11:15am CET
Currently waiting to board my flight to Philly (yes... Having quit my job does imply that I must be conscious of my expenses as I am back on a student budget). After what I can only expect will be an infamous connection I will get on another plane which will take me to O'Hare. C. 12 hours later I will hopefully land in Chicago, where I will be staying until Sunday morning. My good buddy, and former colleague at ML, Alejandro has been kind enough to offer me a place to crash. Cyber round of applause ;) first night in Chicago with an overdose of jetlag and I am due to attend something called TNDC (or, for the ones unable to decypher the acronym - as I myself was until a couple of days ago... Thursday Night Drinking Club). Fully spelled out should give no wrong impressions. One can only think of it as being "it is what it is" (as we would say in anglosaxon inv banking jargon). Great excuse and opportunity to enjoy a night out, meet new people and hopefully not get too wasted. Remember, the purpose of this trip is "educational" / "academic" as I am hoping it will help me come to terms with what's bestest and greatest from all the choices out there in the wild. To follow a couple of action-packed days (or so it says on the "brochure"...as this admit weekend is a true marketing phenomenon) in which all prospective students will be running around trying to get the most out the 48hours we are on the ground. Class visits, social activities, mingling (is that how it's spelled??) Here and there. Should be fun. Coming back to the marketing point... My first impression of the inner ropes of the b-school machinery is that the "form" of these institutions is more similar to a private entity than to an academic one... The resemblance to, say, an investment bank are not that far fetched, particularly in terms of recruiting. First and foremost, both are extremely competitive to get into from the outside. Then, and more astonishingly, both carry out an amazing display of marketing tools and perks once you are almost there but not quite and when the final call is in your hands. They will do all they can to retain you and to turn an offer into an acceptance... For if not, the law of statistics in this particular field dictates that if the "conversion ratio" of offers to enrollments diminishes, so will too the rating and prestige of the institution... Interesting enough. First impressions though don't necessarily need to stand true. That's what the next few days are for. Gotta board in a few minutes so have to end this prematurely and cut my whole line of thought. All thanks to these ridiculous security measures of having to board the flight 1 hour ahead of take off. Not to mention the 5 passport and boarding pass checks before getting to the gate. Oh well... Again, it is what it is I guess...
Bring on America!
pv
