Palo Alto for a While

long strange trip

2010-12-02T16:07:00.000-08:00

I am disappointed in myself for not keeping up with this blog on a more regular basis. Thank you for the comments and emails and many apologies for being unresponsive the past 6-12 months. I am however pleased that my reasons for being withdrawn from the blogging world are happy ones - namely that I have been enjoying so much of my time the past 8 months or so. My classes have gotten better with

things are looking up?

2010-05-17T21:24:00.001-07:00

Internship - checkPartial-quarter classes starting to go away - check plusSummer housing - check minusSummer travel plans and flights - check minusAlienating my academic advisor - check plusSo that's the latest around here, folks. And with the quarter ending officially in less than 3 weeks, I don't feel a drop of nostalgia, anxiety or fear that my time at business school is passing too quickly.

Summer dreams ripped at the seams

2010-04-30T17:31:00.002-07:00

I have no summer internship and it is starting to get a little bleak around here. I'm tired. I'm disheveled. I've lost track of my "story." And I'm really really whiny these days. I have learned a couple things that I am happy to share with other job searchers:1. Balancing an interview "pipeline" with companies you're waiting to hear back from is tricky to say the least.2. Don't assume that

HBS perspective on spending

2010-03-02T00:55:00.000-08:00

March 1 Harbus article

Mo money Mo problems

2010-02-14T23:21:00.000-08:00

For a while, I have wanted to write a post about money at Stanford and more generally, at top American business schools because I don't believe that the spending mores of GSB students are unique among business school students. Two events spurred me to stop delaying:1) 2nd quarter tuition is due tomorrow. (That's two for two that I have paid on time!) 2) The weekly GSB email of compiled

The Summer Hunt

2010-02-01T23:53:00.001-08:00

I am trying to be very focused on my summer internship search, which should take me out of OCR (on-campus recruiting) for the most part. However, I am finding the job board and classmates' aspirations to be very distracting. A winery in northern California, a New York private equity fund, Apple's online store--none of these are great fits for what I want to do this summer. However, when I think

Q1 Complaints

2010-01-25T07:10:00.000-08:00

After my last post, several readers asked why I did not liked business school during the first quarter. I will try to sum it up, but because time seems to be a great eraser of discomfort, my memories of exactly why I was so unhappy are getting fuzzier by the day. Let's try a list:1. Social awkwardness - constantly meeting people and having the same mundane conversations is not only tiring, it is

A new year, a new day

2010-01-11T00:39:00.001-08:00

At some point during the winter break I stopped being quite so disgruntled about my business school experience. The curriculum started to make more sense, content that I learned in my first quarter classes actually seemed relevant, and I realized that I made a few friends during the first quarter who I like and respect. There was no "aha!" moment, but rather a gradual softening of my negative

post-midterms

2009-11-11T08:00:00.000-08:00

Mid-terms were predictable and manageable. The GSB doesn't hold classes for an entire week for all first-year students. We had one test each day on Monday (Finance), Tuesday (Organizational Behavior) and Wednesday (Global), which is actually really manageable in comparison to my undergraduate university when classes, papers, and life are not put on hold for mid-terms.I spent the better part of

Workload

2009-10-15T20:29:00.000-07:00

Stanford MBA1s have three 1,000-word papers plus comprehensive feedback on 7 classmates due in the next 8 days. And then we have mid-terms the following week.Applicants: please do not believe that business school is not a ton of hard work. Even if you're just aiming to graduate, the workload is overwhelming.Fellow MBA students and business school graduates: please stop perpetuating the silly idea

Condoleeza Rice & Trips

2009-10-12T23:00:00.000-07:00

1. Condi Rice is teaching two of my classes this week. I think she just published a bunch of new business school cases and is coming to the GSB to teach them to us in our "Global Context of Management" class. That is pretty cool in my book. I definitely read those cases a bit more closely than I usually do. Don't want to be cold-called out by Condi! 2. Trips were assigned. We had to fill out a

I miss blogging

2009-10-05T21:31:00.000-07:00

I have many posts clogged in my brain, but little time to coax them out of there. Strapped for time, and yearning for more sleep, I must neglect my blog for another few days in favor of homework. However, given that the round 1 deadline for the GSB is rapidly approaching--this Thursday I think--I want to wish all applicants the very best of luck. Take a deep breath in through your nose, click

