effort needed to write those 7 essays will be well spent on another school. I tried once, put in a solid app and didnt get in, time to get real, so goodbye HBS.

The other decision I took was to not take another attempt at the GMAT. Again, when I look over my application, I dont think the GMAT was my undoing. I have a balanced score (both Q and V above 80%) so I guess it was ok on that count. Agreed I dont have a 760+ that most guys from my demographic seem to have but I have seen too many of those guys get dinged this year as well. Also, it will require intense preparation to get that score. With the time I have (aside from work, extra curricular and family commitments), at best I may raise my score by 20-30 points and I seriously doubt that will have any impact on my overall application. I could use that time to make my essays as close to perfect as they can get instead.

What else can I do? Differentiate my story, make it unique, compelling and strategic. How? Dont have a clue right now but am working on it. I do think my story is compelling and strategic but probably is short on the uniqueness. There is not a lot I can do to change that but better presentation and style of story telling might do the trick. I can see how my HBS essays read so much better than my Columbia ones, even though they communicate the same story.

Lastly, why wait till June? Because May is vacation month for me and my wife! We go for a back-packing trip to Europe and then to a Carribean cruise. I dont want to be thinking anything even remotely close to business school in May.

The Beer Challenge and Beer Facts

I see people are getting really excited about the upcoming NYC Blogger Meet. Too bad I wont be able to make it to the East Coast Beer challenge, it certainly would have been nice to meet fellow and future b-school applicants. Not to mention that I am quite the beer consumer and would have been up for the challenge. Maybe next time! So are there official contest rules and prizes for tomorrow's challenge?

Hope you guys have a blast and drink good! On that note, here are some beer facts that were circulated to me by a drinking buddy on a "friday fun email."
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FACT: A lite beer has between 70 and 100 calories, is almost all water and the part that isn't water is almost pure carbohydrates.

FACT:The average diet recommends a daily calorie intake of 1,200 calories for women, 1,500 for men, if you want to lose the medically safe two to three pounds a week. That equates to 12 beverages a day for women,and 15 for men. A measurable goal.

FACT: Beer is diuretic, which causes the water to flush out almost immediately, leading to a consistent workout regimen including deep knee bends (getting out of the chair), fast walking (very good for your heart) and squats (as the case may be).

FACT: Drinking beer actually helps you sleep - even when you aren't necessarily tired. All that added rest is certain to help any problems you may have experienced in sleep deprivation, counting calories on those other fad diets. In addition, you may experience the occasional "Howdid I get here?" when you wake up, which always makes for lively conversation, and possibly additional exercise if you have to sneak out and run home.

FACT: Beer is good for your heart. After just one day of consuming your required 12-15 beers, you will certainly want to consume some aspirin, which is medically proven to help prevent heart attacks.

Political Games

So the Mandal Commission report continues to haunt thousands of applicants seeking admission to the famed Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) and Indian Institutes of Management (IIM). According to the announcement, the reservation quota has been more than doubled to 49%. This means that several bright and deserving candidates who do not enjoy reservation quotas will be left out of the IIT race, which is fiercely competitive to begin with. To make things worse, IITs now have a cap of 2 on the number of times you can apply to seek admission.

Its amazing how the government interferes with the administrations of these elite educational institutes to suit their political motives of securing vote banks around election time. In the name of bringing oppressed segments of society forward, such decisions will harm the intellectual fabric of India in a severe way and further worsen the caste dispute in the country. At its basic level, this decision virtually nullifies any chances that a reasonably smart and hardworking individual might have had of getting into one of the best undergraduate institutions in the world.

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NEW DELHI, APRIL 6: The Centre said today 49.5 per cent of the total seats in IITs, IIMs and Central universities, including Delhi University, would be reserved for OBCs, SCs and STs. At present, 22.5 per cent seats are reserved for SCs (15%) and STs (7.5%) in these institutes.

Full article here

Reapp time

So after over 3 months of waitlisting Columbia decided to end my misery and ding me. I'll admit it was painful and really hard to come to terms with, unlike the HBS ding. Columbia was the first school I applied to, did tons of research, visited the campus, attended every single event they had on campus, met with students, faculty and alums over a dozen times. It will need some serious introspection to figure out what went wrong, at this point I am unable to pin point anything.

I was so dead sure I am getting in at Columbia - strong app (atleast in my mind), did all the research one can possibly do on the school, applied ED, had a great interview. I didnt take the Reconsider Later decision too seriously, hoping it would all fall into place eventually. Ofcourse, this has been a tough year for applicants and many fine candidates have been unsuccessful. There is always hope and I will give it another shot next app season - unless my Wharton waitlist converts to an admit with an absolute miracle.

Unfortunately, I have had several positive developments since I applied to Wharton but going by their strict "no updates" policy, all I can do is sit and wait. I think mentally I am more prepared for a re-app now than have any hopes for Wharton, which for the most part looks like a loosing battle. Also, some of you noted in the comments that I have an NYU admit - I dont! I was dinged, didnt care too much for NYU to begin with and I think my essays failed to communicate my story.

Congratulations to all in the blogging community who have secured admits this year. It just goes to show how strong your profiles are to have been successful in a clearly "very tough" year. As for me, Wharton will happen if it has to, I cant control it and wont worry about it. It is evident that applications to top schools dont happen in 2 months (including preparing for the GMAT). Hopefully I can get some feedback from the schools and get cranking on my re-apps as quickly as I can.