Damn straight.

Guess which part-time MBA program got voted #3 in the nation by Business Week?

Yes Mom & Dad that is UCLA in #1.

Education

I was watching the Colbert Report tonight when I heard a gentleman speak about The Washington Monthly College Guide. I was immediately intrigued. The article begins by articulating what the editors feel are the primary purposes of education:

The first question we asked was, what does America need from its universities? From this starting point, we came up with three central criteria: Universities should be engines of social mobility, they should produce the academic minds and scientific research that advance knowledge and drive economic growth, and they should inculcate and encourage an ethic of service.

The editors go on to make the distinction that they are not using metrics that the other college ranking systems use (like U.S. News and World Report). They are clearly measuring schools by different criteria and the results are surprising. With the exception of Cornell and U Penn, the list shows that the elite Ivy leagues don't measure up to these standards. The University of California system measures highly; due to its emphasis on obtaining students from all backgrounds and its impressive graduation rates. Both my alma mater, Washington University in St. Louis, and my graduate school, University of Southern California make the grade (at 19 and 28 respectively).

All in all it was a highly interesting and well researched article.

Just in case...

There was any doubt...

Look at what arrived today!


Only a million more loan payments to go....

Finally, something that makes sense.

Finally, something that makes me feel better that I've had no response from all the resumes I've been sending out.

Survey: 29 Pct of Companies Hiring

MILWAUKEE — Only 29 percent of companies expect to add new positions in the next three months, which is typically the best time of the year for hiring, according to a survey of 14,000 employers being released Tuesday.

The survey by Milwaukee-based global staffing company Manpower Inc. also showed 7 percent of companies said they expect to reduce employment.

So tell me, where are all these jobs for MBAs that you speak of?

Proof.

I'm in control... really I am.

Out of office message: ON.
Reservations: MADE.
Gown: PRESSED.
Mother's Day Presents: WRAPPED.
House: CLEAN.
Nose: STILL RUNNING.

(I have never ever had to blow my nose like this people...it's a miracle I'm not drowning!)

Heaven help me... my inlaws and my parents meet for the first time tomorrow, I officially graduate and I might go more than a few hours without having dire need of a Kleenex box. Let the games begin people!

The Finance

The Finance (the discipline, that is) and I, we have a stormy relationship. Every time the Finance starts talking about Betas and risk and portfolios, my eyes get a little misty and glazed over. I can balance my checkbook, and keep my retirement account afloat, but that's about it.

However, my b-school classmate Frogpod has started a Finance Podcast called Market News Today. Now he and the Finance, they're like THIS. Check it out if you're financially inclined.

The finals are over....

It's time to COMMENCE!

And thus ends my graduate career....

T minus 10 days and counting...

All papers: DONE. Senioritis: FULLY INFECTED. Finals left: ONE. Preparedness to Graduate: WAS READY ONE YEAR AGO.

Let the games begin!

Making the rest of us look bad.

34 Duke Business Students Face Discipline for Cheating

Thirty-four first-year business graduate students at Duke University cheated on a take-home final exam, a judicial board has found, in what officials called the most widespread cheating episode in the business school’s history.

I just don't have words to explain my disgust and anger that they're ruining it for the rest of us who choose to pursue a graduate degree to LEARN rather than copy off of other's papers. Read more about the train wreck here.

USC in the News

USC dean's ties to lender are focus of probe

New York investigators probing possible wrongdoing in the college loan industry are exploring whether USC's financial aid director had improper business ties to a lender that her office has recommended to students.

A letter sent Wednesday by the office of New York state Atty. Gen. Andrew M. Cuomo to the university said it was looking into whether Catherine Thomas, a USC associate dean and financial aid director, "engaged in deceptive practices or other illegal conduct in connection with her dealings with Student Loan Xpress Inc."

According to New York officials, authorities are reviewing whether Thomas improperly received 1,500 shares of stock in Educational Lending Group, the former parent company of Student Loan Xpress.

