CampusIntel

If you are considering enrolling in the Laurier MBA Co-op program, this article is for you. As a Laurier MBA alumni I thought id share some insight with you in order to help you make the right decision. Reading the MBA program brochure there is quite a bit of hype and while it is understandable that MBA programs maximize their promotional efforts, such organizations must also be prudent in managing expectations so that students know exactly what to expect before they make such an important decision in their lives. From a financial standpoint the Laurier MBA program is by far the cheapest one around but what you may find out is that in this case the old adage rings true – you really do get what you pay for.

I’ve laid out this review into 3 main areas the program is lacking in and if you find these aspects important you may want to reconsider your options.

Lack of International Options

The Laurier brochure states that ‘Increased globalization means business leaders must think and act in an international context’ and while this may be increasingly true, the program does not currently provide much of an international experience. This is quite misleading to say the least and when I approached the MBA office to inquire about semesters abroad I was notified that there are currently no partnerships in place. This came as a surprise as the majority of Canadian MBA programs have been providing international study opportunities for awhile. In fact check out the international exchange opportunities offered by U of T’s Rotman School of Management: http://www.rotman.utoronto.ca/mba/international_study.htm. I actually used Rotman’s list to pre qualify and contact schools I wished to enroll in for an exchange semester I had to plan on my own.

Lack of Job Support

While the school boasts a professional career development centre, job support is weak. After completing an undergraduate coop degree at the University of Guelph where the administration is genuinely concerned with your job situation, Laurier pales in comparison. In fact, after completing my self-organized semester abroad and returning to Toronto to find work I found myself barred from access to desperately needed job postings. After approaching the career centre to inquire, I was told there was nothing they can do for me. Only registered students and graduates could view job postings and since I did not neatly fall into one if these categories I was out of luck. After asking the administration if an exception could be made in my case so that I would have access to postings, the answer was – no. Quite ironic given the fact that I enrolled in the program to gain access to better jobs. This is definitely one area that Laurier is lacking in and a considerable effort on the part of the student is needed to explore new job opportunities. In fact, I was given the advice to seek out and conduct ‘informational interviews’ but needless to say this is not exactly what you’re looking for when enrolling in a professional MBA program. The school simply does not have enough relationships in place to provide students with  easier access to better job opportunities.

Lack of Organization

The administration at Laurier was constantly unorganized and this directly translates into substandard customer service for you as a student. After initially appealing a late fee charge that was levied on my account for the semester abroad, I only received a response a few weeks later. After attempting to appeal this decision, the appeal email was actually bounced around for 3 months  (full circle at one point), while my account accrued interest,  before I finally received a shoddy denial letter which actually had the word ‘draft’ in the title. To add icing to the cake, I was contacted by a collections agency regarding this amount, while I waited 3 months for the 1 paragraph letter. As I mentioned before, I attended the University of Guelph as an undergraduate and organization was not an issue there, so I am led to believe that it is only Laurier who functions in this manner (or should I say doesn’t function.)

If you are thinking of enrolling in the Laurier MBA program and the above considerations relate to you – I would strongly advise you to reconsider. As someone who has completed the program I can tell you from personal experience that there are plenty of better opportunities out there. Most people fall into the trap of relying solely on school ratings and financial cost as their primary concerns in making a decision. Although this may be important, it should not serve as your primary reasoning for ultimately choosing a school.  Remember to consider the less tangible benefits of an MBA education such as international opportunities, career support and the overall university experience.

Remember when you were little, and you kept saying that you didn’t want a nap and that you were totally wide awake? Then you would fall asleep anyway on the couch? And if you didn’t get your nap in people would excuse your crankiness because little you hadn’t had their nap that day? Don’t you just miss it?

Flash forward to real (although some would argue this), university, life. You are in your two thirty class, your eyes begin to droop, you stifle a yawn, you try and think why you didn’t eat breakfast. Instead of the teacher’s words in your head there is a little cartoon of you, asleep, with a textbook attached to your face while you drool. … Well not gonna lie, that’s what happens to me. And the worst part? NO ONE excuses your crankiness just because you didn’t have a nap!

This is not a guide about how to nap properly, or when, or what you should do.

