MBA Gladiator
Friday, June 06, 2008
Goodbye Yale
Please describe your short and long term goals and how your previous experience and an MBA will help you to achieve these goals. (500 words maximum.)
In 2004, sixty-five percent of Yale MBA graduates accepted full-time offers in finance, manufacturing, or consulting. Seven percent accepted jobs in a category labeled "non-profit/public". My long-term career plan is to be part of this public interest category.
Unlike most of my peers with an investment banking background, upon completing an MBA I intend to exit the finance field completely. Two years of investment banking experience has provided me with a foundation in finance, modeling, and valuation. Now I feel ready to pursue an MBA with a particular emphasis on my true interests - nonprofit management and corporate social responsibility. - (Written in September, 2005)
These were the opening paragraphs of my Yale SOM application essays. I started writing my essays shortly after taking the GMAT in the summer of 2005, nearly 3 years ago. I didn't really know what I was talking about when I tackled the classic "Why an MBA, Why Yale, why Now?" kind of question, but I remember very clearly that Yale SOM stood out as a rather unconventional business school.
I remember reading about the school's mission - educating leaders for business and society - and noting Yale's career statistics in more traditional MBA fields (banking, consulting), while also reading about alumni that have done some neat work with organizations in community development, microfinance, and other nonprofit ventures. I remember reading about GSE, an international probono consulting experience run entirely by students. I remember discovering the school's small class size, and being excited about the opportunity to get to know my classmates, instead of being just another number. And I remember that day in January 2006, when I received an email from SOM's admissions committee informing me that I had indeed been accepted to the Yale School of Management, class of 2008.
Its certainly been a long journey - secretly prepping for the GMATs in the summer of 2005, to working on my application essays at home after a late night at the office, to finally leaving the investment banking industry after letting my bosses know that I had decided to matriculate at Yale SOM. But as everybody says, the experience went by way too quickly.
The highlights of my 2 years at Yale are undoubtedly the friendships that I've formed here. Of particular note is my study group, a weird, eclectic, group of people. On the career front we have little in common - after graduating from Yale we will be working across sectors - marketing, technology, corporate finance, sales and trading, and nonprofit consulting. I'm not entirely sure what it was that brought us together, but for better or worse we managed to grow very close throughout the 2 years. Not too many study groups last the entire MBA experience but I've been blessed with a group of people that really have been my 2nd family here in New Haven. Of course, outside of the study group are also a group of people whom I've formed what I suspect will be lifelong friendships. They are, what I like to call my "sticky friends", and truly an unexpected feature of coming back to grad school. Indeed, without these wonderful and fantastic people, I believe my MBA experience would have been a little less fulfilling, a little less interesting, and a lot less fun.
On the career side, Yale SOM has been everything that I needed it to be. As a relative newbie in the nonprofit world I was fortunate to be surrounded by like-minded people who took the school's mission seriously, weaving the nonprofit world into the everyday fabric of my MBA experience. From my trip to Brazil last year for GSE, to working on the internship fund and spending the summer in Washington DC with the United Way of America, to ultimately landing a full time position in nonprofit consulting, Yale is a community that encouraged me to pursue my interests and take on a relatively unusual career path for a former investment banker.
To those thinking about an MBA or about to enroll in an MBA program, my advice to you is simple - do not make the experience merely about obtaining the "letters". The MBA experience is truly enriching, a chance to explore your passions, meet interesting people, see the world, and have a lot of fun. I would do it again in a heartbeat, and I'm so sad that its over.
As for this blog, I have a feeling that this may well be my final entry. If it is, I truly hope that you've been entertained by this account of my 2 years at Yale SOM. I've enjoyed keeping a log of my shenanigans, and I'm sure years from now when I re-read these entries and review the pictures I'll have a good laugh. As always, pictures from the graduation ceremony are in collage form to the left.
Goodbye Yale. It was fun. ¶ 7:59 AM 7 comments links to this post
Please describe your short and long term goals and how your previous experience and an MBA will help you to achieve these goals. (500 words maximum.)In 2004, sixty-five percent of Yale MBA graduates accepted full-time offers in finance, manufacturing, or consulting. Seven percent accepted jobs in a category labeled "non-profit/public". My long-term career plan is to be part of this public interest category.
