When it all began...

Hi
Something really interesting happened to me yesterday. I took the train from my office to my guest house in Chembur. I got down at the station only to realize that I had only 10 bucks in my pocket. And the auto fare to my place was 15 bucks. I didn't have a bank account, so no access to ATMs. Basically, I was helpless. So, I walked all the way to the guest house. It was the perfect illustration of one of the key lessons I learnt in b-school. In business (as in life) "Cash (in hand) is king".

Anyhow, I digress. The real theme of this post is to define a point where my NUS journey began. And I think February 2007 is a good starting point. It was during the last week of February (can't believe that I forgot the date) that I received the rejection letter from IIFT, Delhi. On that day, I was shocked. I thought that I had aced my interview. In fact, once I got their interview call (after an entrance exam which was nothing but a lottery), I expected to be accepted into IIFT. I had never failed at any interview before. And in an arrogant corner of my mind, I believed that I could ace any interview. So, the rejection was the perfect payback for my arrogance. It brought me down to earth and made me want to bury myself under the earth. I still had the option of going to IIFT, Calcutta but it was not where I wanted to be.

I had to go to office on that day. Looking at my desk, my familiar computer, the same faces around me, added to my disgust. It represented everything that I wanted to get out of. I had already put in my papers. I had learnt a lot in the last two years, but things had become monotonous of late. It was time for a change.

Luckily for me, I had already secured admission into SIBM. And there were admits pending for some US b-schools. US was my backup option. I had no intention of spending astronomical sums of money for my MBA. So, I really wanted the IIFT call. Their rejection made me second guess myself. Was I good enough for my MBA??? Was I doing the right thing in giving up a potentially high paying job for something completely new for me???

The day at work was lousy. I could not focus on work and did nothing. That only irked my Project Manager further who threatened that he would not allow me to leave the company if I did not finish the work (what a jerk!!).

I reached home in the evening and grudgingly opened my inbox. I wanted to have another look at the IIFT letter. To my surprise, there was a mail from the NUS MBA office. I opened the mail and could not believe my eyes. I read the mail again to ensure that I got every word right. On the same day I got a reject from IIFT, I was accepted @ NUS. This was truly a dream come true because it vindicated all my planning.

When I began my MBA exam preparation in June 2006, I recognized that I could not trust the CAT. It was a lottery exam wherein I needed to get lucky to get into the IIMs. So, I decided to also take up the GMAT besides the other Indian entrance exams. GMAT was my safety valve in case CAT did not work out. Within the GMAT eligible colleges, NUS was my no.1 option. In my mind, NUS was the best value for money among the MBA colleges abroad. I believe that if MBA colleges were to be ranked on value for money NUS would rank 2nd after the IIMs. After a year at NUS, I can confirm what I believed a year ago - NUS is the best value for money among MBA colleges abroad.

That February day (a date I can't remember) was a vindication for all the planning and sacrifices I had made in the last one year. It was one of the happiest moments in my life. Today, looking back, I can proudly say that it was when it all began...

Cheers,

Suraj