WHY MICHIGAN? WHY NOT?

Friday 8:00 AM - 2:00 PM

The drive was a little bit hectic, as we had to reach Michigan by afternoon before the OCD appointment. I needed to pick up a semi-formal pair of shoes, which I thought was appropriate for the event instead of sticking to my good old sneakers, so we headed straight for the mall just on the outskirts of Ann Arbor. [Needless to say, malls are important especially to the significant others.] After shopping we headed straight towards Assembly Hall where I was supposed to meet Al Catrone for my pre-career counseling. While I was waiting in the OCD office, one of the office staff accosted me and asked me who was my counselor; I said, “Mr. Catrone.”; there was a student sitting in the lounge and he told me, “Make sure you call him, Mr. Catrone.” [Everyone calls him Al.]

Friday 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM

The session was very insightful as I learned the intricacies of the recruiting process, where I currently stand and how I can reach my final goals. It appeared that the OCD office would willingly help any current student or alum with the job search process even if it were self-directed. [After I returned I had some questions, which I directed to Al through an email and got a prompt reply.] To summarize, it was a positive experience.

As I came out of Al’s office, there - there was Kris Nebel, who quickly congratulated me on my admission. In all, the staff was very friendly always with a smile. I was quickly contemplating that here was the place where my file was lying – getting mutilated by the admissions staff. And here I am now attending GBR…

Friday 5:30 PM

I was quickly able to locate my student host, an MBA1. I think the school fixed the couples with the couples, which made sense, as the SOS is such a big part of the Michigan community. The students were unbelievably friendly and hospitable, never a frown in their face – needless to say a happy bunch of MBAs. He quickly handed us the meeting place for the dinner before we headed for Dean’s Welcome.

Friday 6:00 PM - 7:00 PM

Location: Hale Auditorium
Attendees: 280 admits, 100 significant others.
“Welcome to Michigan, Congratulations on getting admitted and we welcome you to Ann Arbor.” “We never made a mistake before with the admitted class since I became the Admissions Director and it is so good to see you all finally in person. We all are proud of you.” Dean shared some stories with us – what is Michigan doing to be more responsive to student demands, how C.K. Prahalad showed up in his office after he gave a pep-talk to the Faculty about doing something different, how he cringed as Prof. Prahalad came up with the list of financially deficient companies in the developing countries for the XMAP Project, the new Kellogg Star Professor who would be teaching the marketing core, the revised core curriculum ( the initiatives he took and the resistance he faced) and how Michigan has been consistently doing good as a General Management Program. His sense of humor was impervious. One thing was clear by now, Michigan will provide a lot of opportunities and the onus is on us to utilize it appropriately – hence the term, “Co-Creation”. Before the welcome I already accosted a bunch of attendees and had pretty decent conversations with them – everyone was eager to talk to one another.

Friday 7:15 PM - 9:30 PM

We reached the restaurant by 7-15 PM. There were 2 admits with their SOS and us along with 3 current students with their SOS. First of all let me tell you that the food was awesome – it seemed like Ann Arbor has 423 restaurants. Food is important to me and pointless to say, I was very happy to learn that fact. The students were very eager to answer any questions we had, we all felt like a big huge family – the sense of camaraderie and fellowship was intoxicating. Oh!! We were getting late for the “Welcome Michigan” Party.

Friday 10:00 PM - Saturday 2:00 AM

When we reached Crowne Plaza it was well beyond 10-00 PM. As we dropped our coats, we could hear the buzz all around – the banquet hall was filled with MBAs and staff and faculty. “Smoke on the Water” by a Jazz Band was new to me. There were various games available with pool tables and basketball hoops et al. It was a little bit overwhelming with so many people under a single roof but as I started walking around and talking to people, I slowly got settled. The mix of people was amazing with different cultural and professional backgrounds, different interests. Even the Indians had such diversity that I was amazed. [The school did a good job of admitting a mix of quality applicants.] All the students and faculty I talked to were all gaga about the school. I had tremendous fun that night though I missed Dean Dolan’s dance at the after-party, which was about at 3-00 am Saturday night whereas I left around 2-00 am.

Ria was already sold by then – she constantly restated that I have made the right decision. [Hell Yeah!!] Ria never felt like a significant other – some of the people talked to her more than me.

Saturday 8:30 AM - 12:30 PM

Oops!! Saturday Morning – 8:00 AM, quick breakfast and then Transformation Simulation Kickoff at 8:30 AM. We were randomly grouped and I landed the role of a Director of Finance – this was my first real-life experience of working with a group of strangers on an ambiguous problem. The bonding was imminent and the diversity was exciting. Though we sucked in the 30 seconds commercial bit – the experience was undoubtedly enlightening.

Saturday 12:30 PM - 2:00 PM

We met again in Hale Auditorium where we exchanged our opinions about the experience with our lunch boxes. A Special Programs Panel - Zell Laurie Entrepreneurial Center, Public and Policy Management, Tauber Manufacturing Institute Program, Wolverine Venture Fund, Tozzi Center etc, followed this. It was good to learn that UMICH provides such astounding opportunities that can be easily leveraged to our gain.

Saturday 2:30 PM - 4:00 PM

By this time I have totally fizzled out – I was dog-tired. I badly needed some rest. So I headed straight to the hotel for an afternoon siesta.