The letter from Cuomo's office stated that New York officials "are deeply concerned" that Thomas may have received the shares in exchange for placing Student Loan Xpress on the university's preferred lender lists or to influence her to place the company on the lists.

"Students may therefore have been left with the false impression that the company was preferred because it was best for students, when in reality the company was selected because of its stock grants to Ms. Thomas," the letter said.

James Grant, a USC spokesman, said the university has not taken any disciplinary action against Thomas after receiving the letter by fax and that the 15-year university employee, a longtime college financial aid specialist, was at work Wednesday. He declined to comment beyond offering a prepared statement that said, "We have just received a copy of the attorney general's letter and will now review the information in the letter and respond."

The letter to USC asked the university to arrange to provide documents related to the New York investigation and to determine whether "any other financial aid officers received any payments, stock or other benefits from any other lending institutions." It also asked USC to provide documents showing how the university selected its preferred lenders over the last six years.

No wonder the Financial Aid office hasn't been returning my emails. Glad I checked the lenders out myself!

Another weekend dead and gone.

I can't believe it's almost Monday again. Where DOES the time go?

This weekend ended up being pretty good despite impending school projects and being trapped in my house waiting for furniture movers.

Friday I got home from work, and spent a little time chatting with my sweetie. Took a Power Nap and then got up and worked on my school project for a while. It paid to get a good start on Friday, so I could play on Saturday.

Saturday I slept late and then went to hang out at my favorite place. I mostly finished the pink sweater (see previous entry) and started on the baby kimono. I had never knitted in Koigu before and let me tell you, it's a treat. It's so soft! I can't wait to see the finished product.

Saturday night was movie night and Wes and I watched The Departed. Though I enjoyed this movie, I confess I was a little lost as to where it was going as it twisted and turned. On the whole, it had a great cast and was acted very well. Later in the evening, after Wes had gone to bed, I popped in Keeping Mum. This is a highly bizarre British movie starring Kristin Scott Thomas and Maggie Smith. Maggie Smith plays a zany nanny who has a dark (and hilarious) secret. I would highly recommend this if you love kooky British movies.

Today I worked on my group project. I am SO glad that I'm almost a graduate. Even though I have a friend in this group, we still have less desirable members. Basically we divided up the rest of the report today so that we could get it done and get a good grade. After that the new couch arrived and I enjoyed some more of Desperate Housewives: Season 2.

Finally, tonight I went to dinner with my parents. We talked quite a bit about the wedding and made some decisions. Hopefully I'll have some news to post soon regarding that... I have lots of phone calls to make in the next few days.

I leave you with photos of my two new projects (perfect for Project Spectrum's April/May colors: Pink, Green and Yellow). The one on the top is the baby kimono in Koigu lavender and mint green. The bottom is a rippled crochet afghan in Heirloom Breeze - more stripes and colors to come!

Damn Straight.

USC makes jump to No. 2 in BCS, ahead of Michigan

NEW YORK -- Southern California is a win away from returning to the national title game.

The Trojans moved into second place in the Bowl Championship Series standings Sunday, passing idle Michigan on the strength of a 44-24 victory over Notre Dame and closing in on a matchup with undefeated Ohio State in the title game.

USC plays crosstown-rival UCLA on Saturday and a victory would likely lock up the Trojans' third consecutive appearance in the BCS title game. The Trojans have already locked up the Pac-10's automatic BCS bid, but playing in the Rose Bowl would be a letdown for USC this season.

"I think we're a pretty good team right now," USC coach Pete Carroll said after beating Notre Dame. "We'll play anybody, anywhere."

The rest of the article is on ESPN.com.

If only I had known....

Court says $32,000 is too much to fondle bosom

HELSINKI (Reuters) - A fee of 25,500 euros ($32,000) is way too much for a woman to charge a man for fondling her bosom, a Finnish district court ruled.

The court jailed a couple in their twenties for more than a year for charging a 74-year-old who suffers from dementia a total of 25,500 euros to enjoy the woman's breasts on 10 occasions.

That's tuition money right there folks!

The reason we have mandatory ethics sessions...

And the grad students most likely to cheat are...

