Monday, May 02, 2005
The 2nd Semester
Back when I was young and naive, I thought I would have a lot of free time after recruiting was over. This has turned out not to be the case.
I would separate out the first year into a few distinct time periods. The first two months are filled with social and academic requirements, you're meeting people and getting up to speed on the whole school process. Round about the time you're getting comfortable, recruiting starts up and takes up 4-7 months of your life, depending on when you finally accept an offer. During this time you are attending company events, working on resumes and cover letters, interviewing, etc. It's fantastic.
By the time recruiting is over, or maybe while it is still happening, you start the third phase, which is what I'll call the pre-EC phase. You spend this time heavily involved in clubs or activities which you'll be leading the following year, choosing classes, finishing this year's classes (without hitting the screen), etc. Your social circle is well-established and large, there are lots of things going on, but yet you don't overdo it like those first months. No, in phase 3 you are just busy enough to wonder why you have so little PS2 time, but not so busy that you're losing sleep. Unless you are in the HBS Show, then all bets are off. (I was remiss in not mentioning the show before now, I saw it twice and it was fantastic.)
Anyway, the long and short of this is that the 2nd semester flies by. It's much more enjoyable than term 1, with the added bonus of a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow in the form of your summer internship.
I would separate out the first year into a few distinct time periods. The first two months are filled with social and academic requirements, you're meeting people and getting up to speed on the whole school process. Round about the time you're getting comfortable, recruiting starts up and takes up 4-7 months of your life, depending on when you finally accept an offer. During this time you are attending company events, working on resumes and cover letters, interviewing, etc. It's fantastic.
By the time recruiting is over, or maybe while it is still happening, you start the third phase, which is what I'll call the pre-EC phase. You spend this time heavily involved in clubs or activities which you'll be leading the following year, choosing classes, finishing this year's classes (without hitting the screen), etc. Your social circle is well-established and large, there are lots of things going on, but yet you don't overdo it like those first months. No, in phase 3 you are just busy enough to wonder why you have so little PS2 time, but not so busy that you're losing sleep. Unless you are in the HBS Show, then all bets are off. (I was remiss in not mentioning the show before now, I saw it twice and it was fantastic.)
Anyway, the long and short of this is that the 2nd semester flies by. It's much more enjoyable than term 1, with the added bonus of a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow in the form of your summer internship.
