Oh boy, has this been a week of unmitigated fun...Yes, I am talking about the course selection system at Chicago GSB.
To start at the beginning, the GSB is unique because of the flexibility it offers - no course except a leadership primer (LEAD) is compulsory; therefore you can cherry pick your way through the unlimited number of courses that are on offer. This unparalleled flexibility is one of the main reasons why many students choose the GSB over the other schools.
TANFL
However the immediate implication of such a system is that a mechanism to regulate supply and demand needs to be in place - when you have Nobel prize winners in your faculty, obviously theres going to be a skew towards certain professors who can handle only so many students out of a total population of 1100(1st+2nd years).
ENTER THE ORB
The ORB (Online Registration Bidding) system tries to do precisely that - by allotting 8000 points to each student and making it a free-for-all auction. This means that students need to create "schedules" (clusters of courses) and allot a certain number of points to each schedule. Suppose there are about 65 seats in a class and your bid is one of the top 65, then you're in - however the price that you pay for a course is determined by that unsuspecting bidder who might have bid 2 points lesser and therefore lost out - the loser who has bid the closest to the last entrant into the class. His "unhappiness" factor i.e the difference in bids between his first "schedule" preference and the one he actually got determines the cost of the course....sounds terribly simple,no?
HEY WAIT...
Theres more...after the initial bidding is over, there are about 4 more rounds through which you can choose to drop/add/swap(DAS) courses also. So anyone who didnt get their favs in the first round can try to pick up what they need in the next rounds. Since supply is always more than demand, invariably one ends up getting a course or the other - but if you want a Nobel prize winner or in studentspeak, a "Rockstar professor" like say Ann McGill or Marianne Bertrand, theres a price you gotto pay.
Add another variable to this - certain devious senior schemers who bid high, get a course and then sell it off during the DAS round for crazy prices and then the fun factor hits the roof!
THE CHICAGO SCHOOL OF THOUGHT
A more cynical friend from Wharton would have cursed the American B-school system which makes you pay $150000 AND THEN makes you run around for the professors whom they promised in the first place in all those glossy brochures and slick Powerpoints...but come to think of it, this is just about the only solution to such a complicated problem. At one end, a school can take a stand that the management will mandate whats required for a student and whats not - and therefore create a mandatory schedule of courses. At the other end of the spectrum is the GSB which offers unlimited flexibility...for a price - 8000 points to be precise and the risk of losing out on other courses.
After thinking about it for quite a while, I couldn't come up with any other system that could handle this kind of complexity...if you are interested, theres a 4 page document that explains the Math(Jeez!) behind the system...co-authored by an Indian from IISc, Bangalore,no less. While a lot of other schools take the middle path ie we mandate some courses, you choose some, the GSB in line with its "market" approach has managed to create a free-market economy right under the noses of its students. And the minor glitch of bidding for a schedule vs. bidding for a specific course is getting corrected in Fall 2008...
Having said all that, I have just bid 7000 out of the available 8000 points on a Rockstar...this means that if the price is settled at around 6000(approx. 85% of bid), I would have only 1000 points left for Winter quarter (to give a perspective, the average would be approx. 5-7K points).
So basically this means that I AM GOING TO BE TERRIBLY PISSED OFF IF I DONT GET THIS SCHEDULE! :-#
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Friday, September 7, 2007
What I have been reading...
I have always found DoZ’s reading tastes to be fairly decent ;-), so picked up the New Yorker and the Sunday Times and came away quite impressed…especially with the length, clarity and craft of some of the articles in the New Yorker and the New York Times Magazine. Check these out…
THE NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE
In Natures Casino - a story about how the insurance industry has been misreading the catastrophe insurance biz and how some people are radically changing it. An amazing article, to say the least, that almost reads like a short thriller novella. The way some of these real-life characters are sketched is also a literary delight. This would make for a great b-school class discussion.
5 stars
The Unexpected Fantasist- a delightful short piece about Jose Saramago who remains his own man despite everything else including the Nobel Prize.
4.5 stars
Universal Faith-An article that discusses how religion may or may not form part of a child’s regular education. I also like this ethicist column in which people send in queries about everyday ethical dilemmas to which a propahly educated “ethics” scholar gives his usually sane and simple perspective.
4 stars
Challenging the generals
An unconventional piece about how US Army generals may be letting down their junior officers by taking the principle of “civilian control” over Army a bit too far. The article also points out the fate of such thought dissenters-how their chances of career advancement thin out in the Army. I was surprised that the US Army allowed such an article at all to be published-in my 20 years of reading Indian magazines/books, I haven’t seen anything like this from a serving military officer-is there a lesson? It is articles like these that slightly restore my faith in the institution of democracy. This and bumper stickers that say “When Clinton lied, no one died”
4 stars
THE NEW YORKER
Seeds for apocalypse
A incisively researched article on how a few good men are creating seed banks-of every known plant especially food crops so that mankind wouldn’t lose our agricultural roots in case of a world-wide catastrophe-manmade or natural.
4.5 stars
The Human Bomb-How Sarkozy has made an immediate impact on the French body politic; of how he has cleverly used a mix of perception and realities to make an impact. And how he might or might not be able to sustain it.
3.5 stars
Nawabdin Electrician-A delightful piece of short fiction with all the idiosyncracies of sub-continental life packed in with a nice oomph end. Loved it.
