Final Answer

For the last month I have been going back and forth with myself about where to attend school. I've talked a ton of people to death about why I wanted to go to Wharton, Kellogg, and Booth.  I attended admitted students weekends and admit get togethers.  I weighed every pro and con I could think of.  I leaned toward Wharton only to lean toward Kellogg or Booth the very next day.  Finally, last night I did the one thing I haven't done since getting admitted.  I prayed.  I will be the first to admit that I've been quite lax about practicing my faith recently.  But when push came to shove, I went back to the one constant that has yet to fail me. I prayed for clarity. I prayed that I would have peace about whatever decision I made.

What Matters Most

I'm struggling.  I have spent my entire day talking about where I will go to school in the fall.  I got a call from two Booth admits I met at ASW last weekend (one of whom is none other than Dee123 from GMAT Club).  Their mission: to convince me to single handedly increase Booth's black female population by 30% by agreeing to attend.  Up next was a marathon texting session with my homie Motown, who is also choosing between Kellogg and Wharton.  That conversation segued into an hour long phone call with her friend from MLT who had already chosen to enroll at Booth this fall.  After talking to him I called Motown and after speaking with her I chatted with the GMATClub crew.  I G-chatted with the Senator and got some advice from Chesty LaRue.  I spoke with Eddie in Booth's admissions office and some lady in career services whose name I can't remember.  To cap off all of this communication I'm currently texting back and forth with my girl, mbalady.  Everyone has an opinion on what I should do; everyone, that is, except for me.  I'm just as lost as I ever was.

If The School Fits

I keep getting the same two questions over and over again.  "Have you chosen a school yet?"and it's close cousin, "What's your first choice?"  My answers are always the same. "Nope, I haven't chosen yet," and "I don't have a first choice." I'm starting to think that the latter answer explains the former.

Months ago I blogged about throwing my hat in the ring for Round 2 after being admitted to Kellogg Round 1.  I reasoned that it wasn't because I wanted to go to other schools more than Kellogg, I simply wanted to go to these schools as much as I wanted to go to Kellogg.  Well, the dust from Round 2 has cleared and like I hoped I have options.  Feelings of happy happy joy joy happy happy joy joy have quickly transitioned to an overwhelming sense of dread at actually having to make a choice.  I have three great schools in front of me so as everyone tells me I "can't go wrong." But what if I do choose the wrong school for me.

Catching Up

The last time I updated this blog I was smack in the middle of Round 2.  I had completed my Booth interview, had just received an interview invite from Wharton, and was patiently waiting for the Stanny goat to eat my application (I shall explain shortly). The end of March and the admissions decisions it would bring seemed like a distant future that would never arrive.  Alas, the world did not come to an end.  Late March did arrive (and has since passed) and I've posted nary a word about how everything has panned out thus far.

Are You For Real

In his ubiquitous hit song, "I Heard It Through the Grapevine," Marvin Gaye sang, "Believe maybe half of what you see and some to none of what you hear."  I think this lyric should be modified for MBA applicants who frequent b-school forums.  "Believe maybe half of what you see and some to none of what you read."  I've been an active participant on the GMAT Club forums for almost a year and if the site is representative of the applicant pool then I guess 90% of applicants have 740+ GMAT scores, 3.7 GPAs from top 10 schools, and all have stellar work experience.  It's easy to feel intimidated by the number of outstanding competition.  However, I'm starting to think that maybe some of those scary good competitors are of the boogie man under your bed variety.  They do not really exist.

Out of my Misery

I'll confess. I was getting worried.  Three weeks of invites had passed and my mailbox was conspicuously empty.  Well not empty, just lacking the right email: the invitation to interview at Wharton. According to GMAT Club, in the first two waves of invitations the only people to report receiving them were international and Lauder applicants.  In the third week the love got spread to the domestic applicants, but none toward me.  Although I felt that my Wharton application was my best one I still worried about getting an invite.  The applicant pool is ridiculously competitive and I know that there are people with better stats applying.  Seeing other people get their invites while I didn't reinforced these thoughts.  I know, I know, I know....I always say that being in the 1st wave (albeit domestic wave) isn't a big deal.  But I will admit that it's nice to be put out of your misery sooner rather than later.  Intellectually I knew that there was still plenty of time to receive the invite, but I will admit that my internal crazy did tick up a notch or two (maybe from a 2 to a 4).  I confided my worries to a few close friends and put on my best optimistic facade for everyone else.

