My (MBA) Life

Useful Berkeley Living Info

2007-06-21T17:16:00.000-07:00

The following few posts will outline some of the more useful things I learned at Berkeley (outside of class of course). I will provide some insights on some of the places to live and eat around Berkeley.

Some general useful info:
- BART is about 15 min walk from Haas.
- BART to Oakland Airport is about 35 mins and to SFO is about 55mins.
- San Francisco (Union Square) is about 30 mins away by car ($4 bridge toll), about 1 hr away by BART ($3.2 each way), and 1h 15 mins by AC Transit Bus (free for Berkeley students).
- If you have a car and plan on going to SF a lot, get a FastTrak - its not cheaper, but it can save you 10-45 mins on your commute to SF.
- As a Berkeley student, you get a free AC Transit pass that takes you all around Berkeley, Oakland and to SF.
- Useful AC Transit lines - F goes to SF, 51 to Oakland/Alameda
- A good place that I used to go get a Haircut is called Edge at Telegraph and Channing. My stylist is named Rose, she's really good - at least for Asian males.
- 99 Ranch Market (Asian grocery market) is located in Richmond, which is about 15 min drive from Berkeley. There is a bus to 99, but it has multiple transfers that make it about 35 mins ride. I am not sure if you want to be carrying all those groceries while making transfers.
- Berkeley Bowl is a great place to shop for fresh fruits and other misc grocery items. Think Trader Joe's
- Emeryville Bay Street is nice alternative to SF Shopping. About 15 mins drive.

Places to eat outside of Berkeley:
Sushi House - Americanized Sushi located in Alameda, which is about 25 mins away from Berkeley. Try the Lion King (Teriyaki Salmon baked over Californian Rolls). About ~$10 / roll.
French Laundry by Chef Thomas Keller. Famous French restaurant located Yountville (about 15 mins past Napa). Can only make reservations 1 month ahead and it usually gets booked within a day. $240/person.

Things to do in Berkeley:
Hike the Big C
Visit Lawrence Laboratory (Nice View)
Visit the Rose Gardens
Visit the Berkeley Marina
Play Golf at Tilden Golf Course
Shop at 4th Street - Nice "Yuppie" shopping, eating area. Try Bette's Oceanview Diner for great breakfast, Vik's Chaat Corner for some cheap Indian food, and Eccolo for some great Italian fusion.

South Side Berkeley

2007-06-21T16:53:00.001-07:00

South Side
This area is the more "happening" side of campus with tons of undergrads in the area. With Frat Row on Piedmont and three undergraduates dormitories, this area can get a little loud on a Thursday, Friday, and Saturday night. It is convenient to live on this side because you close to Haas - roughly 5-10 min walk. It is also about 10-15 mins from the BART with access to pretty much all of the AC Transit bus lines. Some campus housing options include:
Jackson House - Graduate Housing. This is where I lived. I lived with 3 flatmates in a 4 bdrm apt, 2 bths. It's a bit expensive as it cost about $950. Included are maid service every week, all utilities including water, electricity, cable TV, and campus T3 Internet service. Roughly ~5 Haas Students live here.
International House - "I-House" is not just for International Students, but for all students - both graduates and undergraduates. Rent is a bit cheaper at $11k / year with everything at Jackson House and a meal plan. Roughly ~5 House Students live here.
Both options are great for single students who want to be close to campus.

Another ways of looking for Housing in Berkeley:
Cal Rentals - costs like $40 to view all the listings, but its worth it
Housing Maps - integrates craiglists and google maps. Pick SF-East Bay for Berkeley

It is also super close to the 'Asian Ghetto', the unofficial title of the food court located on Durant Ave. This food court has been my favorite place to eat because of its low price ($5-$8) and wide variety. Some of my favorite establishments include:
Gypsy's - Great Italian food for about $7 bucks. Try the Godfather's Favorite or Gypsy's Special.
Thai Basil - Great Thai food for about $7 bucks. Portions are a bit smaller, but the food is tasty.
Steve Korean BBQ - Cheap Korean BBQ for about $6. The running joke is that Steve is not Korean, but the food is good.
Vietnamese / Chinese - The owners are Chinese, but they have Pho. I like this place because they are cheaper (@ ~$5) and satisfies my Chinese and Vietnamese fixes.

Across the street are:
Top Dog - Berkeley's most popular hot dog place. Try the Chicken Apple, Lemon Chicken, or Louisiana (spicy) for something different. A bit pricy at $2.5 / dog, but it's good.
La Burrita - Open till 2am (like Top Dog), they have good Mexican food at a low price ~ $5-7 / plate. Try the enchiladas, wet burrito, and philly steak burrito.
House of Curries - I like it a bit more than Naan and Curry. A bit pricey though at $8 / curry and $2 / naan.

Further Down West:
Pizza by the Slice - Fat Slice and Blondies. I am personally partial to the pepperoni at Fat Slice because their dough and crust are softer, while Blondies is more dense and thinner. But at about $3 / slice (a really big slice), its a great deal either way.
Thai House - Actually down Channing, it has slightly better Thai food at about ~$8-9.
Great Wall - On Shattuck, this is the most authentic Chinese Food you will find in Berkeley. Great Peking Duck. Expect $10-$20 / person.
Angeline's Louisiana Kitchen - Pretty good southern food (although I'm not sure if I'm the best judge of its authenticity). Usually get the cajun shrimp or jambalaya. About ~$9-$15.

Up for something more expensive?
Unicorn - Asian Fusion. Menu changes weekly with interesting dishes like Wasabi Curry and Lychee Duck. A good deal at about ~$20 / person.
Adagia - Located right on College/Bancroft across campus so you will run into a lot of professors. Typical California food, have had the lamb, steak, and scallops. ~$25-35 / person.
Kirala - Japanese Sushi on Shattuck. Never been, but heard its pretty good. Expensive though - $30-$40.

