Risk In Perspective: Fill & Download for Free

I have started this year, and thought of adding my experience to the conversation. This will be helpful to folks planning to apply sometime soon:Things I'd do again:A- Start research early: I started doing my online research (reading forums, connecting with people, getting profile reviews) a year before I actually ended up applying. In my case, this all started with random doodling on the web, and the thought that I might apply to Bschool next year. But to potential candidates reading this, I'd say start your research well ahead of time, as it'll help you present a stronger case (better GMAT, stronger story - reviewed by more people) Oh and that's the external research. You'd also have to spend time thinking about your own life (highlights/lowlights/decision points). This helps immensely with points B-F below. For me what worked was, that I took pen and paper (not laptop, so no social media distraction) and started jotting down any and all moments that I was proud of. I listed even the most basic achievements. When I picked up that paper a week later, it helped me see my own story in a new light. (Connect the dots looking backward, Steve Jobs reference)B- Talk to (lots of, different) people: This is where (A) really helps. You should try getting advice from multiple people, from diverse backgrounds (geography, industry, school, function etc). Since you'd be talking to successful (i.e. busy) people - they'll need time to get back to you. Not all people you engage will respond back. But if you request enough people for help, more than a reasonable number will respond (source: my experience only). In my case, I found that each of these conversations added a lot of color and nuance to my perspective on Bschools and applications (on issues ranging from how much work experience is sufficient, to which schools to apply to, to what a particular school defines as fit etc).C- Engage with admission consultants: In my case, the conversation stayed limited to initial profile reviews and introductory phone calls. But their years of experience helped me immensely in aiming high enough (for context: I was initially planning to apply to schools ranked between 20-30). This happened as they were able to succinctly point out my unique strengths (vis-a-vis the competitive pool that they're so well aware of, given their experience). Highly recommended for international applicants.D- Prepare your elevator pitch: Have a 3 line summary describing your candidacy. Since this is about summarising the best parts of your application, it will take time and thought to prepare this. But having a concise summary immensely helps people whom you're asking for help with profile reviews etc, and in turn improves the response rate you get. As for what to include, I like to think of it as highlights fromi) where you come from (personal history, gmat/gpa etc)ii) where you stand (current work profile, title)iii) where you want to go (future goals- industry/function)E- Follow Stanford GSB's advice on recommendation letters: Nuggets of gold! To quote from the site,…when I read a really great recommendation the person jumps off the page and they really come alive. I feel like I know them; I know the good, the bad, the warts; if I walked into a room, I could almost pick out this person.For the complete piece, download the PDF transcript available on the GSB page 'Information for Recommenders'F- Work on my USP: When advising me on essays, a senior asked me what differentiates me from everyone else? While this may sound cliched, it is an important question that needs a lot of thought. Another way to think about it (borrowing from principles of branding) what is the one unique trait that you'd like to be remembered for? Another spin: If the adcom member were asked about you 5 days after they read your app, what would you want them to say? 'Oh XYZZ! the person who .........?' For the adcom member to recall the .... part, there has to be one unique, remarkable trait displayed consistently throughout your app (resume/essay/reco letter)G- Pray: Helps immensely in coping with pressure and sustaining morale. Definitely one of the most important things that kept me going till the end!Things I wouldn't do:A- Miss the basics: submit application on last day, try paying through a card that wasn't working for some reasonB- Become complacent: After my HBS interview went fine, I prepared little for my Booth interview. That led to some awkward pauses during the interview, and could've ended up costing me the Booth offer. For example, I went blank for a few seconds when my interviewer asked me, 'So that's about it from my end. Do you have any questions for me regarding Booth or life in Chicago?'C- Take practice exam after practice exam: When I got lower scores than I was aiming for, I'd start taking exam after practice exam. Without drilling down to exactly which areas I was struggling with (topic, question type). I wasted precious time because of this approach, not improving my skill deficiency, and getting frustrated because of it.D- Study GMAT without a practice partner: Again, this would have helped me save time and stay motivated. But I relied primarily on online material and a Kaplan book for help.E- Have self doubt: This is that gnawing feeling inside you, saying 'But I'm not good enough for this..' This is all those times when you tried extremely hard and failed miserably, in plain public view. Pangs are sharpest as you draw nearer to hitting Submit. How does one respond to this? On a rational level, remind yourself of all the people you've talked to, all the thought you've put into this and that post all those weeks of discussion/thought, You decided that this was the best option (and it was never meant to be risk-free) On an emotional level, think of the inverse situations - where you had major doubts about your ability to do well, but you went ahead and aced whatever it was you were doing. That arts class. That debating competition. That heroic on sports day. That eternally-un-impressable boss. And add to that, testimony from countless successful candidates, saying that they've all felt something similar, at many points, in the application process. So have faith and take the leap!

