It's official

During lunch today I went to the post office and put two envelopes in the mail. One was a thin envelope heading to Duke, letting them know I will not be enrolling in their program. The other was a thicker envelope sending my official transcripts and tuition deposit to Kellogg. Hard to believe that my application adventure, which started in July 2007, is now officially done. I am a member of the Kellogg 2Y MBA Class of 2011. I'm excited...only 192 days until KWEST trips start!

Post-DAK thoughts

After an intense weekend at Kellogg ("drinking from the firehose" is the term many students and admin used), it's a little strange to be back at home and at work. It absolutely was a great experience. From Day 1 of my application journey I had heard about the teamwork culture at Kellogg, but until this weekend I hadn't really known exactly what that meant. The people I met were incredible - they were all very smart and successful, but also very down to earth and friendly. In the opening session on Friday, Beth Flye (Asst. Dean for admissions) gave an overview of the R1 admits. The average GMAT and GPA were 719 and 3.62. There were entrepreneurs, teachers, military people, people from non-profits and government, and of course the bankers and consultants. For nearly 10 minutes she read accomplishments people had written about in their essays, and I found myself wondering how exactly I had managed to get admitted since I had never started my own company or NGO or launched a multimillion dollar product line.

I was curious before this weekend what it would look like to take 200 or so Type-A MBA aspirants from a variety of backgrounds and stick them together for a weekend. Well, what happened was that as soon as the admitted students started meeting each other Thursday night at the welcome receptions, people started becoming friends - and it continued throughout the weekend. I really hope that everyone I met decides to come to Kellogg (most had already decided that they will be back in the fall, but a few were still considering other offers). Based on this weekend, I know that Kellogg is the right fit for me and will be sending in my deposit and breaking up with Duke this week. I can't wait for KWEST trips and the start of school in August. Somehow I need to find a way to concentrate on work for a few more months, because my mind has already moved to Evanston.

Another item off the to-do list

Guess what? It's snowing again. I'll be so glad to escape this climate in a few months and move to, er...Chicago. Nevermind. I guess I better get used to this weather.

I got to cross another item off my Kellogg to-do list. Over the weekend I finished my taxes, filed my FAFSA and completed the online Kellogg financial aid application. Yesterday I mailed Kellogg the other financial aid paperwork they requested (tax forms, resume and a 2 page application that looked suspiciously like the form I filled out at my interview). So now I just sit back and wait to see what Kellogg is offering. According to their website, I should hear back in early March. With financial aid out of the way, I've started doing some early looking at housing. Some of the places I've found look pretty nice and are reasonably priced, and I'm hoping that I can leave DAK with a good short list of buildings I'm interested in.

I met a few more admitted students who were all really great, and I'm really looking forward to getting to meet more of my future classmates this weekend at DAK. I also got a call from a current student in the Healthcare and Biotech Club, and we had a really good discussion about healthcare at Kellogg. With all this Kellogg excitement, it's getting harder and harder to focus on work. I can't wait to get these next few months behind me and move on to being a Kellogg student.

Only 51 days until spring

Well we're supposed to get another snow storm today and tomorrow. Have I mentioned before that I've had just about enough of the cold and snow? This may be the biggest storm yet this year; they're forecasting between 6-8 inches of snow. I guess on the plus side it gives me an excuse to work from home.

Still not much news on the school front. Last week I was officially denied by HBS, which I expected since I hadn't gotten an interview invite. It really didn't bother me at all. By this point I had already gotten so used to the idea that I'll be at Kellogg next year that the denial from HBS was almost just another item on my to-do list for heading to Evanston. I've started focusing a bit more on financial aid and loans, but there's not much I can do until I finish my taxes. Hopefully I'll get my W-2s this week, so I can file my taxes and start working on the FAFSA and Kellogg financial aid application.

Winter doldrums

I do not like January and February. Maybe it's just a holdover from my days as an auditor, when January and February were by far the busiest months of the year. Or maybe it's that while the cold and snow in December is full of holiday cheer, the cold and snow in January and February are just cold and miserable. The past week and a half have lived up to that. Temperatures got down into single digits, we've gotten a few snow storms, and I am sick of winter. I don't have a whole lot to do in terms of preparing for school, other than doing the small fix-it tasks around my apartment and just generally getting it ready to go on the market next month. I am excited for DAK in a few weeks, and enjoyed meeting some of my future classmates at a reception Kellogg had in the city last week. But overall, I just feel like I'm in a holding pattern.

On a separate note, today is a pretty historic day. Regardless of your political views, it will be special to see President-elect Obama stand - facing the Lincoln Memorial, facing where MLK gave his "I Have a Dream" speech - take the oath of office and become President of the United States.

Happy New Year!

It's hard to believe another year has gone by, and even harder to believe that tomorrow starts 2009. It has been quite a year too. As I look back a year, I had just gotten denied by Chicago and was looking at an 0 for 3 application season. I had 6 months remaining on my 2 year assignment at work, so I was concerned about finding a new project/role at work. I was questioning my career goals and my viability as an MBA candidate, and just generally felt lost. Needless to say I was a bit down. Fast forward to today. I have 2 admits in hand and my work situation has been pretty well resolved...at least until I resign this summer. My career goals once again seem realistic and achievable. I am in a much happier place. Overall, 2008 was an interesting year, and 2009 promises to be even more exciting as I start my preparations to leave for bschool in earnest.

I've been giving a lot of thought to Kellogg vs. Duke ever since I got the scholarship offer from Duke, and I think I've made up my mind. As I thought about attending DAK, possible KWEST trips, moving to Chicago and "the Kellogg experience", I was excited about the idea of attending Kellogg. When I thought about Blue Devil Weekend, moving to Durham and "Team Fuqua", I just wasn't nearly as excited. I realized that the reasons I had in favor of Kellogg were related to the school and program itself, while the only reason I was seriously considering Duke over Kellogg was the money. Sure, the money is nice, but 25 years from now I think I'd regret passing on the opportunity of attending Kellogg because of money. So, as hard as it will be to walk away from $46,000, once my official transcripts arrive from my undergrad school, I'll be sending in my deposit and transcripts to Kellogg.

I hope everyone has a great 2009, and that the new year brings good news to everyone still waiting to hear decisions.

Another surprise from Duke

Well I received my admissions package from Duke today. There was a business card holder, a Duke Fuqua sticker, some information about Blue Devil Weekend (and a magnet to remind me of the date) and my official admissions letter. Then at the bottom of the box I saw an envelope marked "MERIT SCHOLARSHIP INFORMATION". I figure it's a letter from the financial aid office with information about the scholarship process, since the online admission letter scholarship info would be sent in 2 weeks and it's only been a week. However, as I started reading the second paragraph of the letter, I quickly realized it's an award letter: Duke is offering me a half-tuition scholarship! I have to say, I'm a bit surprised. I thought I had a shot at some money from Duke, but didn't think it would be this much. I'm still leaning very much towards Kellogg - I don't know that I would be happy passing up the chance to go there - but this is going to make the decision a lot tougher.