OK, now I'm done with classes

Yay! Spring Break Here I come! I kinda think it's strange that "spring break" is actually in late February, but the University of Michigan (not just Ross) ends really early.

Ops was just annoying. I'm tired of either barely finishing or not finishing exams - I remembered the days back when I had enough time to review my answers before submitting the test, finding errors, and fixing them. Those were the days.

Time for some much needed R&R.

MBA1 Classes are Done!

Today is the last day of MBA1 classes. Next term we have MAP, which although technically a class, really seems more like a job. Plus, since you're working with a small team of 4-6 people and don't see your section, really, MBA1 classes are over. Time flies. I can't believe it! Last year at this time, I was stressing about school.

I'll post a "reflections" post more actually outlining what I learned, but for now, I'm still in a little shock.

Well technically, I've got Accounting and OMS finals, and a take home due this week so I'm not really "done" yet...

Anticipation…

We’re now in week 3 of classes. And unlike Fall A and Fall B, people seem to care less and less about class during this term. I think that’s why they made the core front-loaded, so we only have two required classes during Winter A. We’re taking managerial accounting and operations – both very useful classes, the professors are pretty good and really animated. One even loves to cold call. The problem is that the subject matter itself isn’t all that interesting. That makes it hard to get motivated to study, especially if you’ve got other things on your mind. I’m not going to post specifics about my internship situation except to say that you never can tell how well you actually do in an interview.

If you broke down the most commonly asked questions during Winter A, here’s how they went:

Week 1 – January 7 - 13:
How was your break? Did you get someplace warm? That sucks about the Rosebowl/Can you believe Florida won? How many resumes/cover letters did you drop? What else besides core are you taking? How did you rank your MAP projects? You know nobody ever gets their first choice – you should rank your real first choice second.

Week 2 – January 14 – 20:
How’s interview prep? Where did you get close listed? Can you believe interviews start already? Why are managerial accounting and ops so boring? How did that interview go? Why is MBA formal (aka prom) so expensive? Why do our only core classes have group case analyses due at the same time? I need a leadership/teamwork/good commercial example.

Week 3 – January 21 - Today:
How is the job search going? (which really means “do you have an offer yet?”) Cool, you got an offer? Where? Was that your first choice? Are you still interviewing? I’m tired of being asked to “tell me about a time when…” How many of these “pre-interview” dinners can I handle? Can you believe this is our last term as a section?

I mean, of course there’s other things people talk about, but this is the bulk of conversations I feel like I’m having – particularly with friends who I haven’t really seen in a while. As you can imagine, there is quite a bit of nervousness – some have offers, some got rejections, some have additional rounds.

So there’s lots of anticipation going on, mostly b/c MBAs don’t like this feeling of being “up in the air”. Everyone would like to know where they will spend the summer – what job, what industry, what function, what location.

Another source of anticipation – MAP. We’re supposed to find out tomorrow. I hope I get my top choice and work with cool people. I’m one of the idiots who ranked my #1 choice #1. I also chose to choose projects based on my desire to actually do the project instead of location. I imagine after tomorrow, more conversations will shift to “what MAP did you get? Are you excited? Have you been there before? Who else are you working with?

Winter A Has Started!

Happy 2007! I hope all is going well! I can’t believe that in 2006, I submitted applications to business school, got in, visited all the schools, made a $120K decision, quit my crappy job, packed up, moved across the country, and started a whole new life. And I also can’t believe just how much Ann Arbor feels like “home” – even more than my hometown. (Though that may be just because my stuff is in Ann Arbor.) Though I did enjoy the sun, and spending time with friends/family, I did miss my hanging out with my b-school friends.

OK, obligatory post BCS bowl game comment. Umm, I don’t know what the hell happened with the Big-10. USC outplayed us, out-coached us, and just flat out looked better. Kinda made me feel bad for all of that crap I talked about USC. And Florida? I was more shocked by that one than anything else. Oh well. Now football season is over. What does this town do after football season?

After hiding all of my Michigan gear, I got back on the plane and flew back out to AA to start Winter A. To my surprise, when I flew back it was POURING rain. Huh? It’s January! It’s since gotten much colder and snowed, but apparently it’s still much milder than “normal”.

Winter A started on Monday, and brought a surprise snowfall (it rained the night before) and only two core classes: Managerial Accounting and Operations. This is done on purpose so that people can manage their time with interviews as they see fit. Most people seem to have the core classes only on Monday/Wednesday. But others (myself included) are taking at least a 3rd and in some cases a 4th class – either an elective that may help them for the internship, or one of either World Economy, law requirement, writing, or Excel. I’m not sure how I feel about either of those two classes yet. Operations makes the most sense to me because of my previous jobs, but I’m not entirely excited about it.

It’s also interview season here. Many resume drops had deadlines over the break, and the first closed lists came out. It’s strange since nobody wants to ask who got close-listed where, but at the same time, people are very curious. There’s one very popular CPG in particular that people are wondering about. It’s not nearly as tense as I expected it to be around here. There are interview prep groups, and people are very helpful.

MAP project signups also start today. SO many choices: domestic or international, nonprofit or for-profit, and I’m not 100% sure how MAP projects get assigned. There are a few that people are most excited about. We’ll see.

Fall Classes are Over

Holy crap. Now to finish up my take home exams. Ugh.

PS - it's warm and RAINING! Strange.

It's crunch time

Ever get the feeling that you’re supposed to be someplace else? I keep checking my Outlook calendar, going through e-mails, etc., just waiting to find something. I’m sure if it were important, someone would have called me. They did when I double-booked a couple of things recently. Actually, since it’s 11:15, I’m now wondering what I missed or what I was supposed to go to. Maybe I’m just being paranoid.

What happened to Fall B? I’ve got finals due next week. Aah! I swear, things just fly around here – I blink and the term is gone! Time to get cracking! This term has been busier, but have also felt like I’m more “in my groove”, and a bit more connected to Ross so that’s been a lot of fun. I don’t feel like I’ve just moved to Ann Arbor anymore. I’m still pretty swamped and I’m still learning how to work in different situations – and I’m trying to figure out the best way to work in my many groups. I’ve done a lot of group/team work before b-school but somehow the groups seem a bit different now.

We had our first “real” snow on Monday, so I had my first experience driving in snow that actually stuck. That was an experience – driving in snow is a lot like driving in heavy fog and these messed up streets aren’t too much fun when you can’t really see the dividing lines. Plus, I think I sort of skidded a little when I made a tight right turn. Oops! Note to self: get better tires.

Oh, and there’s the obligatory post-BCS bowl special comment. I am honestly not surprised – and I also didn’t really want a rematch. I had a feeling after the Michigan/Ohio State game that this is what the BCS would say. I do think it sucks that Michigan was basically penalized for being in the same conference as Ohio State and ending our season 2 weeks ago. Oh well. I’m not so sure how Florida will do against Ohio State. If Ohio State crushes Florida, then maybe the Big-10 (and especially Michigan) will get more respect.