Cornell Johnson Interview Scheduled

CORNELL INTERVIEW - I realize that it's been a hot minute since I've posted.  I've just been incredibly busy with a lot of things.  My interview is scheduled on campus for Wednesday the 16th at 10:15!  I emailed my friend (one of the guys I met at the Reaching Out Leadership Conference) who is a 2nd year at Cornell to see if I could crash at his place.

I will be taking the Cornell Campus-2-Campus shuttle on Tuesday and will arrive infront of Sage Hall a little after 5:00.  Then I'll be going to my friends apartment.  I gotta remember to not forget to print out updated copies of my resume.  Note To Self

There is a lot going on behind the scenes now that I've been invited to interview.  I have a lot of research to do.  There's a lot of emailing going on... What are the emails for?  Well instead of talking to my Cornell friends on FB, I need a more formal venue.  I just want to make sure that the things that I have in my head make sense.  I've also dug out the information that I received at Johnson Means Business.  I told myself to keep all of that information JUST IN CASE I needed them for an interview or as a re-applicant.  Thankfully it's because of the former.

VIDEO ESSAYS - Tonight I sent my Tuck video essay to my friend because he wanted to see it.  Any time I send the video to people via YouTube, I upload it and then take it down immediately.  I do this even if the video is private just in case ya know?  Well I remember my friend from Saturday Night telling me that there were a lot of NYU ESSAY 3's on YouTube.  So after I sent my video to my friend I started watching NYU Essays on YouTube.  I watched about 5 of them and the main difference between their videos and mine was the time allowed.

My video could be a maximum of 1 minute and 30 seconds.  Some of the NYU Essays were 10 minutes+!  A.) I can't imagine editing and putting together a 10 minute video essay.  I know how long my video essay took so if I had to add another 8 minutes and 30 seconds to it, I would die.  I don't think they had a time limit but I wonder at what point does one tell themselves "Ok this is a long video"   Then on the flipside - how do X amount of application reviewers watch that many videos that are that long?  It boggles my mind!  ::shrugs:: Oh well I didn't have to do one for NYU thankfully, because that would have thrown a wrench in my plans.

Yale SOM - I received an email yesterday from Yale SOM saying that their decisions for my round would be released on February 25th.  Soooo......  I don't even have to say "Next month I'll find out official decisions."  It'll be THIS month!  Can't believe the time has arrived.

It Doesn't Stop - For all of those who are starting this process... just know this - once you hit submit.... "It" slows down but "It" doesn't stop.  After March I will tell you what "It" is.  There's too much competition now and the cost/benefit analysis doesn't warrant me filling in the blanks at this juncture.

This was a boring/forced post.  Sorry guys lmao - but such is the life of someone in my position right now.  Like I said... there's a lot going on behind the scenes.

Kaplan: Destination Business School

Hello All,

So last night I said that I would be writing today about the Kaplan Event that's occurring this weekend here in NYC.  Thanks to Eric at BeatTheGMAT, I'm able to proudly represent BTG.  See - I even got this sweet BTG T-Shirt!

I see a BTG retailing opportunity ahead of us!  But... I will say that you can expect me to wear this T-Shirt when I take the GMAT the next time!  People are going to think I'm crazy, but that's alright because they already do!

So this weekend is the Kaplan Event.  Here is a rundown of the schedule:

Saturday August 7th

10:00 - 10:30 = Kick-Off

10:30 - 12:00 = Your B-School Blueprint - A complete overview of the admissions process

12:00 - 1:00   = Working Lunch

1:00   -  4:30  = MBA Fair

Evening -       = Happy Hour  ( must contain myself haha) 

Sunday August 8th

9:00  - 10:00 = Elevator Pitch Breakfast - Practice your pitch for your interviews, essays, and networking

10:30 - 12:00 = Mastering the GMAT: Scoring 700+ (I could probably give this presentation... do as I say not as I do, since I haven't scored 700+ YET)

12:30 - 1:30  = Lunch and Mock Business School Class

1:30 - 2:30 = Career Round Robin - Speak with MBA's in Consulting, Banking, Government, etc.

2:30 - 3:30 = Application Essay Clinic featuring mBaMission.

