The Reds

Lot has happened in English Premier League during the January transfer season for Liverpool. First, after lot of speculation and yes-nos, King Kenny managed to buy Suarez from Ajax for some $30 million. Then, El Nino dropped a bomb. He wanted out of Liverpool. Everybody was shocked, specially the fans. Despite being a foreigner, they had loved him and given him that special position in their heart. Apparently, Torres felt that Liverpool is not performing consistently enough for him to stay. After all, Liverpool neither qualified for Champions League nor seem like making the top 4 in EPL this year. Torres, arguably the best finisher in the game, wanted to win cups( read Champions league, EPL) and contribute to a team that is performing. Hence, IMHO, he left liverpool. Kenny wanted him to stay but later on let him go with a royal snub " Nobody is bigger than the club. If someone believes that then that person is delusional".  Btw, Liverpool's bank account swelled by some $ 65 million.
But, as they say in hindi " picture abhi baki hai mere dost"( the show is not over yet, my friend), Kenny managed to buy Andy Carroll from Newcastle United for some $42 million. It is an outrageous amount for a 22 year old, but Liverpool desperately needed an extra striker. In the first place, Suarez was bought in to support Torres in the front. But as Torres left, King Kenny vouched for Carroll, who in his brief stint at Newcastle has shown signs of brilliance. So finally, with Suarez and Carroll in front, Liverpool is looking much better. I just hope that we make it to top 4 this season. 

Why do I need a title every time I blog?

Work in progress. Yes. Started with the OG 12th edition. The GMAT verbal requires the test taker to answer 41 questions in 75 minutes. That is less than 2 minutes a question. This is where I struggle. I generally achieve good accuracy but I lack speed . That is why, I am taking each sitting on OG as an actual test. Till now, not much trouble in CR and RC but I am still not very comfortable on the SC side. I guess it is still early days, I am hoping that more practice will fine tune my SC skills.
Talking about practice, I came across Grockit, a very cool website to practice GMAT sectionals. Apart  from Grockit, there are some free tests listed on beatthegmat( Manhattan, Kaplan, Knewton, Princeton, Veritas Prep). I will get my hands on them once I complete OG.
Anyways, got a call from a ex colleague. He has also decided to apply to US bschools next year. He went to the Darden coffee chat this Saturday and briefed me on that. Apart from the MBA Gyan ( read knowledge), we discussed the merit of joining an NGO and its overall impact on the application. Infact, the current Darden student, whom my friend met at the coffee chat, had not done any community service. This raises a very pertinent question. Is community service a real parameter to decide a worthy candidate? Especially in a country like India, where we do not have a very strong volunteering culture. In US schools it is compulsory for kids to contribute to the community. Hence it makes sense. I think it has more to do with the cultural aspect of a region. It is not that Indians are apathetic, it is just that we do not have a set structure in place for general public to get involved in social initiatives. Yes, now the things are changing. We have these NGOs coming up everywhere( a bit too many for my liking. it sometimes feels as if everyone has left his jobs and decided to pursue non profit career). But on a serious note, I believe community involvement is very good way for people to really make an impact and most importantly it is a very humbling experience.
On the football front, Liverpool lost to Newcastle United (1-3) last night :(  . Gerrard, Carragher and Joe Cole are still injured, Torres is still struggling and I do not know what Lucas is doing in the team (you can't find him on the pitch). Well, Roy Hodgson has been promised lot of dollars for January transfer season. So I hope Liverpool will make some good purchases.

Profile Evaluation

Today morning I got a reply on my profile evaluation request on gmatclub. Unlike some other evaluations, this one by Robbie was a detailed one. He pointed out the following:
-> Get a GMAT score around 750 to really stand out
-> Take leadership roles in your ECs. ( adcoms wants to see initiatives and impact not just passive involvement)
-> As I have no international experience, focus on your travel across India and the diversity you experienced across the nation.
-> Identify the right schools for you on the basis of your study style(case based, experimental learning, Lectures), location preference and career goals.

I already had some realization of my weak areas but it is a funny feeling when you get to hear the same from the other person. It is like somewhere you are thinking maybe it is not that difficult, not that competitive but when you hear it from an expert then you just cannot find excuses ( not a very good habit, right?). Well at least the last cobwebs in my brain have been cleaned up and I know what I have to do.
GMAT preparation is underway. I do not know if I can get 750 but I have a 'must reach' score in mind. On the EC front, I need to get more involved in my NGO work. ( I have been out of touch for a while now). As for the schools, I have a list in mind but that requires a separate post.

Well back to GMAT preparation, I came across a very good article on Subjunctive mood on beatthegmat. It is one of the trickiest topic on the gmat and it requires special attention. One needs to keep in mind two situations: Hypothetical scenarios & demands and proposed ideas. ( look at the article and go through Manhattan GMAT SC guide)

Anyways, Liverpool is playing against Steaua Bucharest and leading by 1-0. Go REDS. Liverpool did not qualify for Champions League this year but I guess we can salvage some pride by winning Europa League. After all it is my second favorite team after FC Barcelona.