First Year Evaluation

One way to summarize my 1^st year experience at Stanford GSB is go back to a list of expectations I had about the experience and to see how it turned out…

People & Social	Rating	Comments
1. I will meet some amazingly talented people who are either amazingly intelligent and/or have worked to get to their positions from all walks of life. There will be no slackers.	***	Derrick Bolton and the admissions team do a fantastic job of a hard task of putting together a diverse and talented group of 380 or so students. It hugely shapes the experience, there's a ton of learning that occurs offline.
2. All the students will be willing to help one another out and in general there will be no selfish or self-centered MBA students (at least that I have to deal with).	**	War-rooms work really well, study groups can be painful but a necessary part of the experience to learn to work with diverse talent.
3. I will get to know pretty much all of the students in my class (yes, all 380) by name, and have a core group of friends, however, there will be no particularly strong cliques (e.g. by nationality, career function, age etc...) and it will be easy to drift into and out of different core groups in time in order to really get to know the few who meet my diverse criteria and will become my best friends.	**	On the surface, but I wish I had enough time to learn more about people- the MBA is so fast paced and busy, unfortunately there is not enough time get to know what seems to be a small enough class to get to know everyone
4. There will be beautiful girls, both on campus and across California (sorry, had to slip that one in... It's California!) and they will love my British accent. Otherwise, at least, my mates who have promised to visit me, will be disappointed.	*	Brainmater is negatively correlated with attractiveness, need to pursue off campus avenues.
5. I'll be able to find classmates who will appreciate a variety of social activities ranging from clubbing/raving, visiting pubs/bars to the occasional quiet nights pretty much on demand. In other words, I will not feel like I'm constrained into social activities by my immediate friends/classmates.	**	Small class and people being busy means a feeling of working on a tight schedule
Location/Environment & Lifestyle	Rating	Comments
1. The campus environment will be vibrant, buzzing during class time, but at times, will be the the quiet serene and spacious campus that it appears on the brochure.	**	Stanford campus is a busy and intense place.
2. I will be able to achieve a great work/party balance at my will. In this sense I don't strictly mean, 50:50 of course, but I can imagine for instance in the 1st month or so, having partying a lot, and at times, needing to do some serious cramming for exams etc... All driven my behaviour and discipline, and not so much dictated by the school or friends/classmates	***	1st 2 quarters were tough- once internship was secured, both academic involvement and amount to relax dramatically increased
3. I will be able to maintain and improve my general fitness and improve my tennis game and yet eat a pretty fun diet (yes, some American fast-food here and there without getting fat...)	*	Terrible- I've put a significant amount of weight- will need to work out and go to the gym.
4. Facilities and service (academic, sports, accommodation etc..) will be world class compared to what I've seen at other academic institutions so far.	***	Excellent access to tennis court and other facilities. Schwab is the bestr= dorm one could ever construct- I think pretty silly to have exec education students in the same complex!
5. The weather will be amazing 5 out of 7 days a week. "Amazing", means, good enough to play tennis.	*	Between Dec-March, more rain that I would have expected.
Academics & Workload	Rating	Comments
1. I'll spend on average about 50-60 hours a week on academics (here's hoping!).	**	There is significant variation. I did not realise how much I needed to work on weekends!
2. Mathematics/Quantative work required will not be harder than engineering mathematics (2nd year level at Bristol). However, I expect to initially struggle but ultimately get by in courses requiring statistics.	***	Engineering quant background was invaluable! Stats, stats and more stats...
3. If I'm disciplined and consistent, I can at least spend one and a half complete days away from academics. I am able to devote a complete whole day away from the Stanford GSB environment to visit external friends in San Francisco .	***	Looking back, I had enough time to explore and get to know the area.
4. To obtain a 2nd Master's, e.g. in Engineering, I will need to sacrifice a great amount of my social life in the second year, but I should not have to become a complete hermit to obtain it.	***	Not a chance… Might take Comp science not engineering courses.
5. The teaching will be exceptional and focused and I will receive suitable attention in areas I struggle, better than in my days in public school in UK, Bristol or at my last job training courses.	***	I'm a firm believer of paying for exceptional education with aid and financial support for the talented and less well to do. Generally the courses are well taught with some truly exceptional- I loved the E-commerce class the taught by Prof Haim Mendelson the best.
Career management & Jobs	Rating	Comments
1. I will be able to explore initially, a diverse set of careers through career management and advice from other students, but very quickly hone into one or two career options and will receive enough support through clubs and seminars. Management consulting in Strategy & Technology areas will remain my top career choice throughout the two years.	**	Club support has been quite weak- consulting much tougher to get into.
2. I will have to work reasonably hard to gain an internship, by reasonably hard, I mean I won't expect to get one just attending seminars or career fairs, I'll need to put some work, but not to an equal or more measure as the amount I put into my academics.	***	More than you'd know, surprised that I did not miss more classes.
3. I will get at least 2 job offers on graduation. At least one of those I will be within the United States.	***	2 for Internships
4. Hi-tech jobs in the Silicon Valley/Bay area will be the easiest for me to access whilst finance related jobs will be the hardest.	***	Goes without saying given my background and the area.
5. The MBA will categorically provide me with opportunities that I would have never accessed without it.	***	Both in corporate for profit and in the non-profit world, not to mention start-ups, it’s the most confusing time in my life- there's so much out there! However, there where an individual can make an impact does help funnel downthe choices.