Unlike most of my peers with an investment banking background, upon completing an MBA I intend to exit the finance field completely. Two years of investment banking experience has provided me with a foundation in finance, modeling, and valuation. Now I feel ready to pursue an MBA with a particular emphasis on my true interests - nonprofit management and corporate social responsibility. - (Written in September, 2005)
These were the opening paragraphs of my Yale SOM application essays. I started writing my essays shortly after taking the GMAT in the summer of 2005, nearly 3 years ago. I didn't really know what I was talking about when I tackled the classic "Why an MBA, Why Yale, why Now?" kind of question, but I remember very clearly that Yale SOM stood out as a rather unconventional business school.
I remember reading about the school's mission - educating leaders for business and society - and noting Yale's career statistics in more traditional MBA fields (banking, consulting), while also reading about alumni that have done some neat work with organizations in community development, microfinance, and other nonprofit ventures. I remember reading about GSE, an international probono consulting experience run entirely by students. I remember discovering the school's small class size, and being excited about the opportunity to get to know my classmates, instead of being just another number. And I remember that day in January 2006, when I received an email from SOM's admissions committee informing me that I had indeed been accepted to the Yale School of Management, class of 2008.
Its certainly been a long journey - secretly prepping for the GMATs in the summer of 2005, to working on my application essays at home after a late night at the office, to finally leaving the investment banking industry after letting my bosses know that I had decided to matriculate at Yale SOM. But as everybody says, the experience went by way too quickly.
The highlights of my 2 years at Yale are undoubtedly the friendships that I've formed here. Of particular note is my study group, a weird, eclectic, group of people. On the career front we have little in common - after graduating from Yale we will be working across sectors - marketing, technology, corporate finance, sales and trading, and nonprofit consulting. I'm not entirely sure what it was that brought us together, but for better or worse we managed to grow very close throughout the 2 years. Not too many study groups last the entire MBA experience but I've been blessed with a group of people that really have been my 2nd family here in New Haven. Of course, outside of the study group are also a group of people whom I've formed what I suspect will be lifelong friendships. They are, what I like to call my "sticky friends", and truly an unexpected feature of coming back to grad school. Indeed, without these wonderful and fantastic people, I believe my MBA experience would have been a little less fulfilling, a little less interesting, and a lot less fun.On the career side, Yale SOM has been everything that I needed it to be. As a relative newbie in the nonprofit world I was fortunate to be surrounded by like-minded people who took the school's mission seriously, weaving the nonprofit world into the everyday fabric of my MBA experience. From my trip to Brazil last year for GSE, to working on the internship fund and spending the summer in Washington DC with the United Way of America, to ultimately landing a full time position in nonprofit consulting, Yale is a community that encouraged me to pursue my interests and take on a relatively unusual career path for a former investment banker.
To those thinking about an MBA or about to enroll in an MBA program, my advice to you is simple - do not make the experience merely about obtaining the "letters". The MBA experience is truly enriching, a chance to explore your passions, meet interesting people, see the world, and have a lot of fun. I would do it again in a heartbeat, and I'm so sad that its over.As for this blog, I have a feeling that this may well be my final entry. If it is, I truly hope that you've been entertained by this account of my 2 years at Yale SOM. I've enjoyed keeping a log of my shenanigans, and I'm sure years from now when I re-read these entries and review the pictures I'll have a good laugh. As always, pictures from the graduation ceremony are in collage form to the left.
Goodbye Yale. It was fun. ¶ 7:59 AM 7 comments links to this post
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Tony Blair - Yale's Class Day Speaker, Last Class Dinners, and a NYC Apartment!
Tomorrow I officially graduate from the Yale School of Management, armed with an MBA and about to be re-launched into the real world.
I'm sad, in denial, anxious, and in utter disbelief that this occasion has come so quickly.
