A Sternie has been born

Hi there!
It's been some time since my last post. A couple of weeks indeed. I would have loved writing something before my the last couple of weeks have been pretty hectic.

I arrived in NYC on August 14th. I stayed at a friend's place for a few days since I couldn't move into my new place until a few days later. Those days were pretty good though, since I made good use of them to get rid of some boring stuff such as Stern administrative requirements, getting a cell phone or opening a bank account. It's amazing how important is in the US to have a social security number, you can hardly do anything without it: signing a cell phone contract (in the end I had to pay a 500 bucks deposit as security), renting an apartment (that`s why I'm living on campus) or opening a bank account (no credit card offered, for sure). It's a non-sense. I have had to demonstrate financial resources to get my student visa to get into the US but such documents mean nothing in terms of purposes like the ones above....

On August 21 the program started. It may be more accurate to say that what is called the pre-term started. Two weeks of different activities with one main purpose: get to know your MBA colleagues. Now that I'm about to finish this pre-term (tomorrow is the last day), I have to say that I'm still amazed and even happier than expected about my Stern choice. One of the main motives upon which I took my decision to come to Stern over some other top schools was the great sensations that the people that I met transmitted me when I came for the interview. Now that I have become a Sternie, I can say that the people I have met in these two weeks are great. I couldn't feel happier. And this aspect is key to me.

The first day of the pre-term was only for international students (around 130 or so). As of the second day, it was for the whole intake of around 400 people. It was kind of a shock to meet so many people all of a sudden....and a big mess. I'm pretty bad with names and faces, so just imagine what it is like to meet dozens of new people from very diverse backgrounds every single day. The day after you harly remember not just the name but also if you had talked to a soecific guy.

As I said before, the pre-term esentially is about getting to know the people and getting used to what is going on in the school. And everything is incredibly well organized. Maybe for those of you who have studied in the US it won't make a difference but I can assure that it jhas little to do with my home country. If I had known about it maybe I would have come to the US for my undergrad!!

The activities of the pre-term have been diverse. Every single day has been sponsored by a big company, ranging from Citigroup to L'oreal or Unilever, to mention a few. Every single day there has been a speaker (i.e. and Stern alum) from the sponsoring company giving us some pieces of advise. We have also had lots of cocktails and lunches to get to know each other. Alumni and MBA2's have shared their views with us. The Office of Career Development has given a good bunch of presentations and workshops to start thinking about our job search. And, of course, there's been a lot of socializing, including tickets for a Mets game or the tennis US Open (cancelled due to the rain, unfortunately), a scavenger hunt around the Village and, above all, lots of subsidized drinks in different bars every single day after the daily sessions. I'm so tired now!!! But it feels great, though!

In terms of academics, the 400 of us have been divided into six blocks of around 65 people each. Then, each block is divided in study groups of 5 or 6 students. I can say that I'm extremely happy about my buddies. It's the 6 of us, two international and 4 americans, all with different backgrouns and cultures. And really friendly!! If I think about it, I am still amazed by how well we get along and by how much time we're spending together. For instance, today we have been doing some rehersal for tomorrow's talent show and then we've gone to a thai restaurant for dinner and I just arrived home a few minutes ago. In the end, it's gonna be true what is said about one's longlife friendships from an MBA.

Tomorrow the pre-term will finish with what is called the "Booze Cruise" around the Hudson river. Needless to explain, I guess. And then, all of a sudden, we will have to start working hard on Tuesday (Monday is bank holiday). We have not even started our classes and we have already received emails from professors with assignments...let's see if we first get the books!

I think this is enough to draw the lines of my new life as an Sternie. I'll keep trying to tell what this amazing experience is going to be like.

Ciao

New kid in town

Hi there!

As promissed, I'm writing from NYC. Yes. it's my first post and I'm writing it after spending my first day in the Big Apple.

I'm writing from Harlem, from 139th St. From some friends' place. This is not gonna be my place during the year but it's been the best alternative for me. Why? Well, the thing is that the pre-term orientation week is starting on 21 August and that students cannot move in their on campus housing (or, at least, the one in which I've allocated) until 19 August. I'm sure there are reasons for this but I find it quite inconvenient. Coming here a week in advance is a useful thing, so that you may deal with all the administrative requirements, such as registering with the office for international students, getting your NYU ID card, getting rid of health requirements, opening a bank account or getting a cell phone. In fact, we've een told to go through these pointes prior to the commencing of the pre-term week. But te thing is that I cannot move into my place...it doesn't make any sense. Students sshould be able to move in a little earlier. At least, that's my view.

