ISB: Still waiting

ISB results are supposed to be out on the 20th. So why am I waiting for the results today? Well the word on the market (well Pagalguy, really) is that the results would be out sooner. Many predicted Monday/Tuesday. Both the options have been invalidated now. So let's see if they post the results by tomorrow.
I have some big plans lined up for the thanksgiving weekend. Few friends are coming down from NJ. The fun would surely be whipped off if the results dont go my way.

But anyway, that's life I guess. The blogworld was surely a help in the whole process. The number of readers to my site has gone up radically in the last few days. Welcome all of you. Leave me a comment if you have any queries.

Earlier, I had put in a lot of effort for the Darden and especially Fuqua apps. Since ISB is probably going to be the only school I'm gonna app this year, I might have written the best Fuqua essays never to be submitted :) I guess that the Darden and Fuqua essays did help me for the ISB interview as I could clearly articulate my career goal and progression. It always helps writing things down.

Since tomorrow I may come to the end of the road of this yr's apps, let me share a few tidbits
US B Schools: The road is not rosy. Especially for an intl applicant who needs funding/loan to get through. Even if you make it through to your dream college, chances of getting a non-cosignor/collateral free/guarenteed loans is very bleak. Most the the colleges outside top 10 have discontinued the guaranteed loans. But it gets more interesting once you somehow manage. The H1B cap is 65K and a 20K more for Masters (MBA included). However, the degree awarding date is very generally after the visa application deadline so the 20K quota is generally renedered useless. Then comes the companies. In this climate, very few cos will recruit many ppl to start off. And even fewer will go into the hassles of H1B sponsorship. So you are stuck with a 100K+ USD loan and no jobs.
That was a risk I couldn't take. Not with the various responsibilities I have. Maybe next year, who knows. Coming back to the applying process, as many people have mentioned it is very hectic and very challenging to integrate the various dimensions in the app: GMAT, essays, recos, school research, alumni/student networking and so on. But it's is extremely fulfilling due to the introspective nature. I am sure I m a better professional just because I penned down my thoughts through the various essays. I now have a direction in my career, and a clear understanding of myself as a professional. Even for the interviews, I encourage people to write the responses to gthe common questions down - just like they would for an essay. And if possible, show it to a reviewer-whether it makes sense.

The ISB essays were extremely challenging because of the length. It is so frustrating to be limited to just 300 words. Having said that, they echoed something the bard said long back: "brevity is the soul of wit". It takes real calibre to express the same thought in fewer words. So I think the essays would have brought out the best in the applicants' writing prowess. Very often, a little play on words brought down the length drastically. There was also the issue of prioritizing points and putting in the most important ones. All of these require great managerial skills - which is what the whole thing is about. So I guess ISB essays were a great test for the creativity and communication skills of the applicants.

That's it for now. Wish me luck.