13

Accepting the Acceptance

It was now an intrinsic part of my nightly routine—that optimistic e-mail check before hitting the sack, hoping to hear news on my applications. But as the decision dates drew nearer, this became more of a prayer! On that fateful day, there was just one new mail, but I had to access the inbox to read it. As usual, my net connection took its own sweet time. My breath quickened with each passing second… and THERE IT WAS! I was IN… NN!!!

An offer of admission from any of the targeted universities is a reason for celebration. The perfect scenario is, of course, an offer from your dream school. Nothing quite equals the thrill of reading an e-mail or getting a phone call from the admissions director of your dream B-school, of knowing you are one of the chosen ones. In such a case, the first thing to do is to pay your deposit and secure your place in the class. There might, however, be less than perfect results that might require you to further strategize and make decisions on the basis of the results your applications brought up.

One such scenario is when you have an offer of admission from a university that is your second choice among your ‘reach’ schools and a reject from your first choice. You have two options in this case: option one—run with the second choice. This is probably the more sensible choice if you are keen on starting your studies at the earliest and have also selected ‘reach’ schools which offer a good quality of education and job opportunities. Chances are that you will have nothing to regret.

The other option is to reapply to the school of first choice in the next year after collecting specific feedback from them. This option is a risky proposition. It means that you either give up your second choice school or defer it by a year (but be aware that most schools need strong reasons for granting a deferral). It also requires that you be confident of addressing any weaknesses in your application by the time you reapply. Significant improvement is expected of reapplicants since most schools are keen to know how your application has strengthened in the intervening time period.

Reapplications are not a bad thing but they lengthen the application process and do not guarantee results. Success rates for reapplicants vary from school to school. A good shortlist and a well-managed application strategy can obviate the need for these.

Another scenario involves a waitlist from your first choice and an admission offer from the second. In this case, you can try to obtain feedback for your being on the waitlist. Writing to the admissions officers at the school can help you get specific feedback for points of improvement. For example, if a low quantitative GMAT score is of concern to the school authorities, you could enroll for extra classes at a local college and inform them of this. Alternatively, you could convince the admissions committee that this is an anomaly and give them a brief description of the kind of quantitative work done by you in your undergraduate course or work. Showing interest in the school of your choice can work to your advantage in some schools. Based on your reading of Chapter 12, decide on your strategy for tackling the waitlist.

Divulging the fact that you have an admission from another institution is a chancy strategy—if the institution is at par with your first choice, it could be perceived as an opportunity to net a good candidate who would otherwise head somewhere else. Alternatively, it might not go down well and might be perceived as a pressurizing tactic. Be aware of the risk you are running if you choose this path. If the institution is not in the same league as your first school, keep the news to yourself, unless you want to be rejected in an instant.

To help you deal with the waitlist, you can ask your second choice school to give you an extension for paying your deposit. Try to do this politely and definitely not by citing that you have a waitlist from a better university. It is worthwhile to know that an admission deposit, unless specifically bound by clauses you agreed to while submitting your application, guarantees that a seat will be reserved for you: it does not mean that you must attend the school. If you receive some other offer from a more preferred school after submitting the deposit, you could change your mind later and forfeit your deposit at the less preferred school.

Quit Your Job, Take a Deep Breath and Relax

Resigning from your job is a critical decision and the timing of this should be decided by how confident you are of securing a visa for yourself. If you have apprehensions with respect to any of the aspects—standing of your school, financial aid or past record along with your ability to show your intention of returning to the country after your MBA—it is better to wait till the visa is in hand before putting in your papers. Find out from students admitted in previous years if there are any instances of visa denials for that school. Chapter 15 gives you detailed guidelines about the process involved.

Once you have made the decision to quit your job, it is worthwhile to remember the following:

• Always ensure that you leave your job without harsh feelings. An amicable exit is important even if you do not intend to come back to the organization you worked with. Background checks by your subsequent employers could unearth some unpleasant stories if you don’t.
• How easy or smooth your exit is would depend heavily on how approachable your immediate boss is. If he/she is approachable and you share a good rapport with him/her, you could probably sound him/her off early enough. If not, you will need to plan the announcement of your exit with care. Break the news on a Friday afternoon so that you give enough time for the news to sink in before you meet again on Monday.
• Assess what the reaction to your leaving would be from other quarters as well. Anticipate possible reactions from your colleagues and other superiors. While some of them might share your happiness and be happy for you, others might be envious and this could cause problems. Planning for these in advance will mean less trouble for you while you are in the process of leaving the organization.
• Be careful of what you say in your resignation letter. Courtesy demands that resignation letters be polite and as far as possible not mention points of dispute between you and the organization. You can always couch your reasons behind words such as ‘pursuing higher academic qualifications to do this job well’ and without any negative connotations.
• Take current projects to a completion. Train your successor and ensure a smooth hand over. Remember that how you exit your job will be held in people’s memories for quite some time and this has the potential of spreading misinformation in corporate circles.
• If possible and if your boss is willing, obtain a review of your performance. This might come in handy for subsequent job interviews.

The Necessary Evils

An admission marks the beginning of a long list of paperwork, including, but not restricted to, financial aid (loans, scholarships and grants), medical forms, visa papers, licenses and passport renewals or endorsements, not to mention the things you need to take care of when quitting your job. It is a good idea to maintain a simple electronic file and update and modify it regularly.

