This page only consists of “Lists of Things I wish I knew when I…” – mostly, but not necessarily, from me. Jun 22 2009.
Started College
- Figured out what should go into email signatures
- The value of class-shopping
- The importance of making and keeping friends
- How to meet strangers
- The power of reputation
- How rewarding it is to work on individual research with professors
- How refreshing it is to study abroad
- The ability to ask anything stupid
- How to handle missed deadlines
Started a Business
- If you have partners, be clear on their “exit clauses” - in case things go ugly. (Thanks to Simon Lee from In Vito Cafe, Beijing)
- No, you can’t skimp on the legal
- Forms of corporations
- State and Federal registration important
Went travelling
- It’s surprising how much you can’t do without a passport – it matters more than people
- The discounts for booking flights early are overrated
- “Sightseeing” is a poor man’s substitute for “Friendseeing” – for a man who is poor in number of friends
- The joys of disposable underwear
Applied for an MBA
- Supply and demand – Timing is important
- Need rock-solid referrals
- GMAT is only a threshold. 720. My experience taking the GMAT, and advice.
- Nothing is certain.
- There is no “right stage of your life” for an MBA, but there is a “right attitude” going into it.
Took up a Scholarship
- Have you really explored -all- alternative forms of funding?
Started learning about Finance
- not everything labeled “Finance” in the library/bookshop is the “Finance” you want; not everything about the “Finance” you want is labeled “Finance”
- Most authority figures work on slightly differing definitions and assumptions and data. Watch out for them.
Wanted to lose weight
- Gyms are more guaranteed to make your wallet lose weight than your actual body.
- Overall fitness is more desirable than working on just abs or just delts.
- Self-control means total control – your weight will not forgive a binge even if your mind does.
- Losing weight is a means to an end; find a great end, and you will find your will.
how did you lose your passport? oh man
Hey you ok? Have you got your passport back yet? – er I think a more pertinent question is, given that spring break ends in about 24 hours’ time – are you back at where you ought to be?
in a weird sort of way, i envy you.
Good luck! Hope you make it out as planned!
Maybe you could post some photos, if you still have your camera – or borrow one.
Sometimes, kindness need not be repaid to the same people who showed it to you. One throws a coin, a note, then disappears into the crowd. Another is the unseen hand. Or Daddy-long-legs.
I don’t think you’ll be in a hurry to go back to Cuba once you get outa there but who knows? Maybe someday, you just might repay them in some ways. Just not today. Not yet.
I know how you feel. Cuba is a four-letter word now. Well, it’s not even a word, come to think of it.
You bet! The only way to really “experience” any country is not by going around as a tourist, staying in nice clean sanitized hotels (or equivalent), and buying up every cute little things with your spare change. Know what? Maybe YOU can write about Habana when you get back.
It can’t be that bad, being a Cubano? At least they have their world-famous cigars? And dude, you’re getting free Spanish lessons.
i’m out! haha trust me the expense wasnt worth it. i do have a camera and tons of photos… but no way to post them, which is partially why I havent been writing about the full story or of Cuba as yet
when he said the best central bankers come from engineering background, does he refer to local historical trends or a more general statement applying worldwide and to the future as well? if it’s local historical trend, that statement is pretty useless as the country goes through different phases of development with different human resources distribution. or if it is a more theoretical general statement, it could be that doctors and lawyers make equally good central bankers if they even deign to want to do so. of course, after considering their considerable opportunity costs, it may not be wise to do so. I am always peeved when engineering students think they have the right of passage to work in finance industry as and when they wish, as though they are even more qualified than finance students. that may well be true for some, but for many, it is so not true.
hey shawn!
still owning i see. wuts gg on lol!
haha just finished financial accounting! happy happy. what a drag that was
I think you should spend some time thinking about why you want to do an MBA. The benefits of networking and taking a break does not seem to fit in your program since you will be too busy to do either, and your MBA-mates being much older and with much more experience are less likely to connect with you.
Also, your salary estimates are way off because firms will find it hard to justify hiring you as a normal MBA candidate without the work experience. This puts them in a difficult position: they can’t hire you as an undergraduate, and they are also unsure if they want you as a post-MBA candidate.
Its still possible to be hired, but be careful of pricing yourself out of the market.
The big numbers were very enlightening, 5 trillion in overall debt, etc., very big picture, very good.
I hope i didnt give the impression that i wrote this article. Wish i could do something like this!
Thinking very hard about this. Would appreciate any Lauder contacts/ thoughts on alternatives – my other two options are to do a Masters in Financial Engineering on the West Coast or stay the full 4 years at Penn and get an Engineering or Alternative Investments or some other major.
btw if you wanted to solve the question you’re going to need the assumptions of s1 = 14.6 and s2 = 14.4. The Pvalue you should get is pretty low, at about 0.0022
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Some story-tellers begin from the end. Maybe you can try that sometimes – think about where you want to be or might be, say 10, 20, 30 years from now. Will you then do the same things that you’re doing now? Or will what you’re doing now matter then?
I don’t think its because its three Finance course but rather because it is so many Wharton courses. Inge and Janice Bellace are pretty much against students overloading on Wharton courses because they feel it defeats the purpose of the Huntsman Prog.
I lost the battle today, she gave me too many alternatives to ignore. she even suggested dropping Huntsman and going full Wharton. surprisingly the issue really was all about taking 3 Finance courses. She said they’d only allow that for a graduating senior who needed it. When i mentioned taking Stephen Kobrin’s course instead she acquiesced. However I think I want to do an IB course in China instead so it works out!
I also argued with her about the huntsman website and lauder’s OPI standards. She called me the “most argumentative” Singaporean she had ever met.
hard to say. but networks and the experience of doing a broad variety of things in University are generally agreed to be important.. that is what I am doing now.
i miss u very much, gor gor !
when are u coming back ?
mummy miss u too!
december, i miss you too!
Glad that the Malawi trip was an eye-opener.
S1a would hv wanted u to say to yourself this 10 times: “I believe in myself. I can do it!” before the interview. It will work.
My hero! congrats!
HEY WASSUP SHORN!!!
lolwut!
what up!
giant man
that is probably because the medicine or the antibodies triggered could stay in the blood for up to 3 years.
on the other hand, the medicine is damn good….
your sister is damn cute. she looks a lot like you. haha anyway i used to donate blood at least 4 times a year (haha actually i think that’s max a year) and i used to collect the silly stress balls that they’d give you to keep your blood going. i stopped for the same reasons tho.
fwah.
whassuppp
Shawn, the page looks amazing!!
thanks joojalicious
wow!
hi tongkai!!!
insuring each other is a great way of sharing capital for risky assets that normally would have low default correlation. one fails, or the other, but likely not both. problem occurs because default correlations don’t always hold true in systemic failure.
hey this is cool so have u finally devised a method to mathematically determine the result of football matches? haha i look forward to seeing your predictions here. meet up soon i hope!
never knew this existed…
I knew Doug Coulter many years ago and am trying to contact him. I would appreciate it if you could you provide any information.
Unseen Academicals is OUT
hey hey hey did you read roger lowenstein’s book on ltcm. fun read.
i can’t remember the details but the russian bonds i think only added up to about 40% of their losses. they had positions on volatility also.
Unseen Academicals was such a disappointment =(
Pretty thought-invoking post – raises some interesting points for debate. I just stumbled upon your blog this morning and wanted to say that I have really liked browsing some of the posts. Anyways, I’ll be subscribing to your feed and I hope to read more very soon!