FM

2.3

2010-03-07T11:56:00.006Z

Fast forward one year...
1) I still work in M&A, live in London, and have trouble motivating for the gym so surf random websites
2) I have 2 years of new work experience, have gained weight, and am focused on a sustainable lifestyle

On .1s & .3s, it's been a challenging two years given the need to start from the bottom and to learn a new work language and work ethic. Most of my close friends have gotten through the past years with their jobs, but some have lost them and left London. Of those still in M&A/CorpFin banking, most are looking for other jobs because they want to have a work-life balance. The challenge is not having enough experience compared to peers who've worked their way up as analysts to transition into directly related fields. So many look to blend their pre-MBA experience with the last two years to find a middle ground. The more challenging hurdle is wanting a job that compensates more than 1/2 of banking levels without lots of direct experience. This life-money trade-off is less difficult once loans are paid off, but is also difficult because the job is probably one of the more interesting out there.

My approach is to try to take a bullish long-term view of my drive and abilities so the money concern is minimised. That leaves me to figure out what industry is most interesting to me and to view work as perpetual training towards a sustainable lifestyle goal. I'm also probably overly retrospective which makes it more difficult to just get on with it and to see what happens next - trusting that I'll be ready and flexible to take advantage of the right opportunities when they cross my path. Others goals are to save enough capital to become investors, saving to buy a house / start a family, or to keep at it until they have enough experience to either get a lighter load or to transition into a directly related field.

On .2s, those of my friends who maintain active lifestyles have more energy to cope with everything. They engage with society the most and keep a perspective that others find muddled. Thinking like this is obviously an age thing, but much of it is also a regurgitation of things I've read in the past and have a clearer context for now.

It's been sunny all day so after convincing myself it's worth joining an overpriced gym next to my house, I feel sufficient guilt and clarity of mind after this rant to make a move. Sunny days in London are the best because the city has endless places to wander and everyone's in a dramatically better mood.

Thanks.

YoY o

2009-02-14T11:22:00.004Z

It's been over a year since I've been here; but alas, questions from new and old friends about London Business School brought me back looking for a ready answer. I did not find one.
----------------
"Good news! I found out today I got an interview!! I'm so excited!!!! Any advice? What was yours like?"

Dears,

Second congratulations. My interview experience:
I received an email with an alum's contact details instructing me to schedule an interview. Turns out to be a guy who recently left a senior-ish post at a large company to start his own business. I met him one afternoon at his new office/closet for what was to be a 30min interview. An hour later, when I left, I felt I had made a good impression, but was unsure of what he was filling out on his form. I have yet to take up school requests to conduct interviews, so still do not know.

We began by talking about our backgrounds, which evolved into Why an MBA, Why London, Why this London Business School. We talked about the alum's experience, which may have been the was most important part of the interview, because I was asking genuinely interested and asking lots of questions. This bit was followed by an exercises that was along the lines of: explain [x?] basic concept - given a few mins to prepare and then orally presented. Thought I did, at best, an average job; but, I guess it was sufficient in the grand matrix.

Best,
----------------
Now a quick update. I've landed in an M&A group after my structured finance role disintegrated. The M&A role seems a great place to learn, to see a lot quickly, especially if in a general vs industry specific group. The work / life trade-off is anything but obvious. Oft menial-work (for anyone who's had any level of responsibility) lasts until 1, 3, 5a, lots of weekends, and you work mostl with those who've traded off life for decades. Seems possible to find a niche, and would be sharp as cheddar cheese in 2-3 years with regards to analysing industries and companies, but I'll wait 6-12mo's to make a binding judgement.

After 1 brazillion...

2008-01-16T04:46:00.000Z

...meetings with 1st years researching jobs, I thought I'd post my spiel:

Over the summer I worked in an investment banking field called structured finance...which is different from structuring derivatives

precisely 60% modelling / 40% meetings, research, etc.
some client interaction because group originates deals
good hours (8a-7p, 5x/wk)
travel about once a month, global group so who knows where
associate pay (1st yr) is nearly identical at all global banks
interview q's about motivation for banking/group and cv

Banks good at shifting you around to find as good a fit as possible if you get an internship (ie, try to get in more than find perfect fit). As such, focus on a good fit/fitting in rather than proving you are brilliant...desirable skill set for MBA's is not rocket science, so sociable classmates had a 100% offer rate whereas "non-sociable" ones did not.

Good luck! You're gonna need it.
(as an a-hole friend who reads this famously said)

Good to Gate

2007-12-19T06:08:00.000Z

It’s 327am. I’m leaving for a 4 day trip to Paris in 3 days and a 6 day trip to Istanbul in 7. A Christmas party at the Electric with 7-11 close friends in 2 days and squash at Lord’s with 1-2 in 7.5 hours. Belgrade and the US before the end of April and a ski trip to Austria or Norway before the end of March. The best thing about all of this is that I am hanging out with some of the best friends I’ve had in my life. These friends are from around the world and the thing we have most in common is an obsession about our post graduation careers, which is what I really want to talk to you about (again) this morning.

The book Good to Great (and my girlfriend) will be accompanying me on the first of these trips, to Paris. It is a case study of what turned the fortunes of a select group of great companies around relative to their peers who stagnated. While only half way through reading, the lesson that resonates most with me so far is that you have to work with people that you like to build something great. The people obviously also need to be good, but unless the group collectively enjoys working together, regardless of leadership, strategy, IQ, the organization as a whole will not become great (defined by sustained stock returns). I find this reassuring because after securing a job, the grass quickly becomes greener on the other side; but, when I consider the group that I am joining post-London Business School, I realize that I do enjoy both the work and people so should be positioned well within a growing and successful business.

With spare time, I have also taken to reading some of the classic banking books such as Monkey Business (DLJ-IBD), Liars Poker (Salomon-S&T) and FIASCO (Morgan Stanley-S&T). These books provide a good history of financial services and make it clear that banking culture is unique and can be very tough. As such, they reinforce the importance of fitting in well with a desk/team as that is what will give you the best chance to succeed. Liars Poker also provides a good corollary because while Salomon was filled with some of the best people of its time, the bank was headed by dominating executives who hated each other. Once faced with the need to change, their lack of cooperation drove one of the most successful banks of its time straight into the ground.

