April 14th.
Frontier Airlines flight from SFO to Detroit Wayne County.
Fun fact: Frontier Airlines filed for Chapter11 protection a week earlier (read: bankrupt). Thank goodness they continued their flights but I can tell you: It doesn't feel that great to fly an airline that is low on funds (although that probably applies to all airlines these days). But I was indeed wondering whether these guys were still doing all the necessary maintenance etc. But everything went well.
I got into Detroit in the evening and got my Budget rental car and switched on my Nokia Navigator that was loaded with a US map. Gotta love a phone with GPS built-in. Ann Arbor was a 30min drive and the Holiday Inn Hotel&Suites a nice place to stay. I actually got a full night of sleep. Surprise. ;)
The next day I was welcomed by one of the Ross' admissions people who was extremely friendly and took care of me throughout my entire stay. Before coming to Ross I asked to be put in touch with other international students interested in consulting, as well as possibly attend a class and speak to career counseling.
As it turned out, classes were indeed over and all the rooms (and hallways!) were packed with students working on their MAP presentations (if you don't know what MAP is, check the Ross website). Here is something that the new building will remedy: the Ross School of Business is lacking sufficient study rooms for group studying etc. People were spread out everywhere: Cafeteria, hallways, classrooms, you name it.
I met with several international students throughout my stay. One second year student who had interned with Booz Allen and a first year who will also go into consulting. It seemed that Ross students were tremendously successful in their efforts to get placements in consulting - and also internationals.
I then got a tour of the campus and took a closer look at the almost finished new building. That one is going to be awesome. There will be a lot of daylight in there. I also walked through other areas of the campus to get a feel for Ann Arbor. I loved everything I saw. Oh: Great weather AGAIN, around 19-20 degrees Celsius. Sunny. In the evening three internationals, me and a friend of mine went for drinks in a place called Charlie's and then moved on to "Scorekeepers". You gotta love that name. That place overdoes it on the TV screens and beamers though. (Something I will never understand about US bars. Screens EVERYWHERE)
I got home quite late and almost didnt make it to my appointment with the dean the next day. Yep, the dean took 20mins of his time to speak to me. I also spoke to Al of the Career department.
All in all I got a great impression of both UMich, Ross and Ann Arbor. It's a nice little college town with everything you need as a student including some decent shopping in a nearby mall. When I left, I had a pretty good feeling and could have seen myself attending the school. Especially since they seemed to be quite successful in my designated future career: consulting.
April 17th.
Flying out to Boston and taking Dartmouth coach up to Hanover, NH.
...coming soon...
Showing posts with label Ross. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ross. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Admit Weekend WrapUp (1): Haas
I am back. What a packed 11 days those were. Oh boy. I hope I can still remember it all, because I basically survived on an average of around 5h of sleep per night throughout the entire time.
I'll give it my best shot:
April 9th
Direct flight to San Francisco. One of my friends who is a flight attendant chose the same flight and made sure I got in last and told me to introduce myself to the crew. She said there might be something in store for me. 20mins into the flight a crew member is asking for me and tells there was "a mistake". A minute later I am sitting in a business class seat, sipping wine, and having the biggest grin on my face. I think I was playing around with the controls for about an hour. :)
You can imagine I got into SFO quite relaxed and took the crew bus to downtown San Francisco. After a few drinks and some dinner I went to bed.
April 10th
The BART took me to Berkeley. Glorious weather. Around 25 degrees celsius which I think is around 80 fahrenheit. No cloud in the sky. Just walking up to Haas through the amazingly beautiful Berkeley campus was an awesome experience. You gotta love those little streams and bridges everywhere. I will already say: Berkeley has the most beautiful campus of all schools I got accepted to. I sat in on a strategy class before heading to the reception. The class wasnt that exciting and I noticed a lot of students watching TV or checking email on their laptops. The reception was okay and was held in one of the bigger rooms of the b school. We then headed out in smaller groups to current student houses where we were invited for dinner. This was actually a great chance to get to know people better and learn more about the program and lifestyle. After that we went out to bar on Shattuck in downtown Berkeley. The bar was nice and all, but the music was deafening and it was almost impossible to have a decent conversation. Plus, and many internationals might be able to relate, I need conversations in English to be with as little background noise as possible, because I need to concentrate more. (Although I guess my hearing has been better, too)
So I left around 11pm and headed to see a friend in the SF marina area to have even more drinks until something like 2am.
April 11th
After a breakfast that I was late to we had our mock-class with Prof. Morgan. Quite on the sharp side that chap and a very exciting class. I was actually fooled by my hindsight bias. We had to read a RyanAir case before the class and as I recalled the company to be successful I guess I was reading through the case with a heavy bias. It was interesting how it turned out that the market entry strategy that RA was going for was highly questionable.