Anyway, I'm here and I'm happy to be hear. In any case, some awkward feelings keep arising. For instance, I have received a short message (the first one since I arrived) from one of my best friends, I have used for the first time the leather bag that my former work friends gave me when I left my job,..., in a word, memories. And my home and my country are still very close. You know what I mean.

I've spent the whole day walking and my feet ache quite a lot right now. I have been able to get rid of some of the issues in my checklist but there are some more left. Hopefully tomorrow I'll be able to cross out all of them from my list. In this respect, I must say that everything is pretty well organized by NYU and it's not tough to go over one thing after another.

But the very big thing about today is that I've met a couple of new MBA students. The first ones. We were attending a presentation given by the office for international students concerning immigration issues and, following a couple of questions, our accent has probably made us suspicious....It's been good fun meeting them. We've wandering around for a few hours and it's been a good start. I had already filled up a questionnaire earlier this morning and I had stated that I was not worried at all about making new friends and this point has proved right quickly. The best thing is that this is just the beginning...lots of new people are about to come.

Some dinners and parties are already being arranged for the weekend. This is also an important part and we have to take good care of it. We are still very lost in terms of NYC nightlife but I'm sure we'll also get a masters degree soon in this respect...

I'll keep you posted.

The "D" Day

It's 1330 and in an around 45 minutes - once I finish transferring my Massive Attack's CDs to the Itunes - I will be picking up my car, putting three suitcases (around 45kg) in the trunk, and leaving my home. Time for farewells. Tomorrow morning, at 945, I will be on the plane ready to leave for NYC to start a completely new life.

These last days have been kinda bittersweet. On the sweet side, the "D" day was getting closer and I was happy about it. On the bitter one, saying goodbye to family and friends is sad. There have been a couple of times where I've felt that my eyes have become a little wet and that talking has been hard.

I have kept telling everybody that I will be coming back for Christmas, that's just three months and so on...but I'm somehow afraid of losing contact with the people I love. Two years (and maybe more thereafter) - with some short visits inbetween - are a pretty long time and I'm aware that I'm about to start a completely new life where the unexpected things may soon become my daily routine. This is my place and I expect to come definitely back sooner or later but the question is: "who can assure such a thing?" And that makes me afraid.

Anyway, the next post will be from NYC itself. Probably from Harlem, where I will spend the first days at a friend's place given that I cannot move in my place in the Village until 19 August. I'm sure that the first days will be kind of hectic. Registering at the school, open a bank account, get a cell phone, health insurance issues, moving in....in short, getting used to a new life in a new city surrounded by unknown people, although I'm glad to say that I've already made some contacts (sternies and non-Sternies). I'm sure this will help a lot.

Well, time to finish. Talk to you next time from NYC. Can't believe I 'm saying so...

Ciao

Application tips (II): Essays

Days keeps going by and now it's only three left until my departure date. Yesterday I didn't sleep well at all and I'm afraid that it was due to the near departure. Today I haven't slept well either because yesterday I had the one before the last party with my friends (the last will be tonite) and I was a little pissed by the time I got home. Today I have got a hungover...well, that's farewells...!! I am kinda anxious about leaving ...but really looking forward to it.


Anyway, I would like to highlight some points about the MBA applications, focusing on Stern's.

As a starting point, let me telll you that most of the applications are pretty much the same thing. Well, I applied to seven top programs and, leaving aside the specific specialties of each application, there are some core issues that are addressed in most of them. Every application is generally long and boring. Of course there will be some "administrative" information about yourself, family, undergraduate history, hobbies, etc. to be filled out, but when it comes to applications the key thing is, as you probably know, the essays.

The essays are the answers to a number of questions (generally, four of five, ranging from 200 to 1,500 words, as the case may be) posed by the schools to get to know the applicant and to obtain some further professional and personal information from the applicant. In most of the applications I came accross, there were essays about professional history (i.e. how you reached the point to go for an MBA), future goals, strengths and weaknesses, personality, leadership... these kinds of issues are the underlying ones. What I mean is that in some questions you may be directly asked about your short and long-term career planes and, on the contrary, you may also be asked about a situation in your life where you failed and how you reacted (obviously, in such a case, the schools' officers are not interested in the specific story itself but in capturing some of your values and traits of your personality).

