Harvard or Busttag:harvardorbust.com,2008-08-17://12010-02-05T01:23:40ZMovable Type 4.2-enThe Good Fight Continues...tag:harvardorbust.com,2010://1.562010-02-05T00:58:37Z2010-02-05T01:23:40ZAgain, it's been a while since my last update. But honestly, who wants to hear about the boring life of a college student, especially one that is married, works alot, and has dogs that take up too much time. So...Ben Stanley I've noticed more SPAM comments on the site recently, I need to setup a CAPTCHA system to block them. However, that's good news, because atleast somebody out there thinks the site is worthy of SPAM! I'll take that as a win.
I still need to start studying for the GMAT.
I need to figure out what I am doing this summer. The option of working in France or London has presented itself and I need to decide what will be best.
I have been reading a book called "The Best Business Schools' Admissions Secrets". It is written by an ex-Harvard B.School admissions board member and discusses how to "brand" yourself when writing your admissions packets. It's pretty interesting and suggest you check it out.
I have been very lucky to maintain one large client while I am living up here in Davis. They have been keeping me very busy maintaining and updating their multiple web domains. It's funny because I was originally trying to run away from performing 'service' work in the web field, but now I am truly greatful to have it as an income source (and as something to distract me from the hum-drum-Davis lifestyle). ]]>
So far so good in the Fall quarter at UC Davistag:harvardorbust.com,2009://1.552009-11-12T06:13:05Z2009-11-14T19:15:46ZThe sensation of time has been oddly warped since the beginning of the fall term. Part of me wants to say it's only felt like a few days and part of me feels like it's been years. I guess I'm...Ben Stanley There really hasn't been much to post in terms of progress towards a HBS admission in the last few months. I have just been focusing on classes and getting ready for finals which are coming in a few weeks.
One thing I do need to research is the GMAT test and possible GMAT review courses. I know that the two big ones are The Princeton Review and Kaplan, though I need to figure out which one will be better for me. Anyone who has taken any of these classes please leave a comment with your thoughts.
I have been thinking recently about leadership and what makes a leader. I know this is a major component to the HBS admission process and I want to look into exactly what we look for and expect in leaders, both natural and learned traits.
I am going to start putting together the traits that I notice in leaders around me in order to see if those traits can be emulated and subsequently learned. It will be an interesting character study. ]]>
First Day of School... Wine, Strikes, Water Balloon Fights, oh my!tag:harvardorbust.com,2009://1.532009-09-24T21:05:03Z2009-09-26T06:36:02ZSo today was the first day of school... sorta. If anyone has been following the California budget crisis you will know it extends to the public school system. The current problem is that without money, the UC system is being...Ben Stanley My second class was Introduction to Wine Making. This should actually turn out to be a really interesting class. It covers everything from vines to crushing to bottling and even includes a section on tasting, though it all has to be hypothetical testing because of age restrictions. None-the-less, this should turn out to be an interesting class.
After wine class it was off to the "Silo" to grab lunch. While I was eating my sandwich a group of coeds started up a random bikini water balloon fight. I think it was to promote the Outdoor Adventures club, but honestly who was paying attention. Only in college....
My last class of the day was Advanced Writing, Business/Legal. The class started normally, but the professor immediately launched into the strike and who in class was going to go and support the rally on the quad that was just about to start. Turns out he has a no strike clause in his contract and would be docked pay if he participated but he was adamant that we skip class that day and go and join our fell teachers and students on the quad. I assume most people just went home, but I went and listened to what the union leaders had to say.
The turn out was really not all that great considering a school of 30,000 people. The speeches were rather repetitive with most anger being directed at the president and his high salary. I didn't hear much of a solution. But I suppose the point was to rally the people behind a cause, hopefully the solutions will come later. I stuck around for about 45 minutes until the heat (it was close to 100 again) was too much to bear and so I headed home.
All in all an interesting first day. Where else do you find a water balloon fight and a campus strike in one day? Only in university...
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Summer Session grades... I'm a 4.0 Student!tag:harvardorbust.com,2009://1.522009-09-22T18:00:43Z2009-09-22T18:09:10ZThe official summer session grades were posted online and I took home A's in both. This leaves me seven more classes to complete for my major and five for my minor in Economics.That's twelve class plus five for French, plus...Ben Stanley That's twelve class plus five for French, plus two electives I'm taking this term. Add that all together and you get 19 classes spread of hopefully six terms equals just 3.2 classes a term. Not too bad (only 3.8 a term if I try to get it done in five terms).
Classes start this Thursday, September 24th! ]]>
Hollywood in Silicon Valleytag:harvardorbust.com,2009://1.512009-09-22T17:10:53Z2009-09-22T17:59:57ZLast week I attended TechCrunch50 in San Francisco, CA. It was a two day conference that gave the top 50 emerging internet companies a chance to pitch their concepts to a panel of experts in order to get feedback and...Ben Stanley However, one thing that I wasn't ready for was the similarities of this event and that of all Hollywood events I've been too. I was expecting business leaders and tech geeks who were there (like me) to learn about the up and coming businesses and technologies. Instead it was just a bunch of guys (yes, 99.9% guys) all vying for attention from some celebrity status VCs or tech bloggers. It was difficult to have a conversation with anyone without their eyes quickly darting back and forth to see who else might be within a handshakes shot distance.