Following the class there was a career fair with the various industries represented at tables. I was talking to a few of the consulting guys. I will speak about Haas consulting record more later.
After the career fair we were listening to some of the faculty and why the chose to come to Haas. Most of them emphasized Haas' track record in research and that at Haas you are at a place where people are on the cutting edge of research - whereas at other schools you merely learn what is already known. (I am wondering however: how much of what is being researched makes it to the classroom? and how fast?)
Lunch was held at a hotel near the school and was quite yummy. I spoke to a very senior marketing professor who was interesting but quirky. :)
The student life panel was fun as it was hosted by a guy who does stand-up comedy. I felt inclined to ask a question and the following dialogue between the guy and me cracked everyone up. But it was also good to find out about where you should live in Berkeley as an MBA student (and what you will have to pay for it).
The ensuing scavenger hunt around campus was quite some fun. every station was hosted by one of the clubs and we had to do several crazy things such as do a karaoke performance or a TV commercial.
"Dinner" was had in the courtyard of the Haas business school with BBQ and texmex food everywhere. Plus several performances of bands and cheerleaders and what not. I actually wasnt paying attention as I was talking to a few of the current students and had beers with a friend who will do his Phd at Cal. The event was fun and good to bond more with the other admits.
April 12th
I was late. Really late. By the time I got to Haas the alumni panel had already begun. Those guys were fun to listen to, but to be honest I didnt like some of their reasoning why they came to Haas:
"If you consider b-school a vacation, where would you rather spend it? In a place where there is a lot of snow, or somewhere warm and with a lot of sunshine and with nice people?" Wasnt convincing enough for me. But oh well.
The wrap up was awesome though. Especially compared to that of Tuck. More about that one in the next post though. During the entire 2-3 days some of the current students had taken pictures. They presented the best of those in a nice, animated presentation featuring some great music. That one was quite the heartbreaker, and I am sure that is what tipped many people. It almost tipped me to Haas. :)
Pete Johnson held a nice little wrap up speech and then we went off to the optional tours: Wine tasting, SF tour and hiking. I decided for the later and had an awesome hike somewhere north of San Francisco on the coast. Perfect weather too. I wish I had brought shorts. But who knew?
That was it. Days at Haas. A great event, very well organized. I didnt drink the cool-aid though. Oh and what is it with those "t-shirts" they gave us? their neither short nor long-sleeved but something in between. You look ridiculous in those...
I stayed a few more days in San Francisco trying to get some sleep with no success. I am sure about one thing, though: I will definitely try to get an internship in San Francisco. I just LOVE that city.
...more about Ross and Tuck in the next posts...
I'll give it my best shot:
April 9th
Direct flight to San Francisco. One of my friends who is a flight attendant chose the same flight and made sure I got in last and told me to introduce myself to the crew. She said there might be something in store for me. 20mins into the flight a crew member is asking for me and tells there was "a mistake". A minute later I am sitting in a business class seat, sipping wine, and having the biggest grin on my face. I think I was playing around with the controls for about an hour. :)
You can imagine I got into SFO quite relaxed and took the crew bus to downtown San Francisco. After a few drinks and some dinner I went to bed.
April 10th
The BART took me to Berkeley. Glorious weather. Around 25 degrees celsius which I think is around 80 fahrenheit. No cloud in the sky. Just walking up to Haas through the amazingly beautiful Berkeley campus was an awesome experience. You gotta love those little streams and bridges everywhere. I will already say: Berkeley has the most beautiful campus of all schools I got accepted to. I sat in on a strategy class before heading to the reception. The class wasnt that exciting and I noticed a lot of students watching TV or checking email on their laptops. The reception was okay and was held in one of the bigger rooms of the b school. We then headed out in smaller groups to current student houses where we were invited for dinner. This was actually a great chance to get to know people better and learn more about the program and lifestyle. After that we went out to bar on Shattuck in downtown Berkeley. The bar was nice and all, but the music was deafening and it was almost impossible to have a decent conversation. Plus, and many internationals might be able to relate, I need conversations in English to be with as little background noise as possible, because I need to concentrate more. (Although I guess my hearing has been better, too)
So I left around 11pm and headed to see a friend in the SF marina area to have even more drinks until something like 2am.
April 11th
After a breakfast that I was late to we had our mock-class with Prof. Morgan. Quite on the sharp side that chap and a very exciting class. I was actually fooled by my hindsight bias. We had to read a RyanAir case before the class and as I recalled the company to be successful I guess I was reading through the case with a heavy bias. It was interesting how it turned out that the market entry strategy that RA was going for was highly questionable.
Following the class there was a career fair with the various industries represented at tables. I was talking to a few of the consulting guys. I will speak about Haas consulting record more later.