Regardless, it is impossible not to look over the fence when friends, media and books such as Barbarians at the Gate draw your attention to private equity firms and hedge funds that make billions on each deal. You wonder what hoops you need to jump through to join one of these firms and dream of the riches you will have once there. You forget that founding partners were good friends (or relatives as Kraviz & Roberts are) and that working hard for someone else doesn’t ever pay off as much as it should. I can’t think of anything more fun than starting a business with the friends I will be travelling with over the coming months. So instead of agonizing over precise career directions now, I will instead focus on learning as much as I can now and once an opportunity arises, I will approach my friends about starting companies. If everything goes according to plan, maybe someday someone will call us b...ugh

I’d like to start by thanking

2007-09-01T13:10:00.000+01:00

Where were we - April? First year, internship and job search are all over now. Enjoyed them and happy to have a new career that I am likely to enjoy. I’m now very busy figuring out what to do with all of my time next year.

School ended well and was fun. Grades are whatever; focus on learning so you can add value. Plenty of people with great grades do not get jobs or full-time offers because they can not extrapolate beyond what they have read or are not effective. Luck plays a part too, so confidence and being prepared are important so you can recognize and act when presented with good opportunities.

Internship was in Structured Finance for a large Investment Bank and I enjoyed it a lot. The fields’ generic and broad name is corralled well by wikipedia. The group I worked for and have signed up for full-time originates and executes their own deals and works across a lot of products and geographies – CDO, CLO, ABS, tax, capital structures, derivatives, etc. Hours were great because bespoke deals versus high flow – 8a to 7p, 5 days per week. Pay over the summer and full-time is same as other IBD jobs – great. Not sure how compensation evolves over time, but should at least keep pace. Seems like plenty of transferable skills gained; for instance, my group is a majority owner of a VC, works with PEs, hedge Funds, and lots of other more focused groups within the bank.

With four weeks to go before “classes” start, I am agonizing over whether to go to the Cote d’Azur for 1 week, Greece islands for 2, Spain, Italy or some combination of some or all. A grander trip to Dubai and China fell through because the Chinese consulate insisted that I return to Iran to apply for a two week tourist visa – only the all mighty, all knowing master of all knows what absurd logic went into the creation of the matrix used to come to this conclusion.

Otherwise, I’m now living in Notting Hill and enjoying it considerable more than the sterile Marylebone area. Plenty of other good options out there, this just makes sense for me right now – lot of pubs and restaurants... My girlfriend moved from the US and lives around the corner, which is also great. I am now off to join the natives in their favourite past time – pubbing.

Travelling

2007-04-07T08:08:00.000+01:00

Having time to travel is a great part of being a student again. As with most pleasurable things, however, there’s the catch-22 of paying for the fun with a bigger loan or smaller savings.

Each incremental £5k adds £110/mo to an 8% 7-year student loan. Considering average MBA compensation, the loan trade-off seems well worth it. A two-year budget of £5-10k would enable plenty of fun weekend (x£400) and week-long (£1k) trips.

To fund these getaways, you can tap into loans, savings, an internship, a full-time signing bonus, scholarship, or part-time work. You can also sublet your place or time your lease to end when you want to take longer trips to generate extra cash.

If you like to make trade-offs, such as a longer life vs. smoking/drinking, then you might as well splurge for travel. Not doing so may leave stress on the table that burns your wick just that much faster.

MBA Applicant Anxiety

2007-03-29T12:13:00.000+01:00

Laying in bed at noon like any respectable MBA student on yet another wonderful break, I have wasted my morning surfing the internet. During my odyssey, I stumbled back on the anxiety and overly emotionally charged business week forums that I obsessively read through (until the second I accepted an offer) while getting paid to “work”…and then I got board so decided to publish a post before getting my day really started with a frozen pizza.

My obsessions prior to starting an MBA at London Business School (LBS), and my reflections 1/3 of the way through:

Which school gives me the best chance to join a top Management Consulting (MC) firm (i.e. LBS vs Columbia, LBS vs INSEAD, etc.)?

A complete waste of my time. I worked, on the client side, with Bain, BCG, etc. and thought MC would be a great place for me. However, I knew very little about other career paths so ended up only applying to one consulting firm for my internship, and that was only as a backup.

Individual credentials, aptitudes, and luck, rather than specific schools, assuming they are at least part of the company’s core recruiting programme (MBAGCF), make the difference.

How am I going to fund a two year MBA in London, especially without the ability to get a US loan?

Very important, but also very manageable. HSBC’s arrangement with school came to the rescue, as it has for everyone that I know that applied for the loan. Many classmates also make instalment tuition payments to manage cash flow.

Internship salaries can be very high and many people work part-time in their second year to bridge gaps (or even eliminate all debt as one of my flatmates has) given the reduced coursework.

What is going to happen to my immigration situation after I graduate?

Not worried about this at all given the UK Highly Skilled Management Program (HSMP) and because most large UK employers will sponsor you (very different that US).
Worst case, my UK student visa is valid until well after I graduate so I can look towards Hong Kong, Dubai, Singapore, etc. where employers are clamouring for talent

The things I didn’t explicitly consider that are very relevant:

Having time to reflect and getting exposure to different career paths, especially ones such as being an entrepreneur, are invaluable and should very be much part of the total investment decision.

My epiphany was that investment banking (IB) is extremely varied so a summer internship is the ideal way to check perceived fit, and if nothing else, to avoid having the regret.

International classmates really open your eyes and can be the best part of going back to school. Many have worked in the “best” organisations in the world and several help run multi-billion dollar family empires.

This means they have connections, and more importantly, homes all over the world that you gain access to…

My health may fail me before this is all said and done.

Once you’re used to the pound and managing time, there is no stopping the endless stream of social gatherings, ridiculous getaways, or nightly “networking” sessions

Study Group A11

2007-02-17T16:28:00.000Z

Study Groups at London Business School are an integral part of the learning experience. Dealing with diversity, different strengths and motivations of an intelligent group of individuals is great practice for working with an executive team and for managing people. You learn to leverage the strengths of those around you, to proactively help and ask for help when it's needed, and the importance of celebrating when things are going well and of proactively addressing issues when they are not.

