Comment - B School Essays

I left the below comment about essays here today. It made me think that perhaps I can use some of my own advice, seeing I'm in the final stretch, working on my last set of essays.

Few things - first, I'm by no means an expert. I have been fortunate enough to get past the "mess" stage and submit a few applications. That being said, here are a couple of suggestions based on your post.

First, if you need to rewrite - go for it. The hardest part of the essays, imo, is the content. Once you get the content, you can fix the transitions. So figure out what you want to write, what makes you special.

Second, get a first draft complete. Yes, it won't be perfect, but when it's YOUR writing, sometimes it's hard to see the big or outside picture. Find a close friend that is good at editing and let them review it. (Two ways to review, just give it to them and let them tell you what they think or specifically ask them if you have answered the question and mark up syntax errors/grammar/spelling, etc.) In addition, another way to personally review your essay, esp. essays with word limits, read each sentence, make sure it relates to the question, then if it does, see if it's necessary and important. You'll be more concise.

Finally - remember, this is a process. And sometimes it's easier to leave an essay and come back to it later.


One last minute addition - from a very wise admissions guy named Jett. First draft - drink a beer, glass of wine, or even tea and just write. You can fix it later, but put words on the paper. Second, make sure you are writing about YOU, not what you THINK the adcom wants to hear. If a question asks about YOUR definition - don't google everyone else's because that is what the rest of the prospective students will do. Literally, define it in YOUR words.

My Body & WW III

Monday morning is always interesting after a weekend full of soccer. It's the day I get to truly assess all my injuries. Saturday, I had a "make or break" game for my women's season.

Here are the logistics: I play in division 1 of the GGWSL. There are a total of 6 teams in division 1. At the end of this season, there are two teams challenging into the GGWSL - one is challenging into premier and one is challenging into first. Automatically, the last place team in each division gets relegated - moves down to the division below the current division they are in. Thus, these challenge matches will be played against the second to last team in each division. Essentially, if both challenge matches are won, two teams from premier and three teams from first will get relegated. Basically, this means, Rip Tide, my team, must place 3rd in order to guarantee we aren't relegated.

The Game: We warmed up on a foggy, misty San Francisco afternoon. We were pumped, knew what we had to accomplished, and everyone was determined not to risk playing division 2 next season. There shouldn't be a stigma with division 2, but in essence, there is. The competition was laid out, the defender that shot the most - on frame - would win. That defender was me, drilling the second of three goals into the back of the net from 30 yards out (with my left foot). The ball arched, and skimmed the back of the net, all the way down. WOW! What a feeling. Pulling off the 3-1 victory was just the beginning of a GREAT Saturday.

After my game, I swung my Mary's to see friends and have chips and dogs. Next, I went to Sam's to wish him a grand ol' HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Finally, I met up with the group at Circa for Kym's birthday. A new friend, came by, as he said we would and a group of us went dancing at HiFi. Jenna and I then grabbed shakes at Johnny Rockets. What an AWESOME night!

Sunday was a little early for my liking. The alarm went off at 7:40 am after a little less than 5 hours of sleep. I contemplated not showing to my 9 am game, but I'm addicted to soccer, so I got out of bed and kept moving. We were down 0-2 at the half, but luckily we have "finishers" and won 4-2. I grabbed a quick bite to eat and headed to some high school at the opposite end of the city to help my old Sunday team with their final season game and first playoff match. I had solid tackles and a few nice clears, but I also got knocked a few times. In the second game - the playoff match - a guy leveled me. I'm not quite sure which direction he game from, but I was not expecting it at all and today, my shoulder aches. Hopefully it's only temporary.

