Four More Years!!

No, I’m not rooting for George Bush for four more years. (I know that’s impossible anyways).

This past week, I started my first day of graduate school, which will take me four years to complete. I decided a while ago that I wanted, for some reason, to pursue an MBA with a concentration in marketing. After taking the GMAT, applying to UNM’s Anderson School of Management, getting accepted, and then fighting with UNM and trying to convince them that my name is NOT Carmelita Cereceres anymore, I went to my first day of class on Tuesday.

The whole UNM experience has been quite interesting so far. The more I deal with UNM, the more I realize just how well I had it at NM Tech. For example, you didn’t have to pay for parking at Tech. In fact, you could park right on campus for free! Right in front of the building you had class in if you were lucky. Personally, I could park at our house, which was two blocks from campus, and get to class in about 5-10 minutes depending on where I was going.

At UNM, free parking does not exist, and parking on campus is a bit tricky. I shelled out about $80 for a South Lot parking permit, which allows me to park at University Stadium (which is three miles south of campus) and ride the shuttle up to campus, where the shuttle will drop me off on the south side of campus and I have to walk completely across campus to my class. I’m trying not to complain, I really am, but after five years of being spoiled at Tech, it’s hard not to complain. The good thing in all this is that after 3:45, my parking permit become “universal” and I can park in almost any lot, including several on campus. Since my class is at 4, I think I will be able to find a parking spot in a nearby parking lot and just walk less than five minutes to class…I think! 

I won’t go describe ALL the differences that I’m experiencing, but I will say that my admission process to UNM has been hell. It got so bad last week, that I was actually thinking of disenrolling completely.

All that aside, I went to my first class on Tuesday. I was a bit in frantic mode from the beginning because I left work later than what I wanted to and was afraid I would be late (especially since I was planning on parking in South Lot and riding the shuttle). Luckily I found a parking spot not too far from my class. The next hurdle involved me finding my class. I went to the wrong building first, and then when I thought I found the building, I was hesitant that it was the right one because the sign called it something else. Once I decided the building was right, I realized that I had forgotten my class schedule and didn’t have the room number. Luckily, I’ve looked at it so many times that was about 90% sure that the class number was 230. In the end, I made it to class, on time, and in the right classroom.

I had 2 hours and 75 minutes of class, which I will spare you the details. I did experience a bit of culture shock, especially since the class is about 40 people, which 2/3 is female. I’m not used to being in such a big class dominated by women. My professor is awesome so far. I didn’t fall asleep in class, which says a lot, especially since I was in there for so long. (By the way, this class is called Statistical Analysis for Management Decisions). I made my first graduate school acquaintance, which turns out to be a roommate from an acquaintance at church (such a small world).

As of this writing, I have completed my first week’s homework, and am starting on next week’s. Figured I should get ahead now while I have the energy and time. Although I’m enjoying the homework so far, I’m still wondering if I can take four years of this along with working full-time. We’ll see how it goes.