Local Bars:
Henry's - At the Durant Hotel. Used to have 2 beers for $2 on Tuesday. I think their happy hours are now on Weds. More of a quiet / chill / older bar (except after Football Games).
Blake's - There is a dance floor in the basement. The stickiness of the bars/tables bother me sometime, but its a reasonable bar/resturant
Raleigh's - Similar to Blakes, but I like it more. Better selection of beer and gives off a cleaner feel.
Bear's Lair - Official school bar/pub. Beer is cheap and convenient. Good place to go to after a tough statistic's final.
Bars on Shattuck:
Beckett's - Irish Pub. Grab some Guinness and you're looking good.
Jupiter - Has a nice outdoor area where they have live music. They brew their own beer and have awesome pizza.
Triple Rock - They also brew their own beer, but its a bit on the smaller side. Across the street is a late-night Thai food place with cheap food.

More info on bars, http://www.10best.com/Berkeley/Nightlife/Bars/index.html

Pros: Convenient location, Lots of really cheap food, Close to Haas (5-15 mins walk)
Cons: Lots of undergrads, kind of rowdy on the weekends, Expensive parking ($175 / month)

North Side

2007-06-21T16:47:00.000-07:00

North Side
The Engineering buildings are located on the North Side, therefore this is the quieter side of campus. There are some good cheap food options here, including a Top Dog, La Burrita, and a Thai and Korean BBQ place that I can't think of their names now. But they close earlier at ~10pm versus 11pm - 12 on Southside. Having never lived on this side, its hard for me to comment. But most graduate students like to live on North Side. There are a few apartment buildings closer to campus, but mostly students live in a 3-4 bedroom house with roommates. A great way to find roommates are at Super Saturday or Days at Haas or through the Haas Google Groups.

In addition, down closer to Shattuck is what we call the "Gourmet Ghetto". Here you will find fine dining, highlighted by Chez Panisse. Founded by Alice Waters, she "unleashed an epicurean revolution by focusing on locally grown, seasonal ingredients." There is a fixed menu that costs around $50 on Monday to about $80 / person. You can go upstairs and go ala carte for about $25-35 / person. All prices don't include wine of course. Other places to try:
Cesar's - A nice Tapas place with great sangrias. Each dish is about $5-8 and about 3-4 dishes / person is good. Fun atmosphere. Cafe de La Paz is a similar place on north side.
Cheeseboard - Great Pizza! They only serve one kind of pizza / day and its all organic and vegetarian. And even though I'm a meat lover, I love this place! Slices are $2 for a much smaller slice than the other pizza places. 2-3 slices are recommended, or grab a whole pie! They also have great cheese.
Cha Am - A good thai place, although more expensive than the South Side options ~$9-10.
Gregory - French take-out. Had it twice and really liked the food. About $15 / dish, $5 / side.
Saul's - A New York deli. Been there once and the food was good. About ~$12.
Cha-Ya - Vegertarian Japanese Food. Had it in SF and it was pretty good. ~9-10

These are places I have tried. For even choices, check this article out, http://sfgate.com/traveler/guide/eastbay/neighborhoods/gourmet.shtml

Pros: Quiet, Nice Houses to live in, Gourmet Food places about 5-10 mins away, Can have a car.
Cons: Farther from Haas, 15-25 min walk

Rockridge / Elmwood

2007-06-21T16:19:00.000-07:00

Rockridge / Elmwood
Nice place for "Yuppies". Lots a nice places to eat and about 15-20 mins walk to Haas. Bus transportation is available. The 51 takes back to Berkeley in about 7 mins and it comes every 10 mins or so. A BART station is about 5-10 mins away too. Lastly, a Safeway and Albertsons is in the area.

Some Places to eat at:
Zachery's Pizza- Chicago-Style Pizza. Expect Lines and expensive pizza (~$20 / large pizza). But the pizza is really good and unique. Try the Chicken Specialty with some Anchor Steam.
Trattoria La Sicilina - Excellent at a reasonable price ~$15! It's a bit on the smaller side with limited seating, but its worth it. Try the Squid Ink or Pesto pasta.
Grasshopper - A tapas place. Not as fun as Cesar, but the food was good.
Shen Hua - Pretty good Chinese food, albeit a bit Americanized and pricer ~$12 a dish.
Manpuku - My friends favorite Japanese place in Berkeley. It has good combo deals for about ~$10.

For more info, http://sfgate.com/traveler/guide/eastbay/neighborhoods/rockridge.shtml

Pros: Quiet "Yuppie" area, good mix of cheaper and expensive food
Cons: A bit further from Haas, rent can get more expensive, especially in Rockridge

San Francisco

2007-06-21T15:45:00.000-07:00

San Francisco:
I've never lived in SF, but roughly about 10-25% of the class live in SF. San Francisco is about 45 mins to 1 hr to Haas by BART. Rent ranges from $1000 - $2000 depending on the area and size. But you can expect to pay about $800-$1200 / person to share a pretty nice place in SF.
Areas to consider:
Japanese Town - Cheaper rent, but further from public transportation. Probably will need a car.
Russian Hill / Nob Hill - Really nice area, but really expensive rent.
South San Francisco - Cheaper rent, but will definitely need a car.

Housing Maps is a great way to look for a place. It integrates Craiglist and Google Maps.