It was funny how little respect my badge that instead of saying my company said "UC Davis". The badges were basically great ways to segregate people. Different colors indicated if you were Press, VIP, Exhibitor, Attendee etc. So the first thing people did was to scan your badge and see what organization you were with. I was the lowest of the low with my school name on my badge. So low in fact that on multiple occasions when someone would come up to speak to us they would scan my badge, see UC Davis, and not even bother to address me. It was very funny and became a running joke to see who would acknowledge me and who wouldn't.
The crowning moment of "Hollywoodism" was at the very end of the conference where Michael Arrington (the guy who runs Tech Crunch and is the face of the blog and the event) snubbed the conference winners by walking off stage and boycotting the award ceremony. Apparently he didn't like the winner selected and went off and had a little cry backstage. I would call that pretty darn Hollywood entitlement.
Anyway, I can't say if I will go back next year. It was an interesting experience but not something I really need to do again. ]]>
Attending this years TechCrunch 50tag:harvardorbust.com,2009://1.502009-09-10T19:33:42Z2009-09-10T19:42:33ZNext week I am heading over the San Francisco for a couple nights to attend the TechCrunch 50 conference. It should be a good opportunity for me to get a first hand look at what's happening in the Silicon Valley...Ben Stanley
TechCrunch 50 conference. It should be a good opportunity for me to get a first hand look at what's happening in the Silicon Valley world of tech. I am trying to shift my focus more into the field of entrepreneurial business and figure this is a good way to get some first hand knowledge of who is doing what. I have to admit I don't really know what to expect but you've got to start somewhere. ]]>
Summer Session classes over...tag:harvardorbust.com,2009://1.492009-09-10T19:29:32Z2009-09-10T19:33:19ZI have finished my first semester at UC Davis. It was a fast paced breeze through a terms worth of work in only five weeks but it was worth knocking out two required classes. I now have two weeks vacation...Ben Stanley
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Summer Session Progress and Fall Class Lineuptag:harvardorbust.com,2009://1.482009-08-30T21:25:05Z2009-08-30T21:38:12ZI am half way finished with the Summer Session II at UC Davis. It is a quick six week sprint through classes that are generally done in twelve weeks. This summer I am enrolled in two classes (Women and Development...Ben Stanley I have also solidified my schedule of classes for the Fall 2009 term, they are as follows:
University Writing Program, Focus on Legal Writing - UC Davis requires each student to take a Upper Division writing class for graduation
Elementary French - It's sad, but I did not score very well on the French placement exam so I have to start French over from the beginning as International Relations requires students to have completed a series of five language classes by graduation.
Intermediate Microeconomics - Technically, this class is not required for my major focus, however, I need to complete 20 additional upper division units outside my major concentration for graduation, so I thought I would get a Economics Minor.
Intro to Wine Making - Exactly what it sounds like. I'm in wine country. There is no way I'm leaving without learning all there is to know about wine. Total elective, but I've heard it is actually a hard class.
So there it is. My fall lineup. I was advised to only take three classes my first term to adjust to the system, but I think I will be okay with four.
Fall term starts September 28th. ]]>
Welcome back... to me!tag:harvardorbust.com,2009://1.462009-08-07T23:24:16Z2009-08-07T23:33:25ZSo it's been some time since my last blog. Alot has happened in the past few months and I subsequently became a very bad blogger.I decided in June to accept the Univ. of CA, Davis offer of acceptance. I really...Ben Stanley I decided in June to accept the Univ. of CA, Davis offer of acceptance. I really wish I had the money to attend Columbia, but $100,000+ on my undergrad education just seemed ridiculous. So in the first week of June, my wife and I, packed our house into a 17' Uhaul and a 6' trailer and headed north to Davis, CA.
Also in June, my wife and I spent three weeks traveling through Thailand and Cambodia in Southeast Asia. It was a well deserved reward for making the shift back into school life. We had an incredible time.
I decided to enroll in two summer session classes and they started last week (August 3rd). I am taking 'Women and Development' and 'History of France since 1815', both count towards my major in International Relations. The summer term classes are only five weeks, so it's going to be a quick ride.
So here I am, back at it, working my way towards MBA'dom. Crazy to think that this time next year I will be writing essays yet again for school entrance.
So welcome back me... ]]>
Vote for your choice of undergradtag:harvardorbust.com,2009://1.442009-05-02T20:43:07Z2009-05-02T21:03:57ZI have a few weeks to make a decision on which undergrad I am going to accept. I do not have as many choices as I had hoped, but I am glad that at least I do have choices. It...Ben Stanley Check out my undergraduate voting page, choose your school, and leave me a comment on why you choose that one.
