First, a little bit about my background. I received my BA in political science from the University of California, San Diego, in December, 1990. I also studied law and politics at the University of Bristol (UK) in 1988-89 as a participant in UCSD's Junior Year Abroad program. Upon graduation from UCSD, I accepted a job offer as a real estate staff appraiser at TRW Real Estate Loan Services, a branch of the Credit & Information Services Div. of TRW Inc.

In late 1992, I co-founded a real estate valuation and consulting firm located in Orange County, Calif., and since 1994 have operated my own real estate services company in Palm Springs, Calif. My company's clientele includes regional and national institutional lenders, mortgage risk and quality-control firms, mortgage banking firms, and secondary market investors (Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac). In addition to holding real estate appraiser and broker licenses in California, I'm a contributing member of the Real Estate Research Council of Southern California and am on the regional U.S. Housing & Urban Development Dept.'s approved roster for real estate valuation and brokerage services.

Like many other business school applicants (the wannabes), I have a multitude of personal and professional reasons for pursuing an MBA. The most notable of these considerations is a desire to further my technical knowledge of business, particularly in quantitative areas such as finance and accounting -- skills that I see as being essential to my future success. In building on my past experience, I plan on completing a dual major in real estate and entrepreneurial management at Wharton and will likely pursue a career in real estate development and investment upon graduation in 2000.

Additionally, I am drawn toward the numerous professional and networking opportunities that come along with an MBA education. In fact, I was particularly attracted to Wharton for its extensive and geographically diverse alumni network. Exposure to a diverse and incredibly talented pool of classmates (who will only heighen my future network of contacts after graduation) and the prestige that the MBA credential itself provides were other hearty considerations adding to my decision. While the immediate opportunity and financial costs of pursuing an MBA are admittedly daunting (tuition and fees at Wharton run nearly $25,000 a year -- not including living expenses!), I truly see the experience as an investment in myself that will bring a lifetime of benefits. I fully believe that attending a school like Wharton will present me with a slew of opportunities that would not otherwise be available to me.

Specifically, I realized a couple of years ago that I was facing a crossroads in my career development and that I had a number of hard choices to make with respect to my future plans. I felt that I had reached a plateau in my profession and wanted a change that would present new challenges and opportunities. While I was pleased that my undergraduate degree left me well prepared to engage in banter about the waning importance of nuclear deterrence in the post-Cold War era, I also realized that I would require more than cocktail-party-chat acumen to achieve long-term success in business. My "real-life" business experiences notwithstanding, I saw that I had much to gain from an MBA. As it turned out, Wharton was the school for me.

As native Californians, my wife, Caryn, and I look toward our move to Philadelphia with great excitement and anticipation. We are leaving the predictably arid, clear days of Southern California (funny how people become so obsessed with weather during a cross-country move, isn't it?) for the climate of the Northeast -- foregoing the numbing serenity of our suburban plot for electric city digs. No more car-culture isolationism either. I've found that the public transit is great in Philly.

Our recent apartment-hunting trip to the city convinced us that this much-maligned metropolis has much to offer. While the educational opportunities in Philadelphia are fantastic (Caryn will be a student at Temple University while I attend Wharton), the City of Brotherly Love also boasts significant resources such as the world's largest city-owned park (Fairmount Park), a rich historic district, a vast array of museums, and a very active performing arts community. Located within short drives of Philadelphia are the Pennsylvania Dutch country, Valley Forge National Historic Park, and Gettysburg National Military Park. And for those so inclined, the suburb of King of Prussia houses one of the largest indoor shopping malls in North America!

I'm told that in seeking a respite from the MBA grind, many Whartonites eschew Philadelphia's attractions in favor of weekend jaunts to nearby New York. But, while getting away from Philly may certainly be in order at times, I think there's much to be gained by exploring this city, and I'm looking forward to doing so with Caryn and my fellow Wharton classmates.

Incidentally, after spending three exhausting days in May trudging through Center City's (Philly's downtown area) rain-soaked streets, we decided on living as close as possible to Rittenhouse Square, an area that is home to the majority of Wharton MBAs as well as other Penn graduate students. Luckily, we found a large, renovated one-bedroom apartment in a brownstone building located only two blocks from Rittenhouse Square. While the $925 monthly rent is higher than our current mortgage payment, it is a relatively good bargain in this area, where apartments range from $750 to $1,800 for brownstones, and even higher in the luxury mid- and high-rise buildings. Every real estate broker I spoke with described Philly's rental market as "tight" and, as we witnessed, good apartments are snatched up quickly by eager apartment hunters. While it may not be as brutal as New York City, finding a suitable apartment in Center City is no easy task. But now I'm set for the move and for school!