Etiquette 101

It is no secret that I like to participate in online MBA forums.  GMAT Club is my favorite.  I think that these sites are great resources for finding information on everything from essays to interview questions.  I've even met some very cool people from the site with whom I am excited to potentially attend school.  But lately, GMAT Club has been getting on my last nerve.  Correction, some GMAT Club members have become as grating as nails on a chalk board.  After finding so much useful information from other posters I have done my best to pay it forward, answering questions about Kellogg's admissions process, giving advice on post-interview thank you notes, and sending words of encouragement to nervous posters.  However, in the last month or so my posts have taken a turn toward the bitchy.  Why? Has the pressure of R2 gotten to me, causing me to lash out at poor, unsuspecting posters?  Hmmm...not so much.  See the problem is not me, it's THEM.  Maybe I didn't see it in R1, but R2 has brought forth some of the least self-aware, most obnoxious personalities I've encountered online.

Stay Tuned

I've been wanting to update my blog for the last few weeks but have been uber busy.  There's a ton I want to get into, like my Booth interview, waiting on Wharton and Stanford invites, Day At Kellogg, and the craziness that is MBA forums.  I've been swamped with work and other stuff so I haven't had the time to sit down and write a proper entry.  Oh and I'll be working on a joint blog post with my good friend The Senator from GMAT Club.

I promise I will come back soon to share all of the details about DAK, Booth, and life very shortly.

Off to the Races

Let the speculation cease.  Since January 4 at  5:00 PM CST applicants to U of Chicago's Booth School of Business have been wondering when interview invitations would start.  An email sent to a limited number of applicants announced that invites would start on February 25, 2012.  The only problem with that info is that the mid decision deadline by which ALL interview invites (and outright rejections) would be announced is February 15, 2012.  Obviously, Feb. 25 is a typo.  But what's the real date?  Let the GMAT Club forums be set ablaze with theories.

ODE TO THE HATERS

To my sorority sister who told me that the Cowboys would beat the Giants in the regular season finale, I say, "SUCK IT!!'

To that Cowboys fan on facebook who said, "Good luck. U get the honor of losing in the first round," I say to you, "KISS KEVIN BOOTHE'S GIANT ASS!"

To falcondevil on GMATClub.com I say, "Two points? Really?! I'd respect your Falcons more if they'd simply goose egged."

To any and everyone who said the Packers would beat the Giants I say, "Your defense and O-Line are TRASH!! You Roger those SACKS Aaron?"

To my 2010, 2008, and 2003 neos who were talking all that shit about the 9ers knocking out my Giants I say, "The Giants shoved that candlestick up your ass!"

To Pats fans I say, "Ya'll don't want NONE of the GIANTS!  18-1, BITCHES!"

G-MEN

Am I Invited Too?

I have not worked on a b-school application in over a week.  Although I am finished with applications I am a long way from through with the application process.  I now await my fate with three schools: Wharton, Booth, and Stanford (California, you must be dreaming!).  Waiting on these schools is different than waiting on Kellogg because Kellogg allows applicants to initiate their interviews, but this second crop of schools handles this part much differently.  They have a don't call us, we'll call you policy.  So now I get to experience the b-school ritual of stressing over interview invites.  Yay for me! (?)

Consultation

I have a confession.  Two years ago I don't think that I was aware that the consulting industry existed.  MBB could have stood for Making Butts Bounce for all I knew.  I remember classmates in undergrad who recruited for Deloitte but for some reason I always thought they were going to do something related to finance or accounting.  I did not know that there were companies devoted to giving other companies advice (and pretty power point decks).  I learned about this wonderful world of frequent flyer miles, black suits, and power point prowess when I embarked upon the b-school path.  I briefly considered it as a potential post MBA career but immediately let the idea go upon hearing about the hours consultants worked.  I'm not built for 70-90 hour work weeks.  Once introduced to consulting I soon learned that there's a consultant for everything.  And when talking MBA there is none more prevalent than the admissions consultant.

Back to Life

On Wednesday January 11, 2012 at 7:42 PM EST I submitted the last business school application I will ever complete! Cue the "Hallelujah" music and release the doves! As God is my witness, I will never apply to b-school again!

Dramatic? Yes. Justified? Hell freaking yeah! As I come out of the fog that was application season, I realize that I have been at this MBA game in some way, shape, or form since January 2011 (actually August 2010, but not in earnest).  Hmm...let's see. It's January 2012 now, so that would be one full year of my life dedicated to getting my arse into school.  One year of GMAT studying, school research, essay writing, recommender prep, school visits, avoiding essays with hours of Bejeweled, and countless hours of worrying about NOT getting in.  Damn, that's a shitty way to spend an entire year.  Don't get me wrong, I am so glad that it all resulted in an admit (and hopefully a couple more), but on the real, I miss my life!  Like, my actual life.  I know this may be hard to believe because all I've talked about for the last year is applying to business school, but there is so much more to me than the pursuit of an MBA.  Not for nothing, but I am a kick ass chick and I really haven't kicked ass the way I like to kick ass all year.

One Down...

