My Days at Haas Thoughts:
WOW! I had such an amazing time at DAH it wasn't even funny! On paper, some of the events sounded like they could have gone very well or very poorly (like dinner at students' houses and the scavenger hunt), but those ended up being some of the highlights of the event. I will go through it one event at a time and hopefully that'll answer some more questions people have about Haas. red_s4 and branson were there too, so I'd love to hear their take on this.
Thursday:Receptions:There was just too much food and drink around on Thursday. Pre-Reception, Reception, dinner, and then Bar of the Week. It was just a whirlwind of eating, drinking, and meeting people. Had great conversations with all the students and admits. It was especially great to see red_s4 again and also meet some of my friends I've been emailing off BW forums (yeah, you can actually make friends there, I'm shocked too!
). The admissions director, MBA Association president, and the Haas Student Ambassadors (HSA) welcomed us in a very personal and friendly speech (unlike some others I've seen that are too forced or memorized). You definitely get a good sense of how close the students were with each other from the friendly banter and inside jokes (about 4am calls) they mentioned. Very well done.
Student Dinners:I got assigned along with about 8 students to an apartment on the hill next to the stadium. The view was SPECTACULAR. You see the entire Berkeley all the way to the Bay and then the Golden Gate Bridge. We missed the sunset by 10-20 minutes, but the afterglow was still very impressive. The food was catered from Andronicos, but it was some of the most delicious dinners I've had in a while. Got to chat with a lot of 1st year students and admits. Good times. After dinner, we went upstairs to join with the other group of students (red_s4 was there) and hung out a bit more.
Bar of the Week:This was at Thalassa on Shattuck and Durant. Huge bar, but the music was way too loud to really talk. My throat was killing me by that point talking for 6-7 hours straight. I left around 11:30pm since we had to get there by 8am the next day.
Friday:Mock Case Study - Ryan Air:WOW! Prof. Morgan was touted as one of the best professors on campus by the students, and he surpassed his already impressive reputation! I really enjoyed the mock class, the cold-calling, and the interactions we had with about 150 students. The ending to the case was very informative and I look forward to sitting in more classes with professors such as him.
Career Fair:Lots of tables done by industries for students to mingle. I felt they needed more than an hour for you to talk to different tables, as there were just too many people around to really have long conversations with the different industries. I still like the format though, since you can just stand there and listen to another student's questions.
Faculty Panel:The faculty seemed to really love teaching at Haas, and some of them were pretty well regarded in their fields. I got a good sense of the different areas of strength at Haas (non-profit, entrepreneurship, finance, etc...) by hearing the professors speak.
Lunch:I got to chat with the Career Center director (who was a Cal undergrad and Kellogg MBA grad herself) and one of the director/professors for doing business in China. I need to call up the Career Center director and talk to her about the Haas vs Kellogg decision I still have to make.
Student Clubs and Financial Aid:I went mostly to the Financial Aid talk. Nothing really new other than the financial aid guy was really funny.
Student Life and Housing Panel:GREAT panel. The moderator was an amateur stand up comedian and the panel consisted of very fun people. We got a good sense of how much rent would be, where to live, what student life was like, etc... I love the "living in crushing loneliness" comments (hee hee
)
Scavenger Hunt:I won't spoil the secret to DAH II attendees, but this was definitely a highlight, and proved to me that I need to start working out again
There are probably some incriminating evidence against me floating on YouTube or Flickr now.
Highlight of the day!
Consumption Function:Simply crazy! All the 1st and 2nd years were out and the entire courtyard area was packed. They got 2 very special "guest performances" (again, I won't spoil the secret) along with some admit performances (you'll just have to wait and see). It was a great way to meet tons of people, socialize, and see what the Haas/Cal spirit was like. I think this event solidified the view that Haas is a great place to study for 2 years and people will find tons of life-long friends they can network with in the future.
Saturday:Alumni Panel:Again, great alums from 1 year out to 14 years out. Lots of good examples of how they got to the job they are now and how the Alumni network helped them find their current job (without even trying too hard even!).
Wrap-Up:The admission director's mock-phone call was definitely the funniest thing I've seen in a while. I guess it speaks to how many people are deciding between Haas and Kellogg right now. Scary thing is, I'll be seeing almost 10 of the Haas admits next weekend at DAK II, so that'll be a good time to really compare the two schools and see what their opinions are.
Optional Tours:I took the wine tour just to hang out. Met a few new people, continued bonding with others, and had a lot of fun riding on a bus full of very drunk admits. I think we must have opened 20+ bottles of wine in that bus!
Overall:The weather was AMAZING this past weekend, going up in the 70-80s. People were wearing shorts, t-shirts, and flip flops on Saturday, and it was still very warm. I found the Haas students and staff to be amazingly friendly, welcoming, and fun to hang out with. I don't know what Kellogg will be like (I heard it'll be very similar), but there will be zero regrets if I end up at Haas after this fun-filled admit weekend!
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03 Apr 2008, 01:48
