I worked yesterday who cares about the rate?

So after my near meltdown earlier, I put in 4 hours [3 REAL] hours of studying...  I'm still trying to press through this Manhattan GMAT World Translations guide.  This is taking forever... Tonight I did Work/Rate problems and Ratios.  I can already tell that I'm going to have to go through this guide one more time.  That means that between Number Properties and Word Translations I have a lot of work to do.

After I did the problems a the end of the chapters I looked back at my first MGMAT CAT Diagnostic exam to see if I could do the work/rate and ratio problems that I got wrong.  I was able to solve them successfully.  It made me smile.  The curious thing though is that some of the questions that I found EASY on the CAT exam were the 700-800 level questions.  Now let me remind you that I took that CAT before the start of my class.  I made mistakes on the 300-400 and 500-600 simple questions.  I'm not sure what the takeaway there is but I'm going to assume it's good.

As I sit here in my livingroom, I'm staring at myself in the mirror on the wall on the other side of the room... i think i've lost about 5lbs... which would be noticeable on me - hhmmm odd...

I'm just rambling now because I'm waiting for my movie to finish downloading on itunes.  I'm addicted to the Saw thriller movies, and 6 is available to rent... so that's what I did.  I'll fall asleep... wake up... hop on a conference call... and then get back to studying.

You guys should be proud of me for not going out tonight, although I could have definitely used a:

Cheers!

OHNO...Temptation is killing me

So you may be wondering why I am posting to early tonight... well the title may slightly give it away.  This might be one of my favorite titles.  Last night I was watching the olympics and Apolo Ohno lost because he touched/pushed the other skaters...  I was really looking forward to him winning that race because he hasn't won a gold this whole olympic games.

I was studying during the race and then got sidetracked online for a long while talking to friends all because of Apolo Ohno!  Then I realized that it was late and that I should go to sleep because I had to go into work today... yes on a Saturday...  I had to straighten some things out and learn how to edit HTML codes for this dedicated email that we have going out in a couple of weeks.

I knew that it would take a while for me to figure out what to do, on my own, so I just bit the bullet and got to it.  I also had to fill out a questionairre, which you'll hear more about in a week or so.  Just keep that in mind.

Just so everyone knows, I work on 54th and 3rd and I live on 52nd and 11th.  It seems far, and if you're walking it's definitely far, but I take the subway to and from work.  It's pleasant when it's not cold outside.  In any event, I left work tonight at 10pm and as I was walking home I walked passed a couple of my favorite bars.

THEN THE TEMPTATION SET IN... so the other half of the title today comes from Destiny's Child's song Temptation.  I started thinking "well you can go out for a couple drinks..." now anyone who knows me personally knows that that would be an impossible feat for me.  My drinking mantra is either "Go Hard or Don't Come!"  I kept repeating to myself "you have to study you have to study you have to study you have to study you have to study."

So then I passed the bars and I get home thinking that I'm safe... no such luck... i log into Facebook and I have a message from an old friend telling me how he's been in NYC for months and hasn't seen me yet, and that we should hang out.  ::ugh::  why couldn't he have said this last weekend when I took the week off?

I think I'm good now that I've vented!  I'm going to set up my study materials... have a cigarette... order food... and get to it... I'll definitely be up late tonight since I slept until 12pm today, so I'll be posting again later.

....  aaaahhh crap Jennifer Lopez is on SNL tonight isn't she?  and it starts in a half hour!  FML

Chicago...Play or Motion Picture

Good 'evening' folks!

Competition Update

I have been at a loss with all of my "free" time that I now have.  Why do I have free time you ask? (although no one is probably asking because you know).. but for those who don't know a lot of my time two weeks ago was taken up from posting on BeatTheGMAT.com (will be known as BTG from here on out).  The results are official now and I was one of the winners...  I kid you not!

I was on hiatus for a short while because I needed to decompress from averaging 30 posts/day, but I'm back to posting now albeit not as frequently.  

You will all hear about the prize that I chose probably until I get into B-school... but I would like to speak about a tertiary prize.  If you've been following my blog this whole time you probably remember when I had the lead... didn't have the lead... regained the lead... lost it... gained it back...  let it go... you get the idea.  It actually didn't happen that many times, but for effect it did!  Anyway... there was one specific time when someone with the username Osirus took the lead, and held it for a while, when I said that I didn't mind him or her (at that point) being in first.  I didn't know the meaning of that post until going back and re-reading my posts, and looking at where I am now...