It's been 8 days, 12 hours and 22 minutes since I got the admit call from Kellogg.  I'm still walking on sunshine, but I've started to come down a bit from my euphoric high.  There are still Round 2 applications to complete (too many of them since I procrastinated through most of November and December).  What's that you say? Why am I applying in Round 2 if I'm already in at Kellogg?  Aren't I set on going to Kellogg?  Isn't Kellogg my first choice?

The simple answer to the last two questions is, no.  I'm not set on going to Kellogg and it's not my first choice.  However, I don't have a first choice.

Along the Yellow Brick Road.

When Dorothy got caught in a twister, hit her head, and woke up in Oz, she couldn't have fathomed the characters that she would meet along the way.  There was Glenda, the Good Witch of the North who gave her ruby slippers and gave her the simple instructions to, "follow the yellow brick road."  There were the Munchkins who welcomed her to Munchkin land.  And we must not forget the friends Dorothy made on her way to the Emerald City: Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Cowardly Lion.  All of these characters (including the Wicked Witch of the West) are instantly recognizable and I'm sure we could all identify them with either pieces of ourselves or people we know.

So along my personal yellow brick road to b-school, I too have come across a colorful cast of characters.  See if you recognize any of these people.

Walking on Sunshine

"I used to think maybe you loved me..."

I'll be honest. This summer when I was reseraching schools, Kellogg didn't really do it for me.  Maybe it was the staid website or possibly the "K is only good for marketing" chatter on the MBA forums. Whatever it was I didn't have the stars in my eyes for Kellogg that I did for Booth (SKI TRIP!), Wharton, Stanford, and other schools. Still, one of my recommenders is a Kellogg alum and I thought it would be stupid to not try to take some small advantage in that.

Something funny happens when you take the time to get to know a school in order to write three to four sentences to answer the all important question, "Why Kellogg." You find out exactly why. I spent hours poring over Kellogg's website, reading professors' blogs, checking out student clubs, and learning about the curriculum.  I spoke to current students too. Somewhere in the middle of writing the second essay it hit me: I would love to do all of the wonderful things I'm writing about. I want to enter the Net Impact case competition. I want to do a Global Immersion.  I want to be a Board Fellow. Oh CRAP! I want to go to Kellogg.

Sitting by the Phone

I know, I know, I know. I've been remiss with updating the blog. It's not that I haven't wanted to write an update; it's just that I can't quite justify writing a blog update when I should be using the time to write essays. Yep, that's right folks, I am now smack in the middle of applications. In fact I submitted my first application last month. That feeling of relief that supposedly comes with finally completing an application has yet to settle upon me. Instead, all I can feel is obsessive paranoia. See, it's out of my hands now. There's nothing more I can do to convince the admissions committee to let me in. The only thing left to do is wait. Wait and see if they like my GMAT score, optional essay, and recommendations enough to overlook the fact that my undergraduate academic performance was, how shall I say this....eclectic. I just have to wait and see if they actually get my off the beaten path career goals and understand why I need an MBA now (and not 4 years ago). I can only wait and see if they get me and if they do get me if they like me.

Charge It to the Game

Ladies and Gentlemen, the Brain Dump has gone viral. I logged into my Sitemeter account today and saw an astronomical upswing in my traffic, courtesy of some blog by a person named Roosh. Seems as though someone found this older post and put it on his site and the name calling commenced. At first I ignored it, but when people feel the need to call me nasty names ON MY BLOG then all bets are off.

Forethought

I started to consider getting my MBA late last summer. I knew that I needed to take the GMAT and write a ton of essays in order to apply.  I thought that I could study for my GMAT, take the test, and apply to 6-8 schools between September and January.  Oh, how naive I was! Thank God my promotion last fall kept me from trying to exercise that delusion.
Thanks to a 10% pay increase, better title, and cross country move to the East coast, I got a whole year to prepare for the Fall 2012 admissions cycle. It is quickly becoming apparent that I underestimated how short a year really is. As Round 1 deadlines quickly approach and the weekends on my calendar get reserved I am wishing I had used the extra time to prepare better.

Don't Call Me

I would like to take a break from all of the b-school talk to discuss something that's been on my mind lately...

About a month ago I was driving home from New York when a voice came through my car radio speakers. It was a woman over a telephone line, but I couldn't make out her words. The strains of a synthesizer phased onto the track, followed shortly by a pulsing bass line. A spark of recognition flashed in my mind. I knew this song. I turned up the volume ready to enjoy a song that I didn't know at all but knew that I liked.

I recognized Drake's slightly nasal tenor from the first note he sang. "Cups of the Rose/_____ in my old phone" he sings. Aahh, Drizzy doing his annual vulnerable thug posturing. Unlike previous listens I made a point to pay attention to his sensitive lyrics this time. I reclined in my seat, swayed to the syncopated drum beat, and vibed to his words. Then I heard it.