Wednesday, December 26, 2007
I hope everyone has been enjoying the holidays lately.
It seems as though we have been getting clobbered with snow every Thursday, for the past couple weeks. There are projections for another Thursday storm tomorrow.
I thought I would share some pictures taken of the snowy Charles River from Mass. General Hospital:
A Closing Reflection of Graduate School December 14, 2007
Ever since I started college as an undergraduate student, I knew that I wanted to go back to school right away for my Masters degree.
I did everything that I thought I needed to do in preparation.
I aimed for high grades. I studied and took the GMAT exam. I took on a double major and completed it in four years. I got involved with many clubs on campus and even took on leadership roles within them.
I met with someone from the graduate admissions department of Suffolk, as I was already a student there. She told me what they look for in an applicant and how I could work to get to that point.
I was also told about something great that Suffolk offers. If you score a ‘B’ or higher in the core classes as an undergraduate student, then those courses will be waived.
That is equivalent to getting eight courses waived total. For someone like me who was not set up for employer reimbursements and wanted to finish my degree in a relatively short period of time, that sounded like an excellent opportunity!
I ended up applying to two other schools in addition to Suffolk University. When I received my acceptance letter from Suffolk, that sealed my future!
I was elated when I got the acceptance letter. I feel like my undergraduate experience at Suffolk has changed me so much for the better that I really wanted to continue my education there.
So that’s what I did.
My first semester began in the Fall of 2006.
I was nervous to get started, to be quite honest. I was able to get six courses waived, so I anticipated to graduate within a year and a half.
At the time, I did not really know anybody who was currently attending or recently finished graduate school. Though now, I know of a ton of people in that situation.
My very first class was my business law class. The whole layout for the course just seemed so intimidating. There was a lot of reading involved, in addition to a presentation, a midterm examination, and a final paper. When I say that a lot of reading was involved, I’m talking about packets of one hundred or more pages each class that needed to be read by the following class.
I took four classes during my first semester, as well as the MBA 600 requirement.
MBA 600 was a great way to get started in program. I wish I had taken on a more active and leading role from the beginning, which is something that I’m going to remember for the next time I’m in a similar situation.
Throughout the semester, I was required to attend MBA EDGE sessions. Those sessions provided a lot of helpful tips that I certainly used during my time in graduate school.
For my second semester, I signed up for fifteen credits, which came out to six classes.
I took my first online course, which I enjoyed very much. We participated through means of chat participation, a discussion board, papers, exams, and even a group presentation.
The one class that I was the most excited about was the Global Seminar to China. I had never been to Asia previously and it seemed like a great opportunity to learn about the culture and business in China.
After finals closed, I left for China with my class for two weeks. It was an incredible life-changing experience for me. Really and truly.
I got the opportunity to see so much, from historical sites to various businesses, from the rich side of the city to passing through the poor rural areas.
While we were there, one of the students in my class handled a lot of the communication. She was of Chinese descent and spoke the language, and she was definitely a great asset to the class! She really inspired me to learn the language of my ancestors, which prompted me to sign up for a Polish language class when I returned home.
I signed up for another online course in the summer, while I worked full-time. I also went on interview after interview trying to find the right job for me. I feel like I went on thirty interviews. Towards the end I was getting really frustrated, until I went to one interview and everything just clicked.
I received a job offer in October, just as I was in the midst of my final semester. It’s a great company with great benefits that is going to provide me with the experience that I need in my field. My first day was November 5, 2007. Everything there has been great ever since.
For the Fall 2007 semester, I only took three classes. But I have to say that it is probably one of most stressful semesters I have had.
I felt like I was in over my head with one class because I was not familiar with the subject matter and it was not something that I have ever worked with. I put a lot of time and energy into that class. It was very demanding because we had a lot of homework assignments, chat participation, discussion board participation, a midterm examination, a term paper, and a final examination.
I guess my efforts paid off because I did better in that class than I thought I would.
Now I have just finished my finals. I have completed all of the requirements for graduate school.
It’s such a great feeling of accomplishment knowing that I have been able to achieve my goal of obtaining my MBA degree.
It has not always been easy. I have been stressed out a great deal. I have felt overwhelmed. But I have stuck through everything and took it all step by step.
There were things that have happened in my personal life that have made things very difficult at times. My uncle lost his battle with cancer in February of 2007 and passed away. My mother has been continuing her fight with cancer and has gone through a couple of major surgeries.
