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.

Why MBA?

I had been comtemplating seriously on what direction to take my life. Work was cool but I was getting restless. To allow my imaginative juices to flow, I decided to go on a much needed vacation. Maybe I would get some inspiration by climbing Stone Mountain. While on top of mountain with a friend, I started discussing things I would love to do in the future. After patiently enduring my ramblings, my friend proffered a solution,"Go for the MBA!" . After listening, I decided to go for it. Now this was in October and I didn't even have the tiniest inkling about the deadlines.

Many years ago when I first thought about an MBA, I had researched and decided then what schools I would apply to. This ended up saving me a hell of stress as all I had to do was just update my findings. Since it would be impossible to make the first round (hadn't even taken the GMAT), I opted for the second round.

GMAT

I quickly bought the Orange GMAT book and started studying. I scheduled the GMAT for a month after. By the time the exam date drew near, I knew I wasn't ready. A week to the exam, I hadn't even finished the book and hadn't even attempted a practice exam. I crashed the remaining portions of the book and prayed for divine intervention for the essays. The night before, I reviewed all the principles I had outlined from the book. I also made sure I slept on time the day before because I needed a clear head to do the exam.

The morning of the exams I developed a fever. Men, what a day not to feel well. I packed my lunch box and headed to the exam. I had decided that at least I should have glucose in my brain. Even though I wasn't satisfied with my preparations, I knew two things were clear in my mind: one, I have no plans to redo this exam. two, there was still hope. I ended up scoring a 730.

Applications

I had no idea that the worst was yet to come. When I saw all the essays I had to write, I quickly knocked off my fifth school from my list. For undergrad, I only applied to only one school and I got into that one school so four was a real stretch for me. For days, I couldn't write anything. Three days to the first deadline, I knew that I was in trouble. I had only written one essay and I wasn't even sure if adcom won't junk my application just by reading that essay. I started praying for help. The night before the deadline, I wrote all the drafts and kept writing till the I submitted five minutes before the deadline. What an adrenaline rush! I ended up establishing a record of having all my aplications in at 5mins to the deadline. It would have been great to have a medal for it. Maybe I should go and buy one for myself.

Waiting period

For days after submitting the applications, I didn't know what to do with the time. You would think that I didn't have stuff to do before I started this MBA journey. I then found a new hobby: Constant refreshing of email and blogs! Everyone says that you should spend the time preparing for the interview. But how can you prepare when you don't even know where you are going to interview?
Finally - INVITE FROM WHARTON! I think I called all my relatives and friends with the news. My mum actually said that she didn't know that I could talk that much on the phone. There were times I'm sure I was just rambling and the only word they could decipher was "Wharton" It was like winning a lottery! Even though I was still waiting for a response from the other schools, it definitely got me unhooked from constantly checking my email.

Interview

Had a great interview. Hope it translates to some love for me. I really liked the passion of the students and staff and it showed. There are certain things I really like about every school I applied to. One thing I have to say is "Don't apply to any school that you know you have no desire at all to attend if you are accepted" . It is a waste of your time & your money and a waste of the school's resources to get you into their program.

Still waiting for the other schools to send me an invite.