Places that come to mind:
Gary Danko's - Ranked #1 by Zagats for the Bay Area. About $80-$155 / person
Masa's - Similar to Gary Danko's. About $80-$120 / person.
Roy's - Expensive Hawaiian fusion food. Food is good, decor is nice. Expect about $50-60 / person.
Ana Mandara - Vietnamese/French Fusion. Food is pretty good, but I think the decor is it's main attraction. Really nice Southeast Asian feel. Also a Jazz Bar upstairs.
Medjools - Really nice Mediterranean place with great tapas and interesting drinks. Expect about $8-12 / tapa. The place turns into a dance lounge at night on the weekend. It also opens up the roof in the Spring and Summer and has a great view of the city.
Golden Gate Bakery - Have you ever had Chinese Egg Tarts, the ones you get at Dim Sum? Well, they have the best egg tarts this side of Shenzhen. It's about a bit smaller than a donut (which is a lot bigger than normal ones) for about a $1. My parents bought 2 dozen back to LA with them.

Things to See/Do:
Bike Across Golden Gate Bridge
Visit Fisherman's Wharf
Visit Alcatraz Island
Visit North Beach Nightlife
Visit Chinatown - the largest Chinatown outside of China.
Drive on Lombard Street
Great Shopping in Union Square
Take your dog to Fort Funston - largest dog park in SF

Classes that I recommend

2007-06-21T14:52:00.000-07:00

Here are a few of the classes that I really liked at Haas:
Core + 1 - classes that are really useful
Managerial Accounting with Nicole Johnson. Really useful class because you learn different ways of accounting that affect a company's pricing, value and profitability. Was really useful in consulting interviews. I hear Sunil is really good at teaching this class.
Financial Modeling with Sarah Tasker. Really intense and fast moving class on financial modeling. Very useful class that you should take before you graduate.

Elective Classes:
Pricing with Teck Ho. By far the most popular class while I was at Haas. He's class went for about 801 / 1000 points. I really enjoyed his class because of his outstanding enthusiasm for teaching. He also integrated a lot of computer simulations that were a lot of fun. The class was very useful for consulting interviews as well.
Creativity and Innovation in Marketing with Jennifer Aaker. A new hire from Stanford and daughter of Haas branding legend David Aaker, Jennifer was awesome. She is really passionate about teaching and did a great job in her first class at Haas. She had outstanding speakers, like Geoffrey Moore, and interesting projects.
Power and Politics with John Freeman. Freeman did a really good job of mixing lecture, guest speakers and movies. Freeman brought in outstanding speakers like John Hanke - founder of Keyhole, which later became Google Maps after its acquisition by Google. I hear Anderson is also really good.
Competitive and Corporate Strategy with Paul Tiffany. Lots of interesting cases, including ones on Google, McKinsey and GE. Tiffany does a good job of keeping an 8am class interesting and interactive.
Information Technology based Marketing with Florian Zettelmeyer. Outstanding professor - former McKinsey - and very useful class if you are interested in consumer marketing.
Opportunity Recognition with Drew Isaacs. Part of the MOT Speaker Series. We've had some great speakers come in, including Vinod Khosla (Khosla Ventures), Randy Komisar (Kleiner Perkins), and Mark Kvamme (Sequoia Capital).
Game Theory with John Morgan. I never took the class, but I heard it was a very interesting class about strategy. Morgan won a Cheit Award for his teaching this year.
Financial Information Analysis with Shai Levi. A useful course on how to value a company. I audited the course for a bit and it was interesting. From what I heard is that this class is more useful than Corporate Finance for people going into non-finance careers.

Mirror Rankings?

2007-01-16T01:06:00.000-08:00

I've often been asked, "Who/What is McKinsey?"

And I always found myself going into a long convoluted answer of, "Well, the industry is Management Consulting... They give top companies advice on strategy... They solve tough business problems...umm..."

Of which, I would always get a, "Oh, that sounds nice."

I finally decided to start answering them with, "It's the Harvard of MBA jobs." It's not a perfect description, but it usually got the message across - it's a good company. This got me thinking about MBA Employers and Business Schools. So I looked at the USNews and Fortune 100 (via Universum Communications) rankings and found surprising similarities.

Harvard Business School: #1
McKinsey & Company: #1
McKinsey has been ranked the #1 choice of MBA students in the last 10 years. They are the gold standard of Management Consulting and have one of the toughest selection process. Harvard has been consistently ranked in the top 3 of USNews in the last 10 years. Although, if a poll were sent to all MBA applicants, I would guess that Harvard would be #1 in that survey as well. Harvard is the most selective business school (Princeton Review) and is definitely the gold standard of general management.

Stanford Graduate School of Business: #2
Google Inc.: #2
Both are located in the Silicon Valley. Both are known to be entrepreneurialistic. Both tend to do things their own way - Google's IPO and Stanford's acceptance of the GRE. Did I mention that Google was founded by Stanford (CS) PhD Students?

Wharton School of Business: #3
Goldman Sachs: #3
The Wharton School is arguably the top business school in the nation. However, lately haven fallen a bit behind Standford in terms of selectivity (Princeton Review). Goldman Sachs used to be ranked #2 until Google's recent surge. Furthermore, Wharton is known as one of the top business schools for finance, making its comparison to Goldman natural.

Northwestern University (Kellogg School of Management): #4
Bain & Company: #4
One of the Big Three Consulting companies, Bain is known for their outstanding marketing strategy. Kellogg is also known as the best school of marketing. Furthermore, the culture at Bain is known to be fun, young, and frat-like community. Kellogg students are also known for their laid-back and fun nature. Seems like a good fit for me!

MIT, Sloan School of Management: #4
The Boston Consulting Group: #5
BCG is known as the "Nerdy" Big Three (from Vault), because of their academic founding. Sloanies are also known more for their quant skills than their soft skills. Both are located/headquartered in Boston. Am I missing anything else?

University of Chicago: #6
CitiGroup: #6
Chicago is known as one of the best finance schools. CitiGroup is a top bank. That's about all I got.

