  Characteristics of the initial condensate in the recent experiment on
Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC) of ${}^{87}$Rb atoms in an anisotropic
magnetic trap is discussed. Given the aspect ratio $R$, the quality of BEC is
estimated. A simple analytical Ansatz for the initial condensate wave function
is proposed as a function of the aspect ratio which, in contrast to the
Baym-Pethick trial wave function, reproduces both the weak and the strong
intaraction limits and which is in better agreement with numerical results than
the latter.