On the plus side, I was able to get a new job that I have enjoyed very much since I have started. I got myself a new SUV, that I have definitely enjoyed driving a lot more than my old car. Things are coming into place for me.
If anyone is interested, here is the list of courses that I have taken:
It was a lot of hard work, but I’m glad that I did it. I think time management is key.
I have already seen how having an MBA degree can benefit my career.
I have thoroughly enjoyed my classes. I really feel like it was the extra bit of education that I needed. From this point, I really want to work on building up my work experience.
I’m looking forward to receiving my diploma in January and walking across the stage during commencement in May.
Thank you, Suffolk University, for giving me the opportunity to enhance my education. It has been a great experience.
Best of luck to future and current students.
Congratulations to the Class of 2008!
Happy Holidays!
Best Regards,
DiamondS
Friday, December 14, 2007
School was closed yesterday, from 11:30 and on.
That meant my final was canceled.
I ended up leaving work at 12, anticipating on going into the city. I found out afterwards that it was closed. But I'm very glad that I left when I did!
My sister, who works for the same company that I do, left at 1:30 and did not get home until 8:30 PM. The traffic was that bad. It even took my cousin 6.5 hours to get home and her commute is usually only 45 minutes.
It only took me forty-five minutes to get home when I left, an hour and a half earlier than my sister did. The snow only started to fall halfway through my commute home, too.
And when the snow fell, it really came down fast and hard. The weather reporters said that we would get about two inches per hour, which seems accurate. The snow was still falling by the time I went to sleep, and we got almost a foot of snow!
I had called my professor to see if he could e-mail me the final exam so that I could take it at home, but he wasn't in the office at the time.
So I went outside to shovel. For about four hours. I was soaked to the bone and very cold by the time I came into the house. Every time the plows came by, they blocked in our cars where I had just shoveled. Oy. I had to shovel out a parking spot for my sister because there's no way her sedan could pull onto of the snow that high.
When I finally came back inside, I saw an e-mail from my professor. Finals were rescheduled to today (Friday) for the same time and place. However, the professor was unable to make it and the school was unable to provide a proctor for the exam. And seeing as how the snow situation was wreaking havoc around the state, the professor allowed us all to take the exam at home, due at 2 PM today. Yay!
I printed out the exam and started going through it, answering any questions that I knew right away. There were twenty-five questions, a mix of multiple choice and true/false. I ended up answering thirteen without even cracking open the book. It was open book/open notes, by the way.
Then I started going through my notes and found more answers to the questions. I had every intention of going to bed because I was exhausted and just finishing the next day. But soon I only had nine questions left. And I kept finding the answers. It all made sense and it all clicked in my head.
And soon I only had three questions left. So I kept going. I only got stumped on one question, and I could not find the answer any where, so I made an educated guess. Then I submitted it, just before the stroke of midnight.
That's it.
I'm done.
I submitted my last final for my last class.
I completed all of the requirements of the MBA program.
I just need to wait for my final grades to be posted.
Then I'll officially have completed graduate school.
I am so excited I feel so accomplished right now!
I cannot even begin to describe the feeling of euphoria that I'm feeling right now.
Thursday, December 13, 2007
I took a day off from work yesterday so that I could finish up my final paper.
The paper was supposed to be a maximum of fifteen pages, though the professor said it would more likely be twelve pages.
I ended up working on my paper from 10 AM to 8:30 PM and finally finished it! It came out to twelve pages, so I'm happy with that.
Plus, it helped going through the book and all of my notes because that prepared me for the exam some more.
I also had grades posted from my online class, my most difficult class...
I have to say that I am absolutely thrilled with the results!
I got an A+ on the paper I wrote about a hedging strategy. I got a B on the final exam, which is pretty good considering there were only five problems. And for my final grade, I got a B+!!
Considering this class was very difficult, time-consuming, and pretty stressful for me, I was very happy to get that B+. I really earned it. Granted, I would love for it to be higher, but this is acceptable for this situation.
Besides, I did awesome on the paper and I was not even sure that it came out right.
My Strategic Management professor e-mailed my group to say that we made outstanding improvements on our final presentation slides. I'm very glad he gave us the opportunity to make changes, because I was able to really fix mine up a bit.
