Yeah I know, it's been a while...

But I've been hustling as usual...

Finally got my housing arrangements taken care of in Philly! I found a condo (condo, in the most liberal definition of word) that's right in between Wharton and Rittenhouse Sq. It'll be a 15-20 walk to either or a 5 - 10 min trolley ride if I'm feeling lazy. I've already found about 10 other Wharton students living in the building so that's great. I'm really glad to get the housing scene wrapped up because it was becoming a pain working with some of these Philly landlords.

The other thing that has had me occupied over the last couple of weeks has been application essays. Yes essays! If you think the essays end when you've submitted your applications, you've got another thought coming. Fellowships, scholarships, professional programs, leadership programs...seems like everybody wants an essay. I did my fellowship essays way back when, and this past week I submitted my MBA JumpStart and NBMBAA applications. Next up is Wharton's BCG boot camp application which will require even more writing.

On the work front....

All in all, I'm really enjoying this interim between ending work and starting school. It makes for such a low stress life. For example, my current company just got acquired by Equifax and everyone's worried about job security - as they should be since Equifax is big on outsourcing. Me, aside from hoping that things work out for my friends and collegues, I'm chillin, couldn't care less. My biggest concern at this point is planning my vacation. After MBA Jumpstart I wanted to spend the rest of July in Trinidad, but I promised my boss I'd wrap up some loose ends on this reports project- I'm beginning to regret that.

Anyways, I've been thinking I need to do one of those "here's what I learned through the whole process" posts. I started writing one but it got to be way longer than it was worth. I'll try and get a short and sweet one to post on here next time.

Laters

Decisions decisions….

So I decided on Wharton. It was a difficult decision because I got accepted at four awesome MBA programs and also because there was a lot of money on the table. In the end, Wharton won out because it was the program best positioned to help me explore opportunities in the Caribbean. Also, I’m looking forward to a couple of years on the east coast, closer to family and friends. Good luck to everyone faced with the same kind of decisions! I know it’s not easy.

Now all I have to do is apply for some fellowships, find an apartment, move 900 miles, attend a few conferences, plan a vacation, stack some bills….

laters

And Chicago says....

Admit!!!!

Awesome deal! I've got a hard decision to make in the next couple of weeks.

Laterz

Keepin' it real

I stumbled across a post that I had to share. It's a must read for all MBA aspirants...click here

The funny thing is that even after reading it, I'm still gung-ho about getting my MBA...make sure you are too.

Laters

It gets better

$$$$ from Stern.

I'm truly blessed.

The latest

In @ Stern.

$$$$ from Darden.

$ from Wharton.

Life is good.

Laterz

Still Hustlin'

I have much to report since my last post.

First, I got accepted to the Darden School of Business! Yeahhhhhhhhhh!

Second, I got interview invites from Chicago and NYU! Yeahhhhhhhhh!

I’m absolutely thrilled with these developments. Throughout this process I’ve tried to stay disciplined and wait until all of my options are on the table before making a decision as to where I’ll be doing my MBA, so it feels good to see a few more of those options come into play. This doesn’t mean that I don’t have a favorite or two-I’d be lying if I said that, but rather that when I make the decision I want to know exactly what I’m foregoing.

In other news, last week I attended the Wharton Winter Welcome and had a blast. Wharton was serving some strong Kool Aid and I definitely had a belly full: from the Wharton Follies, to the MBA Pub, to the cocktail reception, to the Copa Miami spot where we kicked it Friday night – loads of fun.

As usual, the high point for me was all the cool people I met. Most of the stuff in the presentations I either already knew about Wharton or could have found out through the web site or message boards. Getting to meet people and experience the culture of the place was my primary goal. I was glad to find that most of the people I met were pretty down-to-earth cats. I had almost expected to meet at least a few unusual personalities, but I can't say that I did - maybe everyone was just on good behavior ;-)

I didn't get to explore Philly as much as I had hoped, but from what I've seen, it's definitely a very livable city - perhaps not long term, but great for a couple of years in b-school.

I also managed to submit my fellowship application for Wharton. I think I wrote a really solid essay so hopefully the fellowship committee agrees and lines your boy up with some much needed funding. I have to say the most sobering moment of the Welcome was the financial aid session – it ain’t cheap. I won't know what my award package looks like for a couple of weeks so in the mean time I’ll be doing some heavy duty praying and I'll keep y'all posted on the happenings.

Laterz