Welcome back to Friday’s From the Frontline, our weekly trek through the MBA blogosphere. With the school year just a few weeks away for most (and already starting for some), and full-blown application season right around the corner, the last gasps of summer offered our bloggers a final few moments for relaxing and resolving. Let’s see how they’re getting in gear for what lies ahead…
This week we learn that Class of 2010 applicant Bschool Diva‘s pseudonym is more than just a name: Taking a cue from real life diva Beyonce, who recently suffered a nasty spill on stage and bounded right back up, this blogger vows to infuse her attitude with similar resilience throughout the application process. Gltnforpnshmnt is also turning up the heat these days, boldly preparing for job interviews, heading a volunteer campaign and taking on a marketing project, all on top of applications, among other things! Getting revved up for the journey ahead, Mbabound08 debuted an impressively planned out application checklist, while Wannabe posted a different kind of list: “You know you’re an MBA applicant when….”
Concerned with more serious matters, B-School Bound pondered a tough question this week: To apply in round 1 or not apply in round 1? Similarly thoughtful, after a few tries on the Indian School of Business’ first essay, Dreamer realized that the hardest part of his b-school application essays might be what he leaves unsaid. Agent-C’s also been staring deep into the applicant abyss, reminiscing on his GMAT nightmare and hoping for the best.
This week former ’09 applicant Asiangal crossed the bridge into student-hood, offering up a whirlwind tour of her first week in Wharton’s Pre-Term, which will run through August. Still reveling in his summer, Anand, on the other hand, enjoys a picturesque family vacation to Mysore, realizing along the way that no one’s too old to have fun at an amusement park. Meanwhile, Hairtwirler finds herself the source of others’ amusement as she continues her travels through India, learning that not all cultures share Americans’ mind-your-own-business ethos, and considering the culture shock her soon-to-be international peers are experiencing right now as they adapt to Georgetown. And, of course, finishing off our applicant recap, we can’t forget to wish a happy birthday to Ipoel’s sidekick Paris – fortunately not Hilton!
Shining in our first-year lineup, Benny hasn’t let his enthusiasm for Tuck wane one bit while abroad in Brazil for the summer; to the contrary, he’s served as a rallying point for Brazil’s Tuck community, organizing an alumni dinner with Professor Sydney Finkelstein to celebrate his new book, Why Smart Executives Fail, and gathering alumni for another dinner event with marketing guru Kevin Keller. Still a first-year for now – at least for another week – J-term Johnny put forth a prodigious last effort, juggling final assignments and end-of-the-semester revelry at Columbia. He also garnered an impressive 5 out of the 6 classes he bid on for next year, landing an action packed schedule to look forward to. Jacek was in a different frame of mind, however; cashing in on a much needed break from Barcelona (and ESADE), he recounts his variously boiling and relaxing weekend in Italy. Also taking in the steamy night, Rubeo Boy ponders heartbreak and what could have been upon running into an old flame (all while on summer break from NYU).
Switching gears, practical Patxi offers some pointers on making the most of a business school visit, while PerpetualMotion speaks out against the culture of careful planning, speculating that all the time we spend mapping out what we ought to get around to doing often precludes our truly getting around to much of it. Finally, while things turned out to be pretty much all quiet on the second-year front, NoellieBellie (IESE) appears as the brave exception, upping her blogging commitment, now handling blog writeups for the new internet-based television application, Joost, along with her personal virtual chronicle.
And that about caps off this week’s MBA blogging excursion. Hope to see you next week for the next installment of FFF!