Your first year you are assigned to a group of 6 to 7 in your stream (1/4 of the class) with the upfront warning that diversity is the leading cause of tension in groups. My group of 6 is certainly diverse, and while we have some tensions, we are lucky in that our similar motivations (or lack thereof as internships get secured) keep thing amicable. An Iranian, Chilean, American, Brit/American, Indian and Belgian by citizenship. A Marketer, Banker, Attorney, Construction Engineer, Financial Analyst and Technologist by professional background.

Each study group manages work differently. Mine assigns a project manager for each group assignment and typically 3 of 6 team members actively work on the project. The remaining members are briefed at the end and proof what's being turned in. If a project lends to an individual’s strengths, then they step up and provide additional input or guidance to those working on the project. Informally, some are more involved with school or assume leadership roles more often than others. We are all busy and very active outside of class. Two of my group members are also busy planning weddings, which further magnifies the importance of managing time and expectations.

Group work makes up 25-40% of core class grades, so it's important to get a system that works well. We have had our ups and downs, but that’s been great because it’s provided great insight into how important things like regular meetings and input from everyone are to get great results.

February Aftermath

2007-02-10T09:31:00.000Z

After a long absence, I got up early on a Saturday so decided to write a post.

The past couple of weeks and months have been great. School is coming along fine and my summer internship search is basically over. I'm "socializing" more than studying and hope to get more travelling in this term as I have a Schengen visa until June 07.

Classes this term are generally "softer" - Marketing, Organizational Behaviour, etc. - but, equally interesting. Some classes haven't lived up to my expectations yet, but that could be more a frustration with the less analytical topics than poor teaching.

On the internship front, I'm likely accepting an investment banking offer soon. It's not a Corporate Finance/M&A role, which alleviates a lot of the negatives people talk about. I went back and forth, and at one point made a strong push for a real estate role, but in the end, natural selection worked its magic and I'm excited by the opportunity.

School work is there, but I learn most by listening and never miss class, so not stressed. This "logic" fortunately leaves plenty of time for my main hobby, "networking". All joking aside, I have lots of very good friends and think I'm getting a lot more out of business school than many more studious classmates.

Travelling opportunities shaping up are: Turin for skiing, Monaco for Formula 1 race, Paris for MBAT, Germany/Austria for a road trip, Amsterdam, Berlin, Barcelona for an Ultimate tournament, Singapore and India for weddings. Can't beat this part of London. School trips to Russia, South Africa, China/S Korea, Japan, Morocco, Caribbean, Southern Spain, etc. are endless. So far I've been to Marseille, Rome and Venice.

The Windsor (pub attached to school) after first exam...and most evenings.

What else?

2006-10-25T19:44:00.000+01:00

Let's see, classes are moving along fine. There's a lot of stuff to keep up with, but the subjects are interesting so it’s easy to stay engaged and learn most things during lecture. Btw, I have yet to receive a grade so we'll see how long my attitude lasts.

Weather’s taken a turn for the worse so watch out for much more depressing posts. If I end up in the gym more than the pub there’s hope for optimism; but, the pub is 15 meters closer than the gym so beer is more likely than cheer (wow that’s bad, sorry).

My four flatmates are rarely home so I get the place to myself often. They’re all in the midst of full-time job searches so have much more than me to worry about. I’m doing plenty with finding the “right” summer internship, but I’ve lost a bit of momentum of idealism this week.

Ketsup

2006-10-21T10:26:00.000+01:00

Nearly 2 months since my last post. Insights so far:

London Life

Amazing opportunities to feel real culture and diversity and to explore or travel

Lots of fun options as a student, but thing will become very expensive

City isn’t hectic but has crowds, generally poor customer service and most places close by 10p

Getting around by foot, bus or tube is easy and beautiful parks are plentiful

Staying in touch with distant friends and loved ones is difficult with a busy schedule

Don't forget that school life ends so make use of skype, email, etc.

London Business School

Read assigned cases to be engaged in class and books if a topic is challenging for you

Too much reading to be practical is assigned (unless you have no social life)

Divide and concur with group projects

More than 4 people are inefficient with class work

Don't get caught up in MBA case-type competitions during first year

Time management is difficult and a half hearted effort is a waste of time

Career

I-banking internships are key unless you understand the business and have no interest

Capital Markets (Trading/Structuring) interest me and hours are okay (60/wk)

Do homework for company presentations and try to build personal rapport

Many people ask questions that are too basic or focus on exchanging cards

Explore a variety of interests and don't rush because you may work for 50 more years

Don't forget classmates and realize that some may get you a dream job (now or later)

Busy times. Since my last post, I’ve…

2006-08-26T19:31:00.000+01:00

…met a lot of fascinating classmates during two weeks of nightly pub crawls. The group is literally from all corners of the world (Singapore to Canada, Argentina to Russia and S Africa to Denmark) and has worked in every field imaginable. A lot of people seem to have chosen London Business School over other top schools to (1) spend the next two years in arguably the best and most connected city in the world and (2) to continue their highly international careers and lifestyles.

…finalized details of my flat-share with several second year students. Based on what I’ve heard from others, pairing up in an existing flat is much easier than getting a new place using an estate agent. Few students seemed to use loot/craigslist classifieds, which means they’re paying hefty estate agency commission fees. In general, 3+ bedroom flats are being found for £140-200 /week/person, they require 6 weeks deposit/person, and sometimes, have £500 in commission fees.

…registered with a GP (general/primary physician). It was an easy process, but I needed a letter from LBS to prove student status. The main thing to keep in mind if you need to do this is that you have to be less than a specified distance from the GP you register with (see NHS). Still haven’t dealt with dentists or optometrists.

…met with HSBC to set up my account and loan. Of course I needed another letter from LBS since I don’t have proof of UK address yet, but these are all form letters for the school to pump out. Next week I will try moving money from the US for the first time using xe.com.

…made an appointment with the French consul in London to apply for my first Schengen visa the 2nd week in September. I’m giving the process 10 weeks to ensure that everything’s taken care of for my desired travel date. The required documents are clearly spelled out on the website (passport, travel tickets, booked lodging, travel insurance and letter from school). The online appointment system posted a lot of appointments on August 24 for September… Also learned that Switzerland (and possibly Czech Republic...) allows UK multiple-entry student visa holders to travel there without another visa. Need to do more research on their consulate websites though…

…visited the town of Oxford. Wonderfully ornate and historic buildings and streets. The business school (Said) is near the train station, but that makes it from the main campus. There seems to be a lot hidden behind walls, but the group I was with was on a bit of a quick tour…. £17 without any discounts roundtrip from Paddington station.

