Posted 10:07 AM by Zachary (e-mail)
Midterm Bonanza
This is midterm week, with exams in Accounting, Corporate Strategy, and Marketing. The first seven weeks of the Fall term (i.e. "Fall A" in Michigan parlance) are over, and the second seven (Fall B) about to begin.

Of the five core courses (Marketing, Accounting, Finance, Strategy, and [Micro]Economics), only Strategy is a 7 week class. So the [core class] "CSIB 502 - Corporate Strategy" had its final exam yesterday, rather than a midterm. Starting on Monday, it will be replaced in my schedule with another core class "CSIB 503 - World Economy", which seems to be a cross between corporate strategy and macroeconomics.

Corporate Strategy was an interesting class. Since my career focus is finance and trading, the material wasn't exactly my cup of tea. However, our section was fortunate to get Professor Kale as the instructor; his rigor and demanding approach helped me to engage a lot more than I expected in the course. The fact that the entire class was taught through the case method helped in that regard, too.

Since all MBA students are expected to go through the core classes, first year students have little say over which professors they get. Overall, I've been very happy with [my section's]. Out of the five core classes, I'd say that three of the professors are excellent, and only one of the professors has been a disappointment (to me).

I, and several other MBA1s interested in sales/trading, will be taking a sixth class during Fall B (the next seven weeks): FIN 609, Fixed Income
Securities and Markets. I'm very excited about this class, but wanted to take it this term because of its applicability to trading interviews. Basically, I don't want to be caught in January with a blank look on my face when a trader asks about zero curves and Eurodollar futures. Of course six classes is a pretty hefty courseload; I understand that sacrafices will have to be made, in the vein of my previous post.

Posted 11:37 AM by Zachary (e-mail)
The UMBS Grading Policy
For some reason, I'd gone these first couple months without hearing a single, clear explanation of what Michigan's grading policy is. So I dropped by the academic services office for the scoop.

Like some other business schools, Michigan does not assign the typical A,B,C letter grades. Instead, we have four grade levels:
EX - Excellent
GD - Good
PS - Pass
LP - Low Pass

These grades translate to point values of 4 to 1, enabling students to calculate a rough GPA for themselves (although nobody does). The school itself does not keep or calculate any GPA numbers except right before graduation, and then only to determine who will graduate with honors.

All the core courses are graded on a forced curve: 25% of students will get Excellents, 35% will get Goods, 35% will get Passes, and 5% will get Low Passes. In elective courses the grading curve is more variable, up to the professor's discression.

Especially as midterms are now here, most students are ambivalent about grades. Michigan doesn't seem to attract many of the super-anal overachievers [that I had seen as an undergrad], but students (at this point in the term) still seem to be putting a lot of emphasis in doing well in all their courses.

But grades, in an MBA program, are of very little importance other than to the students' pride. Most recruiting industries do not ask about grades or GPAs, and it would take a really terrible performance (i.e. Low Passes in 60% of the classes) to "flunk out" of business school.

For myself, landing a summer internship in [the ultra-competitive field of] sales and trading is my number one priority, so some of my courses have taken a step back in importance. Finance and Accounting are still high priorities, for obvious reasons, but in the other core courses I wrestle with my competitive side (that wants to do well in every class), the quality of the professors (I hate to do poorly in classes where I like the prof), and the practical/time demands of job hunting. There is no right or wrong answer in this struggle, and it's up to each student to figure out what their priorities are.

Posted 7:09 PM by Zachary (e-mail)
The Innkeeper of Saguntum


One of my favorite extracurricular activities here is drawing a cartoon for the business school newspaper, the Monroe Street Journal. Titled "The Innkeeper of Saguntum", it focuses on the events in the Roman town of Saguntum (present-day Sagunto, Spain) during the years 219 and 218 BC. The battle for Saguntum played a decisive role in the path of the Second Punic War between Rome and Carthage.

I've begun posting the completed cartoons to the web, and they are visible (albeit in reverse-chronological order) at http://www.zacharyemig.com/saguntum.

Posted 6:03 PM by Zachary (e-mail)
Michigan Weather
August 15 - October 2
Never before have I realized the importance of the Fall Equinox, which fell around September 22nd this year. It was like God flipped a switch on that day, as the weather here went from nice to nasty in less than 24 hours.

August and the beginning of September were perfect: sunny, low humidity, highs in the low to mid 70s, and lows in the high 50s. It was perfect weather for football games, strolling in the quad, just being outside.

From the 22nd on, temperatures dropped about twenty degrees, it's been cloudy more often than not, and there have been quite a few windy, rainy days in the mix. The average day starts out in the low 40s (or even high 30s), with temperatures reaching the 50s, if we're lucky enough for the sun to break through.

Coming to Michigan, I expected the winter to start early, last long, and be cold. I didn't expect the transition from balmy to blustery to shoot by in a span of hours.