3:30 - 4:00 = Closing

So I'm excited for every single one of those sessions.  Of the schools that will be there, I'm interested in... well Tuck of course but you guys are tired of hearing about that one lol...  But I do need to add some more schools to the list.  I'm going to stake out UCLA Anderson, Cornell since I still have more questions, Michigan Ross, Darden, and Yale.  I have never spoken to anyone from Darden, so that will be interesting.  

Anyway I digress...  It's going to be a jam packed weekend.  Now for the good stuff.. In order to prepare for this event, an email went out to I'm assuming all attendees... We have homework folks!  

1.) We have to update our resumes and bring 10 copies.

2.) Practice our Pitch

• Practice explaining in a minute or less, where you'd like to be in your career in five years and how you will get there.
• Practice your pictch on 8-10 friends and note their reactions and questions.

3.) Make a list of target schools.

• List 5-15 target b-schools (easy enough for me...)
• Identify your top 4 factors that you value in a school. (again easy enough for me)

4.) Pack your business cards - 50 should be more than enough

And then there are two optional assignments, which I won't have time to get too before the event, but definitely after the event before I finalize my essays and have completed the GMAT... soo... September for that assignment.

So yeah... there is some preparation that needs to go into this event.  The title of the event kind of fits into  the summary of my blog... funny how things come full circle huh?  

Full circle will be great when I hopefully get into the school of my choice and it's the first night and I write my final official b-school journey blog post!  I've been imagining that day a lot lately... That will be a great story!  ::fingers crossed::  

Ok I must be going now so I can review the Quant problems that I got incorrect tonight.  Data Sufficiency is NOT fun by any means!  Well the Geometry DS problems are fun... but the number properties = death.

BATTLE-BAXTER = OUT!!

Michigan Ross: Pre-1st Year Student Interview!

Good Morning Everyone!  I have another treat for you guys this time around.  I know that many of us are still battling the GMAT at this juncture, but I wanted to post something that provides a little insight into the months Post-Admission but yet Pre-Matriculation for an MBA student.

With all of the information available out there, I think these couple of months are not discussed very often.  I am curious as to what one does during these months, so I got an idea to well... ask someone!  I was speaking to my friend Jonathan yesterday, whom I've spoken about many times, and decided to send him a "couple" ;-) of questions regarding these specific months.  

Jonathan is one of my friends I've mentioned before who will be attending the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business this coming fall.  I'll let him tell you all about himself but I will say that Jonathan is AMAZING in that he scored in the 99th percentile on the GMAT!

This is a long post, I won't apologize because I know you guys will read it all.  In order to get the most out of this post you should, Go refill your coffee, Close your office door, and Commit to reading the whole post!

1. How did you and I meet?

We met in the New Haven train station.  I had just completed my interview at Yale SOM, and you were visiting the school.  Being well-organized pre-MBAs, we had left plenty of time to catch our trains.  Coincidentally, we also hung out in the train station with two folks who will be joining me at Ross in the fall.

2.  What did you do prior to b-school?

After graduating from college in 2006, I worked for four years at a mid-size health communications and technology company in the Washington, DC area.  For the first two years, I assisted the CEO of the company with day-to-day management of multidisciplinary teams developing software products under government grants and contracts.  For the last two years, I served as product manager for a quality improvement and outcomes management tool for the providers of behavioral health services. 

I loved the work, but I realized that managing only one product was becoming limiting.  I am passionate about helping public and social sector organizations solve the strategic challenges that prevent them from delivering effective and efficient services.  The product that I worked on did that to a degree, but I wanted to work on a broader range of challenges.  That goal led me to apply to b-school with an immediate post-MBA career goal of entering management consulting.

3.  Walk us through the day that you received the email/letter/phone call of admission to Ross.

It took me totally by surprise!  It was about four or five days before the official notification deadline for R2, and I had just gotten into the office in the early afternoon after attending a conference in the morning.  My work phone rang.  The 734 area code seemed vaguely familiar, but I couldn’t place it.  I assumed that it was a customer calling and picked up the phone.  I was very excited when the admissions officer on the other end told me where she was calling from!  After a pleasant but brief conversation (they have a lot of phone calls to get through), I hung up, called my parents, told my colleagues, and then tried (unsuccessfully) to focus on work the rest of the day.  My birthday was the next day, and my admission to Ross was a fantastic gift.

