I've always loved the color red...

Let's hope I can adapt to my new school colors of "cardinal" and white!

I suppose it's time to make a decision...

I promised an update to some of you on Stanford's admit weekend. I also promised myself I'd make a decision by the end of this week. Well, it's T minus 7 hours now. Here's where I stand!

I was pretty anxious for Stanford's admit weekend - truthfully, I was either hoping to hate it or be blown away. I thought the weekend was great...but so was harvard's. Let me break down some of the highlights of the weekend:

1. Meeting the fellow admits. The first day of these things is fun, but exhausting. The string of: "where are you from? where do you work? what do you do? are you decided? what are you doing this summer?" gets old after the first 15 people. But, I felt like I moved past that with more than a few people and had no problem envisioning them as my future classmates! :)

2. Learning more about the new curriculum. I have read and heard bits and pieces about the new, more personalized Stanford curriculum, but feeling like a guinea pig makes me a wee bit nervous. We spent an hour and a half going through the changes, which I think are important but not a complete overhaul of the current program (phew!) I like that you have a lot of flexibility in choosing your classes - while you have to take, let's say, a finance class. You have a choice of 3 different finance classes to fulfill that requirement. A finance guru will never waste his time sitting in finance 101. Also, they are trying to take all the competencies and bring them together in a couple leadership classes & seminars. Innovative: yes. Scary-reinventing the wheel-I won't know anything when I graduate and hence no one will want to hire me: no. (welcome to the irrational inner-world of mba babe!)

3. Flexibility. I got the feeling at Stanford that I could do/be/try anything I wanted. The program really is that flexible. Want to try your hand at entrepreneurship and work a few hours a week w/ an entrepreneur in the bay area? check! Want to take classes at the design school, law school, etc without jumping through a bunch of logistical hoops? check! Want to learn a language but never leave the business school? check! Want to have 2 internships including a 4-week international stint? check!

4. The weather. Silly, yes, but considering my post-mba goals include moving to a place that has a real winter, I could hold out on the snow for another couple years.

5. Derrick Bolton's welcome speech. There is someone in the admitted class that won medals at the olympics! and 2 navy seals! and a tae kwan do champion! he really made each admit feel like they were about to embark on a special journey with a special group of people...the perfect start to the weekend, and many said it was the highlight. Go Derrick!

Sooo...all that raving? Why haven't I sent in my deposit yet?

1. It is hard to say no to harvard. (yep, i said it) And I really liked it both times I visited, even more importantly. So, if i choose stanford, will i regret it?

2. Alumni network. Where I see myself post-MBA has more harvard peeps running around than stanford.

3. Classroom dynamic. Sitting in the same class with the same 90 people for a year creates a unique dynamic - I think this is unparalleled.

Sooo...why haven't I made a decision?

1. Although I know this is my decision, I've received a lot of different input on each school from important people in my life. Seems to be clouding my judgment in an "i don't want to disappoint" type of way.

2. The boyfriend. He's really supportive of my decision either way, but obv it would be easier if I stayed in the area. (yes, this is the boy that is the ONE!) ;) Is it worth it to sacrifice the life we have together now and spend 2 years apart when it's not absolutely necessary?

3. I am a wimp. I know, I need to just commit and I will be happy at either. and i know "i can't go wrong at either" (trust me, that is the saying of the week). But it doesn't matter where you are deciding between, it is a huge decision!

sigh. i'll post again at the end of the day.