Accepted

Congratulations to our first round admitted students. It was a tough year and you have made it. All the time and investment have finally paid off. You will soon be proud members of the class of 2011.

So, celebrate - you deserve it.

Here's a very helpful tip I got last year: Decide were you are going to live and apply for an appartment early. Remember - early bird gets the worm (or a jetblade sometimes but that's really rare).

For those of you who didn't get in - it's not over! There's always next year. Think what you are missing in your resume and how can you get that in during this year and show improvement for next year's application. Most important: do not despair. 

If you were waitlisted - the game's still on. Last year schools I was considering were still giving offers a few weeks before school started. People always drop their application and decide to go to another school or give up b-school or defer. 

 Here are some suggestions I gave a prospective student who got on the waitlist:

1. Get another (exceptional) recommendation and send it to your account manager.
   
2. Start thinking about what you've done since you applied and find an accomplishment. Make an essay out of it and send it.
   
3. Look for something in your past that had not come up in the essays and write another "optional essay"
   
4. If you haven't been here - schedule a visit - this would show interest and dedication as well as help you make a better case about why you are interested in Darden and why you are fit for Darden.

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* I am not an official representative of the school and these recommendations are only my personal opinion and you should use your own judgement before using them. They are not to be used if you are pregnant or in a high risk group and are not to be taken more than two every four hours.

Tips for MBAs

Be bold. 

Be authentic.

Look at the market, see where the balls are rolling, what opportunity lies there? Do you see your destiny there?

This is a snippet of some of the wisdom and leadership philosophy Richard Fairbank, founder & CEO of Capital One - the 13th largest bank in the US - shared with us during Darden's Leadership Speaker Series this week.

Fairbank's r credit revolution is a story of true entreperneurship, taking advantage of opportunity when everybody else was doubtful. Stories like that trully inspire me so I was fully engaged in listening and I picked up some interesting points. 

A CEO will be able to delegate almost everything but one thing.

The one thing a CEO can't do without is vision.

Ok, this sounds very basic, but it's a lot more powerful coming from a person who had literaly made it. 

Hire the best people.

Ok, we know that. Everybody hires the best people don't they?

Well, you have to really put a lot of effort in getting the best people. This is where the most time and effort should be spent by leaders, according to Faribank. 

Create an environment where these best people can actually be great.

Fairbank moved on to encouraging innovation, but warned that changing buyers behavior is very difficult(though it can be done - e.g. IPod). Easier is to improve the buyers' experience.

Fairbank ended with a back to basics advice. The one our parents used to tell us and their parents told them: be loyal to yourself. The pure quest will rally up people around you more than the quest for your next promotion. 

Don't sell your soul and take the job because it pays well or because this is the cool job.

Take the job that you will learn the most from and have the most fun.

Getting a US student visa

Today we went to the US embassy to apply for a student visa for my fiancée (she’s also in my class of 2010).
The overall experience was pretty painless though I went to register for voting for the first time while I was there and it’s substantially easier on the US citizens side.
I have not heard of stories of international students who did not get the visa, but better be prepared.

So here are a few tips we gathered while listening on other people’s interviews:

1. Come at least 20 minutes prior to your interview. The security checks take time and it seems they invite groups of people once an hour rather than stream them every few minutes or so. So you want to be there before the full group gets there.
2. Don’t hide anything – they know anyway
3. Even though they took your fingerprints on the first step where you present your documents, don’t run off to the interview line. You are required to give your fingerprints again at a nearby window. I have no idea why, but if you don’t do it you may have to start the process all over (so the facilitator there says).
4. Bring a pen (black preferred). It’s a bummer to crowd around the few pens they have there or asking people to use theirs.
5. If you already have/had a US visa – bring it. They don’t ask it on their website and it’s not mandatory, but they sometimes ask if you have it.
6. Bring a paycheck. Again this is not something they specify on the website, but they sometimes ask for it. Better safe then sorry.
7. Bring cash. Preferably exact change. In Israel we paid 33.5 NIS for the postal delivery of the passport+visa.

*Information based on experience in US embassy in Tel-Aviv and is merely a suggestion. Author not responsible for any damage, loss or anything anywhere ever.