This is about why napping is a good thing, how it makes you feel better, and above and beyond anything it is about how some people can make the nap an artform! (I am very jealous of those people).

I would like to point out that most studies seem to be of the opinion that a 20 minute cat nap is good for you. From my experience it may be a refresher for about an hour, but in the long run it just doesn’t keep you awake.

In order to make napping an artform I feel I should give you some advice about how NOT to nap.

- Don’t get into your pjs and into bed, turn off the lights and put your ear plugs in. Your body will most likely be getting sleep signals and instead of that 45 minute “rest” period you will sleep for three hours, wake up disoriented and cranky, and the worst part, you wont be able to sleep until really late that night.

- At the same time, let your body get its rest!!! If you need an hour, take an hour!

- Don’t worry about falling asleep while reading. Don’t try and wake yourself up when you are just falling asleep over a book. If you are getting sleepy allow yourself that rest. You will probably be reading with the lights on and so your body will know it is not time for sleep and you will get a relaxing amount of sleep but not too much.

- Don’t complain about how tired you are to everyone around you! (Ok I know this has virtually nothing to do with napping but c’mon people! We are university students, it’s like our job to be tired)! Take a nap or go to bed earlier.

- Don’t plan your naps. I mean, if you want to fine, but I have found that if I set aside that time every day for a planned nap I can no longer sleep.

- Don’t nap too late in the day. This should be an obvious one but if you go to bed at 10 don’t start napping at 6.

- MOST IMPORTANT OF ALL to the Art of Napping: do not feel bad for napping. Our bodies go through a lot in the day. I don’t know where this stigma came from about napping during the day (maybe our internal big kids are like, “hey we are old, we don’t need to nap). Personally, the happiest people I know are people who take a nap at least twice or more times a week!

So ladies and gentlemen. I know this isn’t a guide to napping. But it should help to make your napping a perfect artform! … Actually I kind of feel like a nap right now…

It’s that time of year again ladies and gentlemen!!!! The one where your nose is suddenly to a grindstone and the month April seems to be approaching rapidly with NO regard to the fact that you haven’t started studying for exams, or haven’t started researching that essay that is due the day after tomorrow! It’s the time of year when you really start to spaz out, I mean come on, those essays before weren’t worth very much, this is the big one, the “important” one, the one that WILL define your university career and your life ahead and…. oh wait, pretty sure that is your PHD or Masters, so don’t sweat it!

Essays can be tough, I know, I am an English major, History AND Religion minor, essays are my bread and butter. Fear about writing essays is totally normal, and no matter what they told you in highschool, I gaurentee that they didn’t prepare you for university.

Now, I bet you are about to say “hold on a minute, I know they taught me how to write an essay”, well ok they taught you how to write a BASIC outline for an argumentative essay or comparison essay, but there are WAY more essays than that, not to mention that different Profs are looking for different elements within their essays. A basic essay just doesn’t seem to cut it these days.

Now, I bet you’re saying “oh no! What do we do!? Alix please help us!”, and, my dear readers, have no fear! I have come up with a little guide to help you through this last, intense essay-writing period. The important thing to remember about essay writing is that it is SO much better to start with an outline, even the most basic one. It helps you organize your thoughts, and it’s not like it’s carved in stone, if you want to fiddle around and change things go ahead!

Here is an outline that is quite basic but effective for different situations. For the purpose of this blog the argument will be “whether winter is better then summer”:

Intro: I like to make sure I save this until last, maybe only put my thesis up top, if that! Remember though, bigger isn’t always better. Most Profs prefer a direct introduction with a thoroughly thought out thesis and the start of your arguments or how you are going to argue your essay.

Body A: if you need to explain the situation here is a good place to do it, otherwise this is argument one: it is easier to warm up then it is to cool down. This is because you can drink warm drinks, snuggle under blankets, and put on more clothing… there is only so much you can take off in summer.

Body B: the second argument should be either stronger then the first argument (for example, winter sports can allow more people to participate and caters to more body types **note** if you are saying something like this then BACK IT UP WITH AN EXAMPLE or have a quotation from a book). OR your second argument should be the argument for summer  (for example, you can get the vitamin D that you need to intake more through summer, and although the sun is bad for you skin, wearing sunscreen often aliveates this problem).

