MICHIGAN MICHIGAN MICHIGAN

As usual i took the BART again to San Francisco Downtown. It was a 5 minutes walk from the BART station - and there stood the huge skyscraper 101 California Street. The reception was in the 16th Floor sponsored by ATKearney. As i entered the reception booth - there was my name tag - picked it up , pasted it and headed straight for the food section. Hands Down Michigan had the best food in town when it came to Info Sessions [ I thought MIT was the one who splurged on food and drinks.] I took a seat and a fellow indian sat beside me. So, as i enjoyed every morsel i initiated a conversation with him - to my surprise he was a Michigan alum. I never even realized that he already had an MBA from Michigan since he sat beside me so casually. In Michigan ways, we talked in length about Michigan. He told me that he only applied to Michigan as he was very much drawn to the Michigan community. He regularly visits Michigan to recruit students. I felt that Michigan maintains a strong connection with the alums as an intellectual capital and job tapping source. Another Michigan alum jumped in and broke the silence as the session started - he is currently working in ATKearney and this is the second year that Michigan is hosting its info session there. The Associate Director of Admissions then started the flash presentation - very good Marketing job with keywords like Acheiver, Believer, Lead, Thoughts into Action - I am a Michigan MBA.

Michigan has changed its sales pitch and it is more geared towards social responsibility in business [ Smart Move especially after Enron, WorldCom and Global Crossing ]. I also heard the key word "co-creating" many times - what value will you add to the Michigan community and what will we learn from you? Multiple times it was reiterated that Michigan is a very well-knit diverse student body [ as evident from the "chemistry" between alums.] I had a general feeling that Michigan MBA would be fun - Michigan Wolverines, Ann Arbor, no backstabbing, regular social parties etc. Michigan is adding a new thing to the curriculum - an option of taking an elective in the 2nd Year. Also i heard about the new X-MAP started by C.K.Prahalad where a bunch of students from Michigan Business School went to India to market a soap business and create a case/video from that experience. Also they have elongated the LDP to 2 weeks from 1 week. Michigan's approach seemed very genuine and i felt very passionate about Michigan. They also talked about the spouse-significant others club where people get more close than the MBA students - they believe that the MBA experience is for the entire family - very true.

The warm fuzzy feeling was there throughout the session with light-hearted jokes and innocent banter. Each of the alums said the same thing - "If given the opportunity i would go again for the Michigan experience - we envy you". To top that Michigan is strong in all aspects of management education - Marketing, Finance and Entrepreneurship. One thing really struck me - the number of applicants went down last year but the average GMAT went up - why? Did they fall for the same numbers game and ranking race? I hope Michigan does not looses it charm running after numbers like other GMAT focussed schools and loose the camaraderie and teamwork in the student body.

Michigan tops my list. But sometimes i wonder whether i would be able to inculcate leadership skills in such a teamwork oriented environment.

Go Blue