Greetings Y'all

7/25/18

​Howdy! To begin, my name is Greta Swift and Shri, my oh-so-wonderful graduate admissions advisor, advised (made) me to do this. So here I am, starting a blog about my Master of Business Administration journey at the one and only Syracuse University in the Martin J. Whitman School of Management. So basically, I’m treating this post as my ‘About Me’ post, even though those of you who actually cared to click on this link off my social media already know me pretty damn well. Also, hello to all my family who creeps on my Facebook page!

All sarcastic-ness aside though, the purpose of this blog is document my journey as an MBA student and hopefully provide some helpful information, stories, and tips to fellow students who are considering embarking on or are already on the same path as me. In this blog, I’ll cover everything from my admissions process to classroom stories to my failed (but hilarious) attempts of seeming smarter than I actually am to everything in between.

Don’t get me wrong, I expect this journey to be tough and I know I’ll face plenty of challenges along the way, but I want this blog to reflect not only that but also the light-hearted adventures, meetings with interesting people, and philosophical moments that come with being a graduate student.

To share a little bit more about myself, I’m a ripe 22 years old and I grew up in the legendary (but not actually) Chittenango, New York – it’s an itty-bitty farm town about 20 minutes East of Syracuse. However, my senior year of High School, my family and I made the cross country move to the suburbia that is Katy, Texas. After finishing my high school career in Texas, I decided that I kind of liked the cowboy booting, everything has to be huge, let’s listen to George Strait and pretend we’re cowboys Texas culture… well I actually stayed because I really really like the Whataburger Patty Melt and I love football (Friday Night Lights, anyone?). Ergo, I decided to attend Texas A&M University and study sports. After an epic four years of studying my ass off, playing beer pong, meeting incredible people, starting major disaster relief foundations (that’s another story), and interning everywhere I could in the sport business, I graduated from Texas A&M University a degree in Sport Management, minors in Business and Communications, Magna Cum Laude Latin Honors, and Undergraduate Research Scholar Honors.

So now I need to explain why I decided to pursue my MBA and that would be another essay (another post) that I’m too lazy to write right now so here’s the spark note version: during my undergrad, I fell in love through a series of internships and research opportunities with the field of collegiate athletic compliance. So basically, I want to work in NCAA governed college sports. However, in order to get a job in collegiate compliance, you must first have your masters degree. So, here I am.

During my senior year of undergrad, I applied to MBA programs across the country. After a lengthy MBA admissions process, I decided to attend Syracuse University (again, another post). By the way, when I say lengthy I mean HOLY CRAP WAS IT LENGTHY. Just a tidbit, but apparently most MBA programs don’t accept applicants who are straight from undergrad because they want their students to have work experience first – it makes sense but sheesh. But anyways, I still figured out my way in and it was just more of a pain in the ass than it would’ve been for the averagely experienced applicant.

So just about a month ago, I moved back across the country to the land of Orange and I’ve started my new life here. Since arriving, I’ve become the new Whitman Graduate Student Ambassador, started work as a Strategic Planning Intern for SU’s Office of the Provost, and began to immerse myself back into the Upstate New York Culture. Honestly, Syracuse thus far has been a very welcoming new home (I refuse to say warming because I’ve already lived through the winters here and even the thought of warmth is shot down by Jack Frost) and I can’t wait to start classes this Fall! Stay tuned.
 
Also, here’s a list of topics that I’ll be writing about this Summer: the GMAT, the overall admissions process, my admissions decision, the financial aid debacle, setting up my life in Syracuse, what Whitman has to offer beyond the classroom, our required summer online class, and preparing for orientation.