Reliance Stanford scholarship - essay

The Reliance Stanford Scholarship has caught the attention of all Indian MBA aspirants. Sounds too good to be true. The initial shortlisting would be of 50 candidates who would then apply to Stanford. Of these upto 5 candidates would be selected by Stanford based on their admission criteria. Except for the condition of returning to India withing two years of completion of MBA program, it has no strings attached.

The heart of the application is the Scholarship Essay How do you aspire to shape India's future? (all the remaining parts of the application are factual information). So how do you approach this essay.

• Its "Shaping India's Future"; not "Changing India's Future". As Missionmba rightly says this is not an opportunity for discussing on what all are wrong in India and hence need to be set right. The focus should be on giving a shape to India's future. Changes if any should only be incidental.
• This Scholarship is for "developing leaders in India who are committed to the country’s human and socio-economic progress." Hence it is imminent that the essay should discuss human and socio- economic issues in India and how they form part of your plan of shaping India's future
• The Application form asks about your professional aspirations and also states that "In the essay section, you will have an opportunity to elaborate upon your professional aspirations." Hence it would be advisable to link your professional aspirations to the theme of the essay
• Don't forget that this is an application for getting into Stanford. Hence It would be prudent to discuss how MBA from Stanford fits into the overall scheme of things. This presupposes doing a bit of research on Stanford GSB and its program.
• Finally keep in mind the word limit (only 250 words). Use other parts of the application wisely to highlight your abilities and accomplishments .
  

Yale Feed Back

Got Reply from the "Senior Admissions Specialist" (whatever that means!!!!!!!) of Yale SOM last week. The reply goes as follows
"Thank you for your e-mail. The Admissions Committee will contact you regarding feedback within the next few weeks."



Let's hope for the best

Lessons from the Great Fall

Score Card fall 2008

1. Kennan Flagler -R-3 (Interviewed & Dinged)
2. NYU Stern -R2- (Dinged without Interview)
3. Wharton -R2- (Interviewed & Dinged)
4. Yale SOM -R2- (Interviewed & Dinged)
5. LBS -R3-(Dinged without Interview)
6. Chicago -R3-(Interviewed & Dinged)
7. Stanford -R3-(Dinged without Interview)
   

"If a mistake is not a stepping stone, it is a mistake"


Now that I have decided to make a fresh start for Fall 2009, it is imperative to know why Fall 2008 "Mission MBA" didn't click. That brings us to feedback from the admissions committee.

Now not all b-schools give feedback to its re-applicants. (even bschools which give feedback, don't offer it to all reapplicants.) I decided that my luck would be in those bschools where I reached till the interview stage (i.e. Wharton, Yale & Chicago). I was not among the "lucky few" who were selected for feedback by Wharton. Chicago doesn't offer feedback "due to the high volume of applications." Yale Admissions committee has asked me to contact them in mid-June. The next best source is the alumni who took your interview. (Though they have not read your entire application, they have had a firsthand interaction with you & can conclude whether they will be proud to call you an alumni.)

I finally got an opportunity to speak with the Chicago interviewer today . The summary of our discussion is as follows.

• Present a more holistic picture . I came across as a quant-heavy kind of guy because of my CA & CFA qualification. I should try to prove that there is more to me than my accads, workex and a good Gmat and toefl score. ( All these are now-a-days more of a basic hygine factors) I should showcase my leadership traits in and beyond work place.
• Apply early. This year was terribly competitive ( the offer -to- acceptance ratio was over 90% compared to previous years 65%). So by round three almost all the seats were taken and even no of waitlisted candidates were less than the previous year
  
• Recommendation Out of the two recommendation give one of your immediate superior and one of a person who is at a senior level in the organization hierarchy. The later would stress on my future potential as a manager, leader etc.(My recommendations were from my my immediate superiors of my current and previous organizations).
  
• Getting interview call from the bschools like Wharton, Yale and Chicago should be take as an positive indication. I am on the right track in terms on my career goals(i.e. Investment Management) and am able to make a convincing case for the same through my Essays.