Time Management

I have been told that the next 19 months are going to be really hectic with school, work, and family. So time to  learn new time management skills !!

I found the following talk by Professor Randy Pausch very good and valuable., Check it out

Application - Pre-reqs

When you think of MBA, first thing comes to mind is GMAT and then essays. While those two are important, most international applicants  get caught off-gaurd with respect to TOEFL and Transcripts.  While most schools don't requre TOEFL for an executive MBA program, Brekeley-Columbia program mandates it.  i.e. Most non–native English speakers must also take the TOEFL

I have heard applicants complaining about this on different fourms, but there is no way around it.  So plan ahead and finish the TOEFL (I found my self driving 200miles to a test center, since there were no dates available)

Trascripts are easy. If you don't have official transacripts, you can go to the Berkeley Campus personally with all your Degree certificates and they will attest verify and  it for you, so no need to panic if you can't arrange for them from your school.

Financial Mistakes

Ok, this is an off topic (not related to BCEMBA) but I found the following statement relevant in current economic conditions.

People tend to do financial mistakes when they are - 1. Feared 2. Greedy and 3. Ignorant

Officially In - Waiting for Books!

Background verification done, 'Next-steps" steps (submitting intent-to- register with UC Berkeley) done, Deposit check ($$) sent. So I am officially stating Berkeley Columbia EMBA journey.  I was told that the first term books are on the way and I already have tons to catch up (preMBA Math, Excel, Financial Accounting class).

Why WFM is doing better than C

I have been shopping around for student loans last couple of weeks. I looked at both CitiBank and Wellsfargo bank for private loans. What I found intresting is while both banks offer good rates for private loans they both have diffrent eligibility criteria. 

For Citi loan I had to just give them basic information such as SSN, College details, and Amount required they just approved the loan. But the trick is that thier loans are at Prime + 7% (works out to 10% now!!). 

But of for Wellsfargo along with basic information ypu all need to find a Amrican Citizen to co-sign for you!!! (This is because I am not a US Citizen but a permanat resident). Intrest rate depends on the credit score of ypur co-signer, so ypu not only have to find a citizen to sign for you but also find someone with a good credit score!!

Althoug I am not happy that I am not able to get the low intrest rate, this experience made me think why Wellsfargo has been performing well compared to Citibank over last year under the unprecedented banking crisis

Wellsfargo has been carefull in its lending practice and hence able to manage the banking crisis far better than Citibank. This is reflected in stock prices of both these banks..
http://www.google.com/finance?chdnp=1&chdd=1&chds=1&chdv=1&chvs=maximized&chdeh=0&chdet=1242424513578&chddm=98923&cmpto=NYSE:C&cmptzos=-18000&q=NYSE:WFC&ntsp=0

Welcome Reception

We had welcome reception for all admitted students on April 16th. For me it was quite an overwhelming experience. Dean Richard Lyons was at the reception. In his address, he presented several compelling reason why all admitted students should accept the offer and decide to attend the program. He stressed on Reputation of the two universities, Access to two campus and two alumni networks among other points.  There were many past and current students (class of 2010) were at the reception.  Joe Duran, founder and CEO of United Capital Financial Partners, Class of 2005 also spoke about his experience while at the program and post MBA career.  Our class looks well diversified, I met folks working in Entertainment industry, Medical Equipment, Biotech, and High tech. Couple of them will be commuting from Los Angeles. I also met couple who are going to attend the program together!

I got two advice form current students as well as alumnus -

1. Program is very demanding on your time but do not let that stop you from attending social events.

2. It is going to be crazy sleepless 19months but it is a lot of fun and worth it. You can always catch up on your sleep after 19months!

It has been a while since I met so many new people at once. Overall, I enjoyed the experience and excited about making new friends for life.

Financing MBA

Now that I am starting the program, it is time to look out for various options to finance the program. Most of the Executive MBAs cost around $100K to $145K, so does the Berkeley-Columbia program. 

In case of BCEMBA, Columbia handles all the financial aid(?)  matters. As such you don't have very many options, but I will try to list few that I know and am exploring:

1. Federal Staford loan (Upto $20,500)

2. GraduatePlu Loan

3. Private Loan

4. Social loan 

In order for you to qualify for 1 and 2 you must be either US citizen or a permanent resident.  You can find all the details on www.finaid.gov. you need to fill in FSA, so make sure that you have your tax documents ready when you start the application. One thing you want to make sure is that you fill in Status Request information before you start any of the loan application  http://www.sss.gov/instructions.html

I recommend that you fill out both these forms as  soon as you can so that you have the funds available when the tuition bill is due.

Third one, Private loan is a good option (at least now) when the interest rates are low (GradPlus is 8.5%!!). But different banks have different consideration for this loan (See my post on Wellsfargo and Citi on this)

Social loan? ? Try out such sites as Greennote.com, Prosper.com

After all the initial hiccups, I am almost done with my application for GradPlus loan and hope to have it ready before the tuition deadline!!