4.  What is the admitted students weekend called?  When was it?  Was that what sealed the deal for you in deciding to go to Ross?  Why?

All the cool kids call it “GBR.”  But the official name of Ross’s ASW is “Go Blue Rendezvous.”  Although it may be the first time that you hear the phrase “Go Blue!” as a Michigan student, it is far from the last.  GBR was in mid-April, about one month after the Round 2 notification date. 

GBR was an extremely fun, somewhat exhausting, and overwhelming compelling case to enroll at Ross.  Of course they hit all of the expected bases – the classroom experience, the career development program, the housing options, the financial aid details, the best Ann Arbor bars, etc. 

What really stood out, though, was the strength of the Ross community.  A huge number of current Ross students went out of their way to plan or participate in GBR.  Several reached out individually to me before GBR arrived to answer questions and share information.  One “Ross Ambassador” knew his classmates well enough to connect me with one who had just secured a full-time consulting position very similar to what I will be seeking.  Another student organized an informal reception in her apartment for pre-MBAs who shared her interest in organizational strategy.  It was so clear that they loved being Ross students.  They didn’t just want us to choose Ross, they wanted to help us begin a Ross experience that was as much fun as their own.

Many folks talk about how cool the Ross building is (and it is!), but what really impressed me about it was how seamlessly it supported the school’s action research teaching model and its values of trust and collaboration.  The building’s many collaborative work spaces create an environment that promotes formal work, impromptu exchanges, and socializing.  It is the physical embodiment of the school’s distinguishers. 

What was most exciting about GBR was seeing how happy current students were at Ross and how faithfully the school environment lived up to the way that Ross portrays itself.

5.  Was it painful writing that deposit check or a sigh of relief at that juncture?

In comparison to the full cost of tuition, it was a drop in the bucket.

6.  Did your job know you were applying to business school?  If not, how did you break the news to them that you were accepted and would be leaving?  If they did know, how did you decide when your last work day would be?

I was upfront with my employer about my plans.  Although there are plenty of things that I would do differently if I were going through the application process again, I would try to replicate this aspect of my approach.  It was good for my employer and for me.  We were able to plan and implement a smooth personnel transition that aligned with our strategy for the product that I managed, I was able to ask my boss and a customer to write recommendations for me, and I didn’t have to feel any anxiety about studying for the GMAT in my office (after hours!) or breaking the news.  I know that not everyone can be as open as I was, but I strongly recommend it if it’s possible.  If your boss is even somewhat enlightened, he or she will appreciate the time to plan ahead.  Even more importantly, there are enough things to get stressed about while applying without having to sneak around!

I gave a lot of thought to the question of when to stop working.  I used the promise of some time off as a motivator for myself when I was studying for the GMAT and writing essays.  So, I wanted to make good on that promise and reward myself.  I also balanced the following factors: 

a) having enough time off to see my family, travel abroad, and arrive in Ann Arbor relaxed and focused,
b) having some time in DC after quitting work to pack up and say goodbye to friends,
c) drawing as many paychecks as possible, and
d) having enough time at work to train up my replacement. 

Ultimately, I chose July 2 as my last day, setting up the 4 ^th of July weekend a celebration of my independence from employment as well as our nation’s independence.  It ended up feeling like the right date for me.

7.  How did you prepare to essentially be salary(less) for a full year until your internship?  A lot in savings?

To be honest, I don’t feel fully prepared to go 11 months without a four-figure sum of money being deposited into my bank account every two weeks.  I did save as much money as I could for b-school, but I will still be taking out substantial loans.  Since b-school tends to attract students who have already been professionally successful and who plan on being professionally successful in the future, the adjustment to a student budget and lifestyle seems to be a common concern.  I am optimistic that the Ross experience will be so much fun and so much work that I won’t have the time or energy to worry about fine dining, weekend trips to Vegas, or any of the other ways that I’ve found to spend money over the last four years.  But we’ll see.  The good news is that b-school is significantly shorter than many graduate programs and has among the best ROIs.  Plus, they teach you budgeting as part of the curriculum ;)

