Ask the AdCom: How Do MBA Students Get Goofy?
Hey everybody! We’re back with another installment of “Ask the AdCom,” where we share a wide range of tips and advice from admissions team members from a dozen top business schools. Since AdCom members are human, too, we know our readers will enjoy seeing a different side of what makes these guys tick.
This fun space is not really about the application process but more about real-life topics, like what’s a good book to read, best place to study, where you can find a killer meal near campus, and all the fun stuff happening at b-school that creates those lifelong, cherished memories for MBA students.
We hope you become inspired, too!
Today’s question is: Describe a goofy tradition in your program.
Morgan Bernstein, Executive Director of Full-time MBA Admissions at UC Berkeley Haas School of Business, says: No Shave/No Shame November, a charitable fundraiser where students get creative about embarrassing themselves for a good cause.
Allison Jamison, Admissions Director at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business, says: Campout! Students camp out for 36 hours one weekend for a chance to be entered in a lottery to win season basketball tickets. Fuqua students do campout in style – rented RV’s, dance floors, and BBQs make the weekend a great bonding experience, and at the end of all, you get to watch Duke Basketball!
Shari Hubert, Associate Dean of MBA Admissions at Georgetown’s McDonough School of Business, says: For the Annual Report, students create spoofs/skits of their experiences in the MBA Program and film them. They then rent a movie theater in Virginia and host a movie night to view the videos.
They invite faculty and staff to act in the videos in ways that are both fun and silly, but allow for everyone to make fun of themselves a bit and have a sense of humor about all of the crazy, yet awesome experiences that transpire in business school.
Kelly R. Wilson, Executive Director of Admissions at CMU Tepper School of Business, says: We ring a large, metal bell, donated by a past class, to kick off our weekly social gathering for MBAs, faculty, staff and families.
Judi Byers, Executive Director of Admissions and Financial Aid at Cornell’s Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management, asked two recent MBA grads to share their favorites:
- Sydney Chernish, MBA ’16: Each year we host “Battle of the Brews” where people spend Spring Semester coming up with a home-brewed beer and compete for glory.
- Daniel Greenhaw, MBA ’16: Taking Cornell’s famous wine class. It’s a semester long foray into wines and some have even gone on to take the first sommelier exam.
John Roeder, Assistant Dean Graduate Admissions at SMU Cox School of Business, says: The annual Cox Cup competition between the 1st and 2nd year classes offers networking opportunities and camaraderie between the classes through competition that involves kickball, paintball, trivia night, flag football, tennis and various community service efforts.
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