Osirus and started sending private messages back and forth daily.  The posts ranged from basically introductions -> talking about future plans post MBA.  It got to the point where my cellphone on my desk was buzzing constantly from the Private Message email updates.  I remember looking at my inbox and refreshing it and there would be a message... so I would reply... then I would refresh and there would be a response... haha... so I sent a message asking if Osirus had AIM, so we could converse in even more real-time.

If you can't tell... I love to talk about this whole B-school process... I mean DUH I'm writing a blog, but Osirus loves to talk about it too!  It's great when you connect with someone who is as fanatical about the same thing that you are, as you're both going through it together.  If we were in the same city we would have undoubtedly met already.  In our case Osirus is in the Midwest... cold cold midwest!  Osirus gets to work much earlier than I but when I sign onto AIM we just pick up where we left off the day before.  I know my friends and coworkers are relieved now that I don't have to talk their ear off about everything I'm feeling/going through. 

I've even put Osirus in contact with one of my friends who is in an MBA program currently to ask my friend some questions about the program.

Sidenote - I do know Osirus' real name hahaha, but I haven't told him or her that I'm giving a shout out on my blog, so I've refraining from using the name.

Study Update

Ok so that's that... now onto studying...so I had my 5th class on Tuesday.  Let me tell you... these weeks are going by FAST!  I took last week off from studying for 2 reasons...  1.) my brain needed it 2.) I needed to post... not going to lie about that... So cut to tuesday during my class and I hadn't done the work.  I know I know I'm supposed to be dedicated and ALL THAT JAZZ (see how I weaved in a song title from the Motion Picture - Chicago - the title of the post?  cute right?) but I desperately needed a break.

So needless to say on Tuesday I was behind... the Quant topic was Word Translations.  I think I took the appropriate week off because we didn't have to read the whole Study Guide for class this time.  So basically for the next class I need to just add two more chapters to the 4 or 5 that were required for the last class.  It won't be so bad.  I need to make sure I get through them because these types of questions are unavoidable on the GMAT.  No worries though...  

School Visit Update

Last but not least - I'm preparing to plan my trip up to visit Dartmouth Tuck!  You want to talk about excitement?  Let's talk about that!  I'm going to take the Dartmouth Coach up to the school.  This is great because it departs from the Yale Club down by Grand Central Station.  The coach leaves at 1:30, so I can put in 1/2 day at work and leave my office at 1 and be down there in time!  I was planning on going up to Hanover, NH on the 24th of March and staying until the 26th.  As I was looking at the event offerings I saw that they have a class visit option on the 26th, which is a Friday.. meaning I would go up on the 25th.  I'm baffled by this because I didn't think that MBA programs had classes on Fridays.  When I get the email back from the admissions office I'll see if that's a better day for me to go up.

It seems as though the days events are very similar to that of Yale.  I would visit a class...then go to Lunch...then take a campus tour... then there's an admissions Q&A.  Now if you remember I took the train up to Yale in the morning and came home the same day and was back at my apt by 7pm.  Dartmouth on the other hand is a trek.  7 hour bus ride... shuttle to my hotel... because I cannot afford to stay in the Hanover Inn which is literally across the street from campus but is uber expensive.  I'll be staying in the Courtyard Marriott 3 miles away.  Since the bus schedule to and from is so infrequent I will be staying over for two days.  We'll see what transpires on that Friday evening if I do go up on Thursday the 25th.

I'm going to end abruptly because it's 3:07 and I have a podcast to listen to.

arrivederci!

I Got You My Pretty...and Your Little Prize Too!

Hello everyone...  so today is officially Monday February 22nd which means the contest is over!  I don't know what I'm going to do with myself now lol...  everytime I would be on my computer I would immediately go to BeatTheGMAT.com.  I'm going to feel lost now...

We'll see the final standings at some point during the day, but it's looking pretty good right now.

In terms of studying... i must say that I've been taking some time off.   It needed to be done, my head was  spinning.  I think I'm in a great position and can afford myself some time off.  This week I'll be getting back into the swing of things though.  I didn't even open a GMAT book this weekend... actually partied harder than I should have...  it was fun though ;-) 

Down to the Wire

Ok so I just wanted to let everyone know that this will be my last post until Monday.  The contest is getting down to the wire and I need to be focused on remaining in the top 5.  Here are the latest standings:

See Ya on Monday!!!!

