Why are they doing this to us?
How work is distributed in the Core
Ellen Correia '08
Issue date: 12/5/06 Section: Student Life
- Page 1 of 1
We've all had those weeks during the core where we've shook our fist and glared at the MBA administration, asking "Why are they doing this to us?" The best example of this was Midterm Hell Week, when in addition to our three midterms, we had to turn in rough drafts of cover letters and resumes, and, for those poor souls in Finance, a problem set. Over the term I have heard an intriguing rumor that the administration actually intentionally schedules very difficult weeks to teach us how to deal with stress and competing demands. In other words, they were doing this to us on purpose. To investigate the veracity of this rumor, I spoke with Scott Alessandro, Associate Director with Sloan Educational Services.
Alessandro informed me that the Core faculty meets every summer, as they have since 1999, to distribute the work over the academic calendar. The faculty also consults the Student Affairs Office, Sloan Educational Services, and the Career Development Office to factor in company presentations, resumes and cover letters, and SIP to the decisions. For instance, they schedule midterms both before and after SIP to better distribute the work. The faculty also works to organize lectures so that concepts learned in one class can be applied in another in the right order.
So then why do weeks like Midterm Hell Week happen? Alessandro said "One of the many benefits on an MIT Sloan education is its flexibility and the ability to create your own academic plan of study for three semesters. This, unfortunately though, leaves you with only one semester of Core, which means a lot of information to cover in a very short period of time. Also, keep in mind that our scheduling does not take into account things like case competitions, MarketLab projects, arranging speakers, treks, and all of the other extracurricular activities that first years engage in. Even without an overloaded Core, weeks would be hectic just due to the ebb and flow of different activities and events that all MBAs overbook themselves with."
So what about the rumor that they intentionally design hard weeks into the semester? Is this true? "No, that would make us sadists. Evil sadists," Alessandro responded. "Seriously, we would never intentionally create difficult weeks. The stress and competing demands are already there - regardless of the week. It is the nature of the beast here at MIT Sloan." While I have occasionally cursed the administration during those awful weeks, events like Ocean Thanksgiving dinners and the recent dinner for those who are feeling overwhelmed sponsored by Student Affairs show that the various offices do care about our well being. As Alessandro noted "If anything, we are always trying to think of ways to lessen the stress and help you out." I have one suggestion to lessen the stress - get rid of 8:30 Friday Career Core. Students don't enjoy getting up at 7 after a C-Function, and the professors don't enjoy having a class full of crabby students.
Alessandro informed me that the Core faculty meets every summer, as they have since 1999, to distribute the work over the academic calendar. The faculty also consults the Student Affairs Office, Sloan Educational Services, and the Career Development Office to factor in company presentations, resumes and cover letters, and SIP to the decisions. For instance, they schedule midterms both before and after SIP to better distribute the work. The faculty also works to organize lectures so that concepts learned in one class can be applied in another in the right order.
So then why do weeks like Midterm Hell Week happen? Alessandro said "One of the many benefits on an MIT Sloan education is its flexibility and the ability to create your own academic plan of study for three semesters. This, unfortunately though, leaves you with only one semester of Core, which means a lot of information to cover in a very short period of time. Also, keep in mind that our scheduling does not take into account things like case competitions, MarketLab projects, arranging speakers, treks, and all of the other extracurricular activities that first years engage in. Even without an overloaded Core, weeks would be hectic just due to the ebb and flow of different activities and events that all MBAs overbook themselves with."
So what about the rumor that they intentionally design hard weeks into the semester? Is this true? "No, that would make us sadists. Evil sadists," Alessandro responded. "Seriously, we would never intentionally create difficult weeks. The stress and competing demands are already there - regardless of the week. It is the nature of the beast here at MIT Sloan." While I have occasionally cursed the administration during those awful weeks, events like Ocean Thanksgiving dinners and the recent dinner for those who are feeling overwhelmed sponsored by Student Affairs show that the various offices do care about our well being. As Alessandro noted "If anything, we are always trying to think of ways to lessen the stress and help you out." I have one suggestion to lessen the stress - get rid of 8:30 Friday Career Core. Students don't enjoy getting up at 7 after a C-Function, and the professors don't enjoy having a class full of crabby students.
Be the first to comment on this story