I was interviewed for MBAPodcaster:
So last week a representative over at MBA podcaster reached out to me. She said that she was putting together a podcast related to the MBA Timeline and what candidates should do prior to applying and when. She was tipped off to my blog by one of her colleagues. I was excited to participate because MBA Podcaster has been very useful for me. I found out about it last summer and have listened to all 100+ podcasts... if you don't believe me check my very post because I called it out http://bit.ly/MyFirstPost. I will say that I was very nervous when we were talking on the phone. I wasn't nervous because of the conversation topic, but I was nervous because I knew I was being recorded. You guys all know that I love to talk, but something changes when you know that you're being recorded I guess. I also think it was because I didn't want to say any school names. When I talk freely I "name drop" all the time, but since I was making a conscious effort to not name any schools, I would trip myself up. She reassured me that I was doing fine, aside from the couple of "speak ups", and that the podcast would turn out just fine. I don't think it will be out until the fall.
Update on conversation with VP:
I know people are anxious to hear about this update. Well...hhmm... it did not go as planned. :-( The conversation I had with her was not bad by any means. She liked the position I created and asked what I was looking for. She also noted that I added a title change and I explained why. I think she was surprised by that but I explained to her that since we got rid of our agency and were engaging in new initiatives that I felt that new responsibilities warranted a new title. She didn't quite understand that, which was mind boggling to me. Maybe I'm missing something, and you guys can correct me, but... if you're Title says that you are a Lawn Mower...and now in addition you trim hedges, plant flowers, and water the grass... wouldn't your title change to Landscaper or something like that? At least that's how I feel.
She reassured me that her and the team have noticed the progress that I've been making. There are still some areas with which I need to work on, but that she and my director and my manager are dedicated to helping me improve those areas. She said "that's kind of our job... to make sure that you progress..." Funny she says that because she leaves this week on a 3 month maternity leave. Which brings me to my next point of discussion with her.
Let me just say that she's hardcore! She's due this Thursday! I asked her when she would be leaving and she said that as of right now... Wednesday will be her last day! I said... "I think your last day should be Tuesday so that you can get a full days rest on Wednesday before your life changes for ever." She laughed but didn't seem to agree haha. So when people ask me if I think she'll be able to write my recommendation letter, I say that she definitely will. She's going to give me her email address and phone number and said that I should keep in touch with her constantly to give her updates and so she can update me. It's great having people in your corner... she's definitely on Team Richard!
InsideTheMBA.org event on Tuesday:
So last Tuesday I attended an MBA fair at the Westin Times Square... which by the way is NOT in Times Square...it's on 43rd and 8th avenue....I know why hotels do that... but it's not good for people who live in the city and hear Times Square and then walk through that horrendous crowd only to find that it's not in Times Square. Anyway... the event was PACKED to say the least. There were more people standing up than sitting down because there were not enough tables. When I got there I looked for my friends Jess and Ben (called out in a prior post). We were standing... I was eating and drinking white wine (you guys know how I feel about free alcohol). There was a "panel" discussion for about 15 minutes and then they let us mix and mingle with the school representatives. The reason I put "panel" in quotes is because they were standing and passing the mic between a couple of them. It was very informal.
They allowed people to ask questions of course... and all of the questions were pretty standard. I honestly don't know how the school representatives stomach answering the same questions over and over and over and over again. Doesn't it get draining? I mean how many times can you answer "What GMAT score do I need?" before wanting to pull all of your hair out?
There was one question that was asked that made everyone go "Did he/she just say that?" I was debating whether (not whether or not because that would be redundant) to post what the question was, but I've decided that this is MY blog and I'll do as I please haha... So the topic of discussion was about application essays. This person asked "So you guys said what people should not do, but what can we do to make sure that the admissions committee isn't thinking, "Wow this essay blows!"" I don't know if you guys think that's inappropriate but I sure do. That question should have been phrased differently.
I was only at the event to talk to three schools. NYU, Cornell, and UNC Kenan-Flagler. The crowd for Baruch and NYU were huge, so I wasn't going to take the time to speak to the NYU reps. I'll be attending 100 other NYU events, so that wasn't a concern of mine. At first the crowd for Cornell and UNC was huge too, so I just got some more free food and free wine and sat down at a table and waited for the crowds to die down.
