Happy November! A new month is upon us, and another round of deadlines sits squarely on the horizon. Though there is much to look forward to in the coming months, it’s that time of the week when we look backwards on the past seven days to sum up the haps in the MBA blogging world.
It’s been a busy week for the applicant crowd. With a handful of round one deadlines running over into this week, the celebration of submitted applications continues. While the Ross application was so enjoyable for Nivedita that she completed it a whole round early, Hobbes found it a bit more difficult but still submitted to Michigan by his target date, and was just slightly behind schedule in finishing up with Fuqua. Coming a bit more down to the wire, UniQpath said so long to Sloan on the day of the deadline. Finally, Rungee582, who completed work on Duke and Michigan last weekend, looked forward to a break.
As the long wait for interview invites begins, bloggers who have already sent their apps in are passing the time in varying ways. Some have found peace of mind – like Flexible Image, who enumerates ways he might spend his post-application free time – but most can’t get their minds off admissions. An anxious Juggler reflects on the drawbacks of Wharton’s transparency, while GuyMBA sings the praises of Columbia’s system and Iday offers a critique of Kellogg’s process. A lucky few have already heard from their target programs; JatWarrior was pleasantly surprised to hear from Yale so soon, and Rungee582 is gearing up for an on-campus discussion at Wharton. Meanwhile, Iday is excited about his upcoming meeting with a Chicago alum, Juggler was similarly cheered up by a GSB invite, and ScareCrow completes the blogger Chicago interview hat trick. We of course wish these and all applicants the best of luck, and hope that they’ll share their experiences (both in their blogs and in the Clear Admit Wiki)! Speaking of which, Hobbes has already interviewed with Columbia and shares a great account of that experience, and Scarecrow seems to feel positively about his Kellogg interview experience.
Complementing the rush to the deadline and ensuing anxiety of the round one bloggers, a number of applicants are making steady progress in targeting later deadlines. Coming to terms with the GMAT, AsianGal laments her lost math skills and formulates an exam preparation plan, and Jason actually sounds excited about resuming his studying regimen. School selection was another popular topic. Itobean is struggling to decide where to apply and wonders where to find the straight facts about certain schools (might we humbly suggest our School Guides?). Others, meanwhile, have formulated a list and are making the rounds: MBA Babe stopped by Columbia and Harvard on a recent east coast trip, and Dharu shares the details of a recent Haas visit. A bit farther along in the process, Rusgirl shares her thoughts on the essay writing process.
Student bloggers have also been occupying their time in a variety of ways. It’s a time of year when thoughts begin to turn to recruiting, so the topics of job searching and career direction have been popular ones this week. Bloggers’ thoughts run the gamut of the usual concerns: BeenThereDoneThat is still struggling to determine how to get the most out of his time at NUS and Noelle finds herself wondering whether it made sense for her to pursue an MBA after all, while Sharran has set his sights on CEB after Owen and LBS student Angel Angie enjoyed a recent glimpse into investment banking. Meanwhile, Auris already has a few post-INSEAD job offers in hand! For those embarking on the recruiting process, ISB alum Vijay offers some helpful resume advice.
Naturally, academics have been another popular topic – of a number of positive comments, no less. Given the Parker Center’s resources, Aregon23 is finding Cornell to be the perfect place to indulge his interests in stocks and investing, while Paxti is deriving tremendous pleasure from Econ class in London. Also happy with their school selection and the opportunities it affords them, Sean is impressed with caliber of the LBS-sponsored speaker series and Ash comments on some prominent visitors to Stanford. Also on the topic of business leaders, it sounds as though James is taking a lot away from a course taught by Jack Welsh at Sloan. Of course, there are – or are about to be – some trials as well. Back from break, DomoDomo offers a rundown of his current INSEAD courseload and From Cali feels the pressure of academics, recruiting and activities, and reflects on the importance of pushing herself to get the most out of her time at Michigan. Meanwhile, Tim (formerly Kilgore Trout) has been keeping very busy with classes and activities at McCombs and is starting to feel worse for the wear, and LL is bracing herself for what Wharton Q2 has in store.
Though business school entails a fair amount of work, this by no means precludes play, and we’d like to end with a look at some bloggers who’ve been enjoying the social opportunities and extracurricular elements of the MBA. Making the most of his U.S. exchange, LBS student rsr.pt made his way to Vegas, baby, Vegas for fall break, Noelle spent a weekend away from IESE in Amsterdam and, having moved to France for his second year at LBS, KV enjoyed simply spending a week in London. It sounds like Anderson’s Halloween party was a success based on UCLADawg‘s description, Karlitos writes of his appreciation for the LBS Wine & Cheese Club, and Marina attests that there’s a lot of fun and socialization (and some snow!) going on at Columbia.
That’s the news from the blogging frontline this week. Have a wonderful weekend everyone!