Crazy little thing called FOAM

2009-09-30T02:15:00.000-07:00

F.O.A.M. = Friends of Arjay Miller.F.O.A.M. = Stanford GSB Tuesday night drinking club (with occasional dance-off).F.O.A.M. = annual 12-hour trip to Vegas in 1970's garb. F.O.A.M. = one of the quickest ways I know to spend $190 (cost of annual membership).F.O.A.M. = the reason I am exhausted and hungover in my Wednesday morning Leadership Lab session (to be discussed in a later post)....and on

Campus is Crowded: "Week 1"

2009-09-21T19:28:00.001-07:00

Today was the official first day of classes for the entire MBA program, so our once cozy community of first-year MBAs has now been invaded by our second-year counterparts. All of a sudden, it's not quite as easy to wander up to a group of students and start chatting with them because they might be--gasp--second years. As I previously mention, last week ("Week 0") was entirely filled with an

The Sting

2009-09-19T14:46:00.000-07:00

During week 0 (last week), we had an organizational behavior module on working in groups and teams. The syllabus clearly indicated that 90% of our grade would be based on class participation (about half of which would be determined by our peers), so naturally, many hands were raised during the duration of the class discussions. My hand was often one of those. However, after a couple classes and a

GSB Class of 2011 Facts & FIgures

2009-09-14T19:48:00.000-07:00

Straight from the mouth of Derrick Bolton during today's MBA program welcome session:Class of 2011 class profile/admissions information--Admit rate = 6.7% (lowest ever if memory serves)Class size = 384 (biggest ever I think)Average GPA = 3.68Average GMAT = 727That's all I could store in my capacity-constrained memory. Otherwise, first day went smoothly--met some people in my section, took an

Week minus-1

2009-09-12T20:35:00.000-07:00

Stanford calls the first week for MBA1s "week zero," so I have deemed the week before that week, "week minus-one." Week minus-one consists of moving to Palo Alto (check), settling in at your new dwelling (check minus), running all kinds of Stanford errands--e.g., getting an ID, buying textbooks, setting up your computer, picking up schedule and course readers, and getting a parking pass (check

Short post

2009-09-09T14:26:00.001-07:00

California drivers suck.

Apple/Snow Leopard

2009-08-31T13:49:00.000-07:00

I took the plunge and purchased a new Mac last week, complete with a free iPod Touch for my significant other. Then Apple released the new operating system, "Snow Leopard," which apparently is a great improvement over the current operating system. So I paid $10 for them to send me the software update, which is on its way to my new Palo Alto address as I write. And then today I got an email from

Bschool Technology

2009-08-22T09:49:00.000-07:00

At the Apple store right now debating my business school laptop purchase. I'm considering both the new Mac Book Pro and the Mac Book Air, but I have a sneaking suspicion that the Air will just barely meet the minimum computing requirements for business school. Thoughts? Should I be considering a PC and if so, which one?In the same vein, does anyone have a strong opinion on cell phone service and

Back.

2009-08-05T22:00:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure how much I'll be blogging until school starts in mid-September, but I am back in the same country as my laptop, so that's a start. I published all of the comments that were left over the past couple months and will start to respond to emails in the next week or so.Highlights of my trip include meeting about half a dozen Stanford classmates along the way, eating amazing food

Traveling

2009-05-26T10:15:00.000-07:00

I am going to be on partial hiatus as a blogger for the next couple months. Very sorry if I don't publish your comments or respond to your emails for a while, but please have wonderful summers. To others in the class of 2011, see you in September!

