Tips for the over-represented MBA applicant pools

If you're a Chinese or Indian male engineer applying for Harvard, Stanford, Wharton, Tuck or even Fuqua, you've definitely got the odds stacked against you. Yet there are a number of ways to differentiate yourself:
1) Complimentary skills - Soul search yourself and find a few skills that go completely against the stereotype of your applicant pool. Display this with flourish. Everyone loves an Indian engineer who can run marathons and a Chinese data analyst who is an active performing artist.
2) Shed the humility - While this may be a virtue in certain parts of the world, it literally has no place in the MBA application. Toot your horn. You will probably do a horrible job of it during your first iteration of essays, but choose a wise guide and you will get better at it.
3) Don't be afraid to have 'common' plans - When I was handing in my applications, a number of people told me not to spell out consulting as a career trek - it was too common place. It worked well for me. The trick is in realizing that you have differentiated yourself in some other aspect, so when it comes down to the one thing they want to see stability and ambition in (read: career!) you can be as plain vanilla as possible.

Good luck for this MBA application season!

Time crunch

People warned me about it. And I didn't pay heed. I thought I'd have time to come in and figure things out. Boy was I wrong. 

Pick the one thing you WILL NOT sacrifice on. And hold it close. Because everything else will be pushed aside as MBA shoves its way into your life. Everything. Its a fun ride so far. And so we go!

Drunken socializing

So B-School begins. And the ever so famous 'networking-events' kick off. During sessions with conservative amounts of alcohol served by the school and copious amounts consumed by students off-campus we begin to get know our batch mates. I gear up with much excitement. "Finally!", I conclude.
But alas. Down pours a barrage of names, occupations, originations and woeful tales of immigration. I end up confusing people's name's with restaurant names. And the other way around. 
It dawns upon me for the first time - what did I expect out of networking. Superficial knowledge of a person? LinkedIn-depth familiarity with my peers?
Nope. I dream of more.
So an alternate tactic must be used. The drunken nights are fun, but there has to be more. So I turn my gaze to the clubs. A chance to meet over common interests. Perhaps that will serve better?
Let's find out.

Convergent and divergent problem solving

B-school has begun with a series of 'what personality are you' type exercises, which, while supported by fluff, do reveal an interesting bit about our thinking techniques.
Convergent versus divergent problem solving is one of the underlying thinking processes that came to fore. It was interesting to note how one group thinks of the other as well. I suspect there is a fair amount of condescension involved. Along the lines of - 'she's clearly lacking creative ability' and 'he just can't adhere to the rules!'.
Interesting stuff. Helps me better understand AND respect the other lot. I won't reveal where on the spectrum I lie ;)

Yep we're doing this.

Greetings world,
I come in peace, bearing tales of my journey at a top-10 B-School . I maintain a mask of anonymity so I feel free to report truthfully without fear of hurting the brands involved. Hopefully this will go beyond this first post.