University of Californa, Berkeley (Haas School of Business): #7
Apple Computer, Inc.: #7
Although Haas has always been a top 10 school in the USNews, it finally achieved the same status in the Business Week rankings - jumping from #17 to #8 this year. Apple also made a drastic jump from #15 to #7 on the Universum survey this year. Apple is now the darling of Wall Street (along with Google), and Haas has made tremendous strides in recent rankings and hirings - thanks to the booming technology industry. Both are located in the Bay Area.

Columbia University: #7
Morgan Stanley: #10
Okay, this might be the furtherest reach in rankings, but this one also makes a lot of sense. Morgan Stanley is one of the top banks in the industry and Columbia is known for their outstanding finance department. Both are located/headquartered in NY.

Rounding out the top 15:
9. Dartmouth University (Tuck) | 8. General Electric - General Management
10. UCLA Anderson | 9. Johnson & Johnson - ?
11. Duke University (Fuqua) | 11. Proctor & Gamble - Marketing
11. Michigan University (Ross) | 12. Nike - Sports! Ha!
13. New York University (Stern) | 13. Lehman Brothers - Finance & NY
13. University of Virgina (Darden) | 15. Booz Allen Hamilton - Virgina
15. Yale University | 14. Walt Disney - Brand Name

The list isn't perfect, but there are definitely quite a few similarities and matches. At the very least, it was enough for me to write a 30 min entry. Hope you found it interesting as well!

Links:
USNews MBA Rankings
Fortune 100 Top MBA Employers
Princeton Review MBA Rankings
Email me with comments

Why Berkeley Haas

2005-04-28T20:05:00.000-07:00

After attending all the admit weekends, including the ones in Philadelphia, Boston, and Los Angeles, I've decided to attend the Haas School of Business. Now, I didn't select the highest ranking school that I got into.

Here are a number of reasons why:

Location - Love California! It would be very hard to imagine my life outside of the West Coast.
Industry - Technology is where I want to be and Haas is well-positioned in the Bay Area.
Flexibility - The Haas degree is also flexible enough if I decide to switch into consulting or if I want to go international one day.
Culture - Loved the people I met at Days at Haas! They are absolutely brilliant, but also down-to-earth and humble. The culture was by far the best of any school I visited!
School Pride - I have to say I love UC Berkeley. My first time around was such a great experience that I really want to contribute back to the school. Even though I was accepted to "higher ranked schools," I truly want to help transform Berkeley Haas into a top 5 school - which I believe is absolutely possible. I mean most Berkeley graduate programs are in their respective top 3 - e.g. Engineering, CS, Public Policy, Optometry, etc - why shouldn't Haas be?

These are just a few reasons why I ultimately choose to attend Haas. I hope that gives people a perspective into my decision-making process. The best advice I can give is for everyone to attend their admit weekends and get a feel for the school. I mean you will be there for 2 years!! You definitely don't want to go somewhere you don't feel comfortable.

Good Luck to everyone still deciding!

Berkeley Housing Option

2005-03-18T09:32:00.000-08:00

I've been talking to one of my Cal undergrad buddies and if I end up going to Haas, we're thinking about renting a place in Emeryville (thats where I use to live while I was in undergrad).

Benefits of living in Emeryville:
1) Close to Cal - 3 miles from campus. (15 minute bus ride.)
2) Close to the Bart - 1 mile from McArthur Bart Station.
3) Lots of shopping (<1 mile) - IKEA, Trader Joe's, Good Guys, Bay Street Mall (Banana Republic, Barnes and Noble, etc.)
4) Entertainment and Food Court (<1 mile) - AMC Bay Street, UA Emery Bay 10, etc.
5) Great Location - It has a great view of the Bay and its close to the Bay Bridge for those weekend SF getaways!
6) Some really NICE Apartments! Meaning - clean and reasonable-priced.

Two Options:
1) Bridgecourt

1325 40TH STREET
EMERYVILLE, CA 94608

1 Bedroom $1095 - $1500 (554-788 sqft.)
2 Bedroom $1725 - $1875 (1179-1268)
2 Bedroom Loft $2000 - $2100 (1015-1088)

There's a Pack N' Save across the street and a Taco Bell, Starbucks, CompUSA, etc. in the same Complex. This is where I lived in undergrad. We had a 2 Bedroom Loft and we squeezed 4 guys in it! Man ... good times ...

You must enable Java in your browser to see this 360° image.

2) Emerybay Club & Apartments

6401 SHELLMOUND STREET
EMERYVILLE, CA 94608

Studio $1085 (530-635 sqft.)
1 Bedroom $1265 - $1450 (660-861)
2 Bedroom $1550 - $1925 (935-1105)
3 Bedroom $2000 - $2225 (1120-1340)

I had a couple friends live here ... this place is HUGE and the rooms are really nice and new! It's also right next to the UA Emery Bay movie theaters, Borders, and food court.

You must enable Java in your browser to see this 360° image.

If you want to find something comparable closer to Berkeley, check out Allston Lofts on www.rent.com, its about $600-$800 more for a smaller place (2 Bedroom, 637-776 sq ft., $2325 - $2565).

Now if enough Haas Admits are interested in living in Emeryville, we could go and negotiate a deal with Management for some discounts or perks ... Now wouldn't it be really cool if we could create a small Haas Community right in Emeryville!?

EDIT (3): (1) Added a Map of Emeryville. (2,3) Fixed Graphics.

What you can buy for $134 million today!

2005-03-14T21:50:00.000-08:00

To the 1,200 billionaires out there - BOY do we have a place for YOU! Remember the difficulty you had trying to find a parking spot for your 7th and 8th limousines? Or when you your 5 illegitimate kids/mistresses fought over having their own pool to swim in? And who can forget the tacky 14-Karat mosaic floor you had to bear with in your previous home! Well look no further - we have the place for you!

