Thursday, September 29, 2005
Long time, no post. I know people get annoyed when I whine about how little time I have, so I'll skip that. But let it be known that recruiting is kicking my ass. I'm starting from ground zero, since I didn't go to any consulting events last year (note to future classes - focus can be good, but see what's out there because you never know what will happen over your two years at business school). So in the next month, I'm trying to gain traction with consulting firms, and trying to figure out what the heck people mean by "crack the case." And I'm kinda trying not to fail out of Wharton along the way.
This year, I'm a graduate assistant in admissions. So I've been a few recruiting events this year. Two weeks ago, I went to NYC for the MBA World Tour, which was INTENSE. It was 4 hours of just running my mouth about the admissions process. Again, I was a little weirded out that people were nervous around me (how can y'all be nervous around me?? I mean it's just me!) . But I truly enjoy going to these events. I feel like since I'm so unlike the stereotype of a Wharton student, that I allow prospective students to see that there could be a place at Wharton for them. I think that's a good thing. One of the major things I'm working now is Prospective Days, an admissions event focused on women and students of color. The team is working hard to make it an amazing weekend.
I'm very happy with my class choice. I feel like I have a good mix of classes. I am SOOO glad I'm not just taking finance classes. I'm learning a lot of new things, and it's interesting to go more in depth into certain topics, like marketing research and consumer behavior. One of the great things about second year is that you get to take classes in subjects that interest you, and because your classmates are interested in the subjects, the class discussions tend to be richer and more thoughtful.
I'm just now feeling like I've got a handle on the workload, so I'll post more often. I've got another EIS (Employer Info Session) in 15 minutes, so time to put on my game face!
This year, I'm a graduate assistant in admissions. So I've been a few recruiting events this year. Two weeks ago, I went to NYC for the MBA World Tour, which was INTENSE. It was 4 hours of just running my mouth about the admissions process. Again, I was a little weirded out that people were nervous around me (how can y'all be nervous around me?? I mean it's just me!) . But I truly enjoy going to these events. I feel like since I'm so unlike the stereotype of a Wharton student, that I allow prospective students to see that there could be a place at Wharton for them. I think that's a good thing. One of the major things I'm working now is Prospective Days, an admissions event focused on women and students of color. The team is working hard to make it an amazing weekend.
I'm very happy with my class choice. I feel like I have a good mix of classes. I am SOOO glad I'm not just taking finance classes. I'm learning a lot of new things, and it's interesting to go more in depth into certain topics, like marketing research and consumer behavior. One of the great things about second year is that you get to take classes in subjects that interest you, and because your classmates are interested in the subjects, the class discussions tend to be richer and more thoughtful.
I'm just now feeling like I've got a handle on the workload, so I'll post more often. I've got another EIS (Employer Info Session) in 15 minutes, so time to put on my game face!
Sunday, September 11, 2005
School started last week, and my life has quickly accelerated to it's regular frantic pace. I'm taking five classes, and so far they seem interesting. I'm taking Advanced Corporate Finance, Customer Behavior, Managing Organizational Change, Marketing Research, and Retail Supply Chain Management. I feel like I have a good mix of classes. I'm glad I didn't try to force myself to take a lot of finance classes. I tried to stick with classes I actually wanted. There's a surprising amount of group work. I don't know why I thought we wouldn't have group work during the second year. Having to run around forming a group for every class, makes me appreciate the ease of my Learning Team. I guess you don't know what you got til it's gone...
Seems like the MBA Program Office has done an excellent job of scaring the first years TO DEATH about their academic survival. The Foam Party, a Wharton tradition which is usually heavily attended by incoming classes, was virtually empty. The White Party on Saturday night also had a light attendance. Maybe the first years are just partied out. Maybe they're scared of the MGEC exam that is quickly approaching. Or maybe they are just partying somewhere else. I hope it's that the 1st years are just to cool to party with us. While taking care of academics is important, I think it's important to strike a good balance. I mean afterall, you won't look back on your 2 years in b-school and think fondly of how hard you studied for the MGEC exam. But maybe it's just me...
Party on, y'all.
Seems like the MBA Program Office has done an excellent job of scaring the first years TO DEATH about their academic survival. The Foam Party, a Wharton tradition which is usually heavily attended by incoming classes, was virtually empty. The White Party on Saturday night also had a light attendance. Maybe the first years are just partied out. Maybe they're scared of the MGEC exam that is quickly approaching. Or maybe they are just partying somewhere else. I hope it's that the 1st years are just to cool to party with us. While taking care of academics is important, I think it's important to strike a good balance. I mean afterall, you won't look back on your 2 years in b-school and think fondly of how hard you studied for the MGEC exam. But maybe it's just me...
Party on, y'all.