Today was Yale College's "Class Day", continuing a Yale tradition where a major speaker addresses the graduating class the day before commencement. Here to address the class of 2008 was Tony Blair, former Prime Minister of Britain. Although Class Day is really about the undergrads at Yale College, it is open for all graduate students so a large contingent of SOM students made the trek over to Old Campus to take part in the festivities. I quite enjoyed Tony Blair's speech, though it did not blow me away like I thought it could. He touched on issues like globalization, Yale's place in the world, the need for graduates to see the bigger picture... he joked about how he was the first Brit to be invited to speak at Yale's commencement ceremonies... but to me, the most poignant moment of his speech was when he talked about parents. He gave a personal anecdote about meeting his dad at the train station after his first year at Oxford, talked about how we as graduates can't envision being as old as our parents but how our parents always remember being our age, and acknowledged that while its often "hell" from both the parents and the kids' perspectives, ultimately parents love you (he was much more eloquent than what I've written of course, but it really was the highlight of the speech in my opinion).
As for tomorrow's Yale SOM commencement, graduation, or convocation ceremony (whatever you like to call it) it is then that I will receive my degree and graduate. Its been almost 2.5 weeks since my last exam in an MBA classroom and in the interim I've been so busy with fun and games like the class trip to Florida, apartment hunting in New York, baseball games in Cleveland and Boston, etc. etc., that I haven't really had time to be introspective and mentally acknowledge that this whole experience is coming to an end.
I'm still not prepared to put my final thoughts down, so for now I'll leave this blog entry with some photos from our final class dinner, a very nice evening at the New Haven Lawn Club...(complete with photos with some key faculty). No photos from the Florida class trip will be posted because what happens in Hollywood Florida, stays in Hollywood Florida. :P Needless to say it was a fun trip with lots of pool, sun, beach, clubbing, and eating.
PS: To those who were wondering, YES, I have found an apartment in New York City- I'll be living in the Hell's Kitchen area a couple blocks south of Columbus Circle. The apartment is a good-sized studio, has a doorman, its an elevator building, there is a gym, a beautiful rooftop terrace, and its a short walk from a lot of subway lines and not too far from Central Park where I fully intend to run and explore on a regular basis. My lease agreement starts in early June and I'm super stoked. Next time I write, MBA Gladiator will actually have an MBA- stay tuned. ¶ 7:45 PM 0 comments links to this post
Tomorrow I officially graduate from the Yale School of Management, armed with an MBA and about to be re-launched into the real world.I'm sad, in denial, anxious, and in utter disbelief that this occasion has come so quickly.
Today was Yale College's "Class Day", continuing a Yale tradition where a major speaker addresses the graduating class the day before commencement. Here to address the class of 2008 was Tony Blair, former Prime Minister of Britain. Although Class Day is really about the undergrads at Yale College, it is open for all graduate students so a large contingent of SOM students made the trek over to Old Campus to take part in the festivities. I quite enjoyed Tony Blair's speech, though it did not blow me away like I thought it could. He touched on issues like globalization, Yale's place in the world, the need for graduates to see the bigger picture... he joked about how he was the first Brit to be invited to speak at Yale's commencement ceremonies... but to me, the most poignant moment of his speech was when he talked about parents. He gave a personal anecdote about meeting his dad at the train station after his first year at Oxford, talked about how we as graduates can't envision being as old as our parents but how our parents always remember being our age, and acknowledged that while its often "hell" from both the parents and the kids' perspectives, ultimately parents love you (he was much more eloquent than what I've written of course, but it really was the highlight of the speech in my opinion).
As for tomorrow's Yale SOM commencement, graduation, or convocation ceremony (whatever you like to call it) it is then that I will receive my degree and graduate. Its been almost 2.5 weeks since my last exam in an MBA classroom and in the interim I've been so busy with fun and games like the class trip to Florida, apartment hunting in New York, baseball games in Cleveland and Boston, etc. etc., that I haven't really had time to be introspective and mentally acknowledge that this whole experience is coming to an end.I'm still not prepared to put my final thoughts down, so for now I'll leave this blog entry with some photos from our final class dinner, a very nice evening at the New Haven Lawn Club...(complete with photos with some key faculty). No photos from the Florida class trip will be posted because what happens in Hollywood Florida, stays in Hollywood Florida. :P Needless to say it was a fun trip with lots of pool, sun, beach, clubbing, and eating.
