Correspondence: Pre-study material arrived from Queen's

Today I received a package from Queen's. It wasn't exactly a surprise since I had been sent a notice by FedEx that it was enroute. Contained within were the much anticipated pre-study materials.

Items included:

1. Memo outlining payment of fees and a copy of my registration that has my student number. (This was the only document with my student number)
2. Memo from the registar concerning my student ID card. I am required to complete the form and mail it back with a "passport" style photo in the pre-paid envelope included.
3. Sessional dates showing all the start and finish dates of the upcoming classes I will be taking as well as the very few days I will have off.
4. Estimate of living expenses for the next year.
5. Memo from the Career Manager outlining several assignments to be completed through the "web portal". Appears to be self administered personality testing, brain dominance testing, and career direction assignments. This will probably play a big part in the selection of teams we are being place in as well as assisting the Career Centre to get a better understanding of where the students may want to try to find employment. It also requires students to create an on-line resume through the "web portal".
6. Perp material for the Finance and Accouting class including a very thick workbook.
7. Prep material from one of the professors comprised mainly of "selected" readings. Basically, from what I can tell at a glance, just copies of articles or other material they want us to read.
8. Off-campus housing website info and info concerning University residenses and accomodations. (See comment on this by a current student. They are recommending this residence http://www.science44co-op.com/ and say the meal plan is great!)
9. Info on food service plan, which is manditory for residence.
10. Guide to some Kingston activities.
11. Guide on relocating to Kingston and a map showing approximate walking times for the area immediately surrounding the University to assist with selecting potential accomodations.

The introductory letter was signed off by the Associate Director who is looking forward to welcoming the incoming MBA students at 9 AM on Monday May 5th with a continental breakfast in the atrium of Goodes Hall!

Correspondence: More from Queen's on IT

After shopping around I noticed that it would be cheaper to purchase a laptop/notebook with the software bundled with it than to purchase it separately. So, I decided to ask Queen's what software was going to be provided.

After a little back and forth I have been told that at the start of the program students will be given a copy of MS Office 2007 professional, which includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Publisher, and Access. I'm not sure if this copy is downloadable off of a server or if hardcopies will be distributed (A comment made on this entry has informed me that you will recieve a hardcopy disc). This software is for the students to keep and use indefinitely. However, it has been licensed through an academic license, which means it is not to be used in a business or "for-profit" setting.

At this time I think I will utilize the software provided by Queen's, since I don't anticipate needing a fully licensed copy on my personal laptop for a business setting after completing the program. If that changes I can upgrade later and turn it into a "business expense".

Correspondence: more from Queen's

More on my phone conversation from Lori Garnier, the MBA Associate Director at Queen's, who called today in response to my e-mail regarding the status of scholarships, laptop requirements, and the study package.

I have already discussed the scholarship information here.

The only information I confirmed was that the laptop had to have a current windows operating system and that it could be either Windows XP or Vista. I didn't have the presence of mind to inquire about other software that may be included. The webpage for Queen's School of Business Commerce Program students laptop/notebook requirements states that MS Office 2007 professional will be provided to students once they are on campus. I don't know if that applies to MBA students, but I have written to Lori to ask and will post the answer should I get one. I'm sure the packages to be sent to the students will contain this information.

The packages containing the study material to be completed prior to starting the program should be sent near the end of February. These packages will contain login information for the online resources and materials Queen's is assembling.

Furthermore, it looks like approximately 30 students have been confirmed for the upcoming program. Apparently this is inline with admissions from previous years. There is still ongoing admissions and they expect to fill the class up this year.

Finally, the percentage of placements for the current students is ahead of where they have been in previous years. This is encouraging since it looks like I am leaving the work place while the economy slows. If companies are hiring MBAs now when things are looking like they are slowing down, then it is likely they will be hiring MBAs when it picks-up again, which will hopefully be when I'm graduating.

Financing: more on Scholarships

Lori Garnier, the MBA Associate Director at Queen's, called me today in response to my e-mail regarding the status of scholarships. It is nice to have an actual phone conversations rather than a quick e-mail. Much more personable and even though I know I am one of many students I really got the feeling that Lori gave a damn. This is very much the complete opposite of my undergraduate experience where they almost seemed to want me disappear.

From our conversation I learned that the 1st round of scholarships has been completed. They are now moving to the 2nd round. By the end of February, they expect all the scholarships to be awarded. My initial guess was correct about these items.

I was wrong about not still being considered. I am still on the list for a possible scholarship in the 2nd round. There is no guarantee I will get one, but there is also no guarantee that I won't. I am really glad that I applied early to ensure both my spot in the program and that I was well ahead of the deadline for applications that would be considered for scholarships.

Again, I will post the other scholarship I applied for since the deadline has passed. It was the Engineers Canada-TD Meloche Monnex scholarship for professional engineers in Canada returning to school to study a subject other than engineering. There is also a scholarship for professional engineers in Canada returning to school to study engineering futher.

Financing: Scholarships

Through one of the people that has contacted me I have learned that Queen's recently awarded them a scholarship for $15,000. They were contacted by e-mail and will recieve the official paper work by courier. The scholarship is to be paid out in two installments; one at the start of each semester. Also, this person seems to be a very highly qualified candidate from what I can deduce from the information they have shared with me. Therefore, it seems Queen's may be using the scholarships in part to keep highly qualified candidates from going else where. This strategy makes sense and I don't doubt everyother school is using a similar strategy.

Prior to hearing this information I had taken an educated guess that approximately 2 weeks after the deadline is when they would start awarding the scholarships. Queen's had stated only applications recieved by January 15th would be consider for scholarships. So, hearing about a person recieving a scholarship at the end of January or beginning of February makes sense. Furthermore, it can't take more than 2 to 4 weeks to notify the recipients and confirm their acceptance. Therefore, I'm guessing that if you don't hear from Queen's by about the middle to end of February concerning scholarships, you won't.

That being said I still haven't heard from Queen's regarding a scholarship, which very likely means I won't.

Also, I had previously mentioned another scholarship. Since the deadline has come and gone I can post it here. It was the Engineers Canada-TD Meloche Monnex scholarship for professional engineers in Canada returning to school to study a subject other than engineering. There is also a scholarship for professional engineers in Canada returning to school to study engineering futher.