MBA-Prep (Chronology of events)

We are now all set to join the JBS MBA Class of 2007-2008. It's been a long journey of about 9 months from writing the GMAT to booking the flight tickets. Please find below a chronological listing the key events on this journey. I hope this will provide a bit of a overview about the whole process for prospective students.


** 30th Nov - GMAT test at Mumbai

**December - Started working on the essays and the application

**4th Jan - Query about official transcripts (wanted to know if I could send copies of the official transcripts, attested by a notary)

**5th Jan - Reply to my query about transcripts (Yes, copies attested by a notary will do)

**8th Jan - Couriered the completed application along with the copy of transcripts

**10th Jan - Received email from Admission Office confirming the receipt of application form and all documents (except the reference letters)

**17th Jan - First Referee emailed the reference letter to the admission office

**18th Jan - Couriered the application for the Gates and Cambridge Trust Scholarships

**22nd Jan - Second Referee emailed the reference letter to the admission office

**30th Jan - Reference letter sent out by the Second Referee

**30th Jan - Email from the Admission Office stating that they have received all my documents

**9th Feb - Email from Admission Office with an Interview Invite (for the 12th of March)

**13th Feb - Confirmed to take the interview at Cambridge on the 12th of March

**12th March - Interview at Cambridge

**13th March - Email confirming admit and initial scholarship of GBP 5000

**16th March - Received a package (by post) containing the conditional admit letter, financial guarantee form, acceptance form and a whole load of information about Cambridge and JBS

**22nd March - Admission office arranges for a Current Student to act as my buddy, to help me through some of my queries

**2nd April - Mailed the 'Acceptance Form' (confirming my interest to be part of the JBS-2007/2008 MBA) and the HSBC Loan application

**5th April - Email from Admission Office confirming the receipt of the 'Acceptance Form' and the HSBC Loan application

**9th April - Mailed the 'Financial Guarantee Form' (a simple document that gives details as to how I plan to finance my study - including bank statements etc) ) and a cheque of GBP 2,800 (Initial Deposit)

**12th April - An online discussion forum formed for incoming students to discuss and get queries answered (This has helped me to know about by class-mates and get inputs on various topics from the current students)

**13th April - Email from Admission Office stating that my Loan Application has been forwarded to HSBC Bank

**13th April - Email from Admission Office confirming the receipt of the 'Financial Guarantee Form' and Initial Deposit

**5th May - Since I had not heard anything from the bank about my Loan Application I checked with the Admission Office in case they have heard anything. Yes, my loan is approved and the bank was to get in touch with me very soon.

**4th June - Received a letter from HSBC Bank - Loan approved

**15th June - Got a postal letter from Darwin College offering me a membership to the College

**22nd June - Got the final tuition fee invoice (it included the Mysis scholarship of GBP 5000 - thus taking the total scholarship to GBP 10000)

**10th July - Applied for the UK Visa

**13th July - Got our passports back with the Visa stamped

**17th July - Informed by Darwin College that the College will not be able to provide us accommodation

**17th July - Checked with the Accommodation Services about any accommodation options

**18th July - University Accommodation Services offered a furnished 1 bedroom University flat in West Cambridge at GBP 665 per month

**20th July - Booked the flight tickets to London (for the 4th of Sept)

It is now time for us (Aidah and I) to relax a bit, take a few vacations, visit family and friends, watch more movies and enjoy the Indian rain.

MBA Prep (Accommodation)

I have been offered a membership at Darwin College. However, I could not secure college accommodation (as the college has very limited accommodation for families/couples).

The next step in the process was to search for apartments/flats. The University's Accommodation Services team consists of a group of very helpful people who make every endeavour to help the students find a suitable place to live. They provide a list of accommodation options (University accommodation and private accommodation).

We (Aidah and I) were offered a one-bed room furnished flat in the West of Cambridge (about 2.6 miles from the school) at GBP 665 per month. It is a new flat (by Cambridge standards) that was constructed around 2004. One draw-back is the distance from the City Centre. We never got a chance to see the place before we signed the tenancy agreement (However, I got some pictures of the flat from the current students and it looks quite good).

The other option (especially for people who can go to Cambridge personally and view properties) is private accommodation. Many in my classmates have opted for this option and have found some pretty neat places in the city centre (with the help of estate agents in some cases).

If I were to list an order of preference (a personal choice) it will be
1) College accommodation - some colleges might not have enough flats/rooms to accommodate every student (especially families/couples) and in some cases students might want more privacy and might not opt for college accommodation.
2) University Accommodation - a good option for families/couples. These are a bit more expensive than college accommodation and could be far from the City Centre.
3) Private Accommodation - need to be careful on this one (in terms of finding a good landlady or reputed real estate agent) but could be a good alternative.

MBA-Prep (Visa Application)

Aidah and I finally stacked all the documents and filed for the Visa at the VFS office in Pune today (10th July). We should hopefully get our Visa by Friday (13th July).

Divya (my future class-mate) from Bangalore was a great help. She had given me a brief about the documents required for the Visa application. She also had warned me that the VFS office may be crowded (as she found out in Bangalore) and suggested that I go a bit early in the morning to beat the crowd.


I reached the VFS office at 8.00 AM. The place was almost deserted and I was the only applicant at the centre. The staff at VFS were very professional and helpful. They collected the application form, passport, supporting document and the visa fees.


Please find below the list of documents I had submitted


1) Visa Application form
2) Passports
3) Student Additional Questionnaire
4) Admission letter(s) from Cambridge University (Original)
5) Fee Invoice from University (Original)
6) Certified copy of marriage certificate
7) Master (MS) and Bachelor (B.Sc) Degree Marks Cards and Certificates (Original)
8) GMAT Score Report (Print out)
9) Appointment Letter from my current employer (Original)
10) Employment/experience letter from Current and Previous employer (Original)
11) Loan approval letter from HSBC Bank, UK (Original)
12) Bank Statements and Savings Proof (Original/Signed)
13) Salary slips for last 6 months (Original/Signed)
14) Income Tax Returns (Form-16) for 3 years (Copy)
15) Title deeds for property in India (Copy)
16) Brief Resume
17) Email exchange regarding the Interview at Cambridge
18) Visa application fee of INR 8450 (Approx GBP 100) for each application

A few useful links
1) VFS - UK VISA (India)
2) The required documents (British High Commission)
3) Student Visa Guidance (INF 5)