I heard from a friend that UNC was making strides in the digital marketing realm, so I wanted to see if that was true. Turns out... it's not. So that's an excluded school.
I then spoke to Randall from Cornell. If you guys have never met him, he's full of energy and I think is one of the most approachable people in the industry! I remember last year I heard him give a presentation about Cornell and I was incredibly impressed with the school. So I asked him about the curriculum pertaining to my interests and about the Johnson Means Business diversity conference. I'm actually going to email him when I finish writing this post. I have some questions for him. :-)
GMAT studying:
Studying is going well. Right now I'm going back through my MGMAT books. Today I was going through Equations, Variables, and VIC's. Initially when I went through these books I circled the problems I got wrong or didn't know. I did not write in the books other than that and I advise anyone else studying does the same. That way when you go back through the books you aren't persuaded by the answers you came up with before. I was feeling more confident because the questions I got wrong months ago, I was now getting right for the most part. I'm going to start studying a heck of a lot more now. I've got to!!! I do not want to have to take this exam again.
Kaplan event on August 8th and the sacrifice I will have to make to attend:
So on August 8th there is a Kaplan event at the Grand Hyatt. It's called Destination Business School. It's an all encompassing 2 Day business school event. It covers everything from Essay writing to Elevator pitches etc. I'm looking forward to it. I initially heard about the event last week when I went to the Ross event at the Kaplan Center. I saw the date and quickly wrote it off because that's the weekend I was going to be in Fire Island with friends. When I got the opportunity to go to the event I jumped at it with no question. I'll have to cancel my one day trip even though I already paid for it, but that's not a concern for me. I mean gotta make sacrifices right? Who knows what I'll learn or whom I'll meet. The opportunity cost is just too great too not attend.
ESSAYS:
So as I'm sure you all know, essays have begun rolling out. I know that for me I've seen all of the essay questions for the schools I wish to apply too. So in reality I could start my essays. All that I've done thus far is add a folder to my desktop titled B-School Essays. Within that folder there are X amount of subfolders for each school. Right now I just have 1 document with all of that schools essay questions. As I think about things throughout the days and weeks I just go in and jot notes under which question it would apply too for each school. I'll go back through at a later date and then begin writing. I haven't begun to write the essays, because well... again I've be better served by studying for the GMAT otherwise my essays won't matter. But at least I'll have all of the information available.
I also had a call today with that HBS alum. We spoke for 15 minutes and he gave me some incredible advice that I would not have thought of. I'm telling you guys... if you're going through this process with me... having people at the schools you wish to apply too.. is invaluable. They know the culture of the school and can tell you what to focus on. Sometimes just hearing it from someone else is enough.
Fall calendar:
OMG this is filling up sooooo quickly and I'm not even done. I've been going to the school's websites to find out when they're having events in the city or on their campuses. I'm in a position where I'm looking for two types of events, on campus and here in my neck of the woods. I'm looking for of course general info sessions, but more importantly events geared towards Minorities and the LGBT community. With that being said I have a full September/October/November. I'll give you a preview into what I have on my calendar as of right now. Some of the events overlap and I'll have to decide which ones to attend.
September 2nd - Tuck Reception @ Yale Club
September 3rd - NYU Diversity Conference application deadline
September 6th - Ross Diversity Conference application deadline
September 19th - MBA Tour event
October 7th - 9th - NYU Diversity Conference
October 8th - 9th - Ross Diversity Conference @ Ross
October 13th - Tuck Early Action Deadline
October 14th - 17th - Reaching OUT Conference in Los Angeles
October 16th - UC Berkeley Diversity Workshop @ Berkeley
October 28th - 30th - Cornell Diversity Conference @ Cornell
November 6th - Consortium interview Deadline
November 6th - UC Berkeley LGBT event @ Berkeley
November 11th - 14th - Tuck Diversity Conference
November 15th - Consortium Application Deadline.
So yeah needless to say this fall is shaping up to be a very busy and expensive one... not sure where the funds are going to come from...if anyone wants to donate a couple thousand dollars to my bank account, I'm all for it!
This week I'll be hitting the quant side of my gmat prep HARD!
As always... take care... beware... don't stare... who cares? Now I'm just delirious because it's late...
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