Step one - check

I mailed my official LBS acceptance in yesterday. This included my Commitment Fee, which made me think that I should conserve cash until my loans kick in. One idea I may pursue is to take advantage of a recent credit card offer - 0% APR on purchases for 1 year / sufficient credit limit – to float the substantially larger Reservation Fee until loans kick in. I'm now working through the HSBC loan application and would appreciate comments regarding the process - approved loan amount likelihood if no other debt, alternatives for non-US/UK/EU citizens, etc.

Numerous flat share postings on the LBS Portal have been encouraging. I also learned that at least two other Dallasites have been accepted at LBS. Once the mid-April R2 commit date passes, I plan to get in touch with some of these classmates.

Finally, more encouraging news about the MBA job market from FT.

Football Insomniac

In a fit of insomnia, I woke up at 3am this morning and decided to watch a Tivo’d UEFA game between Barcelona and Benfica. While the game was less than inspiring, it did remind me just how much I am going to enjoy living in a football crazed culture. It also reminded me that I will have to make the ever important decision of picking a London club to support, which unlike living in Barcelona or Lisbon, will be complicated. London is home to 6 Premiership teams (+7 others) – Arsenal, Charlton, Chelsea, Fulham, Tottenham, and West Ham.

Jumping on a power house team’s bandwagon usually ensures the most opportunities to celebrate/gloat; however, this may not be possible in London. Arsenal’s had the most success in this year’s Champion’s League (in the quarter finals right now), but both Chelsea (1st) and Tottenham (4th) are ahead of them (6th) in Premiership standings. An alternative may be to support the teams that my new friends support…so much to think about, and thankfully, so much time to do so, especially if I keep waking up at 3am!

Which MBA?

I originally wrote this in response to one of BW’s many MBA1 vs MBA2 forums…

I think the best way to select which program(s) to attend/apply to is to consider multi-year placement trends and the overall experience...if the companies you are interested in recruit a significant number & percentage of these classes AND the experience matches your liking (eg, setting, class size, specialties, internationalism, male/female%, etc.), then assuming you have the aptitude, you should get the return on the investment you are looking for.

Along those lines, the return you should expect from an MBA is a foot in the door, not a free pass to promotions for the rest of your career. Once you have a job with a desirable company , it's up to you to prove your worth - if your business unit, the fund you manage, your sales figures, etc. are not up to par, no one's going to care that you went to school XYZ - they're going to fire you. [This system of meritocracy is further magnified for entrepreneurs as customers only care about the bottom line and because personal stakes are much higher.]

The ultra competitive nature of MBA applicants is what helps so many become successful; however, it shouldn't be lost that the majority of the most successful people in the world don't have an MBA AND that while Bschool networking is important, the networks built with coworkers will be more valuable because they will be industry specific, range across many MBA programs and backgrounds, and most importantly, they will be developed on mutual trust.

Eighteen and counting...

The next eighteen weeks are going to fly by …

1. 04/01 – Wedding (Austin)
2. 04/08 –
3. 04/15 – Bob Dylan / Merle Haggard concert (Dallas)
4. 04/22 – Visit sister (San Francisco)
5. 04/29 –
6. 05/06 – Wedding (Dallas)
7. 05/13 – Byron Nelson golf tournament (Dallas)
8. 05/20 – Friend’s UT Law School graduation (Austin)
9. 05/27 – Possibly visit Grand Canyon (Arizona)
10. 06/03 – Apply for UK student visa (LA or Chicago)
11. 06/10 – 1st weekend of the World Cup!!!
12. 06/17 – Possibly go to Bonnaroo Music Festival (Tennessee)
13. 06/24 – Possibly visit family/friends (New York)
14. 07/01 – Yellowstone 3 day hike (Wyoming)
15. 07/08 – Wedding (Wyoming)
16. 07/15 – Clean apartment and get rid of anything left
17. 07/22 – Visit mom/sister (LA)
18. 07/29 – Move to London
19. 08/05 –
20. 08/12 – Visit friends in Cambridge
21. 08/19 –
22. 08/26 – Weekend before the start of school

Aftermath

Now that my excitement has settled a bit (ie, I’ve recovered from Thu night), I can’t wait to get my LBS packet so I can take the next steps towards moving:

Loans > Student visa > Sell everything > Quit work > Jump the Atlantic

I’m also beginning to wonder about living arrangements. As I will not be able to travel to London prior to moving there, I will have to either (1) find roommates that can secure a place to live (2) move in early August and give myself a week to find a place. I certainly prefer option 1, but to ensure a comfortable situation, I would also prefer to first meet any prospective roommates over a weekend in the US…things should clarify as I virtually meet more of my prospective 300 classmates through the school’s Portal.

In reflection, one of the most fantastic parts of this process has been how many friends/co-workers have offered their help (networking in action!). I am to meet a good friend’s cousin who is visiting from London at dinner tonight; an old director at my company has offered to introduce me to ex-employees now living and working (Barclays/Dell) in London; an old manager has offered his help in securing an internship for me at his new consulting firm (Mercer). This, on top of my friend’s genuine happiness for me, has been wonderful…

…Thursday night started with a Champagne toast and cigar with a couple who’s been dear friends to me over the past six years. That was followed up with dinner, carrot cake, and several dozen whisky and sodas with 10 or so close friends while watching the sweet 16 round of the NCAA tournament (fantastic basketball games so far). The night ended frightfully late, but I am now recovered and ready to make some moves.

While it will be sad to move away from such great friends, I am so excited about making 1000 new and truly unique friends during my two years at LBS.

LBS!!!

I'M IN!!! I couldn 't be happier at the moment and will be celebrating in a big way (hence the HUGE font).

Tiger style

Today's shaping up to be another scorcher. Less than twenty-four hours to go until I hear from LBS, work’s real slow so I’ve got nothing but my thoughts and Pandora and this blog and getting coffee and … to keep me occupied.

Is this thing on?

After spending the last two months obsessively reading numerous MBA blogs, I realized that I need something more to fill my time with while I wait for the Adcom gods to decide my fate...eureka! my own blog.

A bit about me
I am 28 and living in a twenty-something haze in Dallas, Texas. I have lived, worked, and spent several of my nine lives here over the past six years. At this point, I am ready for a major overhaul – new city, more friendships, and a new profession, hopefully with the help of an MBA.

What now
I am currently on pins and needles (not literally) waiting to get a final decision from a dream program, London Business School. If it works out, I'll begin turning the wheels to gain momentum to make the big jump over the Atlantic in early August. If it doesn’t, I will get smashed (literally). After that, I will either apply to another program or suck it up and wait another year.

What else
Aside from this obsession, I just went through the physical ringer of two bachelor parties – one in Lake Tahoe and one in New Orleans. Both were a ton of fun, surprisingly moral, and involved enough booze to kill several small villages. I’ve now got one more to go to (I guess most people get married in their late twenties) and then the weddings this summer. I’d also like to make a trip out to LA and one to San Francisco over the next several months to visit my sisters and mom, do a hike around Yellow Stone, and possibly go to the Bonnaroo music festival in Tennessee.

For now, adios and wish me luck because I will need it.