PS: To those who were wondering, YES, I have found an apartment in New York City- I'll be living in the Hell's Kitchen area a couple blocks south of Columbus Circle. The apartment is a good-sized studio, has a doorman, its an elevator building, there is a gym, a beautiful rooftop terrace, and its a short walk from a lot of subway lines and not too far from Central Park where I fully intend to run and explore on a regular basis. My lease agreement starts in early June and I'm super stoked. Next time I write, MBA Gladiator will actually have an MBA- stay tuned. ¶ 7:45 PM 0 comments links to this post
Monday, May 12, 2008
Let the Good Times Roll - Graduation in T-minus 2 Weeks and Counting!
Fun and Games (and Work) Update:
Graduation in exactly 2 weeks. Social calendar remains packed. I am in denial and don't want to think too much about what the end of my MBA really means. Pictures from social activities over the past week and a half to the left in collage form as always.
¶ 11:25 PM 0 comments links to this post
Fun and Games (and Work) Update:
- Final Strategic Across Sectors Exam (Felt like an HR case, 9 pages, 2.5 hours... DONE)
- Final Behavioral Perspectives on Management Paper (8 pages, wrote about the H1-B immigration policy and how flawed it is... DONE)
- Final Managing Organizational Politics paper (10 pages, wrote about the American Red Cross, tried to give recommendations to the new CEO, feel like the situation is pretty hopeless though... DONE)
- Trip to Boston to tour the Sam Adams brewery and catch a baseball game at Fenway Park (Enjoyed almost 2 pints of beer for free at Sam Adams, had clam chowder and hotdogs at Fenway... DONE)
- Trip to NYC to watch a live taping of the Daily Show with Jon Stewart (John McCain(!) was the guest, developed a bit of a man-crush on Jon Stewart, enjoyed Korean food in K-Town in NYC after... DONE)
- An evening of bowling with the Dean of Yale SOM- Dean Podolny, one of the prizes I won at the Internship Fund this year (Feel quite proud to have narrowly defeated the Dean, his average score was 117 over 3 games, mine was 119...first year participant destroyed us all though with an average score over 155..... DONE)
- Weekend trip to Cleveland to catch a Jays vs Indians baseball game, eat Chinese food, and a visit to Cedar Point, a good old fashioned amusement park (Didn't make it to the amusement park on account of the rain, Jays got completely destroyed but Cleveland was a great trip, lots of fantastic Chinese food, played frisbee, more bowling.... DONE)
- Serious appointments to find an apartment in New York City (tomorrow)
- Wine tasting with the marketing professors (tomorrow evening)
- Big end-of-year birthday bash for 2 of my good friends at Hula Hanks, one of my favorite cheesy but fun clubs in New Haven (evening of May 14th)
- Class trip to Hollywood Florida at the Hard Rock Cafe (May 16th - May 19th)
Graduation in exactly 2 weeks. Social calendar remains packed. I am in denial and don't want to think too much about what the end of my MBA really means. Pictures from social activities over the past week and a half to the left in collage form as always.¶ 11:25 PM 0 comments links to this post
Friday, May 02, 2008
Best of Blogging from Clearadmit.com, and the final countdown begins
Hello readers and welcome to the month of May - the final month of my 2 year MBA at Yale SOM. Its a scary thought and one that I numb my mind to, I really don't want to admit its all coming to an end.
But first- thank you to clearadmit.com for naming this blog as one of the top-10 MBA blogs for a second year running. With new competition on the scene and after barely making it last year I wasn't sure I'd make the cut. But evidently my ramblings of my 2nd year here at Yale were good enough to crack the top 10 and even improve by a few spots to claim the #7 spot on the list. This blog also managed to earn a tie for the top spot in the "Best Representation of Student Life" category, which is cool since I do make an effort to show a glimpse of what life at SOM is like that isn't necessarily portrayed in the official glossy materials and admissions catalogs. Ultimately I'm really quite glad this blog is being read by prospective MBA students, especially since I remember how valuable such insights were back in the day when I was going through the application process over 2 years ago.
