Louis Barkan: Getting the News In Hong Kong

As you may have gathered from my last essay, more than anything else, I am committed to my wonderful girlfriend, Lisa. Even had I received a full ride to the most glamorous B-school in the world, I would have passed it up to be with her and continue to build the life we share together. Given that our journey together currently has brought us to Phoenix, there really are only two viable B-school choices for Phoenicians seriously considering a professional MBA. Wanting a more well-rounded, solid business foundation to build upon, I quickly eliminated Thunderbird and focused exclusively on W.P. Carey at Arizona State which I thought offered, by far, the greater value proposition given its resources, renowned faculty, recruiting strengths and growth orientation.

I've just finished my first round of finals, it is now midterm break, and for me, writing about the application process I experienced in applying to ASU is similar in some ways, I imagine, to a newlywed groom on honeymoon relating his courtship of a most beautiful bride to a group of friendly strangers. It really has been a blast so far, and notwithstanding the many challenges that I've faced and will continue to face in the program, I already feel different in a way that I had not anticipated before.

Applying to Carey began in October in San Diego, after my return from Virginia where I had just helped close the doors of my family's business. I was an English Literature major at James Madison University, and I think the last math class I had was something called "Math Concepts." So, as you might imagine, I trembled a little bit when I thought about tackling the math portion of the GMAT. Nevertheless, I did what anyone in my situation should do, and that's run right over to Barnes & Noble, pick up a copy of the Kaplan GMAT prep book, and start hammering away at the practice problems. Some say that the Kaplan math problems are too hard, others prefer the Princeton Review, and still others have their own, different favorite. I've used most of them and found that using the Kaplan book in conjunction with the ETS practice tests was most helpful.

That said, the best way for one to prepare for the GMAT math portion would be to take both algebra and calculus at your local university or community college prior to taking the GMAT. I took both courses at the local community college and aced both during the summer before I matriculated. By the time I was done with Brief Calc, I felt like a math god and almost even registered to take the GMAT again, just to rock it.

It's important to remember, though, that the GMAT isn't everything. Ultimately, the admissions and application process really is about the "whole" you, and, certain minimum quantifiable standards aside, more weight is placed on the non-quantifiable aspects of your personality and experience that can only come out through the essays and interview process. Your experience, your insights, your ambitions and your goals are probably more valuable than your ability to do even the most complicated regressions. Do yourself a favor, work the essays first and start working them well in advance. This will help you organize and clarify your thoughts and goals so that when you take your interviews, you will be prepared, articulate, and dazzling. Just relax, be honest with yourself, and work hard. You'll do fine

Let's get into what happens once you've been accepted. The moment you find out you've just been accepted into the B-school of your choice is one of those events you will remember forever. Lisa and I had just spent eight days in Beijing before going to Hong Kong. I previously had been told that some sort of notification would be sent via e-mail during the time we were in Hong Kong. So, as we traveled around the city at night, I kept dragging Lisa into what must have seemed to her like every other Internet Cafe in order to check my e-mail. It was her bad luck that I had just learned how really to use my digital camera, so I was already slowing things down by stopping traffic, setting up all kinds of intricate shots with my tripod and making sure to get a few exposures of each setup. The e-mail-checking issue was just the icing on the cake, but to her credit (she has an MBA also), she knew the anticipation involved and was extremely empathetic. I think it was the third night. We had just finished eating Korean BBQ at a small little joint in South Kowloon and had walked back to our hotel. We took the elevator up to our floor and walked down the hall to our room. She inserted her room key, opened the door, and went in expecting me to follow. But I was stuck there at the door. One exasperated look at me and she knew I had to run back out for one final check before going to sleep. "Thanks, sweetie, I'll be right back." Before the door closed, I was charging back down the hall.

I took the elevator down to the lobby, ran out onto the street and headed south to the closest Internet cafe. It was about 12:30 a.m., the place was packed, and there were a few people ahead of me at each of the computer terminals. I thought about running back out onto the street to find another place to get online, but instead I bought a chocolate croissant and very patiently waited for my turn. My turn came and I jumped in front of the keyboard and quickly plugged myself into my e-mail. There it was — an e-mail from Rudy Pino, director of admissions. At this point I was so excited that I could barely control my mouse, and I accidentally opened the wrong message. Tried again and got it. I eagerly read the message, eating up every word. Yet by the time I reached the end, there was no mention of whether or not I was accepted. All the note said was that a decision had been made and notices were being mailed out. Great! A lot of good that does me, right?

Since it was business hours back in the States, I decided to call Rudy and dashed out of the cafe to a 7-Eleven where I waited again in line to buy a phone card. I ran back across traffic and through throngs of passersby to the pay phone on the corner and quickly punched in his number. He picked up. "Rudy? Hi! Lou Barkan calling, how are you?" At this point, all of the sounds and people on the street started to fade into silence. Time seemed to grind to a stop. The moment was that acute. He knew why I was calling, and as is his manner, he very calmly and professionally informed me that I had been accepted and offered me a spot in the incoming class. I was ecstatic and yelled out: "I do! I mean, I accept. Of course I do accept. This is great!" I said and thanked him for all of his help. When I hung up the phone I was so elated I screamed again, "Yeah! Go Sun Devils!" People on the street looked at me like I was crazy. I didn't care, at all.

Flash forward four months and getting ready for orientation. But first things first. We're supposed to tell you a little something about the physical environment of the school. Two words: Sun, Beauty.

With less than 15 inches of rain per year and daytime temperatures ranging from the 60s through 100 throughout the year, chances are if you come to ASU, it will be a bright, sun-shiny day. Don't tell the BusinessWeek editorial staff, but just yesterday, I took some time off from writing this essay to go play a round of golf at ASU's beautiful Karsten course. We had a 2:08 p.m. tee time, and at the end of October, it was 76 degrees of pure majesty outside. The sky was wide open, King Matty would be getting ready to unleash an impressive round, Nathan would drive the ball into the next county, and Clint and I, well...we had a fine time any way you look at it. An interesting side note — I recently learned that ASU has one of the nation's 14 PGA-accredited Professional Golf Management Programs, which must account for the excellent course and great service we experienced. So that's the deal on the Sun.

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