Having said that, I must say that writing all the essays of a particular application is not that difficult. However, writing them properly so that the whole application results consistent takes time. And this is really important. It's a key thing to be consistent and clear, to make clear to the admission officers that you know why you are pursuing an MBA, that it makes sense for you to do so at this point of your life. As you will probably read from many sources, you need to be very clear and sure about all this. Otherwise, your application will be a weak one and you will probably be dinged. Thus, you will have to try some other year, once you have really made up your mind.

Therefore, take your time to prepare the essays. First, read the questions carefully, take notes, think about the answers' structure in advance, be clear about what you want to say, do some drafting, write the essays, go through your drafts several times polishing them (in my view this is even more useful when there is some time gap between each revision).... and be consistent in all of your answers. Needless to say (this is mainly for non-English native students like me), pay attention to grammar rules and typos...there's nothing worse than a typo in an application.

One final advise is to ask a friend, family or whoever - an MBA alum, to the extent possible, since he or she will have the expertise - to go over your draft essays. He or she will give you some additional input and will help you restate some points, remove them or make them clearer. In my case, an INSEAD alum friend of mine helped me a lot in this respect.

In any case, most of the recommendations above are broadly - and much better - explained in the book "How to get into the top MBA programs" by Montauk. My INSEAD friend recommended it to me and I will do the same. It's regarded as one of the "bibles" for MBA applications. It goes through every single stage of the application process and it will provide you with good ideas. Buying it is definitely worth it.

Focusing on Stern's application (i.e. the one I had to prepare), four essays are required. The first one is the average career goals essay. It provides a good opportunity not only to state your short and long term career goals but also to explain the admission officers the way that has led you to go for an MBA, why you need an MBA in light of your future goals or why you need it at that particular time.

The second essay is more concerned with personality, with whether the applicant may fit or not inside the Stern community. It comprises three short questions where several issues are tackled: (i) applicant's experience with Stern community: this is relevant in order to analyze the applicant's real interest in Stern. In this respect, talking to Stern people (and remembering their names and, eventually, exchanging a couple of emails) at MBA fairs, visiting Stern, commenting on or making references to friends who are Stern alumni, participating in chats with Stern students, etc. may be useful things to highlight in your essay; (ii) how you may contribute to Stern's community: your values, strengths, personality and so on...; and (iii) why your choice is Stern and what you expect to obtain from it. There are many very good biz schools and this is a good opportunity to explain why Stern is your first choice, what makes it different and why you like that. In my case, for instance, I referred, in addition to Stern's academic excellence, to the personal side of my MBA experience (living in NYC, the down to earth and laid back approach of Stern's people, etc.)

The third essay is a very particular one, since it allows the applicant to tell whatever he wants to in the way he most prefers (e.g. illustrations, pictures, words). This essay is unique among biz schools, as far as I am concerned. Again, I believe that, through this essay, the admission officers seek to evaluate if the applicant is the "Stern-kind" applicant. Feel free to be creative, be original, try to differentiate from other applicants. However, always remember that you are trying to give a good impression, so watch out what you say or how you say it...

Once again, the resulting post is a little longer than expected. I hope it will be useful. After this, I guess that future posts will be shorter and more focused on my day-to-day life. By the way, I'm gonna change the blog's appearence; I've told that the black wallpaper is a little bit tiring...I hope it's just the black color, not the content!!

Ciao

Application tips: Tests

Hi there! after spending some days by the Mediterranean seaside with my parents before leaving for NY I am back in my hometown to finish off the final details and to get ready for the departure.

Just a few days before leaving, let's go through "the beginning of everything".

The application process...it's a tough thing and I now remember myself in August 2005, preparing for the Toefl. It was the very beginning of this crazy adventure....

Anyway, I will divide this post in separate sections to try to be clear enough.

(1) TOEFL

I refer to the Toefl test first since it is in my view the first hurdle to go over. I know that this may only useful for international students but it is important. If one is fluent in English (i.e. fluent enough to achieve the score demanded by top schools) , preparing and taking the Toefl test will be without any doubt the easiest thing within the application process. In any case, it takes time and therefore, it's my advice to get rid of it at the earliest.

