| Register/Subscribe Home |
|
UNDERGRADSMain Page2007 RankingsAdmissions Q&AsCareer Q&AsUndergrad ForumReading ListRecruiter Q&AsSchool Report CardsSchool ToursUndergrad 24-7Undergrad VideosNews HeadlinesPREMIUM CONTENT
| |
DECEMBER 2000 MBA JOURNAL: MID-TERM REPORT Pablo Velazquez: The First 10 Weeks of B-School "School has been a formidable opponent against work. Work represents an immovable block of time that requires the same energy and focus regardless of what is due the next day in school."
Before school I used to complain to my wife if I did not get eight hours of sleep. Now, I can only pray that I might get eight hours on the weekend. I always hear people explain with an air of superiority how little sleep they need, but studies have shown that the mind cannot function at 100% unless it gets the proper amount of rest. The yawns I see during the day prove this point. This semester I have suffered the same symptoms. Audit work requires me to communicate intelligently and think critically. I must say it has been a little harder to do my job effectively. Sometimes I can actually feel myself taking longer to express complicated ideas or arguments. It is a little frustrating. Along with sleep depravation, my physical fitness has decreased. Before school, I used to work out four or five times a week. Nowadays, two times a week is more the norm. Happily, Happily, I've only gained two pounds, although I think I've lost some muscle mass, which makes my condition worse. So I've lost sleep and I haven't worked out. But that's just the beginning. I haven't seen my wife very much this fall. I can hardly remember what she looks like. I am exaggerating, of course. However, it doesn't feel quite right spending more time at work and studying for school than with my best friend. It has forced me to schedule quality time with her. In a sense it has helped us make more of the time we spend together. I'm sure this will end up improving our marriage. The idea that something good can come from challenging events comes from our faith, which has also been affected by this MBA experience. My relationship with Jesus Christ is very important to me and I spent considerable time studying the Bible before school started. Although we continue to go to church on Sundays and spend time in prayer each day, I have not been able to devote much time to study the things of my faith. Perhaps I will be able to get some direction from other Christians experiencing the same dilemma. I'm sure MBA candidates all over the country are going through some of the same things. However, many do not have to go to work at least eight hours a day. School has been a formidable opponent against work. Work represents an immovable block of time that requires the same energy and focus regardless of what is due the next day in school. Luckily my job requires an average of a little over 40 hours of work from me each week. Class time is on Thursday nights and Saturday mornings, so those don't conflict with work, but the window for studying and meeting with my study group is very limited because of work. Class time and study time has taken almost an additional 20 hours a week from me. Also, the opportunity to take advantage of networking opportunities has been limited because of scheduling issues. Many of these special activities, such as industry forums or seminars, are only offered during business hours. The after-hour activities tend to cut into my study time so I have yet to take advantage of these special opportunities. Since these opportunities were half the reason for getting my MBA, I hope that I will be able to free up some time in subsequent semesters. This is a three-year program, so I feel comfortable in focusing exclusively on my classes this fall. Judging by my midterm test scores, this is probably a wise decision. All incoming MBAs in the part-time program take the same eight core classes. The program is 56 credit hours (18 three-hour classes plus two one-hour credit courses in professional skills). The school year consists of a fall, spring, and summer term. The first two classes taken are Financial Accounting and Economics for Business Decisions (microeconomics). As an undergrad, I struggled through my accounting classes but did well in my economics classes. Ironically, it has been the other way around this fall. If not for a generous curve, I would have failed my economics midterm. Analogously, I aced my accounting midterm. The economics class has been a challenge for me because I have had trouble applying the qualitative concepts we learn in class, which I understand, to quantitative problems we have on the test. Fortunately the professor has been readily available to offer help in translating this art into science. In accounting, the professor has given us a vast amount of supplemental material and detailed class notes. Doing all the work assigned has really increased my understanding of the concepts. It has helped that the professor has given quizzes and case studies to force us to keep up with the material. The accounting professor has also used the class site on the Internet to improve our learning experience. We are able to check our grades in relation to all other students taking the class, which has boosted my motivation. We can also post questions to the whole class on the class bulletin board. Class materials such as class notes and case study solutions have also been posted to the class site. Before the midterm, the professor also offered an on-line chat session to answer any questions we might have had. Hopefully, more professors will begin using this tool which I believe was just introduced this year. All in all, I have enjoyed my time at school this fall. Everyone has been very helpful in these first few weeks. Even among teams there is a sense of cooperation. Information tends to be free flowing instead of guarded. I suspect that shark mentality won't surface until later in the program when everyone gets a bit more comfortable with the workload. My study group has been great. We are still getting along and everyone has been supportive when it comes to helping on the homework. Hopefully, getting to know them more will yield better relationships outside class. Back to the trenches!  | | Learn about your online education options |
 Copyright 2000 , by The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. All rights reserved.Terms of Use | Privacy Policy |
MBA Insider
Printer-Friendly Version
