Welcome to another edition of FFF, our weekly recap of the latest goings on in the MBA blogosphere. Though last week was relatively quiet, we’ve seen a resurgence of activity on all fronts as current students ease into internships or new jobs, admitted students plan their transition to school, and the next crop of applicants get started on their way. Let’s begin by taking a look at what the aspiring Class of 2009 bloggers are up to:
For those just beginning the application process, the GMAT is, somewhat predictably, at the fore of discussion. We were glad to hear that Army Commo Guy earned a very solid score when he took the exam last week and that Kent Torokvei is closing in on test day and feeling good about his performance as predicted by practice tests. KoolJaek, meanwhile, has resolved to retake and is looking into a test prep course – but might also want to take a look at MBAXPloit’s list of recommended materials and Marina’s detailed account of her own test prep approach. Even though the GMAT is more than a month away for Suser McLoser, she’s already finding out that it’s an easy part of the application process in comparison to formulating a career goal story and getting it down on paper, something that Juggler has recently achieved after much revision and restarting, while Stress Tensor seems more hung up on the “why now” question.
To help fellow applicants who are struggling in this regard, UniQpath has posted some potentially helpful essay topic prompts, and Darden-bound MBAXPloit wrote directly to the topic of the “Why MBA” essay. A handful of application and b-school veterans also weighed in with advice for applicants this week. Jacek offers a recap of the ESADE interview that contributed to his admit at that program, MBAyisyen shared his thoughts on the difference between US and European business schools (focusing on class composition and post-MBA job prospects), and UCLA student H. Caulfield answered some more pointed questions about the application process.
On the reapplicant front, having grabbed one of the few remaining Fuqua feedback sessions after calling a mere hour after scheduling opened, B-school Diva attests to the high demand for this service, while Forrest Gump is in the unfortunate position of telling readers what it’s like to miss this opportunity at Wharton. While these folks are gearing up for the year of applications ahead, admitted students are turning their attention toward getting ready for school. Angel Angie is wrapping things up at work and focusing on her pre-LBS travel plans and Curious George is looking forward to living the simple life at Haas. Paxti got together with some of his future LBS classmates located in the Bay Area, and Karlitos and I_Will_Make_It share their summer itineraries as they prepare to begin school in London and Chicago, respectively.
Though things have been winding down for a while, there’s been talk of endings across the board with the student bloggers and, in some cases, corresponding beginnings. First year student Sam writes about the closure of commencement at MIT, Daily Travails reports that finals at Chicago ended with a bang, Marquis revels in the completion of his coursework at Stanford, FutureMBAGirl closes the book on Philadelphia in preparation for her post-Wharton career on the west coast, and Mark brings his blogging career to an official end with the close of his HBS studies. On a less final note, Death Spiral has decided to conduct an informal year-end INSEAD poll to benefit future students (while classmate L’Optimiste plays hooky at the French Open). KV made the observation this week that most of his conversations these days revolve around finals, the World Cup and internships; this holds in the blogging community, as Noelle alone has the first two items covered as she jumps in between roles as an MBA student with soccer spectator at IESE. As for internships, Buckyhoo reflects on the toll his search took on his studies at UNC while Jeff’s own job hunt just came to a close and settled his plans for the summer away from Brandeis. Meanwhile, both Al Martine of LBS and Brit-Chick of Wharton have landed summer positions at charitable foundations, and take a moment to consider what they’ve learned from their first year of school.
That does it for this week’s installment of FFF. While blogs give us a window into the summers of some, we hope that everyone else’s are treating them well, and that you all have wonderful weekends!
