Welcome to another exciting installment of Fridays from the Frontline! It’s been a busy week for the applicant bloggers, as the past two weeks of decision notifications have given many a good deal to think and write about.
Fortunately, much of the talk has been about positive developments; Curious George is in at Haas and Alex had a positive Berkeley interview, Benny and FM received some good news from LBS (and a warm welcome from fellow admits Moe and Angel Angie), GunnerMBA’s gotten his mind around his INSEAD admit, Ty Coon is looking forward to the upcoming welcome weekend at Emory, and Brownoski had a great time at a recent Yale admit reception in SF. Additionally, a number of programs have been letting our accepted applicant friends know just how “money” they are. Nixe received a merit scholarship from INSEAD, some money from UNC adds yet another consideration to MBA Spanky’s school selection, MJ learned of some financial aid from Duke, and MGalBlue is getting a partial tuition waiver from Ross. Finally, though she applied ED and already committed, Axechick’s Columbia fellowship seems to have further boosted her excitement.
Another popular topic this week was the desirable but difficult task of choosing between programs. Kellogg and Chicago go head to head in RedWolf056′s mind, AynRand2008 considers the Texas or Emory question but is keeping an open mind for each school’s welcome weekend, and Haas beats Duke in the fight over FooBarMe while Benny hopes that campus visits will break the Tuck/LBS deadlock. Meanwhile, those future students who know where they’re headed are getting ready. Kilgore Trout is in Austin mode, while Resolute thinks about his relocation for ISB and Patxi shares his pre-LBS agenda.
While there’s a good deal of excitement in the air, there was also a certain amount of disappointment, though MJ seems to have his Stern waitlist decision in perspective and Anand sounds optimistic about his Tepper WL situation. Some applicants are dealing with their dings through diversion (we particularly enjoyed WheresMyDessert’s self portraiture), others are already thinking about their reapplication plans. ChillPill has arrived at a detailed timeline and B-School Diva is focusing on the GMAT for now. First time Class of 2009 applicants are also arriving on the blogging scene, and MaelstromX has a nice post about his school selection and the lessons he’s learned from bloggers who’ve gone before.
The student bloggers, on the other hand, have been much quieter this week. Things wrapped up for ISB students this week, and both Vijay and Bharani reflect on the cost, the experience and the future. Though not yet halfway through his time at Ross, Nate also took some time to ponder the reasons behind his MBA. While things draw to a close in India, IESE students in Barcelona just finished finals last week but are already beginning a new term. Also in academic news, L’Optimiste relates a harrowing cold call experience at INSEAD and Jeff D describes a more pleasant entrepreneurship class at Brandeis.
Outside the classroom, Death Spiral and Auris are enjoying what sounds like an exciting Arab Week at INSEAD (the latter’s opinions on the school’s new dean are decidedly more mixed). Travel was another popular topic, as Wakechick recounts what sounds like a great spring break from Chicago, Olivier looks back on a week in Philly and a weekend in Montreal during his Wharton exchange, and KV thinks about the destination for his LBS international exchange.
That wraps up this week’s look at the latest goings on in the MBA blogosphere. Stay tuned next Friday as we announce the student and applicant nominees for the BoBs (Best of Blogging awards). For details on the rules, prizes, etc, click here. Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!
