Premises:
- My program completion date is December 2008 after the first semester school year 2008-2009 conclusion;
- A handful of advanced courses are two semesters long, beginning the first semester of each school year; and
- I will not complete my core course work until the conclusion of Fall 2007, Module A.
These premises present some difficult realities due to my program of study and the courses I want to add to my curriculum.
Issues:
- One of the courses is a practicum for investments: the enrolled students actively participate in managing an SMU investment fund, acting as analysts and fund principles. The course is only offered in Fall and Spring across both semesters.
- Another course is on mergers and acquisitions and faces the same issue.
So the courses I feel are in line with what I want to accomplish during my graduate career are virtually taken off my slate of possibilities. This Fall I will be unable to begin either of the above courses because I will be working on concentration entry requirements.
So why bring attention to this? For those of you working on your MBA, whether to begin traditionally in the Fall or matriculate to the Spring should be given more thought than simple schedule convenience. If you cannot take some of the classes you are certain will equip you with tools you need post-graduation, you will need to make alternative plans. For example:
- Extend your B-school graduation date by one semester so you can take those important courses;
- Jump into some intense self-directed study on the courses you are really interested in and approach the professors as mentors;
- Convince faculty to shift the course to Summer/Fall or create another section in the Summer/Fall; or
- Start a club on the topic and invite industry leaders to give lectures and hold round tables.
This list is not exhaustive. I'm going with the second option right now. Finance is my concentration and I am deficient when it comes to investment knowledge so I'm taking the following steps:
- Picked up three books by Benjamin Graham: The Intelligent Investor, Security Analysis and The Interpretation of Financial Statements;
- I've downloaded and compiled all the available Chairman Letters from Warren Buffet, Berkshire Hathaway; and
- I'm going over a few of the course notes on MIT's Open Courseware.
This summer I will also reach out to our resident professor for investments and attempt to set up a bi-weekly meeting to discuss what I have read and how it can be applied.
The Bottom Line: Just because you're paying an exorbitant amount of money to get the MBA, you cannot stop self educating yourself or reaching deeper into the subject matter. While it may be difficult to balance everything that has claim to your life, I encourage you to pay attention to what areas you need to stretch yourself due to the restrictions a traditional program will place on you.