...had my laptop fixed and its warranty extended for 1 year because it completely crashed after only 3 months. HP’s customer service was fantastic in that they sent a courier to pick up the laptop, didn’t give me a hard time about US/UK changes and fixed things (replaced both 1GB memory cards) in 4 business days, but a hassle nonetheless.

On Sunday I will likely checkout the Notting Hill Carnival after football (soccer) practice. I’ve heard it’s an absolute zoo so I’m expecting something along the lines of Mardis Gras in New Orleans; although, I haven’t noticed Londoners getting as belligerent when drinking, so hopefully not quite as chaotic.

On Monday I’ll find out who will be in my first year study group. Given that I’ve met roughly 1/6th of the 2008 LBS MBA’s, there’s a good chance that I have already met one of these people (6/7 people per group).

Finally, I have great motivation to work towards becoming fluent in Spanish. The school’s initial assessment did not automatically grant me the second language exit requirement. Instead of arguing that Farsi is my mother-tongue, I’m going to focus on re-learning Spanish. I’m going to do this on my own instead of using 1-2 of my very costly 12 electives.

My first week in…

2006-08-10T21:39:00.000+01:00

...London has been great. The weather has been fantastic, which makes all the difference when you're exploring neighbourhoods and tourist sights by foot. Here's a small sampling of my new photos:
.

LBS view from my hostel/dorm room

Typical neighbourhood street near school

Oxford Street on a sunny Wednesday afternoonLots of green spaces and a very picturesque skylineTourist mania

Parting Thoughts

2006-08-06T15:51:00.000+01:00

Thinking through my “to-do” list, here are some of the less obvious things to consider…

Finances
* Notify bank and credit cards of upcoming foreign transactions to prevent fraud holds
* Understand foreign transaction charges for credit cards (Capital One 0%) , debit cards (Visa 1%, even for ATM), and bank transfers
* Set up an Electronic Fund Transfer process to move money to a UK based account. Fx.com appears to provide a good service, although I’ve yet to make a transaction.

Lodging
* If arriving in July/August and need temporary lodging, book a room at a local university. I’ve booked a single private room for two weeks through hostels.com at University of Westminster Halls – Marylebone for £15/night.
* Search LBS’ Portal accommodation listings two weeks prior to arriving to setup student flat/flat share viewings. Keep in mind that joining an existing student flat will eliminate the hassle of setting up utilities and exempting your flat from council tax (~£100/mo; exemption requires that all tenants be students).
* A reasonable weekly rent/utilities budget seems to be £175 for a flat share or £300 for a studio. Remember that there are ~4.3 weeks in a month if making a time period conversion (365.25 /7 /12 = 4.34821428571 to be precise).

Random
* Network early with co-workers and friends. An old manager put me in touch with his new company’s US recruiting coordinator who forwarded my resume to their London office.
* London Gatwick has lower passenger landing fees than Heathrow so flights may be $50 cheaper from US. However, you will likely pay more for transportation to get into the city (ie, Gatwick Express vs Tube).
* Leaving friends and loved ones behind is very difficult. Planning numerous communication channels (eg, blog, Skype, Hello UK phone card) and dates for visits can ease some of the strain.

I'm leaving for London in 6 hours...

UK Student Visa

2006-07-22T01:33:00.000+01:00

Happy to report that earlier today I secured my UK student visa at the British General Consulate in Los Angeles. As many others have reported, the process was very easy and hassle free. I wasn’t asked for near as many documents as I was prepared to show and the entire “interview” took less than 10 minutes. I now have a multiple-entry UK student visa valid through November 2008.

With this major checkbox finally ticked, I can finally plan the details of my move. As it stands, I plan on arriving in London on August 6th and staying at ‘University of Westminster Halls-Maryleybone Rd’ for up to 2 weeks (US$30-40/night for single room). During this time, I hope to find 2-3 likeminded flat mates with the help of LBS’ Flat hunting Pub Crawls and to explore the city and surronding countryside a little bit.

I’ll write more later, but in hindsight, the most difficult part of this process was dealing with my own anxieties and LA’s notorious traffic.

After only two weeks…

2006-07-17T02:44:00.000+01:00

…I’ve sold most of my belongings at or near what I paid for them using craigslist (perhaps I should take a longer look at sales or marketing). I’ve only got a sofa/chair set and my car left and those are well on their way out. I’ve gone back and forth on selling my golf clubs and am likely going to leave them behind with my girlfriend to see if I will have enough time and money to play while in London.

…I’ve filed my UK student visa application online and made an appointment with the UK embassy in LA for next Friday, July 21st. The mostly positive experience of others has quelled some of my anxieties and I hope to report a similarly positive experience soon. For those just starting down this path, the documents requested for my appointment are:

* completed application form VAF1 and application fee (US$162) * current and old passport or a copy of it * current immigration status papers * evidence of available funds * a certificate confirming you have continuing studies (this is the LBS TWIMC letter) * a letter of enrolment from a recognised UK University giving details about the proposed course. * your educational qualifications or copies of them. * One recent passport photo. *

I’ve scanned most of the above and emailed them to myself, my sister, and my girlfriend incase I ever lose my passport and need proof of them while abroad.

…I’ve gone on a trip to Wyoming and seen many friends for perhaps the last time. It was a good time, but man was the 6 hour drive north from Denver boring. I got a real kick out of one of the bride's brothers who is a professional bull rider (see right side of 2nd picture).

…I’ve had a going away party in Dallas with 30-40 of my closest friends. It was actually for four of us who are all moving for school (2 MBA, 1 Law, and 1 spouse) in the next month and it was a ton of fun. Thank you LD : )

…I’ve met my first of 326 classmates. We met up for a happy hour near my apartment and had a great time. It will be nice to see a familiar face in London, which if all else goes according to plan, will come into view on August 6th. Fortunately, the anxieties that naturally come along with making a major life change are outweighed by my excitement.

B-school or not to B-school?