5 Tips for the Dreaded Stanford Essay A

2009-05-19T11:00:00.000-07:00

Because Stanford Admissions will likely release the class of 2012 essays in the coming weeks, I thought it would be worthwhile to discuss Stanford GSB Essay A, which is often cited as the most difficult of all business school application essays. In fact, I know of at least one potential applicant who stopped considering Stanford after learning that GSB Admissions Director Derrick Bolton and his

Newsflash: VCs Ignore Business Plans

2009-05-14T11:03:00.000-07:00

According to this recent article in the New York Times, venture capitalists care not for business plans, but rather are looking “for 'market validation,' hard evidence that the entrepreneur has actually sold his product or at least lined up enthusiastic potential customers.” And they don't want a 50-page presentation; they want a couple powerpoint slides or a short conversation.So does this mean

Derrick Bolton Interview

2009-05-12T09:43:00.000-07:00

There is a new Derrick Bolton (Stanford GSB Admissions Director) interview published in Business Week this month. Interesting new info (for me):1. Applications being way up is a myth.2. 21% of the class of '08 accepted a job abroad up from 14% of the class of 07. (Let's see if this emerging trend continues in '09)3. The new curriculum has twice as many international course offerings.4. The new

The REAL Admissions Essays

2009-05-11T05:00:00.000-07:00

In celebration of my last full workweek in 2009, I want to share the list of real business school admissions essays. I pulled this off of the Business Week forum earlier in the 2008-09 admissions season. Credit goes to BW poster sandiego with a little help from replying posters.Very funny:Harvard: Of which Fortune 1000 company are you going to become the CEO and why would you pick that company?

Facebook & Prematriculation

2009-05-06T09:58:00.000-07:00

There is a wave of Facebook-friending going around the Stanford GSB Class of 2011 circuit right now. I have accumulated about a dozen "friends" from my class, most of whom I talked to for <10 minutes at admit weekend, some of whom I have never met in person. I mean, it's nice to connect with people and stay in touch, but it's a little weird to me. I think I'm going to hold off friending anyone

GMAT Tutoring

2009-05-05T08:28:00.000-07:00

Shout-out:Patrick Curtis, a first-year student at Wharton and founder/CEO of WallStreetOasis.com emailed to inform me of a new GMAT tutoring service that WallStreetOasis has just launched. Details of the service can be found here. At first glance, it looks good to me*, at least price-wise and concept-wise.My GMAT tutoring experience:I personally used Veritas tutoring and was only marginally

How to Attain the Best Recommendation Possible

2009-05-04T05:00:00.000-07:00

I am still working on my project to compile advisory posts from a wide range of bloggers (see work-in-progress in sidebar), but I haven't yet found one that I like on getting good recommendations, so I'm going to give it a shot.The recommendation potion of the business school application can be daunting because you have to ask colleagues to take time out of their days to write positive things

"We're all friends at business school."

2009-04-28T13:03:00.000-07:00

Remember how I was going to meet up with my frenemy, AF about her business school applications?Well I finally did meet her for coffee. I gave her some advice on ways to reposition her story and suggested things that she could do at work to strengthen her application for next year. I chose not to suggest that she was targeting the wrong schools, but instead told her that she might want to talk

Don't they know who I'm going to be?

2009-04-24T08:10:00.000-07:00

No money for me. I was summarily rejected from that scholarship for which I interviewed a few weeks ago. As I mentioned earlier, I didn't feel great about the interview, but I'm a little annoyed not to get any feedback. Rejection stings.When I informed my boss a couple days ago, he told me a funny little story: when he and his partner were raising money for their first independent endeavor and

Calling All MBA Bloggers!

2009-04-22T08:42:00.000-07:00

I just added a gadget to my sidebar that will ultimately include a step-by-step process for applying to business school, as outlined by the MBA blogging community. I have just a couple posts up so far and need help filling out the rest: school selection, visiting schools, admissions consultants (or not), essay writing, getting good recos, overall timing strategy, interviewing, WAITING, navigating

Rising Student Debt

2009-04-21T10:33:00.000-07:00

Yikes! The average debt of American college seniors is closing in on $25K. A recent NY Times article focuses on undergraduate debt as a burden on freshly graduated job seekers, but I imagine an identical article could be written about recent business school grads. The double-edged sword, of course, is the rising cost of education (e.g., GSB total budget is up ~5% from last year) coupled with a

Blogosphere Gender Identity

2009-04-20T09:21:00.000-07:00

It is amusing to me that admissions consulting blogs such as ClearAdmit and Stacy Blackman always refer to me as "she" when they use gender-specific pronouns and that readers typically address me as "dude" or "man" in emails and comments. I have deliberately remained gender-neutral on this blog and will continue to do so to preserve anonymity, so keep on guessing!

