The MBA Gods Have Smiled Once Again

So the short version of the story is that the MBA Gods have smiled once again. I’ve just been invited to interview for a spot at The Wharton Business School, just 28 hours after receiving an invite to interview at The University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business (for which I’ve already been matched with a Booth alum for an interview). Woot Woot!

Doubts Borne of a Ding

There is a chasm between where I am right now and where I was a week ago mentally and emotionally. While I’m past the age where most people are likely to doubt themselves, I certainly doubted the quality of  my execution.

There were things that I thought to say and situations that I remembered to highlight AFTER I had submitted everything. And that stiff, cold ding from HBS honestly made me second guess whether my approach had been all wrong. Who knows? Perhaps it was all wrong for one school and fairly spot on for others?

I’m a firm believer that things happen just as they are supposed to. And I’m more than glad about everything that is happening right now. Now its just a matter of whether I have what it takes to hold it together and close some deals. Only time will tell, and I will be proud of  myself either way for having made it even this far.

Mach II with Your Hair on Fire

So here’s the trip: for months I’ve basically been agonizing day after day, week after week over the snail’s pace of this long and meandering journey to a world-class MBA program. Just a week ago, I needed a scotch on the rocks to cheer myself up. Today, I need a double to celebrate back-to-back invites. And within 3 weeks, this entire pre-MBA journey will pretty much be out of my hands until mid-December when I’ll find out if and where I’ll have the option of attending. It all feels somewhat surreal.

Well, I guess I’ll be putting down my book and PS3 control and jumping into interview prep with both feet starting tonight. I’m NOT giving up the gym again like I did for the GMAT and my apps though–if I am destined to be “the older guy” on campus, that’s fine; but I’ll be damned if I end up being the FAT old guy.

Congrats to everyone else who has been invited to interview at schools you are excited about and good luck to those who are both waiting and who have yet to apply (R2 is just around the corner!).

Cheers to all.

MBAOver30 offers the perspective of a 30-something, California-based entrepreneur who is applying to Harvard, Stanford, Wharton, MIT, Northwestern, Chicago, Dartmouth, Yale, and Berkeley.. He hopes to gain acceptance to the Class of 2015 and blogs at MBAOver30.

Previous posts on Poets&Quants:

How I Totally Overestimated The MBA Admissions Process

Musings on MBA Failophobia

Letting Go Of An MBA Safety School

When A Campus Visit Turns Off An MBA Applicant

Yale, Tuck and Booth: The Next Leg of My Pre- MBA Research

 My Countdown: Less Than 30 Days To The GMAT

From Suits To Startups: Why MBA Programs Are Changing

Why I’m Not Getting Either A Part-Time MBA or An Executive MBA

Preparing To Sit For The GMAT Exam

Falls Short of GMAT Goal, But The 700 Is A Big Improvement

A 2012-2013 MBA Application Strategy

Celebrating A 35th Birthday & Still Wanting A Full-Time MBA

A Tuck Coffee Chat Leaves Our Guest Blogger A Believer

Heading Into the August Cave: Getting Those Round One Apps Done 

Just One MBA Essay Shy Of Being Doe

Getting That MBA Recommendation From Your Boss

Facetime with MBA Gatekeepers at Wharton

The Differences Between Harvard & Stanford Info Sessions

My MIT Sloan Info Session in California