Introduction

Well, well. Here it is - a new MBA related blog from a reluctant blogger and a reluctant MBA aspirant. I was inspired by a number of MBA related blogs I came across recently (in a recent fit of MBA ambition (which always seems to hit this time of year)) and thought I'd jump on the blog band wagon, just to semi-publicly commit myself to the process and have a place to organize all my conflicting thoughts on the decision. And, perhaps if I'm lucky, even get some feedback.

I'm keeping my exact identity anonymous, for the obvious reasons, but a few tidbits: I am female, late 20s (ok, 27 and 10 mo's), married, B.A. Economics December 2001, waiting on Level III CFA results this August, working in Equity Research at the moment, living in the lovely Pacific Northwest and in the midst of hard-core baby lust. (I wonder how inexact I can keep my identity after all.)

I have been struggling with the 'To MBA or Not to MBA' question for years now, though normally it hits me in September when it's really too late to do much about it. I don't think I actually was ready before, and I just might finally be ready this time ... or not, but at least I may have enough time to get a decent application together this year ... or not.

Yesterday, after reading MBA blogs non-stop (especially http://beatthegmat.blogspot.com/) I went on an Amazon rampage and purchased the following books:

Kaplan GMAT 800, 2006-2007
Sentence Correction GMAT Preparation Guide
Kaplan GMAT, 2007 Edition: Premier Program (Book & CD-Rom))
The Official Guide for GMAT Review, 11th Edition
Cracking the GMAT with DVD, 2007 Edition
ABC of Getting the MBA Admissions Edge
How To Get Into the Top MBA Programs

For a fine total of $154 - so I now I feel even more committed than ever. Fun.

I just finished studying for the CFA Level III last June - so there was no way I really could have gotten started earlier than this anyway. (Maybe someone else could have done CFA and GMAT at the same time but it ain't me.) I would like to apply for Fall 2007 but am willing to wait if I am not able to get it together for some reason before hand. Maybe Fall of 2008 would be better for me on a personal level anyway. Even though the CFA is over for the moment (hopefully for good this time!), my life is not exactly empty of commitments and I was enjoying the first glimmers of actual free time and am cranky about giving it up. But more on my life later. I figure the first thing is to start studying for this damn test. Everything rides on that, so I may as well, not invest too much worrying about the rest of the process until I see that I can get a reasonable score. On the other hand, if I decide against an MBA for other reasons, it's a shame to give up my free time to studying for a standardized tests. I promised myself I'd actually read my 12-month backlog of magazines and all the unopened books on my shelves, try to rehabilitate my landscaping, finish the back deck, retile the bathroom, revive abandoned friendships, start cooking dinner, get some exercise ... sigh.

My shortlist of schools (based lazily on WSJ's recommended schools for Finance) are:

Wharton
Columbia
Chicago
NYU

I think I have a lot more research to do on that front (like actually visiting these places) but I will be surprised if that changes much for me especially since it seems like we need to be in a major city for my husband to find work. But more on all that later.

This is already much longer than I meant for it to be.