Returning home after 3 soccer games, I knew I would be in bed early and I was - passed out by 7 pm. It felt very good! :D

I saw this quote on someone else's blog:

Il semble que la perfection soit atteinte non quand il n’y a plus rien à ajouter, mais quand il n’y a plus rien à retrancher.
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Terre des hommes, 1939

It seems that perfection is reached not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Wind, sand and stars, 1939

RTW

My brilliant plan is conditional on one thing, getting into business school. This is not another post about how I seem to freak out about my future. Instead, I am talking about my glorious future and my plan. For months, I have discussed traveling Europe before I step foot on campus, but today, I actually thought about the possibilities. Ever heard of a Round the World ticket aka RTW? There's a great post on WikiTravel describing the logistics in detail. I took some time on the Star Alliance website to design a trip leaving San Francisco that would take me to 12 destinations, 3 continents, and a final hurrah in Las Vegas for my 26th birthday. I would cover 29000 miles in a little less than 2 months. Obviously I'd put more thought into where I want to go and what I want to see before purchasing a ticket, but what an opportunity. As I'm constantly reminded, I have the means, it's a chance in a lifetime. Of course, I'm still skeptical about wearing the same clothes for 2 months.

Productivity

Everywhere you go, we measure productivity. The internet tends to increase productivity as much as it decreases it. We hire consultants to make sure our processes run smoothly. These consultants cut fractions of unproductive time by making processes more efficient. With that in mind, here is a great post about the necessity of unproductive gaps.

Progression...or Not

It has been at least four days since I have bothered to look at my Georgetown essays. I'm feeling more lethargic by the day. Additionally, I am not sure if I will apply to London Business School. The program is vitally international, which is what I desire, but the cost due to the decreasing value of the dollar is not something that I care to pay. I realize that the cost will be paid back with interest due to the education and experience, however, I can get a similar education for 50% of what LBS will cost. That's significant. I will just have to work hard to study abroad and perhaps work abroad. With this in mind, I'm 2 weeks away from my final D-day. I'm attending a Georgetown information session tomorrow and hoping that it will revitalize my lazy attitude.

On a positive note, I practiced last night and felt "on", although my knee is bothering me a bit today. I haven't had knee problems, which are common injuries in the soccer world, but after tripping over the ball twice yesterday, I felt out of sorts. I'm hoping it's temporary because our game this week is make or break for our season. There's a possibility that three teams will relegate this season, and I don't want to be one of them.

Also, I'm getting back into the gym, TODAY! After my ankle tweak over 4 weeks ago, I have skipped the gym more than I have attended. I particularly notice it in my playing and my endurance. Even though I don't have a problem playing the entire game, when I am working out, I feel better when I play. I realize this is the last game of the season, but I'm looking to make an impression.

On another note (this is the post of random thoughts), I can't believe that Thanksgiving is NEXT week. Once upon a time, I had to go searching for appropriate clothes for the Greenbrier. Luckily, I am now completely on the side of appropriate. I guess it is a sign that I am growing up.

And finally, another Vegas adventure is in the works. It's been about 7 months since I have been (which is about as long as I have... we won't go there), so I'm quite stoked to dance the night away and catch the 6 am flight home. Hopefully we won't miss it. Unfortunately, the price went up from yesterday. I'm hoping it regulates because I'm not in the mood to pay an additional $40.

Kellogg Interview

So it seems my Kellogg application is officially complete. I finished the last of my requirements and interviewed with a 2000 Kellogg alum yesterday morning. Saturday night was not super late, but I didn't sleep well for various reasons. Although, even with the lack of sleep, I still managed to get out of bed and be presentable.

Jason, my interviewer, and I had set a 10:30 am appointment on Sunday morning, which I assumed was for brunch. (I don't recall if we mentioned brunch or not.) Needless to say, I was thrown off when I found that we were not eating.

The conversation started as any conversation would - talking about where we live, how our weekend had been etc... Then he said that he was going to ask me some questions. The first question was standard - walk me through your resume. So I started at the beginning.

Other questions asked:

Why Kellogg?

Why MBA? Why now?

Describe a time when you led a team?

Describe a difficult situation with a co-worker and how you resolved it?