Yale SOM Visit

So I just got home from my visit up at the Yale School of Management. All in all it was a success.  I got my first taste of the day in the life of an MBA student.  Ok here goes the recap...

I was at Penn Station by 6:30 and got on the train at 7.  At this point I had no idea what to expect.  I started thinking to myself... “Is this school going to be a fit?”  “How many other people will be in the group?” etc etc blah blah... ok fell asleep on train... 1.5 hours later I was in New Haven.

It was my first time being in New Haven.  I had driven by it before but never stopped in it.  Maybe going to McDonald’s or something but whatever.  So my first impression was “wow this is an old town!”  You really get a sense of it being a New England town, just from looking at the buildings.  They’re all brick and not very high... remember I’m used to NYC.  It was quaint, not much hustle and bustle but then again it’s Presidents Day.

So I go outside the train station and have a cigarette of course.  Yes yes I know disgusting habit that I’m going to quit after the GMATs!  ;-)  I get in a cab and tell him 55 Hillhouse Ave, which is the Yale SOM visitors center/admissions building.  Ok so I’m used to being in cabs, but this cab was expensive and I don’t think the Visitors center could have been more than 2 miles away from the train station.  The cab started at $3.25 and was $0.25 per 1/9th mile!  $8.75 and $1.25 tip later I’m standing in front of the Visitors center.  I go take a couple of pictures of some signs and have another cigarette just because I knew I wouldn’t be able to have one for a while! 

I was about a half hour early, so I walk in and introduce myself, get my name tag, and have a seat.  When I walked in there was another prospective student sitting there.  Turns out she was waiting to have her interview.  No wonder she looked a bit nervous.  People started trickling in and before you know it, they moved us to another room where we all sat and waited for a couple students to come in and give us an introduction.  We were all making small chat.  You know the standard “where are you from?”  “what do you do?”  “are you here for an interview and a tour or just an interview?”  I would say that about half of the people in the group of say 20, were there for an interview as well.  Another handful were applying for R3, and the rest of us were just getting an early start on visiting schools.

Now as a sidenote I will say the following for anyone going to visit schools.  Please dress appropriately.  I wore dress shoes, suit pants, a light blue button down shirt underneath a navy blue v-neck sweater.  I was dressed appropriately.  There were about 3 people in jeans and button downs or sweaters.  That wouldn’t have been weird had it just been me mixed in with them, but we were mixed in with people dressed in suits going in for their interviews.  So I would have felt inadequate had I been them.  

Since this was Yale... i would say 90% of people visiting wore blue!  Coincidence?  I think not!  

After a couple minutes, our student guides came in and explained to us the new (circa 2006) Yale SOM Integrated Curriculum.  This was definitely a high-point of the day for me, because honestly... I could not truly decipher the diagram on the website.  Can you?  http://mba.yale.edu/MBA/curriculum/pdf/diagram.pdf Didn’t think so. 

Well the student guides broke this down for us and it totally makes sense and energized me.  Instead of having multiple classes within each siloed discipline like Finance, Accounting, Marketing, etc.... you learn things from different perspectives such as... from the Customer perspective, Investor perspective, Competitor perspective, Employee, and so on and so forth.  You do get to learn the basics of Economics and Accounting and such in the beginning of your first year, but the Perspectives are the main ways of learning.  I really like this innovative way of learning.  It puts you in the position of each component to force you to look at things from a different angle, as you progress through the curriculum!  Very nifty!

After they explained the curriculum we went to sit in on a class.  I chose to sit in on a class called Employee.  You can basically tell what it’s about... they were going over a case about Harrah’s casino and how to motivate the cage workers and managers with incentives/bonuses.  It was obviously based on the case that they had read the day before.  The professor and class was very interactive.  No one was fighting for speaking time...it didn’t seem like anyone was worried about a Cold Call.  All answers were very genuine.  It turns out that tomorrow the protagonist of the case will actually be speaking at Yale.  So I thought this was very neat in that you can get inside his head to see why he made the decisions that he did.

One thing that stuck out in my head was when one student was answering a 2 part question, but couldn’t really get the answer so she said “maybe one of my classmates can help me out here” and immediately a couple other hands went up to help her out.  I thought that was very cool.  Yes there were people who just couldn’t be bothered because they were clearly tired, but that’s going to be with any school.  

I can definitely picture myself sitting in this type of classroom on a daily basis.  The discussions were not in some foreign language or uncommon business vernacular.  Some students threw in some business buzz words, but that's ok!  I have a few up my sleeve too.  This just comes down to a matter of being accepted!

