Some progress...

OK, haven't started on the essays yet, but I did contact the manager I worked with the most from my previous firm about recommendations. I really need his help for the recs because I haven't had any significant leadership roles in my current firm, so he would be the best person to give feedback regarding my team leadership and management skills. The good news is he said OK!

Now i just need to find a second recommender. I have two managers in mind, but I'll have to tread more delicately here since I'm up for promotion in September and I don't want my MBA plans to affect that. One of them is leaving the firm at the end of the month, so I'll probably ask him since he won't be affected by my study plans, and will still be able to comment on my work over the past few months. The only problem is, I did a lot of my work independently, without much supervision, so I'm not sure about the quality of feedback I'll get. Not so much whether it'll be positive or not, but more on whether he'll be able to provide good examples to highlight my strengths and weaknesses.

Strategy consulting thread

Here's an interesting thread to follow in the BW forums if you're interested in consulting. It puts some perspective on the consulting lifestyle and also has some helpful pointers (once you sift through the junk)

Wharton and MIT Application Deadlines

As schools start to release their application deadlines and decision dates, it's a relief to know that the schools I'm applying are probably going to have reasonably comfortable breaks between their R1 deadlines. At least I probably won't have to rush for 2 submissions in the same week! So far Wharton and MIT have released their Fall 2006 application dates.

Wharton
Round 1:
Deadline - Oct 13, 2005
Decision - Dec 22, 2005

Round 2:
Deadline - Jan 5, 2006
Decision - Mar 16, 2006

Round 3:
Deadline - Mar 2, 2006
Decision - May 18, 2006

MIT
Round 1:
Deadline - Nov 2, 2005
Decision - Jan 30, 2006

Round 2
Deadline - Jan 11, 2006
Decision - Apr 3, 2006

No news yet for Tuck and Chicago, but going by last year's dates, R1 will be around Nov 12 for Chicago (Jan 21 decision) and Dec 1 for Tuck (Feb 15 decision). Tuck also has an early action round with a deadline around Oct 18 and decisions out by Dec 17, but the deposit needs to be in by Jan 7, which is before I'll even hear from the other schools (with the exception of Wharton). So for now, I'll go with the December round.

Looks like I'll be sending out my applications in the following order:

1. Wharton - October 13
2. MIT - November 2
3. Chicago - Early to mid November
4. Tuck - Early December
   

Wharton essays should be out by mid July and MIT's in August, so that's hopefully enough time to work on both before submitting the first app. Conventional wisdom says don't work on your 1st choice school first, but it looks like I don't have a choice if I want to target R1. I truly hope first time's the charm!

Alex Brown joins Clear Admit!!!

Wow. For those of you that don't know, Alex Brown was THE MAN at Wharton's admissions office (Senior Associate Director of Admissions), and had a large part to play in Wharton's innovative approach to admissions including its MBA Admissions Blog and Student 2 Student forum. Alex was a regular contributor to both sites, and his candid posts certainly helped to demystify the whole admissions process and impart some valuable insights.

Have to give my props to Clear Admit for getting such a high profile "superstar" in the MBA admissions game onboard, and I would imagine Alex's presence on the team alone will seal the deal for many Wharton hopefuls!

On the move

Haven't worked on the apps since my last post, but I just wanted to say...

I am finally going home!!! Woohoo! Although it will just be a short trip, at least I will get to sleep in my bed and see my fiancee and family for a couple days before coming back.

My flight's at 6pm later today, so hopefully I'll be back home by 11. Tomorrow I'll need to drop off my laptop at the office (getting a new one!), rush back, and catch a 1pm flight to Phuket for a firm event. Will be back in Singapore on Saturday 6pm, pickup my laptop, hangout for a few hours, then I'll be off to Manila again at 5pm Sunday.

Welcome to the life of a consultant.