Wake Forest Recognized for Helping Vets

BusinessWeek recently published an article looking at how some universities are working to provide educational opportunities for veterans, and Wake Forest University’s Schools of Business was recognized for being on the forefront.

The article by Alison Damast points out that that Wake Forest has spent the last 19 years actively looking at ways to draw more applicants with a military service. The university for instance was one of the first schools to sign up for the Graduate Management Admissions Council’s Operation MBA program in 2005. To qualify, schools must offer scholarships and deferment flexibility.

Stacy Poindexter Owen (right), the director of graduate admissions, described efforts to recruit qualified military applicants, including the Yellow Ribbon program where $6,000 in tuition reimbursement is bolstered by a government match, a "no brainer" for the university. "We have always been happy with military candidates," she told the publication.

“The recruiters like our students, so we said, 'Absolutely we will sign on,'" she added. (Wake Forest also has a former lieutenant colonel on the admissions staff to develop recruiting programs.)

I personally know several classmates in the Evening MBA Program who have served in the military, and at least one who is benefiting from the government’s tuition programs. The BusinessWeek article also quoted Andre Toman (left), a former Air Force pilot and a full-time student I met at orientation who is considering consulting once he completes his two-year program.

"I was planning on going to business school before I heard about the Yellow Ribbon program, but it just made that decision much easier,” he told BusinessWeek. “For me, it was one of those things that sweetened the deal."

Wake Forest Recognized in BusinessWeek

Wake Forest University's Schools of Business was

Wake Forest Recognized in BusinessWeek

Wake Forest University's Schools of Business was

Director's Corner: Admissions and Career Services

I hope that everybody is settling into the year and that your experiences, both academic and extracurricular, are having a positive impact on you. I am thankful to the SGA for offering me this opportunity to update you from time to time on all of the exciting things going on in the Full-Time MBA program.

Today, I’d like to talk about two areas, the bookends if you will, of our program: Admissions and Career Services. There are some very exciting things going on in the Admissions Office this year. As the recruiting season gears up, our admissions officers have been on the road, visiting with prospective students from all over the country. Wonderful stories are coming in about the interesting students who’ve approached the Wake Forest table at recruiting events. The applications are already beginning to roll in and I can’t wait to see how the Class of 2012 shapes up.

You might be interested in a couple of new ways we can attract great students to our program: First, we now have a Health Concentration to offer. Both alumni and prospective students seem to be reacting very favorably to this development. Also, like the university, we are attempting to attract a wider base of talent. We have made the decision to begin accepting the GRE as an alternative to the GMAT. To be sure, we will hold students submitting the GRE to the same rigorous standards as we do GMAT-takers, but the GRE will allow us to reach out to a wider audience of individuals who may not have anticipated attending business school, but who have seen the light! Finally, we have changed our interview policy to “invitation only.” Students may sign up for a 15-minute phone counseling session so that an admissions advisor can give them all the critical information they need. While the majority of applicants will be invited to campus (or SKYPE) for an interview, we reserve the right not to interview individuals who clearly do not meet our basic criteria (e.g. insufficient work experience for the FT program).

You might ask, “How can I help?” There are indeed some things you can do. First, I’d like to thank those of you who signed up for the Ambassador Program. You are on the front line when it comes to prospective students visiting campus. In addition to welcoming them and giving them a realistic preview of what a Wake MBA is like, you are their lifeline for questions after they leave campus. All students can be instrumental in helping us identify interesting, talented and intelligent individuals to come to Wake in the fall. The Admissions office is currently in the process of developing a formal referral program and if you send a prospective student who we admit and who enrolls, you will be rewarded! I will discuss the details of this upcoming program in a future column. Meanwhile, don’t hold back. If you send somebody who ultimately enrolls, you will qualify for the reward. Remember to tell prospective students about the new Health Program and our new GRE policy.

At the other end of the spectrum is Career Services. I have been informed that most full-time students are focused and engaged with their career search and I am very happy to hear this! I echo the mantra, “focused, directed and connected.” If you engage in all of the activities and processes the CMC recommends, you will have the skills to not only find a great job or internship now, but in the future as well. The skills they teach you will last a lifetime, just like a good regression or DASeR! I know that there are many career-related activities coming up, including company visits and career panels. I encourage you to attend as many of these as you can. These are wonderful opportunities to explore career opportunities and to network with people who can help you find a job. The CMC has an open door policy so please take advantage of your wonderful counselors, who are there to help you at every stage.

