Back to the class

Last weekend saw me getting back to the classroom after a gap of more than 3 years. No, I wasn't studying; I was back to the class conducting math sessions for GMAT aspirants...

The first class on Saturday brought back memories of July 2003 when I had taken my first class in Mumbai. I still remember that day vividly; how nervous I was before entering the classroom; how desperate I was to make a good first impression; how frustrated I was when a guy could not understand basic math concepts; how hungry I was when I saw 2 girls nibbling at GoodDay biscuits... . It was fun but it was tense as well. Anyways, all that is past now.

These lectures were quite uneventful if I compare these with some of the lectures I took during my initial stint with Career Forum. The main difference was because of the type of stuents - during those days I was mainly dealing with final year college kids and here I was intereacting with people who had been working for almost 3 years.

It was fun getting back to class. Lets see how the future classes go.

Bored

I am bored. Ever since I have received my admit (in Nov 06) I started losing interest in work. I was really looking forward to the US trip so that I would get to visit a new place, meet old friends and make new ones but that was not meant to be. So here I am, stuck with the same job at the same place where I know I am not gonna continue after July.
There is no driving force at work now - Gone are the days when I used to worry abt appraisals, abt feedbacks etc etc. It doesn't matter now.

I am eagerly waiting for September when I will start the second phase of my MBA journey - living the MBA life. I am sure things will be far more exciting there :)

MBA update

Latest update - Not applying to Cambridge
Reason - Not required. As i said earlier, I decided to apply to Cambridge because I was finding it difficult to fund HEC MBA. Now that the funding problem is solved, I do not see any reason to apply to Cambridge.

I have also been doing a lot of research on scholarship options available in India for study abroad. Thanks to Google, I found many such options at a scholarships site. I have already missed the deadline of Tata scholarship but will definitely apply to some other scholarships available.

MBA pre-preparations

Things are moving too fast these days. Till a couple of days ago, I was wondering how to finance my MBA. I was finding it a bit difficult to get education loan but that problem has been sorted out. So now that I am almost out of my funding worries, time for some other things.

Once I realized that I am not going to US in near future and became certain that I will to HEC in Sep, I started thinking how to make best use of the time I have left. I started thinking seriously abt my post MBA profile. I saw the MBA profile book of HEC's current batch and it is pretty impressive. There are only 7-8 Indian IT males like me but the remaining 110 odd are as diverse as you could imagine. I then thought that I should add more weight to my profile by doing some certifications etc. Since I have been working in the financial domain (banking) for almost 1.5 yrs now, I have decided to go for some relevant certification. Hence, I shall be taking the NCFM exam next month.

Apart from this, I also intend to join classes on a regular basis to learn French. It is imperative that I become fluent in French otherwise I am gonna be in a soup during MBA recruitment.

Read the first chapter of Fortune @ BOP yesterday and found it very interesting. I could actually identify with the points mentioned there because I have seen some of those initiatives changing the lives of people back in my town. If you haven't read this book, do read it. Its a must read for Indian MBA aspirants...

Back on Track

Back to office after a very eventful weekend. This weekend was all about brainstorming, introspection, discussing my plans with friends and meeting many new people.

So, what is the outcome of all this? I am in a better state of mind than I was a couple of days ago; I have started my application to Cambridge Judge B-school and will finish it by this weekend; I will also explore more funding options to fund my HEC mba.

Now that the plan is in place, time for some action now. Getting back to work.....

Life has taken a U-turn

My life has changed completely in the last 3-4 days. Till last week, I was very settled - my short term plans and long term plans were very clear. I was supposed to go to New York in Feb. After working there for 5-6 months, I was supposed to return to India in July end/Aug start. Then in Sep start, I was supposed to go to Paris for my MBA. Post MBA, I wud have joined a consulting firm and so on and so forth....

Everything has changed now. My visa interview which would have permitted me to work in US did not go well. To my surprise (and shock), the counselor refused to grant me the visa. This was a big blow because it changed my financial equations. I was counting upon this US trip to help me fund my MBA. Now I am in a fix. Because of cancellation of this trip, I will have to find other ways to fund my studies.

I am back to square one now -will have to start all over again to search for MBA colleges and apply. The trouble is that I am running against time now. R1 for all colleges and R2 for most colleges is over. Will have to submit my apps asap.

gotta rush now.....