Monday, December 31, 2007

Bye 2007-Part 2

so what else did I do this month? ah yes:

-Saw two new movies: "Juno" and "Charlie Wilson's War". I would recommend both. I dont have the time to review them in detail here but trust me they are definitely watchable. "Juno" is good since the writing is real tight! I mean REAL tight! The actors are good too but the writing makes it easy for them. It is definitely an indie type movie with sharp wit and lots of quotable dialogues. One thing I would have liked was if Jason Bateman (spelling?) had a more humorous role-they kinda shackled him in his serious role instead of using his comedic talents. Despite that it was good. "Charlie Wilson's War" was good too despite both Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts being very uncovincing in their respective roles. This is another movie where the story was solid so whoever they chose to perform would have been ok. Philip Seymor Hoffman had a good role and he did a good job. Go watch'em both kids!

-Spent almost a week in the lone star state visiting buddies. It was a jolly time. Could have used a few more days there but had to come back for filling my applications, dang it! One of my buddy's kid, let's call him Junior Pinball, was fun to be around with! I mean the kid has a 24/7 motor (he is 3) and literally bounces off walls, couches, and floors like a pinball and I am not kidding! A kid like that is what the doctor ordered for keeping fit!

-I was watching CNBC some 2 weeks ago and came across the Fair Tax plan that Mr. Huckabee is proposing. Seemed like a BS plan but I decided to educate myself on what exactly it means. And let me tell y'all, it's something you should read up. It's pretty radical and interesting. Here is a link to the website: www.fairtax.org. We can discuss more about this in a later post.

ok, can't think of anything else to post. So all ya kids take care and have a banging new year's Eve!

Stay sober

Bye 2007

So, another calendar year will pass tonite. Not sure how y'all spent your 2007 but I had a FULL year. The 'finance' bug bit me during the 2006 Christmas holidays and in January 2007 I started researching MFE programs first and MBA programs soon after. 6 campus visits and info sessions, a 6 week GMAT prep, 1 intensive summer course, 2 finance and accounting courses, and 2 waitlists later, here I stand. Could have been worse though. I can't complain much really.

oh, also I have not blogged since early December and there have been a few updates since then:

-MBA programs
--Wharton put me on the waitlist. I was expecting this but was hoping for an admit. I am disappointed that the admissions committee could not take the risk and offer a non-traditional candidate like me admission. They were not brave enough, that's all I have to say. I am not bitter or anything just writing my honest opinion. They rather give an admit to a dude who spent 5 years in consulting and went to a Ivy school for undergrad. That's the formula I guess. Well what now you ask? I gotto wait till the Rd 2 decision is announced on March 27 to find out if I am admittted there or denied. The chances, depending on what you read, are pretty slim. So am not going to hope for much here. If I get in, I get in else move on.

--The MIT Sloan ad com decided to interview me. Which was a good thing to see. Sloan interviews a much smaller pool than Wharton and admits anywhere from 55-70% of the people who they interview. Plus the interview is conducted by an ad com member who has the power to make a decision. So, what does this mean? Well this means that I HAVE the power to influence the admission decision. If I do the interview real well, the chances for getting in are great. I have prepared well for it. Let's see how it goes. The interview is next week in Cambridge.

--Yale. I decided to apply to Yale. I attended an info session in Philadelphia this past week and it was ok. Although Yale is not considered to be in the top echelon of business schools, the undergrad brand name and a few professors elevate it to tier 1A. I have finished the application and now am waiting for my references to submit their letters online. The Rd 2 deadline is Jan 9.

--NYU Stern. After much consternation I decided to apply here. Tough to argue against being in NYC especially if you are seeking a career in finance. Rd 2 deadline is on Jan 15.

Enough serious stuff! So what else has been happening?! Well, let me post that in the next post.

See part 2 of this post.

Monday, December 3, 2007

ola!

yeah, it's been a while and I have no excuses to offer this time around. Here is what's happening:

-Karl Rove's wrote a comment column in today's Financial Times offering advice to Barack Obama on how to beat Hillary Clinton. Link: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/dee0a6e8-a109-11dc-9f34-0000779fd2ac.html
Not to sure what to make of it exactly but I have to admit this guy is a professional politician to the core. He looks like he is supporting Obama's nomination but at the same time he's pointing out his drawbacks. Looks to me like he is killing two birds with one stone so to say. Or I could be completely wrong and he is campaigning for a job on the Obama staff!

-The markets continue their volatility. I have not spent too much time analyzing them but am still following them on the periphery so to speak. More detailed analysis to come soon.

-On the applications:
-- Wharton: Interviewed in the 2nd week of November. I thought the interview went off well. Actually I could not remember much about the interview. It got over so fast. All I remember is that I rambled a lot. Let's see what is in store for me. The decision will be announced on December 20.
--MIT Sloan: I read somewhere that interview invites started going out today. I have not received one on the first day. They claim that interview invites will go out until Jan 28! The way I am looking at this is that if I get an interview invite from Sloan I have a good chance at Wharton. Why the convoluted logic? Well, Wharton extends interviews to a lot of kids and only offers admission to 35% of those invited to interview whereas Sloan accepts about 60% of those interviewed. Let's see.
-- NYU Stern: I went back to visit NYU for the 2nd time last week. I had to do it as NYU's essays clearly asks in one of their essays what you have done to get to know the NYU Stern community. I talked to the Vice President of the Social Enterprise Club there and it was a nice and honest conversation. One thing that stuck in my mind on both my visits to NYU: the kids at Stern looked very young. Apparently the average age there is close to ~25. I will apply to Stern if I do not get into Wharton or get an interview from Sloan.
--Yale: I am looking into applying to Yale for the 2nd Round. Need to do more research.

that's all for now.