Updown Court, a newly built mansion for sale just outside of London, offers plenty of lavish amenities: five swimming pools, eight-limousine garage, and mosaic floor made of 24-karat gold leaf in the downstairs study.

What does Updown Court have to offer the international billionaire? Start with size and opulence. The main house and two guesthouses comprise 60,000 square feet of living area. Among the 103 rooms are 22 bedrooms, each with its own marble bathroom.

Music Magic!

2005-03-08T14:51:00.000-08:00

So what is Music Magic you ask? Well, essentially its a playlist generator. It creates a playlist based off of songs you like. For example, if you like Hoobastank, you might like Dashboard Confessional.

So what's the difference between this and other playlist generators? Well it analyzes your music based off like 974327321 different characteristics rather than just using metadata information (i.e. genre, artist). For example, if you like songs with lots of electric guitars, then a playlist will be generated with U2 and Metallica and maybe some surprises ...

Just an example of a playlist I got recently using "Hoobstank - The Reason":
John Mayer - Love Song for No One
Michelle Branch - Enough
Matchbox Twenty - Bent
The Calling - Wherever You Go
Brand New - The Quiet Things That No One Ever Knows
Alex To - Take You Away (Chinese)
S.E.S - Yumeo Kasanete (Korean)

Since it uses the analysis of the song versus the genre, I get some pretty diverse (and weird, but fun) playlists!

Try it out and let me know what you think!

Warning: It takes a while analyzing all your songs, but you only have to do this once. I have like 4867 songs so I just left my computer on one night and it finished analyzing all my songs.

Disclosure: A subsidy of the company that I work for wrote this software. And we ARE NOT responsible if you don't like the playlists - its your fault, get some better music ... but we ARE responsible if you find the playlists refreshing and unique ... =)

Advantage: Berkeley MBA

2005-03-04T15:42:00.000-08:00

One of the things I really like about Berkeley Haas is the number of events the school has extended to newly admitted students.

Recent Events in the Bay Area:
- Haas Alumni Network Celebration in Silicon Valley
- Asia Business Conference
- Berkeley MBA Mixer in San Francisco

Recent Events in LA:
- DMEC Mixer in Los Angeles
- Berkeley MBA Dinner in Beverly Hills

Career Services:
- 20-minute phone session with a Career Advisor or Account Manager

Haas has also made the core schools list of recruiters at a number of companies that peak my interest including Amazon.com, McKinsey, and Yahoo!

Berkeley Haas DMEC LA Mixer

2005-03-04T13:53:00.000-08:00

The Berkeley Haas Digital Media and Entertainment Club hosted an LA Mixer at the BOA Lounge in West Hollywood last night. In attendance was a handful of admits, about 20-30 current students, about 20 alumni, and even some recruiters from Warner Brothers.

The main purpose of the DMEC's visit to LA was to meet with a number of companies in the Los Angeles area, including EA, Sony, Universal, and Disney. They met with Directors and Business Development Managers to learn more about the entertainment industry. It was really exciting to meet a number of current students in a very casual environment - after a couple of yager and cokes, I felt right at home!

I was definitely impressed by the passion and organization of the DMEC. Each student spoke enthusiastically about their career pursuits in the competitive entertainment industry and in regards to the connections that have established through Berkeley Alums. Many of the students were interviewing with a number of companies that I would love to work for including Yahoo, Apple, and EA.

One concern that I had with Berkeley Haas was regarding how much "fun" I would have at the school and how tight of a community I would be a part of - based off of last night's group, I would say that concern has been mitigated.

Edit: Typos. Spelling. Added some links and graphics.

Mercedes SLK320 Vs. BMW Z4

2005-02-28T11:54:00.000-08:00

After eliminating three east coast schools - Wharton, MIT Sloan, and Columbia - from consideration, I'm still evaluating Berkeley Haas and UCLA Anderson. With this in mind, I tried to compare them to something I know well - cars.

For example, HBS is the $250K Bentley.
The best available but, for most, unattainable.

Berkeley would be a Mercedes Benz. MBZ has a strong reputation in terms of craftsmanship and tradition. With its classic German engineering, it’s revered in terms of style, reliability and as a status symbol of wealth. The Haas School of Business would be considered the SLK320 with its small and intimate cabin (class).
Though the Haas School of Business is not as widely recognized as the world-renowned engineering department at Berkeley (S500), it's overall Mercedes brand carries the school internationally.

UCLA would be a BMW. Set in the background of Los Angeles, it cultivates an image of style and panache. Flashy; sporty; a social icon that appeals to the young and energetic. It's overall reputation as a vehicle is not as strong as the Mercedes Benz, but you wouldn't be able to tell from its enthusiastic drivers. BMW drivers are exceptionally loyal and proud to own "The Ultimate Driving Machine." UCLA Anderson would transcend into a BMW Z4.
The driving experience is much more exciting and edgy when compared to the smooth driving style of the MBZ, but it's longevity (post-MBA career) is questionable.

Business School Advice

2005-02-18T16:20:00.000-08:00

Read this over at a 1st year Haas student's blog and I thought I would jack it and post it here so I can reference it when I go to Business School. =)

Write down your goals: What are the top 3-5 things you want to accomplish during your B-School run? Review these goals regularly – hang them on your wall or keep it in your planner.

Get organized: If you do not already have one, get yourself a Palm Pilot, Treo, or paper-based system (Franklin Planner) to keep track of your (1) schedule, (2) rolodex, and (3) to do list. The rolodex is especially important – as you meet people (classmates, interviewers, professors, alumni), enter them in so you have record. Entering their names also will enhance your ability to remember them – repetition is the mother of skill.