Frenemy Advice

2009-04-17T06:25:00.000-07:00

"Frenemy" (sometimes spelled "frienemy") - Noun - a portmanteau of "friend" and "enemy" which can refer to either an enemy disguised as a friend or to a partner who is simultaneously a competitor While my definition isn't exactly the same as Wikipedia's above, I do appreciate the term. It is a fitting description of someone in my life who I will refer to here as AF. I met AF through a mutual

New [Superlative] Mentor!

2009-04-15T13:00:00.000-07:00

During my Stanford interview, my alumni interviewer, a young private equity VP, explained his challenges moving to the geography in which we both currently live, a "tier-2" city with a very small business community. Given my desire to move back to this area in the long term, he recommended networking as much as possible in my desired post-MBA field before leaving for business school because so

Goodbye "Maybe MBA"

2009-04-15T10:29:00.000-07:00

An excellent MBA blogger from Booth says goodbye. From her post and the comments that follow, it sounds like she may have been chased offline by the administration and/or fellow students, which is really too bad. Freshness and honesty are trademarks of great blogs, such as hers.

Global Study/Service Learning Trips for 2009-10

2009-04-14T06:00:00.000-07:00

Stanford sends weekly Monday emails to the class of 2011 and in the email I received yesterday, they included the list of locations for Global Study Trips and Service Learning Trips for next year. These trips are ways to fulfill the global experience graduation requirement.2009-10 Global Study Trip locationsArgentina and Chile*Beirut and Paris*Ghana and Senegal*India*Indonesia and

Speaking of Scholarships, Here's One for You

2009-04-13T06:00:00.001-07:00

I got an email last weekend from Eric Bahn, the founder of Beat The GMAT (who is a class of '04 Stanford undergrad alumnus living in Palo Alto), asking me to inform hopeful class of 2012 readers about the organization's annual scholarship:"The 2009 Beat The GMAT Scholarship competition--co-sponsored by Manhattan GMAT and Stacy Blackman Consulting--features 5 prizes worth $14K. This is the fourth

Scholarship Interview

2009-04-13T06:00:00.000-07:00

I recently had a phone interview for the scholarship I applied for. It is not a ton of cash in the grand scheme of things (~5% of my total 2-year package) but every little bit helps, right?Anyway, my interview made me realize how tired I still am of the entire application process. My voice was a little shaky at the beginning. I talked too fast. I struggled not to ramble. Even though the questions

Stanford GSB Personal Statement

2009-04-10T12:30:00.000-07:00

I am continuing to work through Stanford's required pre-matriculation work. Earlier this week, I finished the math and Excel assessors. And on a plane a couple days ago, I tackled my first-year personal statement, which is a "memo addressed to [my] advisor/Critical Analytical Thinking seminar instructor [which] include[s] whatever [I] think will be helpful to [my] advisor for making important

Compelling Article: "Why I Blog"

2009-04-08T06:00:00.000-07:00

I am working my way through a pile of magazines that has accumulated unread over the past couple months and I picked up an old issue of Atlantic Monthly. Well I guess it's just called The Atlantic now, but I prefer its former title. In its November 2008 issue, Andrew Sullivan, among the first recognized journalists to embrace blogging, discusses the medium in his aptly titled article, Why I Blog.

5 Tips for Skill Assessors

2009-04-06T14:42:00.001-07:00

For those of you who are not attending the GSB next year, you can skip this post.For those of you who are, read on if you would like my suggestions for tackling Stanford's required pre-matriculation skill assessors, especially the tortuous Excel assessor:1. The Excel assessor uses the latest version (the one with file names .xlsx) so if you are on a Mac or an older version of Excel, you will

Apples to WTF? Continued

2009-04-06T07:00:00.000-07:00

If you have been reading my blog for a while, you will remember that I interview for my undergraduate alma mater and have been frustrated by the lack of correlation between my interview evaluation and the admissions decision.I am pleased to report that this year my university seems to have taken my opinion as a volunteer interviewer into account: the two applicants to whom I gave the highest

lastname_firstname@gsb.stanford.edu

2009-04-02T07:00:00.000-07:00

It is starting to feel more official. On Tuesday I received access to my Stanford GSB email account. Now I have to try to figure out how to get it to work with my mobile device.One cool thing about the mail program is that I can look up all admitted applicants who have submitted their deposits as well as current students. I wish Stanford had a more comprehensive search program like HBS's "