Body C: your third argument should be either your strongest argument, winter rocks because you can tobbaggan, you can skate, you can ICE FISH you can build a quincy and have a fun experience outside OR your third argument should be a counter-argument for why winter is better than summer.

Conclusion: This is probably your hardest part of your essay. I cannot stress enough that you SHOULD NOT say “in conclusion” or “to sum up”. It really seems to bug Profs, I learnt the hard way and so I am trying to pass on this information to you so you don’t get marks deducted. That being said you do have to sum up, so state your strongest argument in a different way and then state the counter argument.

I realize that this is a brief outline, but it will help with the basics. There are many ways to flip it around and change it to what you think is the best fit. From my own experience I understand essay writing can be daunting, but always try and do a little bit of research a day (for those research essays) even fifteen minutes a day can make a difference. Recently a Prof told me that it was great to get your essay done a few days in advance so you can peer-edit or go over it yourself. If you are anything like me … or really any university student for that matter, that usually isn’t an option. What IS an option is reading over your essay. If it doesn’t make sense, or sounds too much like your speaking voice then change it!

And what I cannot stress enough is that COMMAS ARE NOT CONFETTI. Do not comma-splice two sentences. In the long run it will make your essay better and more effective at stating your point if you don’t. Also, almost equally as important, if you have notes from a previous essay with the same Prof, read them over, see if they apply to the essay you are writing. It may seem obvious but when a Prof sees you have taken in their notes and are trying, you do get marks!

Good luck and good writing!

When I was trying to choose a university everybody kept telling me to “find a university that is the right fit for you”, they never mentioned anything about where the university was located, what it was like etc. Well I am here to tell you all that small town universities should be left out of the “university decision” no more! Every so often I hear people say “but there is nothing to do in a small town”. This irks me, I mean come on, I know TV and internet have made it difficult but USE YOUR IMAGINATION!

So, without further ado “Alix’s Guide to Things to do While at Small Town Universities”

1. Hang out with your friends: Ok so I know everybody does this but seriously, have a beer, watch a movie, talk about stuff, watch the game. And if you think that everybody is too busy to “hang out” on a Tuesday night, you are wrong; I guarentee you that SOMEONE will feel the need to procrastinate!

2. Check out the local museums or historic sites: for you history buffs this is always fun, plus who knows, this adventure could be benefical for your next trivia night at the pub!

3. Have a movie marathon: personally I go for the movie marathon weekend. Get lots of goodies and watch the Harry Potter series, or what about Jaws (that was a never ending movie series) or a variety of Rowan Atkinsen movies!

4. Have a games night: THIS IS NOT A LAME SUGGESTION PEOPLE! I don’t mean just having fun with drinking games (although that can be fun too) but some of the best times I have had is when I stay up until 4 in the morning in a really intense game of Cranium.

5. Have a Potluck: even make it themed, not just every day stuff. What about one where you try a dish you have never made before, or what about different culture’s foods?

6. Go to your local cafe and people watch: this is so fun! You learn new things especially if you are somewhere where you don’t know much about the culture!

7. Find a friend with a car and go to the “big city“: ok so this seems a little silly but you can really make a night out of it! Go to supper and maybe a movie (if your small town is like mine you only have one movie screen so the OPTIONS are fantastic)! This is always a good time and feels somewhat productive!

This has been my guide, if any of you other small town univeristy students have suggestions feel free to comment! I also have fun with new suggestions and seeing if they apply to where I live!!!!

Initially going to wait until Friday to post this, but I realized that there are some university students who think the weekend begins on Wednesday (and lets face it, if you are a university student you can justify drinking any night of the week)! So here it is, ladies and gentlemen and avid drinkers alike! My hangover guide!!!!!

To begin with I need to explain the three different types of hangovers:

Level 1: throbbing headache either at the base of your skull or pounding just behind your eyes. Although this is really uncomfortable most people who have this hangover can function throughout the day (though it should be noted noises get louder and lights get brighter). I also like to call this the wine hangover (as this is how I get after drinking red wine).