The classroom was situated in a semi-circle of course.  It may have been slightly tiered, but it wasn’t intimidating by any means.  Very bright too!  Lots of windows.  The professor had two pull down screens on each side of the blackboard.  The blackboard of course could slide back and forth.

After this class we went back to the Visitors center and waited for the student guides to take us on a tour of the b-school campus.  The campus isn’t big, it only consists of 3 buildings, 2 of which are connected by tunnels, but considering that the the total combined student population is < 500, 3 buildings isn’t bad.  The facades of 2 of the buildings are older, since they were old mansions, and yes the floors do creak, but the newer sections of the buildings are nice and modern.  Here is a good time to remind everyone that the school of management will be getting a new home in 2013.  It’s gorgeous, there are only pictures available online.. 

here are some pics of the proposed buildings...  this won't be completed until the year I would graduate..

So after the tour, we went to lunch... standard cafeteria here... order food... pay for food... eat food... food was good.  After we ate, we went to another class.. the set up in this room was definitely tiered.  It was smaller than the previous classroom and the professor only had 1 projection screen.  This class wasn’t case based.  It actually seemed like there was a lot of reading that had been prescribed.  The students had a 2 question quiz at the beginning of the class.  The quiz would not be hard if they did the reading.  It was just two basic questions...  no big deal.. do the reading get a good grade.

This brings me to another point... about grades...  There are no grades at Yale SOM.  I knew this, but didn’t really understand it that well. The two categories are basically Distinctions and Proficient.  It’s very hard to fail, they said that you would actually have to try very hard to fail.  Most people get proficient, but distinctions are available.  A good thing about not having grades is... well the obvious... less stress... and you can take classes that you may be interested in without worrying about failing and ruining your GPA.  Also, not having grades fosters more teamwork, because you’re not competing with people.  

After this class, we went back to the Visitors center to participate in an Admissions Q&A.  When we got to this part I thought to myself “YES... THIS IS WHERE I’LL ANSWER MY QUESTIONS.”  So here are my notes from that conversation:

• There is a real sense of community because it’s small & diverse
• Core courses have 2 Faculty in the room @ the same time
• Yale SOM doesn’t want to just be highly regarding in comparison to other b-schools.  They are working towards being the best! 
• AdCom goes through undergrad transcripts line by line looking for quant classes, not just overall GPA.
• If you’re a career switcher, explain how you became interested in your future career path in the essays.
• If you are granted an interview, the interveiwers only see your resume prior to meeting you.
• In terms of the GMAT the AdCom looks at the range of scores but they take the highest score.

Now guys remember the question I was going to ask?  What are 3 adjectives that would describe the quintessential Yale SOM student?

• GENUINE - PASSIONATE - FUN - TEAM PLAYER

So after that, it was time to take the train back.  Another $10 later and another cigarette... I’m sitting in the train station and I see someone else who was in my group waiting for her train.  So she sits next to me and we start talking about everything.  Then we see someone else that was with us, so he sits down with us and we go through the same process.  Then we see someone else who was with us... same story...  Then as I realize that my train is here, I see someone else that was with us, so after the 4 of us exchanged business cards...  I ran over to the other prospective and exchanged information with him too.  Two of the guys live in NYC about 20 blocks from me, so maybe we’ll get to meet up some time.

Now... I must add this in because this was a concern of mine.  Being a gay male I was wondering how it would feel being back on a college campus again AND being OUT this time.  Well I can say that I think that people are just too busy to care at Yale.  (NYU also, but then again that's in NYC and here it's kind of an identity thing)... but at Yale I was comfortable being myself.  Not my New York self (more on that if you ask).... I was just me... didn't get any weird looks.. people were just being people.  It was nice.. very nice...  A+ in my book!

Ok that’s it for Tonight... this was a long one!  Let me know your thoughts...

5 Star notebooks are how much?!?!

::sigh::  HELLO EVERYONE!!!  and i'm back in full effect!  I wanted to get back on here and give everyone an update... just gonna hop right into it as this may be long...

Ok so... I've had my third MGMAT class.  One thing I want to say about the class is that there is a TTTOONNN of readings and homework.  For the last class I actually did the wrong Quant Guide.  Each class we have to have an entire Quant guide completed.  This week it was supposed to be Equations, Inequalities, and VIC's.  I accidentally did Fractions, Decimals, and Percents which isn't due for another 3 weeks!!  Oh well... luckily I understand equations and VICs, so I didn't have a problem understanding during class.  I did tell myself that I would go through the guide I missed this weekend... and I did!