He also sent another e-mail to say that he submitted grades, so those should be posted today! I have a feeling I got an A. That would be awesome!
And tonight, I have my very last final. This is the last thing I have to do before I complete the MBA program.
However, this morning the news channel announced that we should be expecting six to ten inches of snow. What?!
The snow is projected to start at 3 PM, and the weather announcer suggested everyone leave work early because the commute is going to be pretty bad.
I'm not worried about driving in the snow because I think my SUV can handle it just fine. I have automatic 4-wheel drive, so that's all good. But I know the traffic will build up quickly.
And I'm supposed to be going on campus for my final tonight!
I really hope that the school does not close. There were so many listings on the news station for schools getting out early today. If Suffolk closes, then I won't be able to take my final and everything will be delayed.
I do plan on leaving work early if the school is still open so that I can make sure I can commute into the city on time.
I have been anticipating this day for so long, not expecting snow! So lets hope things go as planned and I can take my final. I don't really want to have to wait another week!
Monday, December 10, 2007
The professor for my online class posted our final on the Blackboard website exactly at 12 noon.
It was quiet in work, which allowed me to get a head start on the problems. I managed to finish one (of five) and begin another by the time I headed home. Then I basically spent a good portion of Saturday working on the remainder of the final.
I think I got more out of that class when I was working on both the midterm and final examinations than actually being in the class itself. I did refer back to the class chat transcripts and homework assignments when I was working on the final exam problems.
It was a tough exam, but I managed to get through it. I'm anxiously awaiting my grades on the term paper and final exam now, especially my final grade!
All I have left to do now is write a fifteen page paper and take a final for my last finance class!
Friday, December 7, 2007
I have finished all of my classes (not courses.. yet).
I had my last finance class last night.
It was really terrific.
I originally signed up for that class as soon as I found out which professor was teaching it because I had taken a class with that same professor as an undergraduate student and that was one of my favorite classes.
And last night was just another confirmation for me why I took that class because of the professor.
He is very intelligent and a very motivational and informative speaker.
In the beginning of the class, he answered any questions that we had. Unfortunately for me, I forgot my notes. But he will be available for contact via e-mail.
After that, he began to talk to us about his career and how he has defined success and built his way up to it. He said that you really only hear about success stories in the end when someone has achieved success, not as they are building up to it.
He mentioned the power of positive thinking. If you think positively, you're already thinking upwards and that's the direction you're going to go in. You'll also attract positivity towards yourself. On the other hand, if you think negatively, you're already thinking downward and then you will end up in that direction and attracting negativity towards yourself.
I really enjoyed his class. I have always thought that a professor makes a class what it is. Yes, you can take what you want out of it, but a professor highly influences a class because he or she determines how it is run. In this situation, the class was run very well. I would highly recommend this professor to other students because you will get a lot of out his classes, though he's not teaching in the spring.
My professor from my online class should be posting the final around noon time today. It will be due tomorrow (Saturday) at midnight. I'm really hoping to finish it tonight, so we'll see what happens. I believe there are going to be five problems that we will have to answer. I'm hoping it's not too bad. Again, reminder that this is my most difficult class this semester. I will be glad to finish it, that's for sure.
Then I will just have to finish writing a fifteen page paper for my last class, and take the final for it on Thursday.
Time flies, seriously. I feel like I have gotten to this point so quickly from when I first started the program.
Thursday, December 6, 2007
I had my last Strategic Management class on Monday.
I had my last online class last night.
I will have my last finance class tonight.
This is really the beginning of the end here!
I have one final tomorrow, and another one week from today.
Just thinking that all I have to get through is one more 15 page paper and two finals until I complete the program and have my MBA is so exciting!
I have one week left.
This is probably going to be one of the busiest weeks of my life, but it is well worth it!
In other news, I finished one 15 page paper yesterday. Well, it was more like eleven pages. I just could not squeeze out any more. I put in everything I could think of, and I covered all of the points that the professor wanted. I just felt like anything else added would not have value, so I finished it and shipped it off!
That relieved a bit of stress for me!
Quite a few people have told me that once I finish school and I'm only working full-time, that I'll be wondering what to do with my free time. I have laughed and told them that I could surely think of things! Time will tell. :)
Since this is almost the end for me, I'll try to update as often as I can and update how my finals are going and my final thoughts on things.
