Decisions, Decisions…and An Introduction to FOMO
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Night Owl is a former resident of San Francisco with work experience in biotechnology research & development. She's moving into the commercial side of business by pursuing an MBA at Kellogg. |
I’m embarrassed to see that it’s been almost a month since my last post! Needless to say Kellogg has kept me very busy.
School has only been in session for a few weeks and I’ve already had to make decisions about courses and activities for the rest of the year. First up was academics…should I take Marketing or Finance in the Fall term? The general advice I got from second-years was to use the Fall to enroll in the class that most relates to my desired internship since recruiting starts pretty early (like week 3). Marketing won that battle easily, and I am VERY happy with my Marketing Management class.
Kellogg offers waiver exams during CIM for students who have significant experience in core classes like Accounting or Finance through work or previous study. Choice number two was whether or not to attempt the exams for core classes. In the end, I chose not to waive anything since I’ve never taken Finance, and Stats (called DECS at Kellogg) was my nemesis as an undergrad.
Choice number three was a little more difficult…which clubs to join, and of those clubs what leadership positions interest me? Looking back on the application process I can see why the general advice is to research the clubs and activities that interest you while you are applying. Recruitment for first year club leadership positions started before classes even began, and once the school year started it only got worse! We had an activity fair on our second day, and to say the number of opportunities for involvement was overwhelming is a severe understatement. At a certain point my brain shut down, and it was more fun to watch my normally confident and capable classmates wander around the Jacobs Center dazed and confused at the sheer number of clubs and activities to join.
FOMO (fear of missing out) strikes the best of us, and in an effort to minimize its effects I made a list of the activities I’d like to join for the year. Obviously, leadership positions require more time than general membership, and one of the things I liked best about the activity fair was that the clubs noted the time commitment (hrs/week, busiest term) required for each position. As you can see from my list below, I’ve had to reevaluate my involvement in some clubs based on my goals or results from a selection committee.
Leadership Positions
Kellogg Marketing Conference (I looked at my schedule and started cutting back on activities right when this application was due!)
Global Initiatives in Management (GIM) Leader (Typically, GIM leaders really want to do business in another country after Kellogg. I just want to learn about business in other cultures, so it makes more sense for me to participate as a general member of the class)
Annual Kellogg Marketing Competition (Sadly, my team wasn’t chosen to participate)
Admissions Tour Guide/Class Visit Host (Not really a leadership position, but it doesn’t fall into the general membership category. I can’t wait to meet you all!)
KWEST Exec (I just don’t have time)
General Member: I’m on the mailing list
Media & Entertainment Club
Kellogg Eatz (Food! Need I say more?)
Special K (My last chance at stardom! Everyone should have one club that is just for fun!)
How will you get involved in Business School? Research the campus groups of your target schools and reach out to the executive members for more information. Not only will you learn more about your favorite schools, you’ll also gain application essay gold! Use it to tell the Adcom ways in which you will enrich their communities!
