Well, I guess things are finally back to normal. I had my first day of Winter quarter courses and something tells me that this is going to be a busy quarter. In addition to the standard Core courses of Finance, Strategic Management, Marketing, and Operations, I've decided to take an elective class in the Strategic Management of Non-profits. People have told me that taking on the extra class will likely be a killer (because our internship search is like another class), but this joint is supposed to be the best strategy course offered by the Stanford GSB and I'm hoping to get ahead on class credits in case I try for a joint degree program with the School of Education.
I was really worried about these new classes because, like last quarter, everything is brand new to me, but, after having my Operations, Marketing, and Strategy for Non-Profits courses today, I feel like I'm going to be able to grasp the material well...that doesn't mean I'll get perfect scores, but I hope to understand it more than I did with my first set of B-school classes in the Fall. One thing that hasn't changed is the workload...whew! I'm sitting here now trying to cram all of the reading for tomorrow's Strategy and Finance classes into my head and I feel like I'm going to pass out. I wish I had done this reading over Winter Break like the professors suggested...
One thing that I'd like to remind anyone out there looking at B-school to remember is how expensive it is to be a student. Yesterday, I dropped $570 on course readers (big packets of Xerox copies of class material) for my five classes and that is in addition to the $200-250 I'd spent in December for used copies of my textbooks for the quarter. When I came out here, I didn't consider the amount that I'd have to spend on these extra materials. I knew that they wouldn't be a part of the standard tuition and fees, but I didn't know i'd get hit this hard. I'd better make sure I get a great internship this summer because my credit cards will be screaming for mercy by the time the summer comes.
Speaking of internship stuff, our recruiting season officially begins next week when companies start coming to campus to make presentations to us, so I'll be giving you lots of information about that in the next few entries. So far, I've been called by a McKinsey engagement manager (who saw my resume in our resume book and wanted to make sure I was consdering applying with them) and invited to dinners/presentations by Bain, BCG, and Monitor. I can't wait until the process gets going. I just hope I don't fumble when it comes time for the interviews.
Posted by marquis930 at January 5, 2005 05:49 AMHi Marquis,
I stumbled across your weblog about a week ago and I've been so inspired by your story. I am applying to stanford gsb second round (tomorrow!) and im so nervous. stanford is my dream school and i feel good about my application, but im kinda worried about my gmat scores. I've taken it 2 times already and my scores haven't been anywhere near the average score for stanford last year - 711. My quant score is not even 80th percentile, which I've heard that most school look for. What do you think my chances are of getting in? Should I even worry about it, if I feel good about the rest of my application? If you have time, drop an email to candice.loureiro@gmail.com.
Good luck on your upcoming classes!
Hi Marquis - I'm also a Stanford R2 applicant, and I have to say your blog has been really helpful in determining what we can expect for first years. Thanks for doing it! I'm also worried about my GMAT scores (my final 3rd exam didn't have a strong quant score at all) but I feel the rest of my stuff looks good and I'm feeling it for the fall. Good luck in your continuing studies, and we hope to hear more about you!
Posted by: Lani at January 9, 2005 09:21 PM