It's amazing how fast 2007 passed me by. It seems like yesterday that I was kicking off the school year with my immersion cohorts during Week on Wall St. We had just finished the first semester (the heralded "core") and were starting our hunt for internships. After the blur of my summer internship and the fall semester, it's hard to believe I've only got four months of class left before my MBA experience is over!
One of the best perks of being a student again is the long winter breaks. It's really a month-long vacation. You only have about 4 weeks off during your first year since final exams are done after the first week of December and you have to be back at school around the first week of January when the immersions start up. (Those 4 weeks aren't entirely free since most immesions load you up with a bunch of readings/projects to complete over the break). But the second year gets better. You get a solid 6-week break since elective courses don't start until the third week of January, you don't have to worry about doing any assignments, and there's a good chance you'll already have your full-time job offer in hand which relieves the stress of preparing for interviews. Many of my second-year classmates are using the time off to travel: I have friends going to China, India, Hawaii, Vegas, and Africa. I'm using part of my time to hang out with family in Salt Lake City and then I'll be in Ithaca until classes start. My daughter is in kindergarten, and it's funny that she doesn't get as much time off from school as I do.
I couldn't be more excited about my last semester at Cornell. In addition to the Cayuga Fund, I'll also be taking Behavioral Finance, Search for Alpha, Intermediate Accounting, and a self-study course to prepare for the third level of the CFA exam. You're probably thinking how anyone could be "excited" over that line up, but it's easy to develop a passion for the capital markets when you're so intensely immersed in studying them. My plan is to soak up as much learning and experience as I can over the last semester since this is the last opportunity I'll have to be unemployed (at least I hope it's the last opportunity...)