2006-07-06T18:24:00.000+01:00

I’ve pondered this question many times and continue to do so despite being well on my way to LBS. A good way to figure out whether this BS is right for you may be to attend (ie, watch) some of FT's Business School classes. Classes are 6-7 minute video discussions led by London Business School Strategy Professor, Don Sull, and are free (unlike attending the full versions at LBS).

If you find yourself interested enough to watch all the videos and find yourself thinking about how the content discussed applies to the businesses you’re involved with, then b-school may indeed be a worthwhile adventure for you to pursue. On the other hand, if you’re bored hearing about one of the fundamental and overarching subjects at b-school, strategy, then perhaps you should focus your energies and monies elsewhere.

Word

2006-07-06T01:18:00.000+01:00

Being multilingual is such an asset in our global economy that it surprises me that all b-schools don’t make it a requirement for graduation. LBS, INSEAD, and the countless top companies that recruit at both places clearly see the value, so why don’t all b-school administrators? I guess it would be too great a marketing challenge for them to attract their future “global” leaders to campus??? Who cares, I guess, as long as my classmates and I have the upper hand by being able to directly engage in business in different parts of the world. For my part, I am currently bilingual (Farsi & English), but I am working on improving my Spanish enough to meet LBS’ language requirement (ie, I’m watching World Cup games on a Spanish channel). Once my Spanish is up to snuff, I want to leverage the Latin base to become conversant in French and Italian. My father spoke 5 languages (Farsi, Turkish, Russian, German, and English) so it’s kind of a goal for me to match that. LBS’ exchange program may actually take me to IESE for just this reason. For those unfortunate enough to wonder about what I wonder about, I checked and securing an HSBC loan does not preclude you from leaving the country for 3 months to do an exchange.

Weekend: I’m off to the great and nearly barren state of Wyoming tomorrow. I’m actually traveling with my girlfriend to Denver for one night before making the 6 hour drive north. A good friend is getting married to the ’03 Miss USA contestant from Wyoming, which may be the only reasonable argument for having a wedding in the middle of nowhere.

Now: I’m now signing off to watch the Portugal v France game that I went out of my way not to find out the score for while at work so I could have another chance to learn Spanish.

Prospects

2006-07-03T00:13:00.000+01:00

I love reading about the resurgence of MBA recruitment over the past two years, especially when it relates to London: London leads drive to hire MBAs.

In related news, I had a long conversation with a friend doing a summer internship at a major NYC bank earlier today. He gave a good account of his experiences so I decided to post a brief recap:

Work

Associate work involves more coordination of activities (manager) than modeling (analyst)
Work on 1-3 projects at a time overseen by the group's director/vp that got the work
Working in an industry coverage group has provided exposure to many departments and corporate client managers

Schedule/Hours

Working 90-100 hours per week: 9a-2a M-F, 11a-9p Sa-Su
A lot of face-time late night/weekends
Over the past six weeks, only had two days off

Other thoughts

Specific groups within most banks are well known and respected on "The Street"
Schedule remains the same until VP promotion in 3-4 years, at which point becomes 80 hours per week
Networking at school/bank helped to get a second year internship at Carlyle Group

Going out of business sale…

2006-06-30T20:16:00.000+01:00

I’ve finally begun selling my stuff. The first thing to go was my mountain bike. Next a router that I used exactly one time to make exactly one picture frame, which is exactly how I did not financially justify the $300 purchase to myself…the one saving grace is that the $325 (+materials) frame turned out quite nice. My sofa/chair, coffee table, and TV are likely next to go. Once one of these major items is gone, I should feel the reality of moving my life much more than I do now. Regarding what I’ll miss most…pretty sure my car and cat. I’ve had both for almost exactly the same amount of time - 3 years - and I have grown quite fond of both.

By the time I’m through, I hope to have widdled my life down to 3 suitcases, 1 tube of art work/prints, a kick-a** small Persian rug, and 1 box of photos/mementos. As I’ve inventoried my belonging, I’ve realized that I’ve inadvertently amassed a lot of stuff (and that I’ve used “I’ve” way too many times in this posting). For example, I’ve...got two sets of golf clubs, china/crystal dishware, a pair of crutches, a box of baseball cards from when I was 10 years old, 5 suitcases/bags, 5 coats, a guitar I’ve played maybe ten times, the aforementioned router, etc., etc., etc. What? Why? No clue. Realizing that I own all this stuff makes me feel really weighed down; ergo, I’m looking forward to lightening up. My mom cautions me that I shouldn’t sell any major things until I'VE secured my student visa; but, I’m not too worried about it even in the unlikely event that a visa doesn’t work out.

In other news, I just wrapped up a two hour lunch (short-timing would be an understatement for my work days right now) where I watched Germany beat Argentina in penalty kicks. Great game and I’m sure the Argentine coach will get fired for pulling Crespo and Riquelme out of the game. Tomorrow at 9am I’m heading to a great pub to watch the England v Portugal and Brazil v France games… I LOVE the World Cup...and my car and cat.

Going Abroad

2006-06-22T16:15:00.000+01:00

A good series of articles describing the experience of an Indian student going abroad to study for an MBA at Duke: pagalguy

Laptop…check

2006-06-21T16:16:00.000+01:00

After a lot of going back and forth, I’ve finally purchased an HP dv5040us laptop. It’s has way more hp’s than I need with a 2.2GHz AMD Turion 64 processor and 2048MB's of RAM and I got a screaming deal on it at Ubid because it was refurbished by the manufacturer. What made my decision a bit difficult is that it has a 15.4” screen so it weighs 6.6lbs, 1.5lbs more than the lower performance IBM that I was also considering. In the end, I decided that trading a little size & weight for a lot of performance will be worth it in the long run.

Straight Cash & LBS Schedule

2006-06-19T20:30:00.000+01:00

I’m very happy to have finally received verbal confirmation today that my HSBC loan has been approved. Once I get an official loan document, I can apply for my student visa and then finalize both my quit and move dates. The student visa application seems to be fairly straightforward and I will likely fly to LA to apply in person.

