Tuesday, May 17, 2005

My 20 expectations for the Stanford MBA

I'm going to layout my expectations as well defined as possible. Having not attended admit weekend or previously visited Stanford or indeed California, I am starting to wonder whether I'm in danger of developing unrealistic expectations. Later on, once I'm settled in, I shall review my expectations and determine to what extent they have been meet. I've come up with 20 in all from 4 categories; People & Social, Location/Environment & Lifestyle, Academics & Workload, Career management.

People & Social
  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.
  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).
  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.
  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.
  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.

Location/Environment & Lifestyle

  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.
  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
  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...)
  4. Facilities and service (academic, sports, accommodation etc..) will be world class compared to what I've seen at other academic institutions so far.
  5. The weather will be amazing 5 out of 7 days a week. "Amazing", means, good enough to play tennis.

Academics & Workload

  1. I'll spend on average about 50-60 hours a week on academics (here's hoping!).
  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.
  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 .
  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.
  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.

Career management & Jobs

  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.
  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.
  3. I will get at least 2 job offers on graduation. At least one of those I will be within the United States.
  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.
  5. The MBA will categorically provide me with opportunities that I would have never accessed without it.

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