India is shining. Is it really?
I was astonished to find out that Bangladesh beats us in many HDI indices including malnutrition for children and on the counts of immunization! For a country which is aspiring to get an Indian on moon its a shame that we do not yet have a system in place to immunize our country's kids. Something must be wrong.
I cant end a complain post without commenting on education, can I? India lags behind even in primary, secondary and tertiary education standards. And I do not think money is an issue here. Again coming to the point of non-participation of relevant population in policy making; who sends their kids to public schools - India's poor. The rich influential persons and the politicians send their kids to private schools. It might be one reason why the political intentions from the top are not getting converted into results at the bottom.
Funnily after getting trained superbly in the private schools these kids end up in government schools for their higher education which are very highly rated. They recieve government subsidies for this education! The people who need this subsidy never get it and it happens in such a convoluted way that it doesnt even cross our minds.
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Thursday, September 10, 2009
ISB essay tips
I know its pretty late, but for those who are fine tuning their essays for the last time here are some tips.
General Tips
1. Do not waste words. Repeating within essays is non-pardonable. But I would suggest don't write things that are directly there in your resume. Hint at them in your essays.
2. Do not write frivolous things - schooling, great academics - Its there in your resume and also almost everyone applying here would have it.
In fact if you do not have great academics or something is amiss in your schooling and you have still succeeded - go ahead mention it. That actually distinguishes you!!
Give 3 reasons as to why you should be selected to the class of 2011. These reasons should ideally differentiate you from the applicant pool and should be backed with some data.ntiate you from the applicant pool and should be backed with some data.
1. Do not try to be too creative. Be real. Write the basic characteristic - like rather than "I am a good leader", mention what characteristic actually makes you that.
2. Try to show all three are linked in some way to your future goal. It helps. Also it actually makes you think very hard about yourself. For me at least it was great fun writing these essays.
Describe a challenging assignment you have handled (at work or outside) to date. What were the challenges and how did you handle them. What were the personal learnings you derived from this assignment.
Describe the key problem. Describe it completely and then your actions that led to the solution. Generally speaking your action leads to some other issues, and you have to adjust again. My take is to describe the chain of events as your characteristics come out completely that way.
In some essays that I have seen the solutions are one liners. That do not tell application readers anything about you.
Briefly assess your career progression till date along with your assessment of your future career goals. Discuss how your career goals will be met by the ISB’s one year program.
Please read about ISB, talk to the students/faulty or alumns before you answer this question. Just skimming through the website and then writing this answer shows that you are not serious. Also, if you do not have a great reason you might actually be dissapointed on coming here.
Trust me on this: although the essay writing seems to be a very painful process - it actually helps you in focussing and finalizing your near future options.
If you are a prospective applicant and have any questions - please leave a comment and I will try my best to get back to you with the answers.
General Tips
1. Do not waste words. Repeating within essays is non-pardonable. But I would suggest don't write things that are directly there in your resume. Hint at them in your essays.
2. Do not write frivolous things - schooling, great academics - Its there in your resume and also almost everyone applying here would have it.
In fact if you do not have great academics or something is amiss in your schooling and you have still succeeded - go ahead mention it. That actually distinguishes you!!
Give 3 reasons as to why you should be selected to the class of 2011. These reasons should ideally differentiate you from the applicant pool and should be backed with some data.ntiate you from the applicant pool and should be backed with some data.
1. Do not try to be too creative. Be real. Write the basic characteristic - like rather than "I am a good leader", mention what characteristic actually makes you that.
2. Try to show all three are linked in some way to your future goal. It helps. Also it actually makes you think very hard about yourself. For me at least it was great fun writing these essays.
Describe a challenging assignment you have handled (at work or outside) to date. What were the challenges and how did you handle them. What were the personal learnings you derived from this assignment.
Describe the key problem. Describe it completely and then your actions that led to the solution. Generally speaking your action leads to some other issues, and you have to adjust again. My take is to describe the chain of events as your characteristics come out completely that way.
In some essays that I have seen the solutions are one liners. That do not tell application readers anything about you.
Briefly assess your career progression till date along with your assessment of your future career goals. Discuss how your career goals will be met by the ISB’s one year program.
Please read about ISB, talk to the students/faulty or alumns before you answer this question. Just skimming through the website and then writing this answer shows that you are not serious. Also, if you do not have a great reason you might actually be dissapointed on coming here.
Trust me on this: although the essay writing seems to be a very painful process - it actually helps you in focussing and finalizing your near future options.
If you are a prospective applicant and have any questions - please leave a comment and I will try my best to get back to you with the answers.
So simple
Its has been a long time since I wrote but it has led to an accumulation of ideas, stories, complaints, rants, frustrations inside me - I might burst if I dont take them out soon. Hence me is back.
It is my 4th term at ISB. Just after the most killing term. The best part so far has been attending some really good talks both by profs and outsiders. The best part about these talks are the simple and obvious things that come out of them.
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"Why are the policies of government to remove poverty not working?" - asked the professor. We might think of lot of reasons say lack of funds, corruption, lack of political will, implementation difficulties.
The professor replies "The lack of participation of the very people on whom policies are being made". Dont know about others but to me it makes lot of sense - while the "49% reservation in higher educational instituions" bill was passed in one day the "women's reservation in parliament" bill is still being discussed after more than 10 years since we first heard of it.
The one thing that I can see is that while the first bill doesnt effect the policy makers, the second one directly pertains to them. It is there for everyone to see - how much more care is taken when the policies affect them. Hence, its very necessary to involve people for whom policies are being made.
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It is my 4th term at ISB. Just after the most killing term. The best part so far has been attending some really good talks both by profs and outsiders. The best part about these talks are the simple and obvious things that come out of them.
-----------
"Why are the policies of government to remove poverty not working?" - asked the professor. We might think of lot of reasons say lack of funds, corruption, lack of political will, implementation difficulties.
The professor replies "The lack of participation of the very people on whom policies are being made". Dont know about others but to me it makes lot of sense - while the "49% reservation in higher educational instituions" bill was passed in one day the "women's reservation in parliament" bill is still being discussed after more than 10 years since we first heard of it.
The one thing that I can see is that while the first bill doesnt effect the policy makers, the second one directly pertains to them. It is there for everyone to see - how much more care is taken when the policies affect them. Hence, its very necessary to involve people for whom policies are being made.
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