Moving forward, I’ve been trying to figure out what my days will be like during the first year at London Business School. The following is what I’ve figured out so far…

Orientation (Aug 28-Sep 29)
Strategic Problem Solving
Understanding General Management
Global Leadership and Assessment for Managers
Business Statistics
Business Communications
Class time: M-F: 9-5

Autumn Term (Oct 2 - Dec 15)
Finance
Managerial Economics
Financial Accounting
Strategy
Ethics
Class time: M: 2-5, T: 9-12, W: 9-12 & 2-5, U: 2-5, F: free

Spring Term (Jan 8 - Mar 23)
Managing Organisational Behaviour
Finance (continued)
Marketing
Decision and Risk Analysis
Discovering Opportunities for Value Creation
1-3 Electives (possibly: Spanish, Bottom-Up Strategy, Fin Eng & Risk Mgmt)

Summer Term (Apr 10 - Jun 15)
MarkStrat (Marketing Simulation)
Operations and Technology Management
Management Accounting
Understanding the International Macroeconomy
1-3 Electives (possibly: Spanish, Adv Corp Finance, Intl Finance)

Internship (July - Sept)

Updates

2006-06-16T19:32:00.000+01:00

Only 7 weeks to go…

1. June 16 – Boating in Dallas
2. June 23 – Kansas City
3. June 30 – Likely LA, if not, camping or NYC
4. July 07 – Wyoming
5. July 14 – Dallas for my going away party
6. July 21 – Finish packing & selling my stuff
7. July 28 – Hopefully last day of work/Move to London
8. Aug 04 – Flat hunt/explore London
9. Aug 11 – Flat hunt/explore London
10. Aug 18 – Visit friends in Cambridge
11. Aug 25 – Last weekend before start of school

While moving to the UK/London presents some challenges, I’ve found the schools portal to be an invaluable source of information. Topics addressed by admits and the larger school community range from voltage adapters to short-term accommodations, summer travel ideas to UK student visa application experiences, and scholarship announcements to next year’s sporting opportunities. Student classifieds (eg, sublets, laptops), flatshare profiles, and all things school related also make London Business School’s communication channels very helpful compared to what my other friends have available to them as admits to other business schools.

Regarding my “to do” list, I'm a broken record in that I am still waiting to hear back on my HSBC loan application (originally applied in April, had to reapply in May). Until financing is secured, I can not apply for a student visa, which means that I can not officially set a quit date. I was very disappointed to learn that I was not awarded any of the school scholarships this week. As things stand, I have had to make the gut wrenching decision to cash out my 401k so I can hopefully get a loan approved and afford the next two years.

If a loan does not come through, I have one last hope…while my company has not sponsored anyone for an MBA in 30 years, I recently put together a business case for why I should be sponsored and presented it to my VP. Her reaction was a pleasant surprise in that she took my proposal to my company’s HR VP as well as to my Exec VP. I still have not heard back and have been cautioned that it is an unlikely proposal to be approved, but given that I work for a +$20B company, I hope that they can find me $100k in exchange for a two year work commitment.

More Thoughts on Loans

2006-06-05T20:11:00.000+01:00

While I wait to hear back on a loan application, I decided to do a quick comparison of several international student loan alternatives that I may have to consider in a few weeks – HSBC, IEFC, Paras/Isloan. While actual terms may vary, if the average terms listed on IEFC's website are applied to a £50,000 loan (assuming a US cosigner), the IEFC-Wachovia loan appears to be the most attractive. I believe that with the exception of US$500-1000 in fees, the Paras has very similar terms so I did not include it separately in my table below. In comparison to the HSBC loan scheme available through London Business School (don't need a cosigner), the Wachovia loan appears to be just slightly less favorable.

Despite these similarities, I believe the IEFC-Wachovia has one distinct advantage over HSBC/Paras – it supposedly only takes 24-48 hours to get an application processed. I was told this over the phone and in comparison to the 4–8 weeks it takes HSBC/Paras to process an application, this is light years faster and more convenient. Furthermore, while IEFC’s website doesn’t explicitly state this, I was told that the US$45,000 max is an annual maximum and that they are willing to provide a letter for student visa purposes stating that the loan will be renewed for up to the same amount assuming the borrower/co-signer’s debt profile doesn’t change significantly. This quick timeline can be very important for those accepted in later admission rounds, for procrastinators, and for those that may have their initial loan applications denied.

Disclaimer: I’m inexperienced with evaluating loan offers – I simply used MS Excel’s FV and PMT functions – so above numbers may not be accurate. Additionally, while I have tried to provide accurate information, only the loan companies can tell you what their official policies are.

Weekend

2006-06-01T18:41:00.000+01:00

The five-day trip to the Bay Area this weekend was fantastic. Every time I visit I think about how I would really enjoy living there. San Francisco, especially, has it all. It’s a very large, yet manageable, urban city. There’s access to the ocean and mountains. Other coastal and mountainous regions are very close as are the Napa and Sonoma wine regions. Berkley’s more collegiate/bohemian atmosphere and Marin County’s hills provide fantastic alternates to city living. The climate is tough to beat – at least compared to the 100+ degree Dallas heat. If you like colder/warmer weather, you can live a little more inland and you’d get the seasons. As with most other large cities, it’s difficult and expensive to own a car, but that is a plus and a minus. Anyway, until I can afford an Aston Martin Vanquish, I wouldn’t be too bummed about not driving…although I love my Volvo. Perhaps I can take advantage of LBS' large exchange program and go to Berkeley for a term to try things out. Having family in Berkeley and two friends attending Hass definitely adds to the draw.

Back to this weekend’s activities. Friday night consisted of milling around Berkeley, all day Saturday and Sunday morning were spent milling around San Francisco, Sausalito and Stinson Beach made up Sunday evening, and finally a ton of wine drinking took place in the hills of Sonoma County (Dry Creek & Russian River Valley) on Monday and Tuesday. Here are a handful of pictures from the weekend:

Bay Area and Loan or Bust

2006-05-25T16:43:00.000+01:00

After a couple of weekends sans travel, I’m looking forward to a five day trip to the Bay Area this weekend. I’m traveling for the first time with my new girlfriend, which should be awesome! (incase you read this), and we will be staying at my sister’s place in Berkley, which should be interesting (but nothing to worry about - also incase you read this). Aside from mini diversions to Stinson Beach, Sausalito, and Napa and/or Sonoma, I’m hoping to mainly meander throughout the city and to fit in as many food/wine stops as our appetite and tolerance will permit. I’m also looking forward to a huge crapes and fresh fruit breakfast at Mama's some morning. I have a great picture of the church next door to Mama's that I took the first time I went there for brunch and now I always think of it when visiting SF comes up. Another fun happening would be to meet up with any SF LBSers that may read this. If there are any out there and you're interested, please leave me a comment or send an email and hopefully we can coordinate.

