kidderek wrote:
I went for a class visit last year.
The class visit was blahh. There was one guy who couldn't understand the concept of basic game theory. A couple students fell asleep during class. They were in full stride, and I think they mostly knew that class time is BS time.
When did you visit Stern? I went to Columbia in April (2 weeks before classes were over) and saw two ends of the spectrum.
1) The first class I sat in on was Advanced Corporate Finance (does it surprise you that I would sit in on a class like that
). I thought the topic was pretty fascinating and the professor was good. He was covering bankruptcy and reorganization. The students were rather disinterested, though. One guy in the back of the class was on his laptop the whole time. A couple of students were reading FT or WSJ. One student was super rude and kept walking in and out of the class every 10-15 minutes. Basically, these students were checked out. They had two weeks to go until graduation and the class simply didn't matter to them at that point.
2) The second class I sat in on was a "core class" (Creating Effective Organizations) and I was expecting it to be boring. However, it was far from it. It was basically a class led discussion on a case they had read on Jack Welch. It was exciting, it was dynamic, and students weren’t afraid to argue their points. To add to this, the professor had been a consultant in the mid-80's working directly with Jack Welch! The 75 minutes went by in a flash and I was sad when it ended.
I guess the point that I'm trying to make is that it depends on when you go, what class you sit in on, etc., etc. I am still in love with CBS despite the fact that the first class was not very engaging, to say the least. Furthermore, the facilities aren't all that great (even USC rocks some sweet digs compared to CBS). It's a good idea to talk to as many people as possible, sit in on as many classes as you can, and connect with alumni. If a school such as Stern is attractive because of its location and reputation in finance, by all means APPLY! If you are fortunate to get in to multiple schools, that is the time to decide between School X and School Y. Attend the admitted stusent weekends and then make up your mind.