journey of a jat, the warrior

I am still in shock after this feedback session.

No, my quant and verbal are not unbalanced either; they are both well above 80 percentile.

Was my application even given a diligent review? Is it all about making money off applicants???

I am having a hard time deciding on this. On one hand, I have had my feedback session (last one is tomorrow) and I know what to work on. During the feedback, I was hailed for my essays by more than one school. They said my goals were clear and I had given convincing arguments. So, clearly I don't need consultants to help on my essays, which are the single-most reason applicants go to consultants for. Isn't it?

On the other hand, I am afraid of getting dinged again. I worked very hard on my applcations last season and it was very very painful to get one ding after another and see all my hard work waste away. I certainly don't want to leave anything to chance this time. I have talked to a few consultants, and one of the reputed consultants sympathised with me after seeing my application. He said he was stumped and couldnt find any weakness in my application and that I was just unlucky. That scared me even more. Unlucky one time could very well be unlucky again.

What do you guys think?

This is the most popular phrase in Hong Kong currently, coined from this video. It was apparently shot by an onlooker on his mobile phone. The clip starts out when the protagonist, a middle-aged man, reacts strongly when a young man sitting behind him taps his shoulder to ask him to keep his voice down while talking on the phone. Guys, you have to watch this. Its so absurd its hilarious.

Went to Delcastle golf course late afternoon yesterday. If you go after 3 PM on weekends, you pay the twilight rate, which is cheaper than the day price. Its a beautiful 18 hole (par 72) course. Picked up a little argument with the caretaker there. Old guy saw my Alaska cap and said that the govt should drill more in Alaska. I think Alaska should be left alone. There are not many places left in the world where we humans have not disturbed nature.

Well, I decided to walk instead of riding the golf car. Four and half hours later, my back was in pieces and I was dead beat. Guys, dont be stingy on the Golf car if you are playing 18 holes, it will save you a lot of energy for the game. As far as my game is concerned, I did not do well and I am not improving. For this par 72 course, I took more than 100 strokes (I am ashamed to quote the real figure ;) I was hitting fairway only about 50% of times... my ironwork is unspeakable (sometimes I completely miss the ball)... I had to putt 52 times. Only consolation was my drive. When I get it right, I drive really well. I am poor in judging the distance, but I think I go past 300 yards on a good hit. But I need major improvements in everything else. Maybe its time I get some lessons from a pro.

Question for Golf players out there - What happens when you swing the iron and completely miss the ball? Does the stroke still count (stupid question, huh)?

Had my Wharton and Chicago feedback sessions. Chicago loved my essays, Wharton found them average. One thing both pointed out was my extra-curriculars. Need to make more efforts to come out as a well-rounded person in the application. I have been working on this front since the beginning of this year, so I will have improvements to show coming fall. Chicago also pointed out that I had listed too many interests and activities (so what? I am a man of many interests :) in my resume. Better to have a few that are also tied to your MBA goals. Geez, how deep these adcoms dig into the applications! Looks like I did well on major frontiers (GMAT, academics, work-ex, essays, recos), but lost out in other parts of the applications. I will work on these parts and try to better my application. No more ding ordeal please!

I have my Wharton and Chicago feedback sessions scheduled on Thursday and Friday respectively. I have already had the Tuck feedback and it went well. I was praised for my essays, which made me wonder what the heck went wrong then. Well, there are certain things in my application that I did not explain and I should have explained. Also, my extracurriculars were a bit on the weaker side. I hope Wharton and Chicago say similar things so that I have a common theme to work on. I have been recording sessions on my ipod so that I can go over them again so as not to miss anything.

Apart from that, there is not much progress on reapplication process. There is so much to do - research more schools, make a plan, re-establish contacts in the schools... God, pls give me strength and keep me motivated.

Official PMP training kicked-off yesterday after a series of postponements. It was very chaotic as the trainer chose to use the telephone instead of VoIP as was earlier planned. It was annoying to see a new trainee dialing in every 5 minutes and asking the same question - "Why can't I hear anything on VoIP?". Guys, pls dial in on time, and if you dont, atleast start by listening instead of cutting others off to ask same oft-repeated questions. One guy had not gotten the email notification of the new training link and was complaining in a near-rude tone. I was afraid he was gonnna make the trainer run away shrieking. Glad it didn't happen.

Coming back to PMP, I think it will be a good certification to have. It can help me in career growth and also add some uniqueness to my MBA reapps. I got even more interested when the trainer mentioned that PMP is useful in all practical aspects of life. It makes you approach issues/problems/projects more structurally and logically. You learn to evaluate different aspects in your decision making. Gotta begin my taking a membership at PMI.

Project Management Institute