Last week I co-hosted with Dr. Peter Regan of MBA Math a chat focused on the quant experience of MBA students at MIT Sloan. The special guests at the chat were Maura Herson, Associate Director of Student Affairs; Jeri Seidman, instructor of the pre-term accounting course for the past two years; and first-year MBA students Susan Hanemann Rogol and John Clingan.
The transcript is fascinating because it provides a window into the academic demands of a top MBA program as well as the supportive community at MIT Sloan. An excerpt:
Peter Regan (Mar 8, 2007 12:05:13 PM)
Susan Rogol is a first year student in the Sloan MBA program with a BA in English from Tufts University and an AAS in Culinary Arts from Kendall Culinary. Prior to school, Susan was a founding Senior Associate Food Editor for Everyday Food, a Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Publication. Before that she co-founded and operated Cheffie’s Market & More, an award winning restaurant in Memphis. Susan chose to attend MIT Sloan because the school’s strong quantitative bent would enhance her entrepreneurial and general management background.Peter Regan (Mar 8, 2007 12:05:24 PM)
Susan, perhaps you could expand your introduction by adding a comment about the degree of stretch between your pre-MBA day-to-day responsibilities and your expressed goal to absorb the strong quantitative training you sought from MIT. What was your anxiety level about quant requirements in the period between being admitted and actually walking onto campus?SusanHanemannRogolMIT (Mar 8, 2007 12:06:00 PM)
I actually had hands on management experience but I was interested in being able to mathematically defend my business choicesPeter Regan (Mar 8, 2007 12:07:11 PM)
Susan and John, how would you characterize the quant demands of the courses that you are taking right now? How do you balance the demands of quantitative and qualitative courses?SusanHanemannRogolMIT (Mar 8, 2007 12:08:20 PM)
The quant demands are high in my financial statement analysis classes, however Sloan sets each student up with a strong team to help.Peter Regan (Mar 8, 2007 12:08:49 PM)
Susan, what is the range of quant backgrounds in your team?SusanHanemannRogolMIT (Mar 8, 2007 12:10:28 PM)
Of the five people on my core team, one had a background in airline pricing, one had experience as an economic consultant, one was a math wiz straight out of school, and one was a tech program manager. In addition to weekly TA office hours, there are second year students that offer their time as tutors for courses in which they did well first term.
If you are hesitating to pursue an MBA because of a weak quant background, I strongly recommend this transcript. If you are a math whiz interested in MIT, you too will find the transcript insightful.