Started filling financial aid forms. Since I already have an F1 visa, I needed to transfer my I-20 to MIT. So I made a trip during lunch break to my ex-ISO office to start the process. Luckily, I could just walk-in. If I had to make an appointment, I would have had some issues. I had only 1 week from the day I paid my deposit to submit my financial certification form. This seems strange considering that I paid my deposit 3 weeks before the deadline and exactly one day after Admit weekend. I think the admissions office should extend the deadline date for the form for R2 admits.
Faxed all the required forms & documents to the school after picking the transfer form. Phew! At least that it over for now. Check!
Monday, April 30, 2007
Friday, April 27, 2007
Paid
Finally paid my deposit for enrollment. At this point there is no going back. Even though I have always looked forward to enrolling, paying the money just makes it real (and a chunky amount at that!) that I have committed to spending about $150,000 for the next two years. That's why it is important to be sure that it is a school you really want to attend. No point in giving up that amount and being resentful/unhappy about it.
Now, I have a long checklist of things to be done in preparing for school. Housing in on the top of my list. I wasn't really impressed by the housing I saw and the one I really liked is a bit more expensive and would require a house mate. Its been a while since I lived with someone so don't really know how I feel about it. I am also concerned about proximity to the school since I'm unused to the Boston weather. Anyway lets see how that goes.
Now, I have a long checklist of things to be done in preparing for school. Housing in on the top of my list. I wasn't really impressed by the housing I saw and the one I really liked is a bit more expensive and would require a house mate. Its been a while since I lived with someone so don't really know how I feel about it. I am also concerned about proximity to the school since I'm unused to the Boston weather. Anyway lets see how that goes.
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
MIT Admit Weekend
After work on Thursday, I hopped on a plane to Boston, having taken Friday off. Went straight to my host's house (a current MIT student) and dropped off my luggage. My host had arranged dinner for me with some other students and new admits with interests similar to mine. Dinner was awesome - Thai food (really spicy) in a relaxed atmosphere and we had such a great time that we lost track of time. Since the night was still young, we then proceeded to one of the popular MIT bars were I met more students and admits. I must say that the music was really great- whoever hired the DJ should make sure they keep him. Even though I don't drink alcohol, I still had a great time but chose to retire early at 11am since I was exhausted.
Friday morning, I woke up late but still got to MIT Sloan in time to meet breakfast (provided by a Boston based company owned by two MIT Sloan Alumni). Picked up my laptop bag and materials, got to meet some more admits and then headed off to the events for the day.The mock class was very interesting and engaging, admit lunch had awesome desserts, lots of other activities (ended up with a gym bag and signed up for a trek before school), special career sessions with lots of time for questions (The Career Development Office was also available) and more receptions with alumni, students, faculty and MBA office(lots of wine). I must say that all the current students were very friendly and open and it was obvious that it was a tight-knit community. What I found amazing was that a lot of the current students I talked with went out of their way to hook me up with other students with my interests and made sure I met them during the Admit weekend. There was also lots of food and snacks throughout the weekend so there was always something to nibble on. By the end of day, I was tired so I declined to continue the party at the bar which I later heard continued into the wee hours of the morning.
Day Two- early breakfast organized by the MIT Sloan Women at a hotel. Great variety in the meal that I ended up eating so much that I hoped I wouldn't fall asleep. Had more one-on-one time with them. Moved back to MIT Sloan where students then shared their stories on all aspects of student life and addressed questions. Then Student and Academic Life Rotating panel sessions that addressed all possible aspects of students life from academics to trips&treks, consulting opportunities, housing and financial aid. Another breakout Q&A session to give students more one-on-one time to answer questions. Lunch, then finally an optional tour for housing both on-campus and off-campus. Some students even offered to give an independent tour of their homes to students who were interested in their area.
All in all, I think the focus of the MBA office was to ensure that all admits (whether introverts or extroverts)had an exposure to what an MBA experience at MIT Sloan truly means so that they could make an informed decision. I liked the fact that there was no undue pressure to choose Sloan. I was pleasantly surprised at the wonderful students and admits I met and how open, down-to-earth and warm hearted they were. I also noticed that quite a number of didn't have quant backgrounds and were not technology majors. Their backgrounds were so diverse. Students shared a lot of experiences on how they helped each other even during interviews and even shared information about jobs that alumni brought to their notice. This seems to be so much easier in a smaller school than a larger school.Those I met in biotech/health care had 4-7 great job offers for internships.Significant Others (spouses) received special attention and were really integrated into the program. The host I stayed with really introduced me to students and alumni who had similar interests.
I had a great weekend and I would advise any admit to attend their schools' admit weekend. You would be surprised how much you would learn and would give a greater insight into the vibe of the school and whether it is a fit for you.
Friday morning, I woke up late but still got to MIT Sloan in time to meet breakfast (provided by a Boston based company owned by two MIT Sloan Alumni). Picked up my laptop bag and materials, got to meet some more admits and then headed off to the events for the day.The mock class was very interesting and engaging, admit lunch had awesome desserts, lots of other activities (ended up with a gym bag and signed up for a trek before school), special career sessions with lots of time for questions (The Career Development Office was also available) and more receptions with alumni, students, faculty and MBA office(lots of wine). I must say that all the current students were very friendly and open and it was obvious that it was a tight-knit community. What I found amazing was that a lot of the current students I talked with went out of their way to hook me up with other students with my interests and made sure I met them during the Admit weekend. There was also lots of food and snacks throughout the weekend so there was always something to nibble on. By the end of day, I was tired so I declined to continue the party at the bar which I later heard continued into the wee hours of the morning.