As for the items left on my plate during this last month- May brings a mixed bag of feelings and activities - on the one hand I have to think about 2 final ten page papers and 1 final exam... but on the other hand the social activities are PACKED. For academic stuff I have actually procrastinated a little less than I usually do. In an uncharacteristic move I've already finished one of these final papers earlier this week, even though its not due until Mid-May. Why would I do such a thing? Well, the next few weekends are pretty much blocked off for social activities, which leaves very little time to do school work. But the social calendar is certainly looking quite robust - Some highlights coming in the next few weeks include:
So that's it from me - the next weeks promise to be a whirlwind of social events, paper writing, exams, and some treks to New York City for apartment hunting. In the meantime, I'll close off this entry with yet another collage of pictures taken from this week - some of them are from a bbq held at a Professor's house (he was very kind to invite the entire "Strategic Leadership Across Sectors" class to his swanky home in Branford for a open bar BBQ), as well as some pictures from a friend's birthday dinner at Seoul, a decent Korean restaurant here in New Haven.
¶ 2:40 AM 5 comments
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Hello readers and welcome to the month of May - the final month of my 2 year MBA at Yale SOM. Its a scary thought and one that I numb my mind to, I really don't want to admit its all coming to an end.But first- thank you to clearadmit.com for naming this blog as one of the top-10 MBA blogs for a second year running. With new competition on the scene and after barely making it last year I wasn't sure I'd make the cut. But evidently my ramblings of my 2nd year here at Yale were good enough to crack the top 10 and even improve by a few spots to claim the #7 spot on the list. This blog also managed to earn a tie for the top spot in the "Best Representation of Student Life" category, which is cool since I do make an effort to show a glimpse of what life at SOM is like that isn't necessarily portrayed in the official glossy materials and admissions catalogs. Ultimately I'm really quite glad this blog is being read by prospective MBA students, especially since I remember how valuable such insights were back in the day when I was going through the application process over 2 years ago.As for the items left on my plate during this last month- May brings a mixed bag of feelings and activities - on the one hand I have to think about 2 final ten page papers and 1 final exam... but on the other hand the social activities are PACKED. For academic stuff I have actually procrastinated a little less than I usually do. In an uncharacteristic move I've already finished one of these final papers earlier this week, even though its not due until Mid-May. Why would I do such a thing? Well, the next few weekends are pretty much blocked off for social activities, which leaves very little time to do school work. But the social calendar is certainly looking quite robust - Some highlights coming in the next few weeks include:
- Trip to Boston to tour the Sam Adams brewery and catch a baseball game at Fenway Park (this weekend)
- Trip to NYC to watch a live taping of the Daily Show with Jon Stewart (May 7th)
- An evening of bowling with the Dean of Yale SOM- Dean Podolny, one of the prizes I won at the Internship Fund this year (Evening of May 8th)
- Weekend trip to Cleveland to catch a Jays vs Indians baseball game, eat Chinese food, and a visit to Cedar Point, a good old fashioned amusement park (May 9th - 11th)
- Big end-of-year birthday bash for 2 of my good friends at Hula Hanks, one of my favorite cheesy but fun clubs in New Haven (evening of May 13th)
- Class trip to Hollywood Florida at the Hard Rock Cafe (May 16th - May 19th)
So that's it from me - the next weeks promise to be a whirlwind of social events, paper writing, exams, and some treks to New York City for apartment hunting. In the meantime, I'll close off this entry with yet another collage of pictures taken from this week - some of them are from a bbq held at a Professor's house (he was very kind to invite the entire "Strategic Leadership Across Sectors" class to his swanky home in Branford for a open bar BBQ), as well as some pictures from a friend's birthday dinner at Seoul, a decent Korean restaurant here in New Haven.
¶ 2:40 AM 5 comments
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