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.