Yale's Endowment & Its Famed Manager

2009-04-01T06:00:00.000-07:00

In its April issue, Condé Naste Portfolio published a fascinating article about Yale's long-time endowment manager, David Swensen and his propagation of university endowments' move toward alternative investments, including private equity, venture capital, real estate, and commodities, among others. It is staggering that some of Yale's peer institutions shifted as much as 80% of their assets into

R2 Waiting Game Continued: Stanford GSB & HBS

2009-03-31T07:00:00.000-07:00

Not like I need to tell anyone reading this, but Stanford GSB and HBS Class of 2011 round 2 admissions decisions will be released by April 2. Interesting that both schools chose the same date. For round 1, they were one day apart.HBS sends an email indicating that your status has been updated. You have to log into the ApplyYourself website and access the decision through a link that will show up

Another Friend's Advice

2009-03-30T07:00:00.000-07:00

I went skiing with friends a couple weekends ago and one of my host's other guests was a Stanford GSB grad from the class of 2005.During long rickety chairlifts up the mountain, GSB '05 told me about his various living arrangements--in Schwab his first year (which I can't do because my significant other will be with me), at a Lake Tahoe ski house with 24 of his nearest and dearest, and in a

R2 Waiting Game: Wharton Decision

2009-03-24T07:05:00.000-07:00

I'll admit it. I have been watching the Business Week forums over the last week or two, which is the home stretch for many round 2 MBA admissions decisions. I'm not proud.It sounds like the Wharton round 2 decision could be coming out any moment. During round 1 this year, the official decision date was the fourth Monday in December, but the admissions committee called admitted applicants the

March Madness

2009-03-23T15:18:00.000-07:00

Okay, so this post is not really about business school, but it does have to do with American universities so maybe you'll cut me some slack. It is officially spring in the U.S. with the beginning of the NCAA college basketball tournament last Thursday. My office does an annual pool, which I happen to have won last year. This year I'm in the lead, but one of my colleagues informed me this morning

Deciding to Apply to Business School

2009-03-18T07:00:00.000-07:00

One reader asked if I could explore in a bit more depth how I arrived at the decision to apply to business school and how I determined when the right time for me to apply was. That is a loaded question, but I will give it a go.Why grad school at all?Today if you are a relatively risk-averse and intellectually curious person, I think a graduate degree is a natural step. Grad school offers:1.

Broughton Bashes Bschool (What Else Is New?)

2009-03-16T13:32:00.000-07:00

Wow, check this one out. This scathing piece is by Philip Delves Broughton, the same fellow who wrote Ahead of the Curve, which I reviewed last month. The article is an unmerciful indictment of "The Masters of Business Administration, that swollen class of jargon-spewing, value-destroying financiers and consultants [who] have done more than any other group of people to create the economic misery

Sunday New York Times Reading

2009-03-16T08:34:00.000-07:00

Two good articles from the Sunday New York Times this week. Take a look:1. Is It Time to Retrain Business Schools? discusses shortcomings of the current American business school education, namely that it lacks emphasis on risk management and on relevance to today's world.2. The Secrets of Talent Scouts discusses the parallels across VC, headhunting, and the music industry as "scouts" search for

Pulled the Trigger

2009-03-13T08:48:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was the HBS deposit deadline so I declined, and submitted my Stanford GSB deposit, which isn't due until next week. Also, just before I submitted my Stanford deposit, I got a personal email from Dean Bob Joss encouraging me to email or call if I had any outstanding questions during my "difficult decision." He included both his home and cell phone numbers in the email. I felt special.

Financial aid...

