Wharton MBA for Executives

Term 2 started yesterday, and I still haven’t been able to post my thoughts on term 1! Actually, I technically wrote this entry BEFORE the first class in term 2 started (at 8:30am yesterday), but was unable to post it because I forgot my blog password. Clearly, I don’t post often enough! Things have been quite hectic for me as I have been busy with my son and daughter, moving houses, preparing for strategy meetings at work, plus having my mother and grandmother visiting. So I haven’t been able to do much posting. I am guessing there are 20 posts from RVD for every 1 of mine. By the way, some people get confused about who wrote which post - the author name is under the title of each entry.

Term 1 went by very quickly, and I still can’t believe it is over. I am unsure why people kept saying “Enjoy the break” at the end of term 1. WHAT BREAK? Classes continue on every other weekend with no break. It is nice not to have any homework, exams, or projects for 2 weeks, but we received a ton of pre-reading for term 2. So no break! Anyways, here are some of my observations on term 1…

1) I thoroughly enjoyed ALL of the classes, and learned a ton in each one. I am curious if the trend will continue. Is the MBA really going to continue to be this fun and interesting? I must a complete geek since I loved all my classes and professors, including Economics and Accounting :-) I believe this has a lot to do with the high caliber of faculty at Wharton - they make even the dry subjects interesting by linking the topics to the real-world and not leaving things at the theory level.

2) People study! I was a little surprised to see that there don’t appear to be slackers. Even though everyone is busy with many commitments, school remains a priority. How come no one slacks off? :-)

3) The 4-hour commute each way has become a routine. It doesn’t bother me at all, and I can probably do it in my sleep now :-) I have also learned how to make full use of that time by always carrying some unread school materials with me. I read at the airport, on the flight, on the bus, and on the train :-) I also listen to religious lectures in the car. This keeps the commute very efficient with almost no wasted time.

4) It is difficult to know how your grades will come out, even at the very end. The ACCT mid-term was quite difficult, and it is hard to find the right information from the financial statements. My grades were near the mean on the mid-terms, and I am not sure if the final exam would push my grade up or pull it down. In ECON, the final is worth 60% of the grade, and again, it is hard to gauge if you did well or poorly on the final. In both courses, even if you know you did a problem wrong for sure, the professors give partial credit, and that amount is not easy to anticipate either. In MGMT, 40% of the grade depends on the Field Application Project, and 20% on class participation, so 60% of the grade is an unknown.

5) Classes are not always what you expect them to be. Management had more science in it than I thought. And even with debits always equaling credits, and assets always equaling liabilities plus shareholder’s equity, accounting has a ton of art! As Professor Lambert stated “Everything on a financial statement is an estimate, except the date. And sometimes, even THAT is an estimate!”

6) Learning must consume a lot of brain power, as I continue to eat large meals, plus nibble on snacks throughout the day. On a non-school day, I usually don’t eat breakfast. While at Wharton, a sample breakfast might consist of fruit, pancakes, eggs, a bagel with cream cheese, AND yoghurt. After all that, I am hungry again after an hour of class!

7) Not surprisingly, alcohol is a part of almost all social events (whether it is the end-of-term celebration at the Wharton dining room, or just a nice dinner out). Given that I avoid social events with alcohol, this generally makes me MIA (as described by RVD). We need more social events without alcohol :-)