MAP Update Week 2

OK, this term seems strange because there are no classes or sections. We were weaned off of sections in Winter A, since we had section classes only on Mondays and Wednesdays, but it is still strange to spend the vast majority of your time with the same few people. I really like my team and think they're great, but it's an adjustment to not see your friends that often anymore because nobody's in the same state or country for a while.

MAP really is all encompassing. MAP has obviously been the main topic of discussion for MBA1's. It's amazing just how much time MAP takes (and I almost forgot to bid on fall semester classes)...no wonder this is our only "class" this term. I can already tell it's going to be a great experience. I'm really liking my project - it's very strategic, plus in an industry I didn't recruit with or work with before, so I get to learn something different. Our company seems pretty cool and very eager to have us on board. We also seem to control the way the work gets done - faculty have basically said that "we're basically a support/sounding board, but it's up to you to work out a plan of attack." That's the best part - our project really does feel like a second internship (I've heard of people getting employment offers after MAP) - and will definitely prepare me for my real internship. For one thing, i have to get used to working during business hours again.

So far, we've have had conversations with our sponsor company to work out the scope (which is a fancy way of saying "we tried to figure out exactly what we're doing"). We get a project description but the details have to be worked out and documented, so that the faculty, MAP team, and the company sponsor are in complete agreement about what can be completed in 7 weeks. We've come up with our timeline to get the research, analysis, and presentation done.

Now we need to just analyze all of this stuff we have and will continue to get. Oh dear.

Oh, I've been getting emails/comments about how I made my decision to attend Ross. I'll answer that in a different post, but it ultimately came down to a combination of gut feel and fit. I just 'felt' better here than I did at other schools. I looked at other things (recruiting, community, clubs, classes, etc), but a lot of them seemed comparable between schools. One thing I didn't consider was the weather. I HATE cold weather, and this town doesn't believing in plowing snow from the streets on a timely manner, but I can't imagine myself at a different school, and I've never looked back. (OK, I will admit to looking at weather reports for warmer places when I was walking to class in 8 below weather a month ago.) If weather were going to be a huge deal-breaker, I wouldn't have applied to Ross in the first place.

Management Accounting Final Kicked My Ass

That was just LONG. NOT fun. I'm glad Management Accounting is over. I actually liked the class and the concepts but I was not happy with that final. First off, why distribute the case in advance if you can't bring the case (or your notes from the case) to the final? Or why is this an in-class final to begin with considering the previous assignments were case analyses? I spent the past two days analyzing that case, coming up with "sample questions" that I solved, but I still barely finished, and I don't like my answers.

Despite this pain in the neck final, I got to really see the collaborative spirit in action. We were allowed to discuss the case with teams (actually we were encouraged to do so), so you'd randomly see different teams asking each other to explain a concept. People would stop what they're doing and just answer the questions for others. Nobody was concerned about keeping the answers to themselves to get the top grade. It was especially cool when the different teams didn't know each other that well - just overheard part of a conversation and said "so what did your cost diagram look like?" or "can you explain how to calculate X?". That's one of the things I love about this school. It wasn't a forced interaction at all - people were just genuinely willing to help out peers. People were even willing to help me out when I didn't feel like I had anything to offer (I was kinda behind in this class).

OK, now to operations. That's my best chance for a good grade - as scary as that sounds. Thank god for my team's performance on the pain-in-the-neck simulation, other case analysis, and my quiz grade. While I'm a bit worried b/c 2nd years all said that Ops final is a beast (and the practice final looks awful), I know I'll at least pass the class. Then go to spring break! :)

Congrats to Round 1 Admits!

That's it. I've heard that R1 admits were notified. That's awesome! I'm really enjoying my time at Ross, and I hope you choose the best school for you (Ross or otherwise).

For those who didn't get the good news, I'm really sorry about that. I know how I felt when I bombed my interview at my "dream school" at the time, but I've learned that things happen for a reason. I can't picture myself at any other school.