If I wanted to stay busy for 5 hours a day for three months, I definitely could.  I still put in about 2-3 hours/night.  Today I actually woke up at 10:30 and was studying by 12.  Fell asleep studying from 4-5:30 then studied from about 6-8.  Had to watch the olympics because Apolo Ohno was racing... so I did some CR (Critical Reasoning) chapters while watching the olympics....  Now that I think about it.. maybe THAT'S why I don't fully understand CR Diagramming!  Actually no, I just don't like it... but I will give it a chance.

Anyway, after some speed skating and skiing, I decided to read some chapters in the SC (Sentence correction guide).  I'm beginning to like sentence correction - FINALLY...  but my Quant skills are slipping I think.  That'll come back to me with repetition.

I went to the John Jay bookstore (i live down the street from it) to buy some notebooks.  I want to do the OG problems tomorrow but I want to keep them separate.  I bought two notebooks... a 5 subject notebook and 1 subject notebook... $17.98!!!!  WTF?!?!  Now I remember trapper keepers being about $6 when I was in kindergarten... but when I was in HS notebooks were like $3.99 or something like that...  I gagged when i saw the price, but I had no other option!

Tomorrow I plan on doing all of the OG questions that we are supposed to have completed up until this point.  I was thinking about saving the OG problems until after the class, because that's what a lot of people are doing, but I figured... if this is what's recommended... who am I to tell people who have scored in the 99th % - no I don't think your strategy works for me!  Pssshhh..

Ok lemme see what else is going on?  Oh so on Friday I had a half day at work.  Anytime we have a day off we get the former previous day as a half day.  Since I don't have work on Presidents Day I had off on Friday.  I met up with someone I met at an NYU marketing event/conference back in October.  Most of the people I met that day were applying for 2010 and I'm applying for 2011, so I guess I was more laid back in that I wasn't trying to suck up to the admissions committee.

In any event... So I met up with him at Redemption on 52nd & 2nd avenue at 4:15... it was good to catch up with him... we had been emailing back and forth ever since we met, but he had to be left alone because he was applying R2 (round 2) to Wharton, Harvard, Columbia, NYU, and UVA Darden.  Since he's done with the applications we decided it was a good time to meet up.  I'll be MIA to my friends come March because that's gonna be crunch time for me.

He too is in digital marketing for a national retailer so aside from talking about B-school stuff and GMAT stuff we were also able to compare notes on our jobs.  He has an interview at Wharton & Darden next week!  I wish him the best of luck!!!   So yeah... I got there at 4:15 and we left at 7 and only had 4 beers each - I had Stella (yum)...  but I was definitely feeling the alcohol after 3 hours.

I also got an update from a kid that I went to High School with who also applied to schools this year.  He applied to Stanford, Harvard, Wharton, MIT Sloan, and Dartmouth.  He got rejected from the big three (Stanford, Harvard, Wharton), but was accepted to Sloan and is waiting to hear back from Dartmouth.  I'm sure he'll get into Dartmouth because his profile is really good and he went to Dartmouth for undergrad.  I do think that he'll choose MIT over Dartmouth though...

So the big news this week is that I'M GOING TO YALE!!!  I have no idea what I'm going to wear though...  suit with a shirt?  do i wear a tie?  cufflinks?  how about jsut a sweater underneath?  i'm going on a Campus Tour... Sit in on 2 classes... and then there's an Admissions q&a... i gotta remember to bring my notebook. and ask the question - if you had to describe 3 things adjectives that describe Yale, what would they be?

I will upload all my pictures to the blog when I get back home... actually right now I should be researching train schedules and what not!  yeah lemme go do that ahaha!

Here are the standings from the contest...  there are 9 days left... let's see where I end up!

Until tomorrow!  xoxo

My Apologies

Sorry Guys... I have not forgotten about you!  Here's the quickest update:

1. I'm still studying...
2. Contest is becoming fierce... so I don't have time to write that much any more as I must get posting away... but I will say that once the posting begins to interfere with my studies... I will be stopping... I just can't keep up with SOME people...  they're not in the latest update below, but give them a day or two and you'll see them...

Gotta go... my fingers hurt!