Level 2: Nausea and intense head ache, vertigo, waves of selective amnesia about the previous night, inability to function at normal or half-par levels. This hangover results from drinking excessively only taking a couple of sips of water, NOT having carb laden foods and not taking anything like Tylonel or Advil before you hit the hay. **Note you will be exhausted because you have most likely passed out, this is NOT sleep and therefore you have a legitimate excuse to bitch, whine and complain all day about your poor, hung over body.

Level 3: Think migraine, your vision is blurred, your stomach is turning inside out, and the toilet seems to be your new best friend. Sadly when you are this hung over you are most likely going to realize that you do, in fact, really need to get onto cleaning your toilet and you can’t understand how you let it go so long…. STOP do not go there, that train of thought will guarantee to set you off up-chucking again. Your body will ache from head to toe (those muscles in your stomach get a really good work out though) and you will think you are dying… you are not, but it certainly feels close doesn’t it?

So now that you are all aware of the types of hangovers (and that they are no means set in stone) here are the top 9 ways to get rid of a hangover:

1. WATER! It’s not hard people, hangovers = your body dehydrated, so stop being stupid and drink some water BEFORE you go to bed. Not only can this minimize the morning effects but you just wont feel so gross.

2. Greasy foods: this is for the level two and three hangovers. If you get greasy foods into you it will help settle the nausea. But please, once again, do not be stupid! If you are having trouble sitting upright, splurge and get delivery on that pizza. Also take tiny little bites initially if you still are having trouble with your stomach.

3. Exercise!!!! My personal favourite. If your hangover is mild (level one or early stages level two) go for a jog, go for a bike (and if you are in Sackville take advantage of the WONDERFUL weather we appear to be having). Take a walk outside making sure to stay hydrated by drinking water, but at the same time getting your heart rate up. This will release endorphins making your headache go away and giving you a light fluffy feeling of satisfaction of working off all the booze from the night before.

4. Sex, yes sex. Sex does the same thing as exercise (plus the exercise part)! **NOTE** I am not endorsing going out and finding someone to sleep with you. I am just happening to say that if you are with somebody you are sleeping with or your one night stand stayed over, take advantage. Besides, trying something new sexually never hurt anybody… well depending on what exactly but moving on….

5. Indulge yourself, stay in bed with a good book or a movie… allow your body to rest and recover. As much as I dislike being told that time is the only way to make hangovers better, time will allow your body to recuperate even if your head is not feeling right.

6. DO NOT EAT CHOCOLATE. Hangovers are exactly like migraines, chocolate only makes head aches and migraines worse, your body doesn’t need that.

7. Now that your body is hydrated from all that water get your elctrolites back by drinking a sugary drink. My mum usually recommends Pepsi or something.

8. This is strictly for level 3 hangover; perscription migraine medication or “triptans”. (These can include zomig, imitrex, etc) although these drugs are used exclusively to treat migraines they do take hangovers away. **DISCLAIMER** this is obviously off-label use and I really do not endorse this particular method, but if you truly feel it is justified there is no way I can stop you.

9. The best thing known to university student-kind. GRAVOL. Takes away nausea and dizziness. You can sleep off your hangover.

I hope this helps even a little bit, stay tuned in for my next blog on the “Top Ten Ways to Please Your Man”… oh no… wait… that’s Cosmo…

Throughout my life I’ve wondered many things (my brain never stops thinking), but one of the most prominent things that pops up is, “What if we had our own restart button.” Now I know you may think I sound nuts, but I’ve analyzed this frequently (to the fact that I wished that the button would be our belly button!), and have come to some interesting conclusions.

I am sure none of us students can disagree with the fact that, at some point in our lives, we wished we go back to the beginning of something and start over. This could be pertaining to the relationship that you recently found out would end; the paths you didn’t take in terms of education or work experience; or even those times when you wish you could go back to Friday, and maybe, just maybe, get some work done throughout the weekend this time.

Sometimes though, I know, the whole aspect of starting over scares us.

As I write this blog I frequently delete words here and there. But I don’t start over. I merely push CTRL and Z on my keyboard (or Edit -> Undo), and simply undo and get back on track. Could life function that way? Could I magically now hit my bellybutton (much like those two buttons on my keyboard) and get back on the path I am supposed to be on?