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Called Harvard Business School Admissions todaytag:harvardorbust.com,2009://1.432009-05-01T17:59:48Z2009-05-01T18:13:40ZI called HBS admissions today to try and ascertain the best path I should take in the coming years to place me at a competitive advantage as an applicant. The gentlemen I spoke to was very friendly, however, could not...Ben Stanley He did, however, let me know that the "prestige" factor of one's undergraduate school is not viewed that highly in comparison to other criteria, such as leadership (this one is greatly important). In so many words he said that it is far more important to be actively involved in leadership and community activities then it is to pursue high test scores and grades. I found that rather interesting.
Right now I am struggling with whether or not I should drop $116,500 on my undergraduate education at Columbia or less then $40,000 at UC Davis (these amounts include tuition and living expenses). Looking at the numbers it seems Davis is the smart choice. ]]>
Rejected from Berkeleytag:harvardorbust.com,2009://1.422009-04-30T23:33:54Z2009-05-01T15:31:40ZWell, strike two in my applications. This one I am somewhat upset over. Mostly because I know I didn't take the UC application seriously enough and probably could have been accepted at Berkeley if I had been as persistent with...Ben Stanley
I am toying with the idea of writing an appeal letter to Berkeley in hopes that my most recent grades will be reviewed and as a way to reveal more about my background. Though, the process can take six weeks and we were hoping to have moved by then. I don't really know right now, I'm just a little bummed out. Everyone I speak to says that your undergraduate school is not that important but I am really more concerned about being out in the middle of no where with no ability to network and build professional relationships that will be paramount to acceptance at business school.
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Information Session with INSEAD in San Franciscotag:harvardorbust.com,2009://1.412009-04-27T19:48:21Z2009-04-28T20:02:09ZThis past weekend I took a road trip up the coast to San Francisco to attend a "Master Class and Information Session" for the INSEAD MBA program. To recap, INSEAD is an international MBA program located in Fountainebleau, France. It...Ben Stanley I still have a year or two before I apply to business school but I thought it was as good opportunity to get started on the process now to figure out how to be the best applicant.
It was a good experience. Unfortunately, the presenters laptop was broken so we did not get to the view the power point presentation but I still leaned a good deal about how to be a competitive applicant.
The two most important things I learned was A) Leadership qualities are highly important - this is true for Harvard too, and B) Work experience is far more important than undergraduate experience. This second point made me reavaluate my desire to attend Columbia University over a University of California school. Namely because Columbia will cost three times as much and take me almost three times as long.
The most important thing I think I can do at this point is to finish my undergrad degree in the quickest and cheapest way possible and then work in the business world for atleast one year before applying.
You can read more about INSEAD and all its benefits at their website: INSEAD ]]>
Rejected from UCLAtag:harvardorbust.com,2009://1.402009-04-24T16:18:59Z2009-04-27T16:37:57ZUCLA has been my first rejection so far. I have to admit I really was not smart about applying to UCLA. When I applied, I knew that Economics was a highly competitive and impacted major so I decided to chose...Ben Stanley
UCLA has been my first rejection so far. I have to admit I really was not smart about applying to UCLA. When I applied, I knew that Economics was a highly competitive and impacted major so I decided to chose a major that I thought would be less difficult to get accepted into, namely Economics/International Area Studies. However, I did not see this statistics page on the UCLA website:
If you scroll down to Economics/International Area Studies you will see that it has the LOWEST acceptance rate (13.73%) out of any major in the College Letters and Sciences. Given my poor academic performance years ago and the only one semester of CC classes, it is not surprising that I did not get accepted.
But, it is okay. I have been saying for a long time that I have wanted to leave Los Angeles and now that has become a reality. I find out about Berkeley in a few days. ]]>
How to find out if you've been accepted to UCLA earlier then the offical date...tag:harvardorbust.com,2009://1.392009-04-21T17:30:13Z2009-04-21T17:42:56ZSo there is this theory on the web forums that there is a way to see if you have been accepted to UCLA ahead of the official notification date. It revolves around whether or not your Financial Aid information has...Ben Stanley Now this is not a definitive answer for everyone as I assume FA info is updated on the same rolling basis as admissions decisions. Also, seeing your FA information is not a true indication of being accepted, however, according the the highly used College Confidential website no one who saw their FA information last year was rejected.
This is how to check.
Log into the Admissions Decisions website at UCLA and write down your UCLA Student ID# (top right side)
Goto UCLA's Records System Access, aka URSA, and "Create UCLA Logon/Password".
Go through the steps choosing "New UCLA Student (including admitted applicants)" when it asks you to select what type of UCLA Login you are creating.
Once you have a URSA login, go ahead and login to the system using the above link.
When you have logged in, click the option that is located in the center column that says "View Financial Aid Awards and Summary on URSA"
Choose 2009-2010 and click submit.
If your FA information shows up, this means you have most likely been accepted. Congrats!
Currently, my info does NOT show up. Though I have not lost hope yet. ]]>
I have been reading a book called "The Best Business Schools' Admissions Secrets". It is written by an ex-Harvard B.School admissions board member and discusses how to "brand" yourself when writing your admissions packets. It's pretty interesting and suggest you check it out.