Kaplan Information Session: NYU, Insead, Cornell, Columbia

Hola folks...  


So in my last post I mentioned that I was going to an MBA info session at the Kaplan center... the address is something like 888 7th avenue, and I started walking the wrong way out of the subway... so then I'm looking at the street addresses and I automatically start trying to decipher whether each address on this particular block was a Prime number.  It reminded me of the matrix and how they saw things differently...


That's the end of that introduction because I have a very long post today, but it's a good one... 


Like I said I went to this event and the participating schools were Insead (comparable to Harvard), NYU, Cornell, and Columbia.  I must say that I was very very impressed with all comments made by the Insead rep.  I can definitely tell why they are one of two top business schools in the world!


On BeatTheGMAT.com, I posted these notes but I didn't add my story and thoughts to them... since this is MY forum I will do so...  read... set...... GO!

The questions asked by the moderator are bolded...
Why get an MBA?
NYU - people want to make a move in their career and need additional coursework. People want to expand their network.
My Thoughts - it's amazing how true this is for me... I feel that I'm reaching that glass ceiling in my career where I cannot make a move up.  *remind me in a couple weeks to elaborate on this* I cannot do so now... I do feel that in order for me to become the CMO of a .com I need to have a knowledge of how Finance, Marketing, Production, Accounting, etc all tie in together.  I could get into one of my essays but I shan't.  Sidenote - I LOVE saying "I Shan't"... I died when Emily said it in Devil Wears Prada (my all time favorite movie followed by The Hangover).  If you don't remember, Emily said it to Andy when Andy was running out of the office to go to get Miranda's steak.  Andy - "Wish me luck!"  Emily - "No.. Shan't" anyway I digressed A LOT ;-) remember THAT from the previous post?

Because of the economic downturn? How do you evaluate your MBA candidates?
Columbia - we look for students who are resilient. Many people come into MBA program thinking one thing, but the realization is that they have to be prepared to take another route if needbe.

Random comment made - Make sure on your resume you are focusing on "What is the school looking for and how do I fit into their mission?" "How do I compliment their needs?" 
My Thoughts - this is UBER important... i'm glad the comment was made just to drive home this fact to me.  I think this is where a lot of people go wrong in their essays.  They don't SHOW how they fit into a program and compliment it's mission.  Why would say... Dartmouth want to admit someone who has great stats but likes being in a big city and doesn't like to be in a small program?  Just because it's a phenomenal school?  Blah they don't need you... they have many applications to go through.
When is the right time to go to B-school?
Cornell - When you feel that you're not learning as much as you could be and/or you're not being challenged in your current line of work.
Cornell - When you are able to explain your achievements and accomplishments otherwise you are not ready for B-school. 
My Thoughts - this was geared towards those people with little experience.  One fact that the NYU rep brought up was that they don't really care for people who have PT experience... they're looking for those with Full time experience.... but anyway...  the key takeaway here was that if you cant think of any achievements and accomplishments.. then it's not time for you to go to b-school.  this is because a large percentage of your learning will come from your classmates and vice versa.  if you can't speak to anything in particular then you're not helping yourself or anyone else.
On the GMAT
Insead - The GMAT is essentially a critical reasoning exam similar to business school. You can have the quantitative skills but if you don't know how to apply it correctly, then the skills can't be helpful. In business you are given a limit amount of information and you have to make assumptions, inferences, and difficult decisions with the limited information. For this reason the exam is essentially Critical Reasoning in nature. 
My Thoughts - I have never heard the GMAT explained in this manner... it's 100% true and I couldnt agree more... again... very impressed with Insead
On Short & Long Term goals essay
NYU - Make sure that you SHOW how you've come to the conclusion of what your short term goals are - by function and by industry. Even if you're not sure... come up with something! Then SHOW how a degree from _______ program is the best option for you.
Cornell - Think about what drives you. For the first time in your adult life you're being asked "What do you want to be when you grow up?" 
My Thoughts - everyone laughed when the Cornell rep made this comment, but if you think about it... it's totally true.  After finishing college... how often have you heard this?  Luckily I have already honed in on exactly why I need to go to b-school now... and where I want to be post-mba and then even further down the road.  The tricky part comes when I have to portray this through compelling essays.

This was my favorite question the moderator asked of the panelists. These buzzwords are definitely words to think about if you're applying to any of these four schools. Communicate these adjectives by SHOWING not TELLING.
The question was - State three words to describe your program.