Keep your resume up to date at all times! There is no official “resume season” – you could be asked for it at anytime, and failure to present one may preclude you from a great opportunity. Before you get knee-deep in classes, add your last experience to your resume if you haven’t already.

It’s all about Networking….

Get good at small talk: The best way to engage someone in small talk is to (1) remember their name when they tell you it and (2) ask them questions. I always have four questions ready to go for anyone I meet:
– What is your name?
– Where are you from?
– Where do you/have you worked?
– Where are you living? (on campus/off campus)
Any of these four questions can lead you to “Level 2” questions: For example – “where are you from” leads to things like “I’ve never been there – what is it like?” or “did you like living there?” or “sounds like paradise on earth – do you want to return there?” etc.

Meet, Greet, and Meet Some More: Meet as many people as you can. Even if you do not regularly socialize with them, you will be surprised how your former classmates will welcome an email from you 10 years down the road, even if they barely remember you.

Keep Your Guard Up: One of the things I learned from my 1st year Negotiation class is that there are two broad sets of negotiators: Givers (“Pie Makers”) and Takers (“Zero Summers”). Givers are people with loads of integrity and are willing to work with you to create a bigger pie before negotiating on how to divvy it up. Zero Summers are in it for themselves; their sole purpose is to take as much as they can off the table. When a giver negotiates with another giver, there is huge potential for mutual benefit, but when a giver negotiates with a taker, the giver gets royally hosed every time. If you are, by nature, a giver, be very wary of the takers. (I typically assume someone is a taker until they prove they are giver.)

Don’t Become a Social Outcast: You are going to meet plenty of people who are just plain intimidating (Perhaps, you will recognize these people by the fact that they are going to pull up in Mercedes/BMW’s, talk about the CEOs they play golf with, and come from esteemed families/social circles). But there are plenty of people there who DO have things in common with you. Also, your social circles will develop over time, so don’t get freaked out if by the end of September, you have not found a group to hang out with.

Watch the Gossip: This probably won’t be an issue for you, but there will be plenty of opportunities (usually around beers) to make fun of people based on their classroom comments or other social gaffes. Try not to participate – it has a habit of coming back around, and you never know when you will have to work with that person on a team project.

Sometimes You Gotta Force Yourself: If you find yourself not feeling like going to a meeting, extracurricular, company brief, or social function, go anyway. I can’t tell you how many times I have dreaded going to one of these functions only to have learned something important or to have met someone that helped me down the road.

Today’s Professors are Tomorrow’s Colleagues: Meet your professors, get to know them. They value you – you keep them young and energized. Down the road, you will want to network with them. I did a horrible job of this.

The Classroom….

Go to Class: Not sure how classroom participation works at Berkeley, but at HBS it was a significant portion of the grade. Regardless, go to class – you will learn more that way. And don’t show up late – it is unprofessional and you will look bad – very bad. If it came down to being late or not going at all, I chose not going at all.

Recognize that you bring value to the table: Don’t be intimidated (as I was) by the I-bankers and Management Consultants. They will have really good, strategic work experience. But you have an equally relevant base of knowledge and experience. You have the advantage of having worked in an operational role, and knowing what works day to day amongst people who make the strategy happen. More importantly, not many have your experience in web marketing. Use these as your base.

Learn the jargon: You will find that the consultants and I-bankers will come in with a certain level of business savvy that you do not have (and I did not have going in to HBS). These people have operated at a more strategic level than you; learn from them. Listen how they talk and write down phrases you hear that sound good. Also write down phrases that sound equally ridiculous – you may be able to start a game of Business Bingo or even write a B-School comedy.
Have fun learning new stuff: You are paying a lot of money for this – focus less on grades, and more on learning.

Leverage other people’s knowledge: Form a study group with people with diverse backgrounds. Aside from the learning aspects, it is a good way to socialize.
Get the Wall Street Journal: Read it everyday, even if only for 15 minutes over coffee – it is the best way to get educated on business, and gives you tidbits to contribute to conversations in and out of class.

The Future….

View yourself as your own business: You officially work for YOU Inc. You are your own business. Figure out what things interest you (e.g. web marketing), and become THE expert on it. Then find opportunities (not necessarily “jobs”) where you can leverage your expertise. There will be times in the upcoming years where these opportunities will take the form of a job. Other times, these opportunities may take the form of a consulting/freelance role. Ultimately, these opportunities lead to the development of new skills and expertise, which open up a whole new set of opportunities.

Don’t settle for a job: Figure out something that interests you and go from there. I was interested in technology, I researched a couple of industries, and decided to go into telecom; I did not waste my time learning about other “hot industries” like Financial Services. Perhaps I could have made more money, but it did not interest me and I would not have been successful because I did not have the interest.

Don’t wait ‘til “interview season” to look for an opportunity: Devote time each week to learning about industries/companies/opportunities you are interested in. Get yourself a small notebook to jot down statistics or quotes that you can use in interviews, cover letters, and conversations. This is all part of the building expertise theme – you need to come across as an expert and part of that is industry knowledge.

Watch Your Burn Rate (a.k.a. Beware of Clothing Companies): In keeping with the “view yourself as your own business” theme, the #1 reason why startups fail is they run out of cash. So don’t let YOU Inc run out of cash. Rest assured, Hickey Freeman will try to sell you a $1500 suit, claiming that “you need this suit to be successful in your interviews.” Unless you are headed to Wall Street, a tailored $300-$400 suit will do you fine. The more general idea behind this is don’t do anything that unnecessarily raises your burn rate. Doing so will raise the amount you have to borrow and puts you in a deeper hole.

Organize Your Finances: Consider getting Quicken – it is a good time to get your finances organized. Also, keep good paper records around your school loans. We bought a plastic, portable file box with 2-3 accordion files to go inside – one was for our School Loans and the others were for bills, etc. Just don’t do anything to screw up your credit rating. You will need it later.