In some LBS related news, I’m finding that funding options are fairly scarce for someone with my profile (may fit well with LBS’ diversity goals, but banks certainly don’t love it!). Being an Iranian resident/citizen living in the US, but going to school in the UK, appears to be the perfect storm for being excluded from nearly every scholarship and loan out there. The loan programs that are available are the LBS/HSBC arrangement (far from guaranteed), and with a US cosigner, the ISLOAN and IEFC programs. As for scholarships, the LBS managed, but highly competitive, Vodafone, Citigroup, Mark Le Goy, and Merrill Lynch are available as is the Aga Khan Foundation’s scholarship/loan award (I missed the 03/31 deadline). What’s sucks is that despite LBS’ generous financial need bursaries, my making US wages places me outside of the financial need range, but this doesn’t take into account that I may not have any other funding options available to me. I’m hopeful that everything will fall into line before too long, but with 4-8 week timelines for loan approval and only 12 weeks to go before school starts, I could run out of time to secure a loan and consequently a UK student visa if my loan applications hit any snags.

MBA or Bust

2006-05-10T22:20:00.000+01:00

Confirmation that the MBA sweet spot (need for a break from work) for many is 27-29 years old...and that I've surrounded myself with many like minded friends. Another good friend was just accepted, bringing the class of 2008 total to 5!

LBS: me (R2) matriculating
Berkley: John (R2) / Dan (R4) both matriculating
SMU: Matt (R2) / Shaun (PT) matriculating

Georgetown: Jeremy (1st yr)
SMU: Greg graduated in 2005
Berkley: Kenny graduated in 2005
Stanford: Robert graduated in 2004
Wharton: Matt graduated in 2004

While these guys are already part of my "network", I look forward to enhancing this nebulous MBA marketing-term-group with many new friends at LBS. I'm also hopeful that the numerous exchange opportunities at LBS will either reunite some of these friends and I over the next two years or at least help me make many more new like minded friends (or expand my global network as the MBA Adcom would surely say).

Quotes - 4x5

2006-05-09T21:07:00.000+01:00

Tennenbaums
Eli: I always wanted to be a Tenenbaum.
Royal: Me too, me too

Eli: [reading part of his newest novel at a press conference] The crickets and the rust-beetles scuttled among the nettles of the sage thicket. "Vámonos, amigos," he whispered, and threw the busted leather flintcraw over the loose weave of the saddlecock. And they rode on in the friscalating dusklight.

Richie: Did you say you were on Mescaline?
Eli: I did indeed. Very much so.

Royal: Richie, this illness, this closeness to death... it's had a profound affect on me. I feel like a different person, I really do.
Richie: Dad, you were never dying.
Royal: ...but I'm gonna live.

Eli: [immediately after wrecking his car] Where's my shoe?

Fletch
Stanton Boyd: What kind of a name is Poon?
Fletch: Comanche Indian.

Fletch: Why don't we go lay on the bed and I'll fill you in?

Fletch: I'm John.
Gail Stanwyk: Ohhhh, John. [they laugh]
Gail Stanwyk: John who?
Fletch: John Cock... tos... ton.
Gail Stanwyk: That's a beautiful name.
Fletch: Well, it's Scotch/Romanian.
Gail Stanwyk: That's an odd combination.
Fletch: Yeah, well, so were my parents.

Madeline: I'm sorry, who are you again?
Fletch: I'm Frieda's boss.
Madeline: Who's Frieda?
Fletch: My secretary.

Dr. Joseph Dolan: Right. Now, how long have you had these pains, Mr. Barber?
Fletch: No, that's "Babar".
Dr. Joseph Dolan: Two B's?
Fletch: One B. B-A-B-A-R.
Dr. Joseph Dolan: That's two. Fletch: Yeah, but not right next to each other. I thought that's what you meant.
Dr. Joseph Dolan: Arnold Babar. Isn't there a children's book about an elephant named Babar?
Fletch: I don't know. I don't have any.
Dr. Joseph Dolan: No children?
Fletch: No elephant books.

Caddyshack
Carl Spackler: So I jump ship in Hong Kong and make my way over to Tibet, and I get on as a looper at a course over in the Himalayas. A looper, you know, a caddy, a looper, a jock. So, I tell them I'm a pro jock, and who do you think they give me? The Dalai Lama, himself. Twelfth son of the Lama. The flowing robes, the grace, bald... striking. So, I'm on the first tee with him. I give him the driver. He hauls off and whacks one - big hitter, the Lama - long, into a ten-thousand foot crevasse, right at the base of this glacier. Do you know what the Lama says? Gunga galunga... gunga, gunga-galunga. So we finish the eighteenth and he's gonna stiff me. And I say, "Hey, Lama, hey, how about a little something, you know, for the effort, you know." And he says, "Oh, uh, there won't be any money, but when you die, on your deathbed, you will receive total consciousness." So I got that goin' for me, which is nice.

Ty Webb: You're rather attractive for a beautiful girl with a great body.

Lacey Underall: Who's you decorator? Bennihana?
Ty Webb: No, I brought most of that stuff back with me from Vietnam.
Lacey Underall: You were in the war?
Ty Webb: [limping and patting his butt] No... Homo.

Tony D'Annunzio: Another Rob Roy, Bishop?
Bishop: You never ask a navy man if he'll have another drink, because it's nobody's goddamned business how much he's had already.
Judge Smails: Wrong, you're drinking too much your Excellency.
Bishop: Excellency, fiddlesticks, my name's Fred and I'm a man, same as you.
Judge Smails: You're not a man, you're a bishop, for God's sakes.
Bishop: There is no God...

Ty Webb: Let me tell you a little story? I once knew a guy who could have been a great golfer, could have gone pro, all he needed was a little time and practice. Decided to go to college instead. Went for four years, did pretty well. At the end of his four years, his last semester he was kicked out... You know what for? He was night putting, just putting at night with the fifteen-year-old daughter of the Dean... You know who that guy was Danny?
Danny Noonan: No.
Ty Webb: Take one good guess.
Danny Noonan: Bob Hope?
Ty Webb: Ha ha... No, that guy was Mitch Comstein, my roommate. He was a good guy.