Columbia - Resilient, Passionate, Articulate
Insead - Globally minded, Passionate, Engaging
Cornell - Enthusiastic, Passion, Focus
NYU - Team Player, Communication, Analytical 


MY THOUGHTS - The reason I loved this question so much is because A.) I had never heard it before and B.) Because if I did hear it before... I wasn't ready to receive it... if that makes sense.  It just went in one ear and out the other because I didn't realize how powerful it was an how it can help me when it's time to write my essays.  Think about it... a school basically just told you what they feel are the three top qualities they look for in a candidate.  If you can take these three themes and weave them into your essays, you have a much better chance for admission.  Since I will be applying to at least 1 of these schools, I will take those qualities to heart.  MOST IMPORTANTLY - when I visit Dartmouth and Yale and any other schools... I will make sure to ask that exact question.  I'm excited for that... and just by learning that... i feel that the 2 hours spent with free cheap wine and some cheese was worth it!  

Insead - If you have an interview with alumni remember that they're thinking to themselves - "Do I want to call this person a fellow Alum?"
My Thoughts - I always knew that's what an alum would be thinking...  now it's confirmed!  ahah


That's it for tonight... I am super super tired... and I'll be honest.. this is the first night that I have not studied and I feel VERY guilty.  I'm telling myself that I can slide tonight since this weekend I will be in my apartment the whole time.  I'll make up for it.  

I'm still in 2nd...

Enjoy your evenings/days/afternoons... Seacrest OUT!

Use Protection!!!

Hello yet again...

So as I'm walking to work this morning... this young guy walks out of his building and cuts me off and starts walking in front of me...  this would not have alarmed me except for the fact that he wasn't wearing a jacket!

Where is HIS PROTECTION (Jacket)?

Now for those of you who don't know (and can't tell from the picture) I live in NYC... on February 2nd it was HELLA cold!  Yeah that was for my west coast peeps - HELLA... For my New Englanders.. it was WICKED cold.. although to you guys you're probably like... PUHLEASE it's not that cold.. anyway I digress...

Don't you hate when people say I DIGRESS?  it's like.. "ok you realized that you're digressing, but by you saying "I Digress", you're going even further... just get back to your point already!"  anyway.. I digress  ;-)

I don't know what possesses people to walk out of their houses unprotected...  so you're definitely wondering how this relates to my GMAT prep... WELL...i wrote a story about it.. like to hear it?  here it goes...  (I'm still waiting for someone to tell me which popular 90's tv show that quote is from).

So today I had my 2nd MGMAT prep class.  As anticipated (... anticipated is a participle) people had warmed up a little bit more this time.  We started off the class with a short partner quiz.  It was basic stuff, or shall I say, I found it to be basic, because I had done the assignments.  I don't know how people can take a $1500 class from arguably the best GMAT prep class in the world, and not do the assignments.

This one girl, WAS FALLING ASLEEP!  I'm thinking to myself "GIRL... WAKE UP THIS IS IMPORTANT" but I let her sleep... HEY if you want to get into the nitty gritty of the GMAT, if she takes the exam before me I'm practically competing against her!  So I really should have gotten her a pillow.... anyway... I digress  ;-)

My Protection (terrible tie in to the title) against "failing" this exam is below:
So...  the key takeaway from today was that I need to reevaluate my study habits.  In a previous post I mentioned that I underestimated how much work there would be.  Last week I did the assignments... and the problems I got wrong (which were a lot), I would look at the answer in the back of the book and then try to make it my own.

This is the incorrect way of going about this.  So from now on, after I mark the problems that I've gotten wrong, or took extra time to complete, or just couldn't set up, I'm going to then redo the problems untimed, but using the proper study guides.  (That whole sentence was a mish mosh... and I don't even care... IT'S MY BLOG DAMNIT!)

On the quant front we did Primes, Divisibility, and Consecutive Integers... I HATE ABSOLUTELY HATE THESE... which unfortunately means that, they need to become my bffs!  That's the only way for me to score a 710!

I got an email today regarding an MBA information session tomorrow at some place somewhere in the city.  I need to figure out what I'm going to wear - where's my damn suit!  I wonder if any other people I've met at other MBA events will be there.

I will take thorough notes and add them in tomorrow nights post!

One last order of business is the current standings...

Me = Money9111

I know I lost the lead tonight... but don't cry for my Argentina - Osirus0830 is a good candidate to hold the title!

Enjoy your day!  Stay Warm