**Grad School**Grad School**Grad School**

Written February 4, 2011

 

Pretty much the main thing on my mind these days.

I try to distract myself with other things (photography, working out, work, happy hours and anything else I can do to keep busy), but really all I can think about is whether I’ll get asked back for interviews, whether my GMAT score is good enough, if I’ll be ACCEPTED!

Not to mention the fact that most people at work are not aware that I am planning on going back for my MBA, and most likely will not be doing a part-time program in Richmond.

And then there are my parents and extended families’ opinions on pretty much everything.

Is going back to school the best thing for me?

After I graduate, will I make enough $$$ to pay off the loans quickly?

Is an MBA really going to put me in a position to get my “dream” job?

Should I go back full-time or work full time and go back part-time?

And the list continues…

So it’s somewhat of an internal fight with myself everyday because I really do want to go back and get my MBA (and I’d rather do FT), but the small doubts are still there in the back of my mind. Best case scenario for me is I am accepted to every school and offered a graduate assistantship.

The GA position will not only help with the funding part of the MBA, but I think will also allow me to develop a better relationship with professors and the career services department. Working with undergrad students in their specific concentrations will only help me to better understand the subjects and with my working experience, I will be able to actually apply the things I learned in undergrad. I will be able to give the undergrads real scenarios from a perspective other than a professor because let’s face it, its easier to relate to your peers then professors at times. From my recruiting background, I also think the opportunity to work with the career services department would be beneficial for both undergrad and graduate students. I could help with resume/interviewing tips because I’ve been on the other side of the process and know certain things to look for and things to make each candidate stand out.

So when looking at schools, this was a big focus of mine. The best GA program I found for me personally is the one offered at NC State. The Jenkins MBA program will “hire” a certain number of full time students to work up to 18 hrs/week in different areas such as career services/admissions, classroom assistance, research and IT support. It includes tuition, a stipend and health insurance.

What I love even more is the Social Media GA.

Pretty much my idea of a perfect GA position.

In this role, the GA will help to market the Jenkins MBA program through different social media tools (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Flickr etc).

First-I’m already pretty big in the social media world being on Facebook, Twitter, and Flickr already.

Second-Marketing is the area that I want to concentrate in and in addition to receiving a top-tier education, I will be able to gain valuable experience in the marketing field. I plan on pursing an internship between my 1^st and 2^nd year, but to gain the experience WHILE IN SCHOOL is priceless, not to mention I wouldn’t think of this position as “work.” I know I would spend a lot of time working with the different social media tools, but to me its fun. And when something is fun to me, I work harder, longer and am MUCH more dedicated.

So the first step is being accepted in the NCSU MBA program…