The unfortunate thing is that I realize we can’t go back to the beginning of our lives and relive our obsessions with Barbie and Tonka trucks… but wouldn’t that make life so much simpler? I’ve found out the hard way that skinned knees are a lot easier to heal than broken hearts. I still don’t know what I was thinking when I was 13, claiming that I could not wait to get older and have more responsibility.

I just feel that life doesn’t prepare you for the many paths out there. I feel that you only find out about the shortcut after you climbed 62,532 stairs, swam 24353 kilometers, and hiked 3,200 mountains. I did not know that there were other paths to education (guidance counselor gave me two options… Arts or Science) nor did I realize that there was other ways of getting to my final destination (what that is… I still don’t know).

So with that in mind, I shall continue to think about my “restart” button and my “undo” button… and finally realize why Staples’ Easy button may just be the way to go…

I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one who has gone though this, and maybe if you’re reading this you haven’t experienced such a wave of irony and dissatisfaction, but chances are you will feel it after reading this post so…umm…sorry?

            I have recently found myself having feelings of dissatisfaction and resentment towards the way the world works…now let me narrow that down a bit since I’m sure there’s many ways the world “doesn’t work”. What I mean is the whole goal of life society has for us. When we’re young we’re put in school until we’re 18 or so, this preps us for the ‘real world’ but what we’re really getting ready for is deciding on our career, in order to accomplish most of these career aspirations we need to go to more school (university, college, etc.) once we’re done that we make our way into the working world, trying our hardest to make all of that education we received work for us and using it to gain experience and entrance into the jobs we think we want. Once we get there we work our whole life to save money so we can retire and enjoy the last few decades before we die. Do you see my problem?

            We work our whole life towards a career that we’re often times doing just so we can make money to retire to enjoy life…so why does our society have things set up so that the only life we’re given is used to work 8 hours/day 5 days/week for the majority of our life so that we can only enjoy the last bit of it when we’re old and tired and possibly not capable of doing anything we want to do anymore?? Why are we spending the best years of our life working so hard towards something that’s just the means to an end??

            Hopefully you will excuse my ramblings here, but these realizations are really quite frustrating. This is the reason why I want to be happy in my career, because I’m going to be doing it for the majority of my life and if you get to the point where it’s not fun you’re going to be miserable for so much of it until you retire! Unfortunately, so many people are not happy with their career. In my opinion, people aren’t happy because so often they’re rushed into a career they may not like because at age 18 they have to make decisions as to what they want to do the rest of their life so they can study and prepare for it (as now it takes at least a masters to get most jobs) or they’re rushed into it because they need the money to pay for the basic necessities of living!

            So, where is this all coming from? Well, as I said before, this is the reason I want to enjoy my career, the problem here is the job I think I want requires me to be in school at least until I’m 30 (why so late you may ask? First, because I need to get a PhD for the job I want and second because I changed degrees 3 times as out of high school I had no idea what the real world was like and so no idea what I wanted to do in it). Once getting out of school it’s another thing, trying to gain experience so that I can actually work in the setting I want to and making my way up the career latter to get to the top so I can make the big bucks and retire ‘happy’…right? Well, it doesn’t end there, my other frustrations lie in the fact that the 7 + years of schooling I still need to do is taken up by things like research and studying of a vast array of topics so that I can find my niche. While I understand why this may be important to some, the fact that it’s standardized this way leaves the people who already know what area they wish to specialize in frustrated as they have to complete a large assortment of classes they don’t need in the end for the career they want which also may bring down their overall marks making it harder for them to get into the school they wish to go to. And of course most of the jobs won’t end up taking into account how much you know about any one particular subject, but instead just look at the initials at the end of your name and the letters on your transcript; because to the world, it’s not important what you think you can do or how passionate and good you are at it just as long as you have the degree.

In a way university has a tendency to kill people’s passion for the work they want to do because it’s too generalized. This is why I often regret not going to a community college as they at least specialize in certain careers and help you get on your way in only a few years. The problem with this is the career I want isn’t really part of the community college curriculum, and even if it was unfortunately people don’t seem to value a two year degree (which indecently focuses more on your degree and gives you hands on experience) over a Masters or PhD (which generalizes and worries far too much about research and book learning).