I do plan on writing out a summary of my thoughts on my whole experience, but expect that to come later this month. I may even pop in to write after I receive my diploma in January and after commencement in May.
If any has any questions or thoughts or comments that they want to ask or share, please feel free to do so! It would be nice to hear from any readers out there.
Wow... one week!
Monday, December 3, 2007
I'm getting down to the wire here.
Tonight is my last Strategic Management class. I've really enjoyed this course through the semester. It's a large class of 65 students--the largest I've had at Suffolk. Despite the size of the class, I feel like I got a lot out it.
Our grade in that class is based on participation/attendance, two mini presentations (slides only), midterm exam, final group presentation (slides only), and an optional final exam. Right now, I'm in very good shape grade-wise in that class. I also lucked out to have a great group to work with for the final presentation.
I am currently working on my fifteen page paper due for my online class on Wednesday. I have a feeling it may be more like ten or twelve pages. Though right now I'm at four pages and I haven't really gotten into the concepts yet. Yes, I know, I'm getting close to the deadline here. I WILL be done with it by the end of Tuesday. I have been having difficulty with this subject, as I have stated before, so this paper is taking me longer to research than I expected.
And as I have stated before, I will be getting my final exam for my online class on Friday afternoon, and it is due on Saturday at midnight.
Then I can focus on my other fifteen page paper and final exam for my last class, due on December 13th.
After that, I'm done. How exciting!
For now, it's just a matter of knocking out these assignments and exams. Time to get to work!
Thursday, November 29, 2007
I had my online class last night. The professor clarified some main points during the chat. He also finished creating our final exam.
We'll have access to the final starting at noon on December 7th, and it will be due by midnight on December 8th. There are two mandatory questions to be answered, and then we will have to pick three out of X number of questions to answer. He said it will be more analytical than mathematical.
I already have all of my notes organized, so I'm not sure how else to prepare myself for this final other than reviewing through the concepts.
However, I still have two homework assignments and that lengthy paper to get through, and I'm sure those will serve as a review for the final as well.
One of my professors e-mailed me my grade for the mini presentation slides I created. I got an A+! He said I did a superb job, same as with the first set of slides, and it seems to be my specialty. Nice.
He also wrote that as it stands, my grade for the class is an A-. However, it is likely that my final grade will be an A once he gets a revised version of my group's final presentation slides. My group and I have already gone through and revised our slides, so I feel confident that I will get that A.
That was a nice e-mail to read to start off my day!
I have a class on campus tonight, and then my weekend will be devoted to work for my online class. Joy of joys!
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
It doesn't take a doctor to tell that this girl has a mild case of senioritis!
Senioritis, as in, I can't wait to be finished but I'm already acting like I am... Oops!
Okay, procrastination and lack of concentration fit the bill as well.
I was so prepared to knock out a chunk of homework this past holiday weekend. I had a list of everything I wanted to accomplish. It was a nice thought, really, thinking that I would actually do all of that work.
Instead, I got caught up in the holiday spirit. And during that time, I managed to catch a cold! Still sick now, which doesn't make things any easier.
Irregardless, I did manage to finish one project this past weekend. My professor had critiqued my groups' presentation slides (from our presentation on 11/19) and came up with some suggestions to improve our final grade. We got an A- on our actual presentation, by the way.
I carved out some time to spruce up my slides and add two new slides to further explain my topics. A couple of the other girls just need to spruce up their slides a little bit, then we should be well on our way to an A!
Here's my current to-do list:
2 fifteen page papers (I'm thinking it's going to be more like 10 and 12 page papers), 2 homework assignments, preparation for and taking two final exams
It may not sound like a lot if you quickly read through it, but I'm sure it will be. My goal is to work on one of the fifteen page papers this week and finish by Sunday (especially considering it's due on 12/05).
I do find myself strapped for time during the week.
Yesterday, my schedule went something like this: commute to work, work, commute home, have dinner, commute to school, class, commute home, have a bite to eat, pass out. I could have stayed up later to work on some homework, but this cold is draining me and I was exhausted.
Tonight is the only night during this week that I have no class. My Wednesday night class is going to be meeting on Friday to make up time lost due to the holiday last week. I really wish it wouldn't, because that's the class that I have the most work due in and I could really utilize that time to work on some of those assignments.
That being said...
7 more classes & 17 days until the end of the semester
