Where is Sonny Liston?

“Nothing’s predetermined?” I asked. “There’s no destiny?”
“Of course there’s destiny,” said Pye, “but destiny doesn’t push you where you don’t want to go. You’re the ones who choose. Destiny’s up to you.”

I have read “One” a zillion times; it is one of my favorite books of all time, but nothing summarizes the ding from Wharton then the above wisdom from one of Richard Bach’s most influential novels of all times.

And then I will quote myself from one of my previous blogs:

“The wait for the Wharton interview invite has started – small number of invites have already started going out. I am not so stressed about it – I know if I am the right fit I will get another opportunity to present my case. I saw that Wharton will hold hub interviews in San Francisco between the 23rd and 27th of February. Good, at least if I am unable to visit Philly, I can give a face-to-face interview with a Wharton Admission Committee member. My essays were darn good for Wharton – Now I can only sit back and wait.”

“Darn Good” – my essays were darn good, did I write that? That’s absolutely true – then what happened. I strongly believe that my numbers were my doom, or to put it nicely – my representation of myself in the form of an application (of which numbers were a part) was unable to impress two individuals in Philly. Dig that – 2 individuals….

I am not going to go into the anal whining mode because I have pretty much summarized my feelings in the first paragraph. But let me put the truth into perspective – if you are applying to Wharton as an Indian from the techie pool, make sure you have a higher degree (a Bachelor’s won’t suffice – a quick peek into Wharton’s Resume Book will prove that) and all your numbers in place (i.e. a good GPA from a good undergraduate and graduate institution, GMAT well above the average and sufficient years of experience) or an extremely outstanding background. [The demography is a factor] Then are the essays.

And also keep my “fit theory” in mind – you should truly believe that a school is a fit for you and the school should feel the same.

Anyway after all it is Wharton’s loss and Michigan’s gain. 5-10 years from now we will all know which school made the right decision. I am as much driven as I was before and all geared up for Ann Arbor. Where is Sonny Liston?

P.S. I just returned from my vacation today after having a gala time in Chicago and Pittsburgh. – Hence, I was unable to share this news before.