I always dreamt of studying at one of the world's best universities. However, after my undergrad degree at the University of Hamburg, it didn't look like this was ever going to happen…In the second semester of my undergraduate degree, I had launched a startup that soon consumed all my available time. While working 90 hours a week, I had hardly any time to study. As a result, I failed all exams of the semester (except one, which I passed with the lowest possible mark). Even after the startup failed, my grades were still suffering because in addition to the normal exams, I had to rewrite all the ones I had failed. In the end, I graduated with a 3.0 GPA (equals a 2.0 or a C in American grading systems).I was still determined to do my master's degree - an MBA - at a world class university. So in addition to a challenging management consulting job, I took up a distance degree at the University of London to make up for my bad grades. I finished with a solid upper second degree (1.5 in German GPA, about 3.5 in US), while at the same time shaping my professional profile by taking the team lead on a challenging consulting project.18 months before the MBA, I asked my boss and our client to write me letters of recommendation. While working, I studied for the GMAT test, which I finished with a 750 score (out of 800, 99th percentile). Just to put this in perspective, that was about 1–2 standard deviation better than the average score of applicants who were accepted at Harvard, Oxford or Cambridge. To be fair though, I always liked this type of standardized test, and the German education system was an excellent preparation to begin with.To improve my English skills, I started watching all 9 episodes of Scrubs on English. This part wasn't so bad (except of the last season). ;)12 months before the MBA, I wrote application essays for Harvard, Yale, Cambridge and INSEAD, and as a backup for round two for Berkeley as well. I was invited to an interview at University of Cambridge, Judge Business School and INSEAD. To attend the interview, I risked losing my job by pushing really hard to get a weekend off during the most challenging phase of the project.The interview went smooth. The Cambridge prof actually asked me some math questions, because the bad grades from my first undergrad degree led them to questioning my quantitative abilities.Two weeks later, I got the acceptance letter plus a scholarship for the University of Cambridge. I accepted and chose Pembroke as my college.Putting in all the extra work really paid off. One of the best decisions in my life!

There are two types of “intelligence”: cognitive (related to brain; IQ) and emotional (related to emotional awareness, both self and others; EQ). I don’t know what intelligence the question is referring to, so I’ll answer the possible signs for both (in brief).Cognitive IntelligencePeople displaying high cognitive intelligence are highly curious and love to absorb information around them. They are also highly open minded (in my opinion) and love to hear, see and read other people’s perspectives and viewpoints if it contributes to their own learning. They love to take risks, develop their own experiments (if in a scientific field etc.) and are very proactive. They set their own goals, achieve them, and then set new goals. They tend to be more rational in their decision makingEmotional IntelligencePeople displaying high emotional intelligence are highly aware of, and express their emotions in a judicial manner. They tend to be good listeners (sometimes to a fault!), and are good at handling interpersonal relationships. At the risk of sounding more cliche, they are “the friend you need when you suffer from emotional upheaval (for eg: a breakup)”. Unlike cognitive thinkers, they tend to be more perceptive in their decision making.There are cons to both sides. High cognitive thinkers using facts for decision making probably tend to be more immune towards emotional thinking (i.e. robot-ification) and inflexible while high emotional thinkers are prone to overthinking about their decisions.N.B: I just added the picture because it looks cool. There is no left brain/right brain divide, according to Kosslyn, a renowned ex-psychology professor at Harvard University for 30 years.Links for further reading:http://dmcodyssey.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/EMOTIONAL-INTELLIGENCE-3.pdfThere Is No Left Brain/Right Brain Divide | TIME.com