2009-03-11T09:12:00.001-07:00

...sucks. The process, I mean. Not the actual aid that business schools offer many students.My 2008 taxes are nowhere near complete and some of the aid application questions are definitely open to interpretation, which makes me uncomfortable in the world of numbers and electronic signatures.Also, I can't seem to find any good external scholarships. One of my friends found an amazing full ride

A Friend's Advice

2009-03-09T08:44:00.000-07:00

A good friend was visiting me this weekend. He is in his fourth year of a six-year graduate program. When we started talking about my upcoming transition to business school, he urged me not to get too wrapped up in the grad school social scene and to make sure I have a life outside of school.He lives in a fairly large city and prior to our conversation, it hadn't struck me as strange that he

Fun Times at HBS ASW

2009-03-02T08:00:00.000-08:00

I'm exhausted. The HBS admit welcome event was a great experience and I would encourage all applicants to go to the admit weekends for the schools to which they have been accepted, even if they are not planning to go there. You will have great points to compare and contrast across the schools and your decision will be better informed. For example, after attending a case-based HBS class, I am now

Heading to HBS Tomorrow

2009-02-25T08:33:00.000-08:00

I will be at HBS tomorrow and Friday for the Admitted Students Welcome (ASW) weekend. I have never visited the business school and am very excited to hear the HBS pitch, to meet other admitted applicants, and to catch up with a few Boston and Cambridge-based friends.I have been amazed by how surprised friends, family, and colleagues are to learn my intention to turn down HBS for Stanford. Both

First Bschool Homework!

2009-02-24T08:59:00.000-08:00

HBS sent me a case study they want me to read for my Strategy class on campus this Friday. The gall, the nerve -- homework before I'm even enrolled! The email did stress that I would not be required to participate in discussion, but rather that the reading would enhance my classroom experience. So I will be reading Bitter Competition: The Holland Sweetener Company versus NutraSweet in the next

IN: Cover Notes; OUT: Cover Letters

2009-02-23T09:25:00.000-08:00

As a fairly recent college graduate with an "informal mind-set," I feel the need to break it to the New York Times' Career Couch -- cover letters are indeed on their way out of the door, at least in the traditional sense. (Random aside, wouldn't "career coach" be a better title for the regular column?)The recent article makes several good points, namely that it is still important for a job

Unexplained Anxiety

2009-02-20T09:40:00.000-08:00

On Wednesday night I was walking to dinner with a couple of friends and I had this inexplicable uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach. I have been a ball of anxiety for the last six months -- from cramming GMAT studying into three short weeks in July to procrastinating during August and finally getting my act together in September and October to polish off my round 1 applications only to settle

MBA Job Market

2009-02-18T10:47:00.000-08:00

An employment report of Stanford's class of 2008 showed up on the GSB admissions blog last week. I hope that my two years at the GSB will help me figure out how to get a $200K signing bonus (the upper end of the signing bonus range). Kidding. Well, sort of. But seriously Stanford, give us some real news -- what is going on with the class of 2009? What about the class of 2010 summer internship

Sticker shock: $200K

2009-02-17T13:42:00.001-08:00

I just received a prematriculation email from HBS informing me that the Class of 2011 budget is now available. Total for year 1, including living expenses = $76,600. Stanford's budget was available a while ago and its year 1 budget = $84,071 (how wonderfully precise!) if you include the pricier study trip.A couple things to note (besides the obvious shock at the implied $150-200K price for an MBA

Thoughts on "Ahead of the Curve"

2009-02-17T09:09:00.001-08:00

I picked up Ahead of the Curve: Two Years at Harvard Business School as another way to distract myself from my online BW Forum and blog addiction. Also, I wanted to get the dirt, so the speak, on HBS before heading to their admitted students weekend at the end of the month. Wait, you may ask, isn't this blog about someone who plans to attend Stanford in the fall? Yes, it is. Stanford has always

Apples to WTF?

2009-02-13T13:38:00.000-08:00

I interview for my undergraduate alma mater. I meet each applicant at a coffee shop near my office, ask softball questions about academic interests, extracurricular experiences, why XYZ College. The only hard ones I throw in are, "How would your closest friends and family describe you?" and "What are people surprised to learn about you?" both of which I was asked in my HBS interview. I give each

Late to the blogging game

2009-02-13T11:37:00.000-08:00

Since I first received a couple invitations to interview during the class of 2011 round 1 business school application cycle, I have been completely addicted to online forums and blogs pertaining to the MBA admissions process. I'm talking about student blogs, applicant blogs, admissions consultant blogs, the schools' own admission department blogs... plus, the dreaded Business Week forum. Thank