Debt Fears: Don’t worry about your debt – you will find a way to pay it off. We emerged from B-School/L-School with over $100K of debt; we paid it off, and we don’t exactly have Wall Street power jobs. (In fairness, they kinda do have big important jobs)

Go Cal~!!!

2005-02-11T16:09:00.000-08:00

November 4, 2004 - OXFORD and Cambridge are among the world's top ten universities, according to a new global ranking published today.

They were fifth and sixth respectively in the league table of the world's 200 best universities. Harvard, which boasts an endowment of nearly $23billion (£12.7billion), was first in the list produced by The Times Higher Education Supplement (THES).

American institutions occupied seven of the top ten places, with Oxbridge the highest-ranked outside the United States.

London's position as a centre of global educational significance was confirmed with four institutions in the top 50. The London School of Economics was 11th, Imperial College 14th, University College London 34th, and the School of Oriental and African Studies 44th.

The only European university outside Britain in the top 20 was the Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, Switzerland, in tenth place.

Cambridge, Massachusetts, however, can lay claim to being the world's most intellectual city, as home to Harvard and to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which was ranked at No3.

California also scored highly, with the University of California, Berkeley, in second place, the California Institute of Technology, fourth, and Stanford seventh.

Tokyo University, in Japan, ranked at No12, was the highest-ranked institution in Asia, followed by Beijing University at No17.

Australian universities featured particularly well. Six were among the top 50 in the World University Rankings, led by the Australian National University in sixteenth place.

France, by contrast, managed just two universities in the top 50, with the École Polytechnique in 27th place and École Normale Supérieure 30th. Heidelburg University, in 47th place, was Germany's only entry, one fewer than Hong Kong.

Britain was home to 18 of Europe's top 50 universities, and six of the top ten, but not a single institution from Spain, Portugal, Italy or Greece made the list. The United States had 62 of the top 200 universities, followed by Britain with 30, Germany 17 and Australia 14. Twenty-nine countries were represented in the global rankings overall.

Universities were placed in the table with the help of findings from a survey for the THES of 1,300 academics in 88 countries. They were asked to name the best institutions in the fields that they felt knowledgeable about.

The table also included data on the amount of cited research produced by faculty members as an indicator of intellectual vitality, the ratio of faculty to student numbers and a university's success in attracting foreign students and internationally renowned academics in the global market for education. The five factors were weighted and transformed against a scale that gave the top university 1,000 points and ranked everyone else as a proportion of that score.

Harvard, whose faculty members have won 40 Nobel prizes, emerged as the world's best university by a considerable distance, with second-placed Berkeley rated 120 points behind at 880.2. Oxford scored 731.8, slightly ahead of Cambridge on 725.4.

John O'Leary, Editor of the THES, said: "Leading universities increasingly define themselves in terms of international competition. By taking account of the views of academics from across five continents and using the most up-to-date statistics, our ranking gives an informed picture of the world's top universities."

A world league of the best 500 research universities, published in September by academics at Shanghai Jiao Tong University in China, placed Cambridge third behind Harvard and Stanford. Oxford came eighth, while British universities ranked second overall behind those in the United States.

Last December a report by Richard Lambert, former Editor of the Financial Times, urged the Russell Group of Britain's leading 19 universities to establish a league table of the world's best research institutions, by which they could measure their own performances.

World's Top 50 Universities:
1. Harvard University (US) 1,000 pts
2. University of California, Berkeley (US) 880.2
3. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (US) 788.9
4. California Institute of Technology (US) 738.9
5. Oxford University (UK) 731.8
6. Cambridge University (UK) 731.8
7. Stanford University (US) 688.0
8. Yale University (US) 582.8
9. Princeton University (US) 557.5
10. ETH Zwrich (Switzerland) 553.7
11. London School of Economics (UK) 484.4
12. Tokyo University (Japan) 482.0
13. University of Chicago (US) 444.0
14. Impreial College London (UK) 443.7
15. University of Texas at Austin (US) 421.5
16. Australian National University (Australia) 417.7
17. Beijing University (China) 391.8
18. National Univesity of Singapore (385.9)
19. Columbia University (US) 384.1
20. University of California, San Francisco (US) 376.5
21. McGill University (Canada)
22. Melbourne University (Australia) 353.2
23. Cornell University (US) 348.8
24. University of California, San Diego (US) 331.5
25. John Hopkins University (US) 330.8
26. University of California, Los Angeles (US) 316.4
27. Ecole Polytechnique (France) 315.5
28. Pennsylvania University (US) 306.9
29. Kyoto University (Japan) 303.7
30. Ecole Normale Superleure (France) 298.4
31. Michigan University (US) 293.3
32. Ecole Polytechnique Dederale de Lausanne (Switzerland)
33. Monash University (Australia) 286.0
34. University of College London (UK) 284.2
35. Illinois University (US) 281.6
36. New South Wales University (Australia) 275.7
37. Toronto University (Canada) 272.5
38. Carnegie Mellon University (US) 259.4
39. Hong Kong Universtiy (HK) 249.5
40. Sydney University (Australia) 245.2
41. Indian Institue of Technology (India) 241.7
42. Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HK) 240.6
43. Manchester University (UK) 238.5
44. School of Oriental and African Studies (UK) 235.8
45. Massachusetts University (US) 235.7
46. University of British Columbia (Canada) 230.4
47. Heidelberg University (Germany) 228.3
48. Edinburgh University (UK) 227.6
49. Queensland University (Australia) 223.9
50. Nanyan University (Singapore) 217.1

FULL DISCLOSURE: I am a proud graduate of the University of California, Berkeley. =)

Berkeley Haas

2005-01-28T15:58:00.000-08:00

Just got the call today, I'm In!!!