Most schools have intranets and discussion boards where fellow admits discuss questions and doubts. Schools actively support these boards by having dedicated officials posting replies regularly. Some of the current students also usually participate. A few schools have ‘buddy’ programmes that assign a second-year student to provide you with personal support and guidance through the process of settling in. Some universities have ‘South-Asian’ or ‘Indian’ associations that make the process easier for people from South-Asia or India.

The intranet would mostly have a checklist and regular updates on upcoming deadlines such as confirmation of admission offer, deposit payment, financial aid-related applications, international documents such as I-20, study modules for pre-term preparation (yes, you are expected to study and have a good grounding in basic subjects before you start class), housing allotment, laptop purchase and other requirements. Make full use of this and try to get to know your classmates—this will make the transition easier for you. If you have a partner who would be joining you at school, it is advisable for her/him to connect with other partners or their association to address issues related to relocation/jobs/cars/kids/cost of living and so on.

Use the intranet also to strike up deals with potential roommates, buying second-hand furniture or cars and many other paraphernalia. Use this resource to also get information on what to prioritize while packing your bags for your new country—books, luggage, clothes and other household goods.

It is also advisable to get some elementary medical, eye and dental checkups done before you leave the country. Healthcare in most of the European and American countries is quite expensive and will dent your pocket heavily.

Academic Preparation—Avoid the Shock

An MBA is more demanding than any other course that lasts as long. You will constantly be pressed for time and hence, it is best to be prepared for the rigours even before you start classes. Preparation for your MBA classes falls into two categories: the must-dos and the can-dos.

The must-do list includes:

• Excel (Spreadsheet) and MS-Word usage
• E-mail and Internet usage
• Presentation skills
• Basic maths (for the so-called ‘poets’ who have had minimal exposure to mathematics in their undergraduate courses as well as their work).
• English refresher course

The can-do list includes:

• Accounting Accounting is central to all business studies and is a required reading in the ‘pre-term’ reading at most business schools. So if you are not already a chartered accountant or a financial analyst, it would pay to devote time regularly to studying the basics of accounting such as the dual aspect concept, journals and accounts, balance sheets, cash flow, profit-loss statements and key ratios.
• Information Technology/Systems (IT/IS) Contrary to popular belief, courses in IT/IS do not cover the use of software and writing codes to create them. The focus in these courses is on managerial issues and would deal with strategic issues regarding deployment and development of technology. It is a good idea to keep oneself abreast with the latest technologies being brought into the world of business to develop a good perspective in this subject.
• Finance Preparatory work in finance includes understanding cost and sources of capital, risk and return, valuation and portfolio analysis and other elementary financial topics. An understanding of economics or accounting will greatly aid you in this preparation.
• Quantitative Methods This pervades almost all other topics taught in an MBA. Standard statistical analysis and concepts such as decision trees, queuing theory and linear algebra would be covered here. Some specific software might also be required. Students should consider familiarizing themselves with these concepts as they would take time, and that will be at a premium once your classes are on a roll.
• Marketing Marketing is more intuitive than other number-intensive subjects such as accounting and finance. The courses would cover concepts such as defining markets, segmenting them, targeting the right segments by evolving a sound positioning and understanding distribution and consumer understanding. Prior preparation can be done by way of reading up on classical marketing theories as well as new ones evolving in the complex global marketplace.
• Operations Management Topics such as inventory planning, capacity planning, scheduling and enterprise resource planning constitute this subject and have to do with the working of manufacturing setups and service companies. Though not very quantitative as a finance course, a familiarity with the basic concepts can help students to keep pace with the learning that happens in the classroom.

Apart from these preparatory topics, it would be good to take up one or two areas of study or specialization that you are really interested in and join related professional clubs in your school. Sharing ideas among students is a good way to learn and improve your understanding in all areas of study—the earlier you start the better it is.

Plan Your Travel

Travel to a foreign country, especially if you are a student, requires planning. This is important so that you do not face unpleasant surprises and it also helps reduce the costs involved in travel. Most international airlines have a system of ‘check fares’ where the earlier you book your tickets, the lesser you pay. Also, if you have doubts about the exact date of travel, you could ‘block’ tickets on a couple of likely dates. This does not involve any financial commitment—you could later cancel any of these dates and book one.

Choose direct flights as far as possible. Avoid bookings that involve a change of airlines. If a change is inevitable, plan an itinerary that allows at least four hours of gap between the scheduled arrival of one flight and the scheduled departure of the next. Baggage is usually safer when a single airline is involved. Also, some airlines do not transfer your baggage and you need to do it yourself. Direct flights save you from hassles of this kind.

Emigration Clearance

An endorsement called ECNR (Emigration Clearance Not Required) is desirable while passing through the emigration clearance within India (this is required by the Ministry of Labour to ensure that unskilled laborers from the country are not exploited abroad). See if your passport has this. If your passport was issued before you graduated, chances are high that it doesn’t. It is advisable in such a case to get the ECNR after you have obtained the visa. Approach the passport office that issued your passport for this. The procedure is fairly simple and proof of your graduation is required for obtaining this endorsement.

Finally, plan to embrace the change with open hands. Look forward to the programme with enthusiasm and enjoy the time spent with your family and friends before you leave. Remember that you are going for at least two years, and would come home probably once or twice at the maximum, so make the most of this time. Enjoy your favourite dishes and learn cooking, cleaning and other small skills that will come in handy while living in a foreign country. And lastly, be sure to take with you contact details of a few people you know who live in the intended country of travel. It will help in case you have problems at any point in time with immigration officials or local authorities. We hope that you have no trouble at all and complete your programme without any issues, but it’s always better to be safe than sorry. We wish you the best for your future career plans.