In the case of clinical psychology (my end goal) I understand the need for a large amount of knowledge on various things however there’s more to it than getting the right letter grades and universities don’t seem to take much other than that into account. All this pressure and frustration is enough sometimes to make me want to give up and forget about the PhD and just do some job that doesn’t require me to be in school for the majority of my life so that I can just start paying off my student debt, but I keep thinking if I end up doing a career that’s less satisfactory to me in the end I’ll just end up depressed and needing to seek counselling.

            Isn’t that ironic?

Well, I’m embarrassed to admit it, but that’s me in the picture. There I am, so excited and thrilled to finally get my diploma. I thought my life would be different once I could finally put two capital letters next to my name and finally have that degree that I worked so hard for (and evidently, spent SOOO much money on).

I still remember the moment I heard my name being called, I walked across the stage, firmly shook the president’s hand, heard my friends and family clap for me, and then, before I knew it, reached my chair, and thought: “Well that’s done… now what?!”

I truthfully thought that the moment I received my diploma would indicate the end to all of those stressful days and nights….but I was wrong.

Sure, I no longer had to worry about completing that 15-page paper, or ensuring that I remembered everything printed in a 500-page textbook, but now I had to agonize about how I would pay off my student loan, how I would stay in touch with my new friends and more importantly, how I would find a good job.

So, faced with these obstacles, I did the only thing that entered my mind – I went back to what I saw as, ‘safe’ and found myself enrolled in another degree.

Do I think that is the road that many should choose? Absolutely not! For that reason, I’ve outlined a few things to consider when debating what path you should head on next.

The Debate between School and Work

• I know you don’t want to hear this, but no matter what I say, your parents say, or what you’re imaginary friends say, this is a decision that you will need to make. Of course, deciding between further education or going into the workforce will depend on a variety of factors. One of the biggest ones will be what type of degree you have and how lucky you will be able to find (and enjoy) an occupation in that field.

Why I believe One Should Choose Work:

• Let’s face it; our present economy is not helping us out with job opportunities. For that reason, if you are handed a job that is full of potential upon graduation, I would definitely accept it. Another obvious thing to analyze is whether it is something you want to do. The job you get does not have to be directly related to the field you have spent the last few years studying, but if it is, it will definitely give you an advantage. I’d also accept a job that appears to have lots of room for promotions or raises. Everyone dreams about having that ideal job and making their way to the top (or close to the top), so if that interests you and that appears to be offered, sign on the dotted line and get ready to enter the work force!
• If you can’t find your ideal job, but feel that more schooling is not the path for you, don’t get disheartened. True, it may take awhile for the economy to get back on its’ feet, but it will, and so will you. Also, I know it will be overwhelming at first, but soon you will be surprised at the many opportunities that will come your way. However, what will be most unexpected is that you’ll notice that many of your skills will be transferable. More specifically, if you have gained any research, analytical or writing skills you will soon recognize that they will help you out in almost any job that you apply for!

Why I believe one should choose school:

• You spent the first twenty years of your life in school so why not a few more, right? With today’s economy, it has been indicated that the best place to be is… you guessed it…. in school. So, if you are not being offered your dream job but feel like you deserve it, don’t get discouraged. Instead, give yourself more confidence and more qualifications by enrolling in another degree. Plus, if you go from one degree to another, you will still be in the scholastic mode and you’ll know what to expect! (Because seriously, no wants to endure those freshmen 15 pounds again or have to relive the pain of not knowing what to anticipate with those final exams!)
• The main advantage about doing a second degree is being able to gain additional experience in something you want to do. I enrolled in my first degree because I felt it was the right step to take – I hadn’t even researched it to find out if it would be something that I would want to do later on in life. On the other hand, for my second degree, I gave it much more thought and chose it because I believed it was related to what I wanted to do for my career and I felt it offered me more job opportunities. These two elements are essential to think about when debating whether or not to indulge in more schooling. Therefore, if you can say yes to either, or both, of these questions, be prepared to spend many more nights cramming for an exam, too many hours working on that term paper, and alas, walking across the stage another time to receive another piece of paper.

I hope my advice helps you answer the question: “I got the degree… now what?”  But more importantly, I hope you also understand that no matter which road you choose, whether it is an additional degree or joining the workforce, I hope you realize that your educational and professional skills will soon have opportunity knockin’…. and you at the other side of the door!