Board 8 > So I'm an Ivy League graduate now

(+) Yeah! (+)

AMA I guess

How difficult was it and how similar was it to your expectations prior?

Oh, and congrats!! That's amazing.

Congrats! What degree?

how long did it take to realize just how wealthy half of the people in class with you were

Congrats!

Do you think it's going to help you over a cheaper school? Has it already helped you?

Congratulations!

What was your favorite course?

Will you be answering any questions?

You were in college, you did like not crap?

UltimaterializerX posted...

I take it you were at Princeton's commencement shit show this past week?

Nope, I'm a Yalie, and our commencement kicked ass.

Raka_Putra posted...

How difficult was it and how similar was it to your expectations prior?

It certainly wasn't easy, but it wasn't quite as hard as I expected. The hardest part honestly was getting in. Having this happen during the pandemic sucked hard, but the support systems here were fantastic, and the students and faculty genuinely give a damn. I'm so glad I came here.

LordoftheMorons posted...

Congrats! What degree?

Master's in Business Administration! Or, as my degree says, some Latin bullshit I can't read. Apparently that's just how it be here.

catesdb posted...

how long did it take to realize just how wealthy half of the people in class with you were

Pretty quickly, but most of them were cool about it? One of my classmates came from money because his grandfather was a Mafia lawyer, which is why he made sure not to go to law school. Super fun to hang with. Lots of veterans, too, none of whom came from money as far as I could tell.

Lopen posted...

Do you think it's going to help you over a cheaper school? Has it already helped you?

It is, yeah. The education was great, for sure, but the piece of paper and line on the resume really does let you turn heads. Getting six figures out of here is practically guaranteed if you don't go nonprofit, which a lot do.

BlueCrystalTear posted...

What was your favorite course?

Behavioral Economics, aka "Economics but we look at how people actually make decisions instead of assuming everyone's rational, and we'll try to figure out models to rationally predict irrational behavior." Fascinating stuff.

Waluigi1 posted...

Will you be answering any questions?

Sorry it took a bit!

How did you decide on that school? Like was it a long term dream or something?

Waluigi1 posted...

How did you decide on that school? Like was it a long term dream or something?

Kind of.

I took the GMAT right after undergrad since it's good for 5 years, and I figured it's best to take it while I'm fairly fresh out of what I learned. My score was way higher than I expected given my prep exams and I realized the Big Name Schools (TM) were in play now between that score and my undergrad grades.

When I was out of high school, I had actually gotten into a couple of Ivies for engineering, but why the hell would I go to those for undergrad engineering when I was getting a damn good scholarship to Michigan? Still, I had a lot of friends who went to those, and after H1N1 kicked my ass and made me drop out of the program in Michigan, I did kind of regret it. Grass is greener and all that.

I loved the people at my old job, but it had become drudgery, and the anemic pace of policy changes in the overall company made me realize it was going nowhere fast. I had come to hate the auto industry, too, and I wasn't getting paid shit. A friend of mine who went Yale for undergrad encouraged me to apply, so with that GMAT score burning a hole in my pocket, I applied to a few places and got interviews at Yale, Michigan (ironically), and a couple other lower-but-still-damn-good schools. Michigan had a wonderful group in admissions, but the actual students were assholes. I've never been in an interview where the guy interviewing me was so intent on having me fail. Yale students, on the other hand, were shockingly nice. They felt more real; they had better rapport with each other; they were welcoming and encouraging. The moment I heard I got in, I snapped up the spot.

Looking back, getting a degree here does feel like vindication for me changing lanes to business after my medical problems. Plus, my family was all cheering for me. It feels great.