Got a message from James a few days ago. It’s time to move on our Harvard applications.
We’ve talked about this for a while. Years, actually. He’s got his Army and West Point experience, and would like to add an MBA on top of it when he’s out of the army permanently. Which makes very good sense. He’s already got a good resume, and the business degree added on ought to put him in a strong position, wherever he goes and whatever he tries to do. Plus, the government will cover grad school for him, under the GI Bill or one of the extensions to it. That’s a pretty serious perk, and one he should take advantage of.
I’m involved because I’ve already got a business degree and experience, plus James and I get along well these days, and we make a good team. We lived together for a while going to college earlier, and that was good times, right up until he was pulled off to Iraq.
James has been batting this idea around for three or four years, now. When he first suggested it to me, I was deeply sceptical of the whole plan. School and I are not naturally agreeable to one another. My first attempt, I went too slowly and ended up bailing out to go work again. Second time through, at UHCL, I was a lot smarter, a lot harder-working, and had a much better plan, so I powered on through in two years. And was happy to have gotten out the other side. Why, then, would I be contemplating going back for more?
James managed to convince me that it would be a good plan. Gave me a book on the subject, for one thing, which was a writer detailing his experiences at Harvard getting his MBA. It generally lead me to believe that Harvard is qualitatively different from the education I’ve had in the past. It’s faster moving, so I won’t get bored. It’s practical and case-study focused, which is much more in line with the classes I enjoyed and have found useful. It has a fixed, short duration; two years, and you’re out. That’s a good timeframe for me. It’s a highly respected program in general, and the professors I’ve known who were Harvard guys were some of the ones who impressed me the most. That’s worth emulating.
Also, it’s in New England, and it would be interesting and fun to spend some time outside Texas. Good to spend some time with James and Leticia. Lots of upsides to this plan.
So, I’m in. We’re putting in our applications now. Trying to make a January 10th deadline. It’s actually January 5th for me, since I’m going to be travelling from the 5th to the 10th. That’s less than a month away, which is a little close, but I’m pretty sharp, so it should be doable. Getting together references is likely to be the trickiest part, in terms of time. If I miss the second round, there’s a third application round in April, but I’d rather be in by January. Waiting until the last minute is not a winning strategy, in general.
All of which means it’s time to dust off the blog and start taking notes again.