Why London Business School?

EDUCATION

• Globalization will be magnified in the future. Studying, living, and networking in one of the most diverse programs and cities in the world will provide an ideal training ground for this environment.
• LBS’ 80 faculty members are second to none. Nearly all professors are affiliated with one or more of the other top business schools in the world – Harvard (35), Chicago (20), MIT (19), Stanford (17), Columbia (14), Wharton (9), INSEAD (4), Kellogg (3).
• Study groups, the shadowing and 2nd year projects, focus on multi-lingual abilities, and numerous exchange opportunities are unique to LBS and provide invaluable real world experiences.

CAREER PLACEMENT

• Over the past three years, an average of 22% of MBA graduates have secured jobs with the multinational companies that I would initially like to work for (eg, McKinsey, BCG, Bain; Goldman, Morgan Stanley, Lehman). With a revamped Career Services office, this number is just over 30% for MBA 2005.
• 96% of MBA 2005 was employed earning on average US$175,000 after bonuses. 99% of MBA 2006 was hired for internships earning an estimated US$20,000.
• UK’s HSMP program allows non-UK/EU national to take internships and work in the UK after graduation without need of cumbersome work visas. Even so, 36% of students secured jobs outside of the UK in 2005, proving the value of the global brand.

OVERALL EXPERIENCE

• Having Europe and other nearby countries accessible over short weekends is an amazing opportunity. I have traveled extensively around the US and am now incredibly excited about experiencing vastly different cities and cultures.
• Living in one of the best multi-cultural cities in the world can't be underrated. Yes, it will be expensive, but so are all other top programs in the world. The incremental debt should easily be covered with even an average MBA job - albeit there may be 0.5 year more of payments.
• Becoming friends with people from all over the world (70% non US/UK) will ensure a life long network of places to visit, jobs to access, and cultures to experience. This shouldn't be mistaken for looking up alumni – these will be people you personally know and have shared amazing experiences with.

Great Friday

With the end of this 4-day week rapidly approaching, I’m really excited about a great weekend...

Today – Leave work early for a happy hour (sunny and 85). Afterwards, either go to the opening of Lone Star Park horse track or to a party.

Friday – Go wakeboarding all day in friends’ new boat. This will likely include a long stop at a party cove.

Saturday – A good bit of lying around during the day. Go to a later brunch with drinks. Follow that up with a Bob Dylan / Merle Haggard concert.

Sunday – Recover, Rinse, Repeat

ctrl+shift+enter

This was my view most of today....Not very exciting, I know, but Excel jockeying pays the bills and now that I can use array formulas, macros, lookups, pivots, etc., in my sleep, I should be able to rule the world (...or get analysis homework done quickly). I guess that's my consolation for spending all day inside of a cement box instead of outdoors in the 85 degree sunny weather???

ctrl+HP?

My research into buying a new laptop has yielded some front runners – the HP dv5000 line and the Acer Aspire WL5004MI. These laptops supposedly have the ability to run Microsoft’s new Vista operating system (64-bit processors +1GB RAM +100GB HD) and are affordable at US$1,000-1,400. While I still prefer an IBM/Lenovo, their exorbitant price tags and 32-bit processors detract from their appeal. I may wait a couple of more months to see what shakes out before making this purchase.

Regarding LBS, I have now become fairly familiar with the school’s portal system. I even decided to contact several of my prospective new classmates this morning. I emailed both admits from Dallas that I am aware of as well as sent a note to three flatshare profiles. I was also happy to hear from LBS’ financial aid office that my loan application has a good chance of being approved. I am now waiting for various paper statements, etc. to come in so I can file the official application. I am particularly sensitive to this timing because I am even more anxious about securing a student visa (this makes the move official in my mind). With the loan process taking 4-6 weeks, I hope to have the necessary paperwork ready by the first of June so I can apply for a student visa as early as possible (3 mo’s before start of class). I know that I may be overly anxious about the process, but as someone who was born in Iran, I have learned not to take immigration matters for granted until approvals are in hand.

In other news, I was very impressed by how the University of Florida dominated the NCAA’s basketball championship game last night against UCLA. As stated numerous times by the announcers, they played a near perfect game. I’m willing to bet my old manager who went to UF undergrad is telling everyone today that he’s been the #1 Gator fan for years.