How would your people describe you professionally or personally?

What is your preferred leadership style?

What is your greatest professional accomplishment?

Anything you want to ask me?

I wish I could say that I felt good or bad about the interview. I felt hungry more than anything though. I had expected to eat and we didn't. I guess it's simply hurry up and wait now. Here's hoping.

On another note, my Georgetown essays are in a standstill. I have no desire and no drive to write them. Instead, I slept all afternoon and night on Sunday, and Saturday I took a 3 hour nap. Of course, I'm not quite sure it was simply tiredness or perhaps, it was avoidance that kept my in bed. Either way, Georgetown is do on Nov 30th and I need to get on top of them. I also have one more application for London Business School, I plan on completing, but at the rate I'm going with my Georgetown essays, I may pass. I guess I should work on one thing at a time. I also need to get into the gym. Perhaps that is why I'm so tired and nostalgic.

Who is JulyDream?

Perhaps this should have been my first blog post and over the past year, I've started this post multiple times, but I can never get it right. It's hard to convey who is JulyDream in one simple post. Nonetheless, figure out what it is I want to say about her, and in essence, me. JulyDream was my first online alias; started as a screenname that I created back when 56K was all the hype. Even though, the connection speed never seemed to venture over 28K. When I created JulyDream, I was roughly 11. In the midst of my middle school years, I never knew this alias would follow me as it has.

The Breakdown: I started with July because it is my birth month and for some reason a mild obsession of mine, much like birthdays in general. The latter part of the alias was construed from my love of dreams and everything that comes with them. I lived under a sea of stars that made my room glow bright for about 5 minutes solid before dimming to dreamland.

It all seemed logical at 11, and now, almost 15 years later, JulyDream still exists. I'll admit that I wait for the ridicule or the popped eyebrow when I tell someone my email address. Luckily, AIM names are meant to be ancient, so people just expect a name predating high school. Although I have tried many times to get a "grown up" email address, it never works. I have a short first name and nine letters in the last name is rather difficult. Additionally, I want something that I can tell someone with minimal spelling required. This is JulyDream.

So, who is she? She grew up a native of the Bay Area peninsula. After an uneventful high school experience saturated with athletics, she chose CU - Boulder over Arizona and San Diego. Her first semester she joined the CU Club Soccer team and can count on less than 2 hands how many times she went out drinking. Maybe it was a sense of responsibility, or perhaps it was simply that she enjoyed herself with and without the intoxication.

As the years passed in Colorado, she forged lifelong friendships, with which she continually keeps in contact. For the first 2 years post graduation, bimonthly trips were made to Colorado. Over the last year, those have dwindled, substantially. After an exciting homecoming weekend in October, she was quickly reminded why she viewed her Colorado experience as a perfect 4.

Post college, she moved home. Not just home in terms of the Bay Area though, but literally, home, the house in which she spent 7 of her growing years. If you've ever met her parents or even her grandmother and uncle, you'd understand what she means by, "her parents party more than she does." Her brother swears that if she leaves, he's moving out too. Hopefully, that plan isn't too far on the horizon.

Today her life revolves around work, soccer, and business school applications/essays. After completion of the GMAT two days before her 25th birthday, she researched schools. Her options narrowed to five schools - Kellogg, Ross, Darden, Georgetown, & London Business School. Her future plan is fairly specific, although completely conditional on business school acceptance.

More details:
Ice cream addict. Footy (soccer) player. Enjoys laughter. Pool enthusiast. Weak ankles. Independent. Caring. Honest. Flawed. Positive. Reliable friend. Traveler. Dancing queen. Organizer. Purist. Night-owl. Musically obsessed. Poet. Scarred. Tomboy. Baker. Patient. Outgoing. Sensitive. Loyal. Social. Sleep deprived. Pancake fanatic. Vivacious. Cuddler. Movie buff. Runner. Photographer.

I am JulyDream.