Third Time Lucky?

The wait started long back. It suffered a few setbacks (two to be precise). Hope was not lost. Backup plans put in place. Frantic attempts made to firm them up. This may have included calls with people at weird (read 0300 IST) hours of the night, discussions with people on a jet lag and visiting people at their homes to firm up the options and discuss the future as a whole. Overdrive was what was needed and that is what happened. Deep within, the prayers continued for the third one to be a homerun. For I wanted to know what fourth base (no pun intended) felt like.

Having waited for what felt like an eternity, it can be extremely frustrating at times to be so near and yet so far. Although I am of the belief that I had winner applications (as did most if not all of the people who reviewed them for me), the news from PA and IL made me think otherwise. Guess that it was the case of good but not good enough.

Finally, it was time. It was time for the do-or-die situation. After two strikes, it was important to see the light of day. It was important not to merely see the stars, far away in the sky, out of reach and blinking at me mischievously. They mocked me that they were merely in sight and not in reach. Things were getting a bit tense. Obviously, it was not a situation that I appreciated. Alas, I found myself in one. I had to make the choice: I could wilt under the pressure and fail. I could stand strong and fight it back. I wanted to fight back. That seemed like the logical (and obvious) thing to do. However, after having fought for the last few years, I found myself wilting. The knees were wobbly and I was petrified that I would cave. I was not sure that I could hold on for much longer. I consoled myself for being in the state that I found myself. In my defense, I could not blame myself for it. I was human too. I too was prone to assuming and accepting defeat long before it had raised its ugly hood and painted the town black.

The pitcher took his place. It would not have been difficult to mistake him for a three-headed fire-spewing evil dragon. Looking around at the other bases, he had one final look at the striker, and took what felt like ages before he pitched the ball. The scene had all the makings of a Hindi potboiler. The journey of the ball from the hands of the pitcher until it reached the striker was as vividly captured as the journey of a bullet after it has been fired and before it is to come within striking distance of the victim.

Each of the previous deliveries had been different. UPenn - Wharton was a long letter from the dean of the school expressing his sincere regret. Chicago was short and curt with a single word: deny. This particular response had come within an e-mail. My fingers were shivering… again. The co-efficient of the shivering is directly proportional to the rejects that one has received and is inversely proportional to the interviews/admits that one has on his/her plate. It is also proportional to the amount of effort that has gone into it, the time in years for which the plan has brewed, and the desperation with which it is wanted. Expectedly, my hands were indeed shivering very badly. I carefully picked the laptop from my lap and placed it circumspectly on the desk. Such was the level of the shivering that I was scared that I might drop it to the ground. I am not kidding here. It was late into the night and I was understandably petrified. For a second, I almost did not have the guts to see it. I wanted to leave it for another day. Yet, I knew that I had to face the demons and stare them in the eye. Believe me, it is a whole of words. It was easier said than done.

From the subject line and from the name of the sender, I realized that it was a response from NYU Stern. This one school was different; it was different in a pleasantly beautiful way. They spoke of the NYU community and the benefits of NYC. I saw all of them (the benefits) and more. That was the reasons that this was one of the schools that I was looking to make home.

Like I have mentioned before, I had applied to a grand total of five princely schools. Each of the schools were such that I would not think twice before accepting an offer from the school. The only problem in the decision-making process would arise if and when there would be more than a single admit and it would be up to me to decide on the then future course of action. Going by the current statistics, I would be more than overjoyed with having an opportunity to go at all! Let alone the option of having to choose from more than one.

Now, what the email had was a link to a URL on the NYU Stern website. I started my prayers. I have never been a devout person, but at this time, I could have done with whatever help I would get, divine or otherwise. In a frame of mind that was hopeful for the best, yet resigned to fate and ready for the worst, I went about finding out the details of the result. I logged into the site and went about figuring out how I could get the result.

I reached the final step. Involuntarily and subconsciously, I closed my eyes and said a silent prayer. If there was ever a good task I had done, I was calling the IOUs. With a heavy sigh, I clicked the link. I waited anxiously for the page to load. Slowly and steady, I began reading each and every word of what the email had to say.

Dear Max:

There has been an update to the status of your application to the NYU Stern MBA program. To view the current status of your application, please visit the Application Status Check Website at http://applicant.stern.nyu.edu/statuscheck/
As a reminder, your password is ******.

Thank you for your continued interest in Stern,

NYU Stern MBA Admissions

My heart skipped a beat and more as I read the line that I had been short-listed for the And then, I was dancing like there was no tomorrow!!! I had made it to the next phase! I had been short-listed! I was going to the interview! I suddenly felt a vacuum in my heart as I realized what happened. I had been invited to an interview! There was a chance. I was another step closer towards the ultimate dream! For a whole minute or so, I did not know what had hit me. I didn’t realize that I had indeed made it to the next level.

I guess that it took a while for the entire feeling to sink in. It took a while to realize that this is what I wanted. I was not there. But I was getting there. And that was good enough. It was a matter of time is what I was telling myself. It was merely a matter of time.

Until date, I have never screwed up at an interview. I have had the distinction of having returned victorious from every interview that I have attended. I have not attended a whole lot many of them. Nevertheless, I have attended pretty many for the MBA admission process, the IIM and the AIM interviews. I have also attended a couple of job interviews and I have not had to attend more than that as that is also the number of jobs that I have had.

The point of the matter is that I have successfully cleared the first hurdle. The next hurdle is in sight and it is obviously a challenge. But I am up to it. The third response was a positive one. It gives me hope and a future. It has started well. It is just a matter of time before I realize whether the third time was indeed lucky!