Recall that I had prayed desperately for God to use the GMAT as an indicator of what we should do with my MBA. Also, God continued to put on my heart to "dream God-sized dreams." What are we supposed to do with all of this? What is God asking of us?
I began researching top ten business schools and we established new criteria for evaluating programs. Our criteria are as follows:
- Strong Operations Management concentration
- Nationally recognized program
- Part-time program available
- Located in a city where Slalom has an office
- Located in a city Mike and I can get excited about living (we've never been big fans of Dallas and we don't want to consider moving to a city we are even less excited about)
Of all the criteria, the first criterion was the most difficult to fulfill. There are surprisingly few MBA programs which have a focus in Operations Management. Why am I so excited about Operations Management? The point of technology is to support business operations so in order to implement the right technologies a strong CIO must be intimately familiar with the operations side of the business. And so, Operations Management!
My list narrowed down to University of Chicago (Booth), Northwestern University (Kellogg), New York University (Stearn), and University of California - Los Angeles (Anderson). Mike and I had a hard time seeing ourselves living in New York or LA so we crossed them off the list. That leaves us with Booth and Kellogg - both in Chicago and ranked just a few spots apart from each other.
To be honest, I am terrified about applying to Booth and Kellogg. It did not take long to realize that people plan and prepare to attend these schools for years and years and years. People take the GMAT two, three, four, five times. People spend thousands of dollars to hire admissions coaches. In short, people are serious about getting into these programs. And I have definitely not done any of these things (nor do I plan to do so).
We began my MBA search hoping to get into the online programs at University of Maryland and Indiana University. Mike and I have not given up on these programs, either. In fact, I have already been accepted to both of these programs and we have celebrated the news both times. My GMAT score has helped me to receive scholarships from both of these programs which Mike and I are thrilled about.
In short, we have four main options on the table:
- University of Chicago (Booth)
- Northwestern University (Kellogg)
- Indiana University (Kelley)
- University of Maryland (Smith)
I do not know why God has brought the opportunities He has to the table but I do know that He has brought us to this place. I know that God has been encouraging me and reminding me that wherever I end up I will get there by his grace and provision and not by my own works.
You may be asking yourself, "Wait, are the Darnells moving to Chicago?" The answer is, we don't know. If I am accepted to Booth or Kellogg we currently think it is about 80/20 that we would move to Chicago. Otherwise we can complete the MBA from our cozy little home here in Dallas.
You may be thinking, "Is Samantha going to quit her job to go back to school? That sounds crazy!" I agree, that does sound crazy. The answer is no, I will not quit my job to go back to school. Regardless of which option we choose we will pursue a part-time program so I can continue to work at Slalom. Slalom has a big office in Chicago so I could transfer offices and keep working for a company that I am proud to work for. The idea is to attend classes in the evenings and then practice what I learn during the day at Slalom.
So where is Team Darnell right now regarding this decision? Below is a quick summary. Please pray for us, we need guidance from the Lord. And pray for favor with the admissions committees!
- Booth - Admissions interview and class visit scheduled for 1/24
- Kellogg - Admissions interview and class visit on 1/16, decision in 2-6 weeks
- Kelley - Accepted, decision due back by 2/10
- Smith - Accepted, decision due back by TBD (it was 1/18 but they said I can have an extension on that)
...
I told you this was sure to be a wild ride if you came along with us!
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