busy busy bee

Have been occupied by all the preparation work prior to departure to France.
To be a R3 admit means I have few weeks to arrange for financing before the deposit deadline, ie. bank loans, personal loan, lottery (in my dream...), and to arrange for housing at Fonty etc.

will write more on financing later.

by the way, a small observation. From INSEAD's student portal, we are able to view the profile of each future classmate and their choice of campus to start the programme. There seems to be a trend for European to prefer the Singapore campus and for Asian to choose the France campus.

I presume the reasons are:
- to convince the Adcom of our 'internationalism', an important aspect highly valued by INSEAD's diverse community, and our enthusiasm to adventure into the less familiar zone, we strategically opt for the campus at the other continent from where we currently base :)
- the grass opposite is always greener. Or, after too many years of living in a familiar culture, we see more of the imperfections of an area, and tend to fantasize about the others, like in a relationship.

The choice of campus will be determined by our targeted geographical location for future career.
After the first 2 terms (INSEAD requires us to spend at least 2 periods at the campus where we start), what would be our preferences? to be observed.. :)

INSEAD - Admitted !

I was on my mp3 when my phone rang at 5:30pm (France time 11:30am). On the screen it showed an overseas number +33...it was from France !

On behalf of the Admissions Committee, it is my great pleasure to offer you a place in the INSEAD MBA Class of December 2008, starting in Fontainebleau on January 7th. Congratulations and welcome to the worldwide INSEAD community.

It's 2 days earlier than expected ! I'm not sure if all B-school adcom calls to personally congratulate the admitted applicant, but I am certainly moved and thrilled to receive the call from France !

At last, I feel so settled and relieved. It's great to receive the news earlier, if not a few hundred dollars of other schools' application fee will fly away without a purpose :p

I have around 2 months to arrange for financing (ie. bank loan), VISA, housing, driving lesson, pre-MBA reading, relocation, gathering with friends etc etc etc
Probably won't need to attend the optional 'Business Foundation' course. Attended a lecture on Financial Market & Valuation before, and found it manageable. To be confirmed after more research.
The only thing I can confirm is the date of my flight to Paris, which I have been dreaming about for months :p
And if time permits, would like to travel to Italy before school term starts. Hmm...how should I spend my Christmas and New Year Count-down? :)

stretching to reach the finishing line

I'm so grateful to my friends who have been listening to my never-ending MBA -related stories all these while...

It's the way of my species to release emotions and distress :) without us, telecommunication business' profit will suffer, pubs and cafes would not flourish as well ...

I'm so thankful that I met this nice friend at one of the information sessions. we have been encouraging each other, keeping ourselves sane admist this application craze, and of course complaining about those essay topics that could paralyse some of us within 5 seconds of reading it...it does take someone who has gone through / is going through the same stamina-testing process to comprehend the stress, pain and joy...

(do you really have NO such moment of feeling some blood gushing out from your chest??? come on...)


Best wishes ! For it is worthwhile !

The Clock Is Ticking

it's really weird. I have not been able to access Tuck's admission webpage since last week. Tried to use yahoo and google to link to the webpage too, but it did not work. Have emailed Tuck for help last week but have yet received any reply.

will learn INSEAD's admission decision next friday. I'm getting more and more restless. The decision will be so important, as I desperately need to have an idea of where and how my life will be for the next few years, and to work on a new trajectory instead of waiting for the news. Every decision is made with a consideration of a pivotal change in the very near future.

all other school application deadlines are so near now, yet I find myself inefficient in getting all essays well done. there are 1001 tasks to be completed, and to be prioritized.

I wish I have more time to efficiently complete all tasks, yet can't wait for the important day to come !