It is a test that does not require a deep knowledge of the English language (as opposed, for instance, to Cambridge exams such as the Advanced or the Proficiency) but rather a practical knowledge of it. You will not be requested to know every single grammar rule or so. In a nutshell, if you can speak English quite properly, you will not have problems. Having said that, I recommend to do some practise and the best way is by taking some sample exams to learn the mechanics and to get the feeling of what the exam is like. There a lots of books for this purpose but I would go for the official Toefl book, which should be more than enough. In any case, if your English is not that good or if you feel like you may need some further help, you may enroll a Toefl preparation course. Having said that, I do not find it necessary to take a Toefl course if you have a reasonable level of English.



(2) GMAT

In an ideal scenario, passing the GMAT should be, in my view, the second step. I say so based on my experience, which was not the ideal one. I took the GMAT for the very first time in late October 2005 with very slight prior preparation, assuming that I wouldn't have any trouble in achieving the score that I needed, given that I didn't find the underlying concepts difficult and that I was fine with the Toefl in my first try. But I was wrong.

I only achieved a poor 550 score. I realized that I needed some true preparation and that I was forced to co-ordinate the preparation of the GMAT and the number of the applications I was thinking about submitting (at that time I was still working, which made things even more difficult for me, given the tight deadline I was facing). Things turned even more difficult for me due to a hectic final quarter of 2005 at work due to massive M&A deals flow. In that scenario, I couldn't make it for the second round of most schools (i.e. early January) and then I decided to quit my job and go for an "all in" bet with the third round (i.e. mid February)

Once I was free of work pressures, it was time for me to focus on both the GMAT and the applications (mainly the essays). I had less than two months to achieve a good GMAT score and to complete 7 applications with their corresponding essays. Pretty tough schedule!! Now, maybe you may understand better why I think that getting rid of the GMAT a.s.a.p is important...

Anyway, focusing on the GMAT...As the very first headline, I wouldn't say that it is a difficult exam. The key here is easy to summarize:more and more practice. That's it. In my case, such practice implied attending a 4-week preparation course offered by Kaplan (two days a week, 3 hours each - around €600) and doing sample exercises and exams on my own . Concerning personal practice, I bought three books: (i) the official GMAT book, which can be purchased online at at www.gmac.com. . Note that this book is the only one containing original GMAT questions from past exams and that makes it particularly useful; (ii) an overall prep book by Princeton Review (the other big company, along with Kaplan, making big money out of this MBA applications world), which is regarded as more convenient for verbal section purposes; and (iii) a book by Kaplan focused 0n above-average difficulty quantitative questions. I found all of them very useful. Buying these books (or other similar prep books) is a must.As you probably already know, the GMAT comprises two main sections: the quantitative section (i.e. maths) and the verbal section.

Concerning the quantitative section, don't be afraid at all. Most of the math concepts are those that you probably studied at high school. You may be a little rusty but after some practice (and some explanations if you are attending a course) you will feel comfortable. It is very important to do sample exercises and tests to get to know some tricks that may be useful and, more importantly, to save time when doing the exercises. Time is probably the most scarce resource when talking about the GMAT.

As regards the verbal section, you will find reading comprehension, sentence correction (both self explanatory) and a third type of questions that demand applying some logic rules. I found particularly tricky the latter but, again, after doing dozens of them you will feel much more confident.

Finally, the GMAT also contains a drafting exercise. All the books (and, of course, the prep courses) will provide you with some techniques and tips that will allow you to get a good score. In any case, note that schools do not pay much attention to this part of the exam and, if for any reason, you do not get at least 4.5 out of 6, Stern will request you to take a pre-term seminar on written English. Having said that, I believe that there is a strong correlation between the quant. and verbal scores and the English writing score.

A month, that was it. It was tough but it was just around four or five weeks of GMAT preparation and I'm glad to say that I achieved a 700 score with 6.0 in the writing section. It's a good score - not magnificent - which basically puts me close to the Stern's average score. After consulting with some top MBA alumni friends, I was told that the line between an acceptable and an innacceptable score depends on your background. In other words, schools do not expect an arts undergraduate to perform as well as an engineer. Given my legal background, I was told that a score around 640 could be enough for me. This is not an official report at all but I just want to tell you to be calmed and don't get blind by the magic 700 figure. It's obvious that the higher your score the stronger your application but bear in mind the previous point.

One final point to make. It will depend on your particular situation, but I think that focusing deeply on the GMAT for a short period of time may be more efficient than spending long months of slight preparation. So, if you can focus on the GMAT for a few weeks, do so!!Next post will be on the application forms themselves. That's all folks!Ciao