Christine Kenney, MBA '10

Day in the life...

They warned me  that Sloan is going to keep you busy.  That's relative to former work (consulting), other MBA programs, and absolutely.  

I wish I had a major in time management with a minor in prioritization just to stay sane.  

Wednesday (really bad)

5:00-5:30 Dress, breakfast hustle for the T

6:00-7:30 Jog at the Z-center (log minutes for getfit@mit.edu)

7:30-7:45 10-min check-in with entrepreneurship lab team

7:45-8:30 Shower and get back to other side of campus

8:30-noon Check email, squeeze in action items from the morning call, a couple case readings and possibly some career hunting activities

noon-1:00 Intriguing lunch speaker or meal carts and socializing

1:00-2:30  Intro to operations.  Be continually amazed by how smart and analytical my classmates are.

2:30-4:00 Marketing.  Try to leave econometrics and behavioral economics research at the door and give the value of conjoint analysis the benefit of the doubt.  

4:00-5:30  New Enterprise.  Laugh at Howard's jokes and make a note to pull down and print class slides because they are gold.  

5:30-6:00  Socialize.

6:00-9:00 Entrepreneurship lab.  Wait patiently for dinner, wishing it would come earlier so I can actually focus on the discussion and class presentations.  

9:00-midnight  Beacon Hill Pub (though I'm usually too hosed to get this far) 

Friday (really flexible)

6:00-7:30 Stream 8 min abs, buns, legs, arms, etc. videos, check email over breakfast and get dressed for school

7:30-8:00 E-lab conference call and follow up to do's then head to the T

8:30-10:00 New enterprise group one-off meeting 

10:00-1:30 Catch part of the sales conference at the Hyatt (Stone from Difficult Decisions, Cialdini)

1:30-2:00 Walk back to campus.  

2:00-4:50 Skip marketing to audit a comparative media studies class on game design.  Hella interesting.

4:50-5:00 Update operation team's factory at the close of the simulation

5:00- go home, make dinner, sleep

The Waiting Game

So there's been a lot of traffic in the back channels regarding what to do if you find yourself waitlisted.  Here are my buddy, Chris' favorite tactics.  

Disclaimer:  This advice was derived from anecdotes from current Sloan students.  The advice has not been reviewed or endorsed by admissions.

* Send one email right away that says Sloan is your top choice (assuming it is) and quickly explaining why

* If GMAT is below 700 consider taking it again and then if score is higher send an update email to the adcom

* Try to find something new to do at work that gives you a leadership opportunity and use that as an excuse to write an update email

* Probably no more than 1 update email per month - any more than that can get annoying

* Waitlist doesn't mean the person isn't qualified. it's more about class profiling at this point - what kind of backgrounds they need to create a diverse class. So updates are good but there is probably no single thing to do to put someone over the hump. Just show committment and hope for the best.