Today I had "Lunch" with my friend who just aced the GMAT. She's also someone who first reached out to me back in May when she read my blog after I posted a write up about a Tuck information session. She just got a new job and works a couple of blocks for me so we met up at an equidistant location today after chatting on GCHAT for a bit. I actually think we met at the base of the building that Boston Consulting Group is in.
Neither one of us was particularly hungry so we just found a place to sit in the sun so we could work on our tans. (Ironic because we're both African American!) We had a 45 minute discussion about all things business school application related. It was refreshing to speak with someone in person who echoed my thoughts not to mention she cracks me up! We have the same sense of humor and hopefully we'll get to spend a lot of time together if we attend the same school.
We realized that the actions we have taken to get to this point are incredible! At one point I said to her "Shoot... if we don't get into ________ ... who else will?" Don't get the wrong idea I didn't mean it in a manner like "Oh... we're the best people out there so if we don't get in then no one else will." But it was more of... we've done everything that we're supposed to have done. Who has done more research on school X than us? Who has the stories we have? Who has the score YOU have? (because she definitely doesn't have to worry about that being a factor that keeps her out of the running any more). It was a conversation that put us both at ease a little bit more.
With that being said, I would like to say that this process is not stressful for me anymore. The caveat is that stressful does not mean time consuming. It is DEFINITELY time consuming, so much so that I had my last dinner with friends tonight and told them "Ok see you in the 3rd week of November." and I wasn't joking either. The next 8 weeks will impact the rest of my life and I am entirely dedicated to positioning myself as best as I can.
When I said that the process isn't stressful for me anymore, I meant that I have come to terms with the process itself. I no longer worry about anything in my past that I cannot change. I tell myself that if I submit the best application possible and the school decides to ding me because of that one element, then that school is not one that I would fit with for two years. I’ve become confident in that I believe that the application process is not simply about trying to prove yourself to these schools. If done correctly, I think every applicant should get to a point where they are confident enough to “say” to the school “If you don’t like me from the application I’ve submitted and the interaction you’ve had with me, then I’ve misjudged your school and am not upset about being denied the opportunity to attend.” This peace of mind has me smiling all day everyday!
Now I must go back to studying for the night - just had to get that off my chest!
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