Saturday 4:30 PM - 5:30 PM

When I returned the Alumni Panel had just started. There were folks from American Express, Union Pacific, Apple, a start-up, Bain Consulting Company and Goldman Sachs. The Apple alumni said that they only recruit from 4 schools because the culture of the school is very important to them. [He mentioned Kellogg and Michigan.] The entrepreneur alumni talked about how Michigan opened the doors for her, how the school has helped her with starting the company? [How he called up the professors for their opinions?] The Bain guy told about how he is fighting to make Michigan on top of the list of Bain recruiting. The Goldman Sachs alumni talked about the predominant presence of Michigan MBA in Wall Street and in Manhattan. [He said he took 16 credits in the last quarter – how can one do that?] Weather is a factor in Michigan but compared to the opportunities – it is miniscule. The alumni seemed very passionate about the school and they eagerly answered any questions we raised.

Saturday 6:00 PM - 7:00 PM

Before the dinner, we stepped into a roadside café in the Central Campus. As the rain down poured, we munched on a hot croissant and sipped on caffe latte, enjoying the evening in a quintessential college town.

Saturday 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM

The dinner was hosted at a current student’s apartment - Barbeque Grill. The Final Four game was on the TV and most of the conversation surrounded Football and Basketball. Football is a big part of the Michigan’s culture and “Maize and Blue” has become synonymous with “Go Blue”. One of the current students went for IMAP to Ireland and as he was walking across the terminal one stranger (Michigan alum) shouted “Go Blue”, probably recognizing the M emblem on the T-shirt. It seems like one Michigan MBA1’s 2-yr old kid mumbles “Go Blue” whenever he sees the M emblem.
As we enjoyed the dinner and the cordiality, we also learned a lot about the school. Brand Management is very strong in Michigan and most of the grads wishes to pursue a career in Brand Management. [Most of the people I talked to.] I got my legged pulled a little bit for a crime that I didn’t commit. [Similar to the cell phone incident during Dean Dolan’s speech.] Ria was having a blast with the significant others – I was a little bit surprised to see her enjoy it so much.

Saturday 9:30 PM - 11:00 PM

Studio-4 and Irish Pub
Nightlife at Ann Arbor
Some of the Michigan Clubs hosted a get-together in various bars across town. The loud music in Studio-4 with free drinks is too enticing an environment to pass up getting inebriated. As I gulped down a couple of beers I made some incredible friends – by this time I was completely blown away by Michigan’s culture of “Play Hard, Work Harder.” Some of the admits started dancing in the dance floor with all the disco lights and techno-music.

Saturday 11:30 PM - Sunday 1:00 AM

Hill House Party.
I was already half-stoned when I reached Hill House. I could see the bar fountain under the tent. As soon as I entered, I was immediately pulled aside with a current student to try something, “You guys have to try this.” There was this huge ice slab kept in a slanting position with two grooves zigzagging across the surface. As they poured a mixture of Vodka and Whiskey from the top we were asked to sip it from the bottom. Man, it hit me harder than regular tequila shots at the bar – everything seemed so hazy. When I went inside I learned that some of the current students were giving Salsa dance lessons – I was too stoned to try that though Ria was much more enthusiastic than I was. Saturday night ended with me slumping on the bed at 1-00 AM.

Sunday 9:30 PM - 10:30 PM

OCD Panel
Al started the session with a joke that he is always assigned the Sunday morning slot when very few people turn up. [Especially after getting stoned on Saturday nights at Hill House.] Anyway, we got the numbers. With 4 weeks to graduations, and 83% of the Class of 2004 reporting, 75% have received offers and 67% have accepted the offers – much higher than last year. He touched base on the high rank of the career office and Michigan grads among recruiters. He also gave us some tips about preparatory work in the summer to enhance our candidacy. And yes, the recruiters starts coming the very next week the class starts.

Sunday 10:30 PM - 12:30 PM

Then I attended one of the Classes by a Michigan Strategy Professor – got a very good feel about the classroom and the quality of education. Not to mention the diversity of my classmates and their startling experiences. Till now we didn’t get any time to check out the business school or the campus – so we decided that we would take a walk along the campus. I liked the campus – some of the buildings were very archaic (1800s architecture).

Sunday 12:30 PM - 2:00 PM

We were just in time for the GBR closing ceremonies. The Hale Auditorium was again buzzing with people. It started off with a presentation by Linda Lim, the Strategy Professor – the entire Hale Auditorium was rolling in laughter throughout her session. [Do all professors have such good sense of humor?] Some Trivia Quiz and a lecture by the current UMBSA president followed it. Then a group of Michigan students sang a few numbers starting off with Madonna’s “Like a Prayer.” It ended with “Hail Michigan” – we noticed that all the current students, staff and alumni stood up during the song with their fists held high in the air chanting “Hail!!”
After this there was a slide show, which almost captured all the sentiments of GBR.
Finally in the end, we were asked to sing the “Hail Michigan” song together – think about it, almost 200 people in the Hale Auditorium singing together:

“Hail! to the victors valiant
Hail! to the conqu'ring heroes
Hail! Hail! to Michigan
the leaders and best
Hail! to the victors valiant
Hail! to the conqu'ring heroes
Hail! Hail! to Michigan,
the champions of the West!”

It was difficult to part in the end. After such an amazing weekend, how can someone work? How one will get the motivation to stick here for the next few months?

20 weeks and counting…

SOS Perspective:

Ria's Post