Intramural Sports @ Rotman

So we are officially half way through the first quarter. This means we have been in class for 3 weeks, we have 3 weeks of class time left, followed by 1 week of exams/papers.

One thing that the 2nd years told us early in the quarter was to exercise. The more school builds up in terms of time demands and deadlines, the more likely it is to put off going to the gym. I am definitely one of those people who will come up with any excuse not to work out (I am so tired, sick, behind in school, I just straightened my hair... you get the idea). But the reality is, we all need to clear our heads a little, and running around, stretching out the muscles, and working up a sweat is a great way to do that.

This brings me to my main point. The constant balance at MBA school is to develop friendships and your network, and study, study, study. I have always signed up for intramural sports teams at school, work and more recently the Rotman Ultimate team, because its a commitment to exercise once a week AND a great chance to meet people outside of your immediate program.

This morning we had our second Ultimate practice, with a smaller turnout than last week, but fun non the less, and I met second years and a part time student. These are people that it is often difficult to mingle with throughout the regular means because they are exceptional busy. (still working and or recruiting for jobs etc).

But, by simply joining a sports team, you hang out once a week, occasionally go for dinner/drinks after and getting that oh so important little bit of exercise to prevent the MBA version of the Freshman 15.

We have our first game tomorrow night, so I am sure I will be going back to this topic from time to time, keep you posted on whether I still think its a good idea in the first week of November when the season is wrapping up and I am freezing my butt off.

In reference to a previous post on clubs, we also had the kick off meeting for the Management Consulting Club. It was both informative and discouraging, and had one major message. Thanks for signing up & if you don't get the grades that put you in the top 20% of the class then good luck. This is not a hard and fast rule, but a general idea. It is how consulting firms work, they hire MBA's and they generally hire the best of the best, taking advantage of the selection mechanism that MBA school in general provides.

I'll post about that more as the quarter moves on. For now I must go study for Statistics because I have a quiz coming up this week and am watching my calendar book up at a rapid fire rate, so I need to get a jump start.

Student Clubs Fair

Last night we were invited to attend the Student Clubs Fair. My experience with these things is you get a lot of information, everyone wants you to sign up for their club/event/activity and you leave with a little less in your wallet and a little bit more scrap paper.

The Rotman Annual Student Clubs Fair did not digress from this model. The difference I found (and this applies to grad school in general) is that the average person that attends, actually wants to be there. There are very few people who are not committed to the program, and most students who show up for the club fair are genuinely interested in at least one club.

That, of course, is another issue. Almost every Rotman student is interested in either Management Consulting or Finance, or both (with varying levels of commitment). These two clubs are highly prescribed to because the option to get help when recruiting season kicks off is a hot commodity. They offer networking opportunities, help writing your applications as well as prep and feedback for case and technical interviews.

A little info regarding the first year calendar: September is for information gathering and studying for first quarter. January is for recruiting. From what I have learned everything in between is a lead up to Recruiting (disclaimer! specifically for consulting and investment banking jobs - more on that later).

The relationship between recruiting and September's clubs fair is closely tied to FOMA (Fear Of Missing Out). Few students know exactly what they want to do and so they sign up for everything and wait for the dust to settle.

It may not surprise you to learn that I don't know what I want to do, so I have signed up for multiple clubs and will be selectively attending events hosted that catch my fancy. Check back in December to see which I have stuck with and which have fallen by the wayside.

Katie's First Year Clubs:

1. rotman finance association
2. business design club
3. energy and natural resources group
4. management consulting association
5. women in management association

I also signed up for Outreach 2009-2010 but this is a community group, that participates in everything from Run for the Cure to United Way, so I plan to participate based on my community interests, not my career.