More seriously, your question raises the broader issue of the sacrifices involved in going to business school.  During the application process, it is easy and perhaps even helpful to focus on the many exciting aspects of returning to school.  But once b-school stopped being an abstract goal and started being an imminent reality, I began to feel the attendant financial, professional, and social sacrifices more acutely. I realized that I was giving up over $200,000 in tuition plus foregone earnings, leaving a work environment that I really enjoyed, trading down in housing, and moving 800 miles away from some of my best friends.  I am very confident that the Ross experience and the opportunities it provides are well worth those sacrifices.  But I would encourage your readers to make sure that the unique sacrifices involved in any decision to get an MBA are worth it to them.  If you take a clear-eyed look at the sacrifices and then decide that the benefits outweigh them, you will be positioned to make a more confident and coherent case to MBA programs on why they should let you in. 

8.  Let's say your last day of work was July 1st and you classes don't start until September 1st (exact dates are irrelevant) - What does a pre-matriculated MBA student do for 2 months?

The easy answer here would be, “Whatever you want!”  To a degree that’s true.  The most popular activities among my fellow Ross 1MBAs seem to be travelling & relaxing.  I’ll be spending all of August abroad.  Ross has an awesome program called M-Trek, in which groups of incoming students travel together to destinations around the world in groups of about 8-10.  Each trip is planned and led by 3-4 rising 2MBAs.  Everyone who has done it says it’s a lot of fun and a great way to get to know fellow students.  I’m looking forward to doing M-Trek in Barcelona.  Before that, I will be travelling on my own in other parts of Spain and visiting friends in Israel.  Right now, I’m spending several weeks with my family in Los Angeles, which is something I haven’t had the opportunity to do since college.  I also spent two weeks in DC after stopping work to ease the transition.

Even though there is virtually nothing that you “have to do” during your summer, I am also doing some low-intensity prep for b-school.  I’ve attended a handful of formal and informal receptions, happy hours, and events for incoming Ross students (these are actually really fun), completed a career assessment, and networked with some recent alumni who work in consulting.  I’m also taking a course on MBAMath.com to bone up on the quant skills likely be called upon during 1MBA.

9.  You asked me earlier if I had ever heard of MBAMath.com.  Why do you feel it necessary to brush up on these Quant skills?

I think of MBAMath.com and similar programs as more of a comfort than a necessity.  Presumably, the admissions officers for competitive MBA programs only admit students whom they are confident can do the work.  However, I know that I have had significantly less day-to-day exposure to quant work than some of my fellow students.  Considering the full price of an MBA, $150 seems like a good investment if it means that I will walk into class on day one with an added layer of confidence.

10.  What do you know now about the whole pre-MBA experience, that you wish you knew prior to applying?

A lot.  Here are the things that stand out:

Program Diversity - I did not anticipate what great differences exist between top MBA programs in terms of curriculum structure, functional specialties, culture, signature classes/experiences, industry/recruiter relationships, and even grading systems!  I wish that I had started researching schools earlier and been more selective in applying only to schools that were good fits for me.

Application Workload.  If you do your applications the right way, they will take a long time.  It is essential to tailor each application in order to present the aspects of your narrative that best match the school’s unique qualities.  If you can’t make a compelling case for a good match with a particular school, you may want to consider whether you are in fact a good match and whether your ~$200 application fee might be better spent elsewhere.

How Early to Start - The above two points suggest this third one.  I wish that I had been more systematic in keeping track of b-school’s local events, planning campus visits, and reaching out to current students.  It’s hard to do all that while working at a full time job, and no one can do it all.  But those are themselves arguments to start as early as possible.

How Good Admissions Officers Are - This is easy for me to say now that I know where I am going to school in the fall, but I think that the schools that I applied to did a good job of figuring out whether I would actually be successful and happy in their programs.  I think that at least one or two of my rejections were actually blessings in disguise.

As a bonus, here’s one thing that I did know before I applied that I’m glad I knew:

Why I was applying.  Truly understanding why you want to go to business school, why now is the right time, and what you plan to do with an MBA are invaluable.  This insight into yourself will not only make selecting schools and writing applications easier, it will allow you to dive into the b-school experience from the moment that you’re admitted.

