The unwelcome 'welcome' call

Some freakish moments- received an email yesterday from the associate director of the MBA program stating she wanted to review some information!
Had a sleepless night & imagined various sets of problems & complications.
Got a call at 9:30 am with a cheery voiced woman which dissolved my fears. It was a welcome call! Short, sweet and v friendly. I already feel like this place was meant for me.

What they failed in on their acceptance package they made up with this call.
The acceptance package was barely 3 pages of basic quality paper with a handwritten congratulations & signature. I think they should have carried the marketing effort onwards with a brochure of activities & life on campus. After all some percentage of the applicants must have had other offers too. Sounds shallow and yes no one bases their decisions on the quality of paper & images but I do feel it pays to whet the appetite...what say?

Cost of an INSEAD mba

Some back of the envelop calculations regarding the impending cost of an INSEAD MBA:

Cost of Tuition Euro 48,800
Business Fundamental Euro 1200
Cost of Living Euro 20,000

Additional Costs

Laptop Euro 1000
Air Flights Euro 1000
Wharton/Campus Exchange ???
Miscellaneous Euro 3000

Total Cost Euro 75,000 approx.

I don't yet have the figures for the cost of campus exchange but do realize that its not factored into the average cost of living provided by the school. Miscellaneous covers visa charges, medical insurance, travel insurance, books and other factors for which no exact figure is known.

As of now with my Indian salary I only make approx. Euro 20,000 pre tax. Obviously this means there is a huge gap which can not be filled without aid & loans.
So here's the clincher, according to the Forbes's ROI calculator for MBA'a ...you can check it out here

I get a 5 year MBA gain of approx. Euro 2,25,000!!!


Its calculated based on 2003 average salary indications & a rate of growth of approx 11.6% based on the batch of 2000.
Of course the return is spectacular given my pre MBA salary is in Indian rupees while the average post MBA salary is in Euro/dollars
But before I blow my horn, a few key factors to consider:

• Average salary does not always translate to what one can expect, especially with global recruiting
• The rate of growth is also largely dependent on the conditions of the economy at large
• I have no clue if they have taken taxes into consideration, after tax its a completely different story.

I wish there was a clause by which all b-schools had to declare the range of salaries for all employed grads - from the lowest to the highest with mean, median and mode figures provided. Self employed entrepreneurs would be exempt.
It would help us make more efficient decisions (something we are going to learn during our mba, right?) and not just be swayed by the gigantic reputations of the schools and ranking in all the publications - of course those too are dependent on the same factors but some data would be insightful

The Storm after the admit

So the CFA plan is canned...at least for now. Between Feb and August one has to master a foreign language or at the very least learn enough to pass a test by the fiercely protective Franco-phones.
One also has to work to keep skin on the bones, though any dreams of saving enough to last a season on foreign shores, with decidedly unfair currency exchange, is fast evaporating.

And another strange emotion is taking grip. After months of anxious applications and awaiting judgment day, a weird calm has descended. With it have the doubts - will this investment be a wise decision, will I get a good job, will the diversity work for or against me, will I make friends or feel alienated, will i manage to cope with the workload, will I...

As I grapple with all of these issues I suddenly realize my new status amongst friend, family and colleagues - somehow my achievement is theirs, they are proud and sure, for the first time there is a unanimous feeling that my star is on the ascendant, somehow with me reaching these schools has given them a surge of hope, of change and of control over their own destiny.

I brush off the crumbs of doubts and hope the wind in my sail suddenly doesn't die out.

Reading List & CFA

So this is the reading list for INSEAD though for the year 2005. Maybe it will have some more additions.
I have a query - is anyone planning on doing the CFA? I fear I'm too late in the game but wanted to know where I can get more info on the same. I know atleast some of you have already cleared beginner levels. Anyone wanna do a informational post on the benefits, time, effort required etc.?

1. Essentials of Accounting, (9^th Edition)

Authors: Robert N. Anthony, Leslie K Breitner

Publisher: Prentice Hall

ISBN: 978-0131496934

2. Finance For Executives (3^rd Edition)

Authors: Gabriel Hawawini, Claude Viallet

Publisher: South Western College Publications

ISBN: 978-0324274318

3. Principles of Microeconomics (4^th Edition)

Author: N. Gregory Mankiw

Publisher: South Western College Publications

ISBN: 978-0324319163