BOSTON (Reuters) - Graduate business students in the United States and Canada are more likely to cheat on their work than their counterparts in other academic fields, the author of a research paper said on Wednesday.

The study of 5,300 graduate students in the United States and Canada found that 56 percent of graduate business students admitted to cheating in the past year, with many saying they cheated because they believed it was an accepted practice in business.

Following business students, 54 percent of graduate engineering students admitted to cheating, as did 50 percent of physical science students, 49 percent of medical and health-care students, 45 percent of law students, 43 percent of liberal arts students and 39 percent of social science and humanities students.

Was this really the thing MBAs had to be best at?

SO not what I expected.

Grad school has not ceased to amaze me. Some nights I revel in the intelligence and intellectual curiosity of my professors and classmates. Other nights I feel a personal attachment to the material. Then again, some nights just defy explanation.

Tonight we discussed an Australian wine case and globalization. Overheard in class:

"Who does the CEO remind you of? He reminds me of fat bastard."

"The other protagonist passed away shortly before this video was made, something involving a freak kangaroo accident."

I suppose that some of these comments and class antics stemmed from the fact that our newbie prof decided that an Australian wine case would be a good opportunity to BYOB. Yes folks, our core group of 75 people went through a few cases of wine between 8 and 10pm tonight, during our strategy class.

Things sort of took a turn for the worse when our token old guy lectured:

"White and rosee on ice is ok,
Red on cold is never sold."

Sometimes grad school isn't quite what I expected it to be.

Whew!

What a day! Started out bright and early this morning with helping Statistics Students in the Global MBA program (I'm the TA!). Then moved on to the eye doctor where I learned that I really can't see the board very well - my prescription changed and I'm now legally blind. Well ok not quite, but I feel like it! Then headed back to USC for the Statistics Help Session, and then through classes for the evening. Now I'm home and relaxin' on the couch, enjoying just vegging to Law & Order.

Can't wait for weekend to catch up on quality knitting time. It's also Field Day this weekend. For those not in the know, that's the day where us "crazy hams" set up radio stations and operate on generator power for 24 straight hours. Not only does this help with disaster preparedness, but it's become a nifty contest sponsored by the Amateur Radio Relay League (ARRL). So I'm flexing the old pipes and getting ready to rack up those contacts. Anyone interested should let me know, and feel free to stop by!

Ok I'm getting off the hamster wheel of life for a few. Hopefully tomorrow I'll have some news to report!

Postscript

For those of you who are annoyed that I finish tests quickly, I offer this tidbit:

My groupmates set up a betting pool tonight on how fast I would finish the test. There were two categories (the under/over 25 minutes contingent, and the under/over 40 minutes contingent). I don't know how the pool is determined, nor how a winner is selected, but all I know was that it involved beer. Well boys, it was past an hour when I finally walked out.

A light at the end of the night.

So I had an INSANE midterm tonight. It wasn't that it was so hard, but the guy wanted pages and pages of calculations and there were 11 essay/calculation answer questions. (with multiple parts!) Anyhow, I was pretty wiped when I was done, and ready for home. An then something unexpected happened. A light at the end of the night.

On my way out, a classmate stopped me to chat about the midterm. During the conversation he thanked me for supporting him in class at the beginning of the term. I have only a vague recollection of this, but apparently he was making a point that the professor wasn't overly receptive to, and I jumped in and supported him.

For those of you who know me, I have my demons, and a rather large one is what others think of me. I'm basically an introvert who desperately wants to be an extrovert. Yes I'm outgoing and friendly, but inside I'm really just a girl who never quite feels like she fits in. I tend to opt out of larger social situations, because I always feel out of place. My mother used to tell me that this just made me appear arrogant and aloof (and maybe she was right), but what goes through my mind is anything but that. That said, the positive light at the end of my night is that a classmate of mine, someone I hold in high esteem (read: he's very smart) thanked me for supporting him. So I would just offer my thanks to him, for making me feel accepted.

Things are looking up.

This article here says my quest for higher education and those magical three letters after my name might not be for naught.