Finally, keep in mind that we are all here to serve you. Student Services is available to students from all programs and can direct you to the resources you need. Soon, I will begin a series of lunchtime feedback sessions where we have two-way conversations about what’s going on and how we can enhance your experience. If you ever have problems of an academic nature, please do not hesitate to contact me. I encourage you to set up an appointment with me using Outlook. Just find an empty spot and put yourself on my calendar!

Sherry Moss ~ Director of Full-time MBA Program and Associate Professor of Organizational Studies

Why Do You Believe in Wake Forest?

I am not going to put a lengthy post together because I believe this Web site speaks for itself. This is a great idea, pulling together first-hand testimonials about the university experience. It really makes me proud that I am attending a school that has done so much for so many. If you have a spare moment (which I know is hard to come by these days) browse through a few of these accounts, and feel free to add to the chain.

Caught in the Storm

And they say it's only going to get worse! Wow! This whole MBA process sure is a trial-by-fire for time management and prioritization skills! Do you finish your quant homework or work on a cover letter for that internship deadline? Go to your Marketing Association meeting or Ambassador training? Watch How I Met Your Mother or sleep?

All tough decisions!

September is coming to a close, and I think all first-year MBA students have a good grasp on just how difficult this whole experience will be. There's simply too many things to do. Too many assignments, deliverables, team meetings, project meetings, clubs and organizations ... don't even think about personal time! My DVR is certainly getting a workout.

It's important to take time for yourself, or you'll never get out alive. This afternoon, after my Project Nicaragua meeting, I decided to go for a run. I didn't go as fast as I used to, or as far, but it was good to take a half hour and do something just for me.

So what's coming up in MBA world? Several presentations and group projects, Career Quest MBA fair in College Park, Maryland, and soon ... exams. On the unofficial Head Under Water scale, I'd say it's up to my chin right now.

~ Justin Berthelot, full-time MBA candidate, class of 2011

Frantic yet Fruitful – Early Lessons Learned

I find it hard to believe that more than a month has passed since I entered the Evening MBA Program at Wake Forest, but here I am staring down my first final and preparing to make an adjustment from one class to two.

The rapid-fire pace of my accounting class has been an adjustment after many years away from school, but one that I believe I have handled well. I have seen so many balance sheets, income statements and cash flow statements, and have gotten well acquainted with learning from case studies and from my peers.

During my undergraduate studies, we rarely learned from the other students. It just wasn’t emphasized. Our professor in accounting has done a good job of encouraging people to ask questions, provide perspective, and give high-quality examples from their own experiences.

Rather than write endlessly about the various lessons, quizzes, and meetings that sometimes seem to blur looking back, I want to discuss my favorite part of the course: the group presentations. As a journalist, this particular assignment played to my strengths in some regards since we had to craft a thorough report on the companies we selected (Whole Foods Market Inc. and Safeway Inc. for out project). However, it also tested me in the areas of hefty financial analysis and public speaking. (For the record, we recommended avoiding either company as an investment right now: diminished cash flow, high debt loads, and an uncertain future when it comes to consumer spending.)

What impressed me the most was the way our team – a concept that Wake preaches with regularity – pulled together, assigned tasks, and knocked out self-imposed deadline after deadline. What began as a brainstorming session just a month ago was transformed into what I thought to be a well-constructed collaborative effort. My favorite moment involved stepping up in front of 40 peers and the professor to present the financials. Nervous? Of course. But soon after beginning the analysis I forgot that there were dozens of spectators and concentrated solely on doing my very best.

My team feels very good about the results, which contribute nearly a fifth of our final grade. It also galvanized us as a team, I believe. Our class is phenomenal, too. Every presentation was informative, whether the companies were auto manufacturers, chipmakers, or doughnut shops. I felt fully engaged throughout the nearly three-hour class! That seems to be a key takeaway from the program, and I am anxious to participate in future classes to expand my knowledge base.

I still have quite a load in my final days of accounting: take home project, individual research project, and a final exam. The lesson learned here is time management. Once a day slips away, you can’t get it back, so I have tried to commit some minutes (and hours, some nights) to incrementally moving the needle forward on assignments. The relief is realizing two days before the final that I am 95% through with everything. The joy is immeasurable!

These are just a few brief lessons that I wanted to share. Undoubtedly there will be more as I transition to quant and organizational behavior in coming weeks!

~Paul Davis is a first-year MBA candidate in the Class of 2011 Evening Program.