Day Two- early breakfast organized by the MIT Sloan Women at a hotel. Great variety in the meal that I ended up eating so much that I hoped I wouldn't fall asleep. Had more one-on-one time with them. Moved back to MIT Sloan where students then shared their stories on all aspects of student life and addressed questions. Then Student and Academic Life Rotating panel sessions that addressed all possible aspects of students life from academics to trips&treks, consulting opportunities, housing and financial aid. Another breakout Q&A session to give students more one-on-one time to answer questions. Lunch, then finally an optional tour for housing both on-campus and off-campus. Some students even offered to give an independent tour of their homes to students who were interested in their area.
All in all, I think the focus of the MBA office was to ensure that all admits (whether introverts or extroverts)had an exposure to what an MBA experience at MIT Sloan truly means so that they could make an informed decision. I liked the fact that there was no undue pressure to choose Sloan. I was pleasantly surprised at the wonderful students and admits I met and how open, down-to-earth and warm hearted they were. I also noticed that quite a number of didn't have quant backgrounds and were not technology majors. Their backgrounds were so diverse. Students shared a lot of experiences on how they helped each other even during interviews and even shared information about jobs that alumni brought to their notice. This seems to be so much easier in a smaller school than a larger school.Those I met in biotech/health care had 4-7 great job offers for internships.Significant Others (spouses) received special attention and were really integrated into the program. The host I stayed with really introduced me to students and alumni who had similar interests.
I had a great weekend and I would advise any admit to attend their schools' admit weekend. You would be surprised how much you would learn and would give a greater insight into the vibe of the school and whether it is a fit for you.
Friday, April 6, 2007
Very funny
I read this post on the BW forum and I had a good laugh. I couldn't help but post it here:
Dear xxxxxx,
After a careful review of your credentials, we regret to inform you that we are unable to offer you admission to the title of "king of dings."We have had an unusually competitive applicant pool this year, and while your combination of dings, high gpa, and high gmat is impressive indeed, we had to turn away many well-qualified candidates like you.We encourage you to reapply next year, and your chances will increase in R3, when you have had a chance to accumulate more dings. A note of caution: you will have to make a concerted effort to accumulate more dings. With your gpa and gmat, it is likely that you will be admitted to a top program next year and be disqualified for admission to "king of dings."
Best wishes,
adcom
I know it can be really devastating to have a ding or more even if you end up getting an admit and especially painful for those with no admit. I really think it is brave that someone can actually find a way to laugh about it and find some hope and strength to apply again.
Dear xxxxxx,
After a careful review of your credentials, we regret to inform you that we are unable to offer you admission to the title of "king of dings."We have had an unusually competitive applicant pool this year, and while your combination of dings, high gpa, and high gmat is impressive indeed, we had to turn away many well-qualified candidates like you.We encourage you to reapply next year, and your chances will increase in R3, when you have had a chance to accumulate more dings. A note of caution: you will have to make a concerted effort to accumulate more dings. With your gpa and gmat, it is likely that you will be admitted to a top program next year and be disqualified for admission to "king of dings."
Best wishes,
adcom
I know it can be really devastating to have a ding or more even if you end up getting an admit and especially painful for those with no admit. I really think it is brave that someone can actually find a way to laugh about it and find some hope and strength to apply again.
Thursday, April 5, 2007
Finally........
It is over. The application period has come to an end for me. Its such a big relief and I am glad that I got in into one of my choice schools. I want to thank all those who sent a congratulatory message. I am really happy because the schools I applied to were really schools that I was interested in attending. It funny because I had issues with one of my recommendations for MIT and I wasn't sure that my interview went well because I was really tired that afternoon. But I ended up having a fun discussion about interests that I discovered that I shared with the interviewer. Its really true that all things work together for good.
I remember when I started applying, some friends felt I was setting my sights too high. Those who really knew me were not surprised. My philosophy has always been to try whatever I felt I could achieve even if others didn't think it was possible.In my own case it's based on my faith in God. After all, I get to live with my decisions and I can only live this life once. It was important to me to apply to schools that I felt a fit with even if they were highly ranked because it was so much easier to sell myself to the school. I took a risk by not applying to any safe schools but it forced me to put more effort into my applications. This works for me but may not necessarily work for any one else.
Some people wonder why MIT? Isn't it supposed to be an engineering oriented school and you are not even an engineer or a science geek? I'll write later on why I chose MIT.
So now the fun part starts. I get to go to the Admit weekend later this month. I let you guys know how it goes.
I remember when I started applying, some friends felt I was setting my sights too high. Those who really knew me were not surprised. My philosophy has always been to try whatever I felt I could achieve even if others didn't think it was possible.In my own case it's based on my faith in God. After all, I get to live with my decisions and I can only live this life once. It was important to me to apply to schools that I felt a fit with even if they were highly ranked because it was so much easier to sell myself to the school. I took a risk by not applying to any safe schools but it forced me to put more effort into my applications. This works for me but may not necessarily work for any one else.
Some people wonder why MIT? Isn't it supposed to be an engineering oriented school and you are not even an engineer or a science geek? I'll write later on why I chose MIT.
So now the fun part starts. I get to go to the Admit weekend later this month. I let you guys know how it goes.
Monday, April 2, 2007
I'm IN!
Got the phone call at about noon this afternoon. I'm IN at MIT! I am soooo thrilled. This application process has been a long one and I am glad that it is coming to a close.
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