After the career fair we were listening to some of the faculty and why the chose to come to Haas. Most of them emphasized Haas' track record in research and that at Haas you are at a place where people are on the cutting edge of research - whereas at other schools you merely learn what is already known. (I am wondering however: how much of what is being researched makes it to the classroom? and how fast?)
Lunch was held at a hotel near the school and was quite yummy. I spoke to a very senior marketing professor who was interesting but quirky. :)
The student life panel was fun as it was hosted by a guy who does stand-up comedy. I felt inclined to ask a question and the following dialogue between the guy and me cracked everyone up. But it was also good to find out about where you should live in Berkeley as an MBA student (and what you will have to pay for it).
The ensuing scavenger hunt around campus was quite some fun. every station was hosted by one of the clubs and we had to do several crazy things such as do a karaoke performance or a TV commercial.
"Dinner" was had in the courtyard of the Haas business school with BBQ and texmex food everywhere. Plus several performances of bands and cheerleaders and what not. I actually wasnt paying attention as I was talking to a few of the current students and had beers with a friend who will do his Phd at Cal. The event was fun and good to bond more with the other admits.
April 12th
I was late. Really late. By the time I got to Haas the alumni panel had already begun. Those guys were fun to listen to, but to be honest I didnt like some of their reasoning why they came to Haas:
"If you consider b-school a vacation, where would you rather spend it? In a place where there is a lot of snow, or somewhere warm and with a lot of sunshine and with nice people?" Wasnt convincing enough for me. But oh well.
The wrap up was awesome though. Especially compared to that of Tuck. More about that one in the next post though. During the entire 2-3 days some of the current students had taken pictures. They presented the best of those in a nice, animated presentation featuring some great music. That one was quite the heartbreaker, and I am sure that is what tipped many people. It almost tipped me to Haas. :)
Pete Johnson held a nice little wrap up speech and then we went off to the optional tours: Wine tasting, SF tour and hiking. I decided for the later and had an awesome hike somewhere north of San Francisco on the coast. Perfect weather too. I wish I had brought shorts. But who knew?
That was it. Days at Haas. A great event, very well organized. I didnt drink the cool-aid though. Oh and what is it with those "t-shirts" they gave us? their neither short nor long-sleeved but something in between. You look ridiculous in those...
I stayed a few more days in San Francisco trying to get some sleep with no success. I am sure about one thing, though: I will definitely try to get an internship in San Francisco. I just LOVE that city.
...more about Ross and Tuck in the next posts...
Monday, March 31, 2008
Admit Weekend(s) Travels
April 9th is approaching fast. I can't wait to hop on the plane to San Francisco and experience Days at Haas. I will continue to Ann Arbor on the 14th and check out Ross. Unfortunately, classes will be almost over, so I hope to be able to get a good impression of the school despite that. Then it will be onwards to the Tuck Admit Weekend and then back home on the 20th. Quite a ride in store for me, I guess.
I really hope that I know where I will want to end up when I sit down on that window seat and have a few hours to think about it all. The Haas' decision will have to be made right the next day.
If someone is at any of the admit weekends, let me know, I will get in touch with you!
I really hope that I know where I will want to end up when I sit down on that window seat and have a few hours to think about it all. The Haas' decision will have to be made right the next day.
If someone is at any of the admit weekends, let me know, I will get in touch with you!
Friday, March 14, 2008
Michigan makes my decision murderous
Notice the alliteration? Yeah, you can tell, it's a Friday.
Anyhow, Michigan upped their scholarship offer. I mean seriously upped it. Now they are back in my decision making game. Why cant this be easy?
I really appreciate your responses to my little poll on the right hand side. The funny thing is: Right now, Tuck and Haas are completely tied. I didnt manipulate this, did you?
I deliberately asked the question without any additional info. I am considering putting up another poll that comes closer to my situation: Would you go to Tuck over Haas if Tuck offered you a significant scholarship?
Again, all I can do right now is research the schools closer and talk to actual students. Speaking to some Tuck students removed some of my doubts concerning the Tuck placement record on the West Coast. It seems that especially in consulting there are good opportunities there, albeit requiring a somewhat higher effort. But I am willing to make that.
I gave notice this Monday. Finally this is out in the open and everybody in the office knows I will be leaving. It is a big relief. However it does feel weird that so few people can really judge what an MBA means from schools like the ones I can go to now. Most people go something like: "Yeah, cool, MBA, my cousin did that at [school anyone can get into in my home country]." And they dont realize what amount of planning, and hard work it took to get into the schools that I got into. Sigh. Oh well.
Can't wait to fly over to the States in 4 weeks from now. The admit weekends will be a great way to finally decide this. I really hope that I know for sure where I wanna go on the plane back home.
Anyhow, Michigan upped their scholarship offer. I mean seriously upped it. Now they are back in my decision making game. Why cant this be easy?