DePodesta from Harvard???

2005-01-12T17:49:00.000-08:00

Okay, first of all I have to say I respect Paul DePodesta. He became the GM of the Los Angeles Dodgers at age 31. But with all due respect, WTF is he thinking??? I don't claim to be a Dodgers fan, but I do follow the team and I am completely preplexed as to where he is going with the team!

So what is DePodesta doing?
A) Rebuilding
B) Cutting Payroll
C) Increasing Payroll
D) All the above.

Answer: Beats the crap out of me.

His first (non)move of the offseason was to watch the runner-up to Barry Bonds in the NL MVP voting walk to Seattle for a cool 5 year $64 million dollar deal. Okay, so maybe the Dodgers are rebuilding and cutting payroll? Nope, instead, almost as a reactionary move, they go out and sign J.D. Drew for 5 years $55 million dollars. Hmmm ... There is no doubt that Drew is exceptionally gifted, but he's played only one full (145 games) in 6 seasons! Plus Beltre is 4 years YOUNGER than Drew, he's a fan favorite, and he's been with the club since he was 15 years old! I wouldn't trade Adrian Beltre for J.D. Drew and $9 Million dollars, would you?

After the Beltre fallout, DePodesta gets involved in the Randy Johnson deal. But its not to acquire the Big Unit, its to HELP the Yankees out!! Huh? Uh ... okay ... instead of pulling the deal, the Dodgers get cold feet and pull the plug, which draws the aire of the Yankees and raises eyebrows around the league. After thinking that it was all over, the Dodgers then complete a seperate deal to trade Shawn Green and $10 million dollars for a handful of prospects that won't make their top 10 list. Wow, all that to save $6 Million dollars? All that so DePodesta can prove that trading LoDuca and Mota for Brad Penny and Hee Seop Choi last year wasn't a bad deal?

My last grip is with the signing of Odalis Perez and Derek Lowe. I think Perez is a good pitcher, but I don't think he had a lot of suitors. I think the Dodgers got pinned in a corner with the deadline to sign Perez or lose him and they overpaid. And speaking of overpaying, Derek Lowe had a 5.13 ERA last year. 4 years $36 million?? That's a bit excessive isn't it? Especially considering no one else was really interested?? You'd think the Dodgers would have learned from the Kevin Brown deal. But its pretty obvious they didn't - Scott Boras ripped a new one for the Dodgers ... again ...

I'm sorry, I'm not a fan of what DePodesta has accomplished this offseason and I'm not alone (LA Times). However, maybe I'm wrong. It's possible that Beltre was a one-hit wonder and will fade in the background in gloomy Seattle. Perhaps J.D. Drew will stay healthy and contend for the MVP award. Maybe Shawn Green doesn't bounce back to his .320 avg and 42 HR and Choi actually proves that he belongs in the big leagues. Its also not hard to conceive that Lowe will return to his 2002 form and contend for the Cy Young.

I'm rooting for you DePodesta! Show me that Harvard education wasn't a waste of $200K!!!

Berkeley MBA Interview Invitation

2004-12-22T16:21:00.000-08:00

The smile I had on Monday evening just got wee-bit wider. =)

BW: Admissions Q&A with Pete Johnson & Jett Pihakis
Pihakis: Last year, we created Super Saturday interview days. Tomorrow is a Super Saturday for about 100 round-one applicants. It's an opportunity for us to do a huge number of interviews in one day. We invite people from all around the world so that they can get a day of activities and an interview. They hear from current students and career-services representatives, and they get to meet each other.

Last year, we did it as a result of feedback: People who had come to campus were disappointed with their interview experience because all they had was a 45-minute interview, as classes weren't in session.

Johnson: An invitation to attend a Super Saturday doesn't mean you're offered admission. These applicants are still under consideration.

Pihakis: Of those we interviewed last year, 75% were offered admission.

Johnson: But we expect that percentage to change this year as we move toward interviewing the vast majority of people we consider for admission.

I'm so excited because not only do I get to interview with my alma mater, but I also get to go visit the frat I started and attend a rush event! GO PSP!

This has turned out to be a wonderful week! I wish all my weeks were filled with such great news!!! =)

GMAT Strategy

2004-12-14T22:35:00.000-08:00

Here are some general GMAT Strategies that I have shared with my friends and on the BW forums:

1) Learn the basics. Know the 30/60/90 triangles by heart and don't guess on SC, make sure you know "why" a sentence is wrong or right.

2) Learn the strategies from Princeton Review and Kaplan. But use what you are comfortable with.

3) Don't go Test Crazy. You will get burnt-out and you will pay less attention to details when you take the actual test. Take one test a week or so.

4) Use the 10th edition like it was the bible! Start from the back of each section, those are newer CAT problems.

5) Do problem sets in 1.5 hour blocks. Keep track of how many you do in a certain amount of time and make sure you pace yourself.

6) Learn from your mistakes! More important than getting the answers right - and feeling overconfident - is understanding why you got the question wrong.

7) Relax the days leading up to the test. Don't cram.

Learn the strategies, but when you take the test it should become second nature. Pace yourself. Work hard on the first 10-15 problems and then start guessing if you run out of time.

I spent approximately 30 hours studying for the exam over two months. I used the PR, Kaplan and 10th edition books to study and got a 99 percentile score.

Two things to keep in mind about the GMAT.
1) A great GMAT score won't make you! It's only one part of the application process, if you have a 700 stop obsessing and write some brilliant essays!
2) But it can break you. If you are not within the middle 80% of your target school, do it right and get some help with your GMATs. At the very least you won't have the "Man, if I only spent the extra bucks on BLANK, I would have gotten a better score" regret.