11.  When I come to visit Ross can I stay with you?  ;-)

Of course!  As long as you quit smoking by then.

If you have further questions just leave a comment, and I'm sure Jonathan will be happy to answer them! I'll post his replied in the comment box!

If you'd like to read more about the day I met Jonathan at Yale... click here:  http://bit.ly/YaleSOM

Toodles!

What sound does a 680 make?!

So R2 decisions are trickling in... fortunately I am not in the group of those who are finding out.  I have two friends with great profiles who scored 680's on their GMATs and have been Dinged.  All together my two friends have been dinged from Columbia, Dartmouth (that one even hurt me), UVa, and Michigan.  One is still waiting on NYU, Wharton, and HBS.  The other is waiting on I believe HBS, Yale, and NYU.  He has an interview with Stanford and Wharton coming up...so we shall see...

I'm beginning to think that the sound that 680 makes is Ding Ding... it's disheartening to live vicariously through your friends anticipating their joy in saying that they've been accepted to only have them tell you they've been dinged.  Sidenote: why do they call it being Dinged?  I mean it does sound better than "i was rejected." but I'm not sure where it came from.

Maybe I'm underestimating the importance of the GMAT score or maybe some friends have set their sights very high. I think it's natural to want to aim high, but at what cost, when you've narrowed down your list so far that there's nothing left?

So tonight I'm beginning to think... is this even possible?  My friend being rejected from Tuck was a wake up call for me because I was sure he would get in.  He went there for undergrad...worked for a great company in the midwest... had an average GPA... and applied through the Consortium.  I spoke to him and he reiterated that there is a science to it all.  He also reminded me to not underestimate the factor of COMPETITION.  I tend to think I'm the only one with my profile out there and that just is not the case.  AT ALL... maybe after I get in somewhere I'll tell you guys all my stats haha... or how about after I submit all of my applications?  Yeah, I'll do that...

On another note:  I had my 6th MGMAT class today and I have advice for you guys out there debating on whether or not to take the in-person class.  I can only speak about MGMAT but I find that there are people in the class who may be taking A prep class for the 2nd time.  I'm all for people answering questions and being outspoken and what not during class, because lord knows I participate.  BUT - if I were to take the class a second time... I would not answer every question the instructor asks the class.  I find this simply rude... ok great you took the class before... if you knew the answers the first time you wouldn't have had to take it again.. maintain grasshopper maintain (what movie is that quote from?)

If you can answer the question in the same exact language the instructor would have then shut your trap because you're irritating.  How are the rest of us supposed to deduce the answer if you've already vocalized it?  So I say this to everyone... DON'T BE THAT PERSON!  We've all paid a lot of money to learn and sometimes we need to struggle with something in our heads first before learning the correct way to do something.  at the very least... sit tight and see if anyone else can come up with the correct answer - then if there's dead air - chime in!  Get it?  Got it? Good?

That being said... we did Combinatorics & Probabilities tonight... good gracious nonsensical what are you talking about?  Actually, after the instructor went through it, I got the hang of it. I came home and did some OG problems and did better than I though I would have.  It's funny (not really) because I can do the harder questions... it's the simpler ones that are tripping me up!  wtf is that about?  who knows?

I'm going to be taking my second CAT exam this Saturday.  My goal break 600.  If I get in the low 600's I'll be content for the time being, considering I feel lost with all of the math.  I hope it's a function of MGMAT teaching quant at a higher level.  It has to be right?  I mean if I got my first CAT score of 590 without having done any prior work... you would think I would be able to get 600-620 on the second one.

I know some people may say, why are you aiming so low?  Well...at the point when you sit down for the exam can you really AIM for a higher score or do you just take it and hope that your previous knowledge kicks in?  Of course I'll be happy with a 700, but honestly... the level I'm at now... if I get a 700 on the practice exam then there's something wrong with the algorithm!

Tomorrow's post will be good... I have some other things to update people on that transpired today, but I think that's all for tonight.  Tomorrow will be much better because I'll also have to transcribe my notes from my call with a Tuck student.

Ciao Bello/a

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!

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