Dr Strangelove
Colonel "Bat" Guano: You think I go into combat with loose change in my pocket?

General Jack D. Ripper: Mandrake, were you ever a prisoner of war?
Group Capt. Lionel Mandrake: Well, yes I was Jack as a matter of fact I was.
General Jack D. Ripper: Did they torture you?
Group Capt. Lionel Mandrake: Yes Jack, I was tortured by the Japanese, if you must know, not a pretty story.
General Jack D. Ripper: Well, what happened?
Group Capt. Lionel Mandrake: Oh Well, I don't know, Jack, difficult to think of under these conditions, but well, they got me on the old Ragoon-Ichinawa railway. I was laying train lines for the bloody Japanese puff-puff's.
General Jack D. Ripper: No, I mean when they tortured you did you talk?
Group Capt. Lionel Mandrake: Ah, oh, no, I don't think they wanted me to talk really, I don't think they wanted me to say anything. It was just their way of having a bit of fun the swines. Strange thing is they make such bloody good cameras.

Dr. Strangelove: Sir! I have a plan! [standing up from his wheelchair]
Dr. Strangelove: Mein Führer! I can walk!

General Jack D. Ripper: Mandrake, do you realize that in addition to fluoridating water, why, there are studies underway to fluoridate salt, flour, fruit juices, soup, sugar, milk... ice cream. Ice cream, Mandrake, children's ice cream.
Group Capt. Lionel Mandrake: Lord, Jack.
General Jack D. Ripper: You know when fluoridation first began?
Group Capt. Lionel Mandrake: I... no, no. I don't, Jack.
General Jack D. Ripper: Nineteen hundred and forty-six. Nineteen forty-six, Mandrake. How does that coincide with your post-war Commie conspiracy, huh? It's incredibly obvious, isn't it? A foreign substance is introduced into our precious bodily fluids without the knowledge of the individual. Certainly without any choice. That's the way your hard-core Commie works.
Group Capt. Lionel Mandrake: Uh, Jack, Jack, listen, tell me, tell me, Jack. When did you first... become... well, develop this theory?
General Jack D. Ripper: Well, I, uh... I... I... first became aware of it, Mandrake, during the physical act of love.
Group Capt. Lionel Mandrake: Hmm.
General Jack D. Ripper: Yes, a uh, a profound sense of fatigue... a feeling of emptiness followed. Luckily I... I was able to interpret these feelings correctly. Loss of essence.
Group Capt. Lionel Mandrake: Hmm.
General Jack D. Ripper: I can assure you it has not recurred, Mandrake. Women uh... women sense my power and they seek the life essence. I, uh... I do not avoid women, Mandrake.
Group Capt. Lionel Mandrake: No.
General Jack D. Ripper: But I... I do deny them my essence.

Major T. J. "King" Kong: Survival kit contents check. In them you'll find: one forty-five caliber automatic; two boxes of ammunition; four days' concentrated emergency rations; one drug issue containing antibiotics, morphine, vitamin pills, pep pills, sleeping pills, tranquilizer pills; one miniature combination Russian phrase book and Bible; one hundred dollars in rubles; one hundred dollars in gold; nine packs of chewing gum; one issue of prophylactics; three lipsticks; three pair of nylon stockings. Shoot, a fella' could have a pretty good weekend in Vegas with all that stuff.

The Perfect Job (for me)

2006-05-03T19:47:00.000+01:00

Now that my MBA application process is over, I find that I’m coming back to square one; asking: What career and lifestyle will make me happiest?

While this is a lifelong ever changing quest, I want to understand it as best as I can now so I don’t waste time and energy pursuing opportunities that are a poor match for me.

Management Consulting (MC) and Investment Banking (IB) are the two careers that I think will be most pragmatic for me to pursue immediately after graduation. These careers will prolong the rapid learning curve established during two years of school, should enable me to more comfortably repay my loans, and both match my pre-MBA experience and skill set well. To determine which I think would be a better fit for me, I have talked to many friends, read many industry articles, and most recently, I took a Live Career assessment test.

The results of the Basic Interest portion of the test point to my…

Strong desire to lead/manage
High interest in technical subjects
Aptitude for persuading others, and
Liking of being out and about

Limited artistic abilities (really appreciate art though)
Dislike of performing customer services
Dislike of performing health services
Dislike of performing clerical activities

The results of the Work Place Fit heavily point to…

My liking of innovative and pensive work environments
My liking of enterprising and dynamic work environments

After reviewing these results, I am once again leaning towards MC as it seems to better fit my basic interests and workplace likings. From what I know, IB is more sales/service oriented and the environment is more realistic/conventional (transactions). I also think that MC presents a broader range of career options down the line, which is important to consider given that I will likely want to completely change directions in ten years. From a lifestyle standpoint, I’d prefer to travel during the week and have most of my weekends free (MC) versus being frequently obliged to work in the office on weekends (IB). Many of my active pursuits are central to my overall wellbeing and having to forgo them on a regular basis would be difficult. Finally, the Live Career test makes me realize that I shouldn’t overlook opportunities at innovative companies, such as Google and Microsoft.

Why London Business School?

2006-04-18T22:11:00.000+01:00

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

2006-04-13T19:11:00.000+01:00

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

2006-04-05T22:59:00.000+01:00

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?

2006-04-04T16:39:00.000+01:00

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.

Step one - check

2006-03-31T16:26:00.000+01:00

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

2006-03-29T21:31:00.000+01:00

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?

2006-03-28T17:15:00.000+01:00

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...

2006-03-27T22:14:00.000+01:00

The next eighteen weeks are going to fly by …

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

Aftermath

2006-03-25T14:10:00.000Z

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!!!

2006-03-23T21:22:00.000Z

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

2006-03-23T15:26:00.000Z

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.

What's more important than an MBA?

2006-03-22T21:47:00.000Z

Learning that some others have received early LBS admits definitely increased my anxiety today; but, coming across these old pictures helped me remember other more important things in life...

Traveling

Traveling with friends

Having fun with friends while wearing track suits

Making new friends

Is this thing on?

2006-03-22T16:21:00.000Z

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.