I really appreciate your responses to my little poll on the right hand side. The funny thing is: Right now, Tuck and Haas are completely tied. I didnt manipulate this, did you?
I deliberately asked the question without any additional info. I am considering putting up another poll that comes closer to my situation: Would you go to Tuck over Haas if Tuck offered you a significant scholarship?
Again, all I can do right now is research the schools closer and talk to actual students. Speaking to some Tuck students removed some of my doubts concerning the Tuck placement record on the West Coast. It seems that especially in consulting there are good opportunities there, albeit requiring a somewhat higher effort. But I am willing to make that.
I gave notice this Monday. Finally this is out in the open and everybody in the office knows I will be leaving. It is a big relief. However it does feel weird that so few people can really judge what an MBA means from schools like the ones I can go to now. Most people go something like: "Yeah, cool, MBA, my cousin did that at [school anyone can get into in my home country]." And they dont realize what amount of planning, and hard work it took to get into the schools that I got into. Sigh. Oh well.
Can't wait to fly over to the States in 4 weeks from now. The admit weekends will be a great way to finally decide this. I really hope that I know for sure where I wanna go on the plane back home.
Friday, February 8, 2008
In at Tuck!
Okay, although I wasnt so sure about Tuck, they did admit me.
Well... this situation is getting increasingly difficult. However, I think Ross is now out of the game as Tuck is probably the better school when you compare the two.
Now, if Haas doesn't come around with some $$$ and Kellogg admits me, it will be between Tuck and Kellogg.
Although, I guess I should make this decision based on how I feel about the schools when I go to visit them in April. Admitted students week at Haas is 10-12 April, Tuck 18-20 of April. Haas wants a decision by the 15th. (they will have to extend that for me)
Kellogg's admit weekend coincides with Tuck's so that one is going to be difficult. I will have to visit one of the schools on a non-admit weekend day. Which will obviously make a big difference, I assume.
Aaaahh choices...if someone had told me 9 months ago I would have this choice, I would have seriously questioned his sanity.
Where would you guys go?
Obviously the best weather is to be found at Cal. Plus, they have the tech bonus and the Valley is around the corner. But they didnt give me any money. I think I got the money for the pretty strong GMAT score that is quite unusual for a candidate from my country. I think I would have gotten in at the schools that gave me one with a weaker GMAT score, but then they wouldnt have shelled out the cash. So passing up on those offers sort of feels like not taking full advantage of my score. Maybe I am wrong.
Tuck will be the school with the most tight-knit community. Plus they place very strongly in consulting, which is where I want to go. They actually have a better record than Haas in that aspect. And they have great skiing.
Kellogg is the only M7 school of the ones that I applied to and probably the one with the best brand name of all (especially in my home country). Plus, also a super-strong consulting placement record.
This is not an easy one.
Well... this situation is getting increasingly difficult. However, I think Ross is now out of the game as Tuck is probably the better school when you compare the two.
Now, if Haas doesn't come around with some $$$ and Kellogg admits me, it will be between Tuck and Kellogg.
Although, I guess I should make this decision based on how I feel about the schools when I go to visit them in April. Admitted students week at Haas is 10-12 April, Tuck 18-20 of April. Haas wants a decision by the 15th. (they will have to extend that for me)
Kellogg's admit weekend coincides with Tuck's so that one is going to be difficult. I will have to visit one of the schools on a non-admit weekend day. Which will obviously make a big difference, I assume.
Aaaahh choices...if someone had told me 9 months ago I would have this choice, I would have seriously questioned his sanity.
Where would you guys go?
Obviously the best weather is to be found at Cal. Plus, they have the tech bonus and the Valley is around the corner. But they didnt give me any money. I think I got the money for the pretty strong GMAT score that is quite unusual for a candidate from my country. I think I would have gotten in at the schools that gave me one with a weaker GMAT score, but then they wouldnt have shelled out the cash. So passing up on those offers sort of feels like not taking full advantage of my score. Maybe I am wrong.
Tuck will be the school with the most tight-knit community. Plus they place very strongly in consulting, which is where I want to go. They actually have a better record than Haas in that aspect. And they have great skiing.
Kellogg is the only M7 school of the ones that I applied to and probably the one with the best brand name of all (especially in my home country). Plus, also a super-strong consulting placement record.
This is not an easy one.
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Admitted to Ross!
Yep, here comes the love. I got into Ross on Friday. And they really seem to want me judging by the 20k/year they want to throw in on top.
Cant tell you how happy I am. I am just wondering what I am going to do if I get into either Kellogg or Haas without a scholarship. Those two carry the better brand name in my case. But turning down that much money will be tough...
Cant tell you how happy I am. I am just wondering what I am going to do if I get into either Kellogg or Haas without a scholarship. Those two carry the better brand name in my case. But turning down that much money will be tough...
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