5: Competition

I am trying not to be competitive.

Scrolling: Jakatta - American Dream (Afterlife Remix)

I am where I am because of the humans around me. It started in kindergarten. The comparisons. Jill got a better grade than me. So I had to skip soccer and study. Although I didn't want to. What would've happened if I hadn't? Nothing really.

It continued in college and grad school. In academics and extra-curriculars. In clothes, in beerpong. I try to find utility in my actions but I think subconsciously it is about competition with other humans.

Applying to business school is different. None of my friends/acquaintances/relatives/neighbors/bosses is applying to business school. So, for a while I didn't have any competition. I did well without it, surprisingly. GMAT, essays, all went well. Then I slacked off. I barked that I am unsure of my goals and motivations. Maybe I was just being an escapist.

I started reading blogs and discussions. The power of the internet. This was more competition than I had ever been exposed to. The whole world. The irony is that I have always thought of the world as a really small place, a ball among so many other balls.

I think competition will get me into business school. I will read about people submitting applications in Round 1, so I will too. I will read about people microdermabrazing their essays, so I will too.

Maybe not. I don't feel like being a part of this rat race. I've been trying to work on my next application for more than a week but haven't moved a molecule. I'll stop running, or stop trying to run and just drink Coca Cola. I'll continue the rat race tomorrow. Or maybe on Monday. I have to run.

4: Selection

This is how I select schools.

Scrolling: De Phazz - Cafe Coca

- Core curriculum (how balanced is the core, what skills does the core teach)
- Electives (electives offered, ratio of electives to core courses, electives allowed from other departments)
- Career statistics (what percentage of graduates got employed in the industry/function of my interest, do my target companies recruit on campus, what are the primary channels of recruitment)
- Clubs (do any of the clubs interest me, if yes, are they active, are they populated, are they strong, would I bring something to them)
- Campus (is there a beach nearby, or a snow-covered slope, is there a lot of grass on campus, or just concrete, what's around the campus, a forest or a city, is there a cinema on campus)
- Average undergraduate GPA
- Average GMAT
- Average age
- Average work experience
- Zip code

3: Essay

NYU Stern. Essay Question 3.

Please describe yourself to your MBA classmates. You may use any method to convey your message (e.g. words, illustrations). Feel free to be creative.

Ok, I'll try and feel free.

Scrolling: Menheads - La Politique (Part 1)

Draft 1:

I used to make fried dumplings at an Ethiopian restaurant in Lexington, Kentucky. I now make omelets at a joint in New York, New York. The last three alphabets are consonants. The last three in the name of the joint. Where I make omelets. Spinach, bacon and goat cheese.

Making the switch wasn't easy. It shows I am versatile. I can handle finance and economics together in the same semester. I make each omelet to perfection. It leads to better tips for those who serve it. If I am your MBA classmate in the future, I will do the same. Not the omelet. Homework, or a project. I'll do it to perfection, so that you get a better grade.

Various kinds of humans line up to eat my omelets every Sunday at 11:30 AM. A number of times, I have been given the responsibility of managing the queue. I arrange the humans heightwise, the shortest person in front. That way everyone can gauge how many humans are in front of him/her. It keeps the operation translucent. Although I am a chef by training, I know how to manage humans and do justice to them. As your MBA classmate, I will do similar justice to you. I will let you answer the teacher's question first. I'll even prompt the correct answer.

Time management is key. More so at a joint than at business school. Spinach, bacon and cheese, right? While the chopped bacon is frying in the skillet, the frozen chopped spinach is thawing in the microwave. The microwave has a timer but the skillet doesn't. So I have to keep an eye on it. I have to manage time. It's like managing two subordinates. One goes by the clock. It strikes 5 and she is out. The other keeps working until he burns out. I'll encounter both kinds in my study group or project team. I'll know what to do.

I hope you understand that I will make an all around good classmate. All that I have told you so far is very businesslike. You probably want to know the inner me. You wonder, what's behind that facade of omelets, management and generosity? It's a villager. It's someone who once couldn't believe that spinach can be frozen or that the white of an egg can come in a carton. Someone who was dumbfounded on seeing a whiteboard for the first time and wondered how a white chalk would be legible on it, only to be further dumbfounded on seeing dry-erase markers.

Don't worry, you won't feel awkward around me. Just like you, I now go to the movies and have a small cordless phone that I can use far away from my house. Mine didn't come with a base station though, did yours? Hey, trust me, I will never let you down, I'll make omelets for you, I'll nudge you if you fall asleep in class, and if you still don't wake up, you can have my notes.

I have highlighted my important features above. I am sure you want to know more, but I just realized that you won't be reading this. The admissions committee will, and they have had enough.

2: MBA

I'm applying to full-time MBA programs. In the process of applying, I started reading MBA applicant and student blogs. I was too lazy to write my own blog and I knew that if I do create one, it will end up being focused on the MBA.

While enjoying reading about others and posting anonymously, I bumped into a blog that doesn't allow non-bloggers to post. I thought about it all day, talked to friends for advice, did some analysis, tossed a coin and lost. So I had to create a blogger account. I calmed myself by saying that it's a matter of minutes.

I created the account, didn't post the comment for which I took all this trouble but wrote my first two posts. Let's get back to the subject.

Every time I submit an application, I decide that I won't go for an MBA. These days I am hung up on the word "worthwhile". Cracking the GMAT, writing good essays. Is all that worthwhile? Once in business school, getting good grades, preparing for job interviews. Is that worthwhile? On the job, working hard. Is that worthwhile too?

I don't know.

What about an expensive vacation where you exercise and feed your brain and probably don't have time to exercise and feed your body? That could be worthwhile. Especially if your fellow vacationers have a lot of different stories to tell.

An MBA, for me, would be such a vacation. On to the next application.

1: Start

You are complex.