This weekend, the GSB opened its doors to prospective students. They got the opportunity to meet with students and admissions people, and get the inside story on the school. The school gets the chance to conduct interviews and address some of the wild stereotypes that discourage people from applying. I was encouraged by the number of minority students who came out! I haven’t done any work this weekend but it was worth it to talk to all of the prospective students.
I met some students after the “Admissions Survival” seminar. They had an LPF (Liquidity Preference Function) for prospectives paired with an Activities Fair. Basically they served pork sandwiches and allowed them to check out the clubs on campus. This was supposed to convince you that we don’t study all of the time. I took it as an opportunity to share my experience. Talking to students is the greatest way to see how you’d fit in here. Our collective experience is easier to stereotype, but each individual’s experience is much more difficult to nail down.
My motto for the weekend was, “You need LEAD!” I asked one prospective student, who shall remain nameless (and you know who you are), what they wanted to do. They rattled off a twenty-minute history of their life and experience in minute detail with narry a breath in between each sentence. I tried to jump in about seven times and explain that I was unemployed and had no job to offer them, with no success. Eventually the student realized that they were in danger of missing a seminar and walked away. I was left there trying to salvage the remnants of my IQ and rewet my eyeballs, and I thought: they need some IMPACT feedback.
The minority students and prospectives were invited to attend dinner at the home of Nobel Laureate, Professor Fogel, and his wife. It was a great time in a much more relaxed environment to talk with one another. The Dean was in attendance, and many prospectives took their chance to give him their 240-second spiel. It was like seeing the other side of the company presentations. I really feel for the corporate recruiters. There were some representatives from a company who sponsored the event. Many students tried to be on their P’s and Q’s. I’d heard the company reps would pull out a notebook and take notes on your behavior, language, etc. I have to be myself, so my notes are probably entertaining. It just reinforces my belief that that company is not for me. Some people were quite stressed. I felt that the dinner was about the prospectives and each other, and I can start looking for a job on Monday. Can we get a break?
We started Saturday with a women’s roundtable. Prospective students were able to ask questions of first and second year women about issues particular to them. Many women were concerned with living in Hyde Park (many women do it), dealing with spouses and dating, and having no quantitative background at a “quant school”. The students were very upfront about their experience. Prospectives kept asking whether being female became an issue in class or study groups. Did we ever feel like we had to prove ourselves when we were the only woman in a class or study group? I wish somebody would! This school is truly merit based. If you say something stupid, it doesn’t matter that it was a guy, a girl, or a professor. It was stupid! But that works the other way too.
We had a lunch panel of current students which proved to be interesting. Some of them needed LEAD. I can’t figure out why nine people had to answer every question, but I’m into efficiency, so maybe it’s just me. I thought they were selling just a little too hard. It’s my opinion that people will recognize the school is for them or not, and it doesn’t have to be overhyped. Just like in an interview, the panelists were asked the weakness question, and predictably they responded with “perfectionism” and turned it into a strength. It was a bit cheesy! However, I think that the enthusiasm for the school and the diverse personalities that are happy here came across.
We finished off the day with a social for minority students at the Lucky Strike, a local bowling alley, grill and bar. I had annoyed enough people by this time that they felt comfortable asking the real questions they’d come here to ask. “Why didn’t I go to X school?”, “How many minorities are in my classes?” “Is LEAD annoying?” Finally, they were getting real. They’d survived their interviews and it was time to get the real info. I was happy to share my experience, but I prefaced it by saying this is my view. I don’t know that I am typical (or sane, but that is a different conversation).
Some people were a bit much, and I wanted to tell them to, “calm down, you’re stressing me.” Most people told me that they had a different opinion about the school than they did when they’d arrived. They might have been sucking up, but it encouraged me. Thanks everybody! I hope that people will keep in touch. I am happy to answer questions about my experience and/or read essays. I hope to see many of you in the spring at Admit Weekend!