5 stars
He that plays the King - A profile about Ian McKellen (remember Gandalf?) - it was a relief for a difference about a celebrity who hasn’t broken up, oversped or waved too delightedly to papparazzi. Oh, the sheer length of this piece had me sighing for an hour on the train to Palatine ;-)
4 stars
Poems - Both the poems by Kimiko Hahn and Philip Schultz are good…although the one by Hahn looks just a bit forced. Schultz’s poem is something like what I would write on a very good day…a very very good summer day with the Sunday Times on the shores of Lake Michigan with the terns, the breeze and good ol’ Kingfisher beer for company. Pretty women with suitable qualifications can also apply.
3 stars
Since I have obviously taken out only the articles which I have liked, all of them get above average stars. This, my friends, is called selection bias in statistics. May the trumpets blow aloud and afar that GT has completed his pre-Stats reading material!
THE NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE
In Natures Casino - a story about how the insurance industry has been misreading the catastrophe insurance biz and how some people are radically changing it. An amazing article, to say the least, that almost reads like a short thriller novella. The way some of these real-life characters are sketched is also a literary delight. This would make for a great b-school class discussion.
5 stars
The Unexpected Fantasist- a delightful short piece about Jose Saramago who remains his own man despite everything else including the Nobel Prize.
4.5 stars
Universal Faith-An article that discusses how religion may or may not form part of a child’s regular education. I also like this ethicist column in which people send in queries about everyday ethical dilemmas to which a propahly educated “ethics” scholar gives his usually sane and simple perspective.
4 stars
Challenging the generals
An unconventional piece about how US Army generals may be letting down their junior officers by taking the principle of “civilian control” over Army a bit too far. The article also points out the fate of such thought dissenters-how their chances of career advancement thin out in the Army. I was surprised that the US Army allowed such an article at all to be published-in my 20 years of reading Indian magazines/books, I haven’t seen anything like this from a serving military officer-is there a lesson? It is articles like these that slightly restore my faith in the institution of democracy. This and bumper stickers that say “When Clinton lied, no one died”
4 stars
THE NEW YORKER
Seeds for apocalypse
A incisively researched article on how a few good men are creating seed banks-of every known plant especially food crops so that mankind wouldn’t lose our agricultural roots in case of a world-wide catastrophe-manmade or natural.
4.5 stars
The Human Bomb-How Sarkozy has made an immediate impact on the French body politic; of how he has cleverly used a mix of perception and realities to make an impact. And how he might or might not be able to sustain it.
3.5 stars
Nawabdin Electrician-A delightful piece of short fiction with all the idiosyncracies of sub-continental life packed in with a nice oomph end. Loved it.
5 stars
He that plays the King - A profile about Ian McKellen (remember Gandalf?) - it was a relief for a difference about a celebrity who hasn’t broken up, oversped or waved too delightedly to papparazzi. Oh, the sheer length of this piece had me sighing for an hour on the train to Palatine ;-)
4 stars
Poems - Both the poems by Kimiko Hahn and Philip Schultz are good…although the one by Hahn looks just a bit forced. Schultz’s poem is something like what I would write on a very good day…a very very good summer day with the Sunday Times on the shores of Lake Michigan with the terns, the breeze and good ol’ Kingfisher beer for company. Pretty women with suitable qualifications can also apply.
3 stars
Since I have obviously taken out only the articles which I have liked, all of them get above average stars. This, my friends, is called selection bias in statistics. May the trumpets blow aloud and afar that GT has completed his pre-Stats reading material!
Why I do not have a Thinkpad...
It is 32% possible that I might be a deviant…an outlier more than 2 standard deviations from the mean. The statistics class was OK for the 1st 2 days after which I fell behind since I didn’t have a laptop; desperately wanted a IBM (now Lenovo) with a track point, but found it so so difficult to pick up one for the following reasons…
1. None of the big retailers (Best Buy/ Circuit City etc) have stock of Lenovo models.
2. I didn’t want to splurge on my Indian debit card; so was thinking of asking some American if they could pay up and I could give them cash. By the time I made up my mind, it was 2 days.
3. Lenovo’s online payment mechanism is certified by “Thawte” HQd out of S.Africa. None of my American friends were too keen to trust this entity, given the kind of online credit fraud and phishing that happens here.
4. I almost decided to swipe my international credit card and buy one; but when I called up their customer care, was told that delivery would take at least 18 days…this in an era of “same day delivery” and I was badly falling behind in stats because I didn’t have a notebook…so I gave up. I had to drown my sexy black IBM dreams and pick up a sleek HP machine.
For someone aspiring to be #3 in the world, you would think these guys could have had at least a decent Verisign or Paypal certification. In all fairness, a classmate got someone to lend him an American c.card and pre-ordered a Lenovo machine before he landed up…he got it in less than a week. This was one of those “Why me?“ experiences which should be quickly covered up with beer and forgotten.
1. None of the big retailers (Best Buy/ Circuit City etc) have stock of Lenovo models.
2. I didn’t want to splurge on my Indian debit card; so was thinking of asking some American if they could pay up and I could give them cash. By the time I made up my mind, it was 2 days.
3. Lenovo’s online payment mechanism is certified by “Thawte” HQd out of S.Africa. None of my American friends were too keen to trust this entity, given the kind of online credit fraud and phishing that happens here.
4. I almost decided to swipe my international credit card and buy one; but when I called up their customer care, was told that delivery would take at least 18 days…this in an era of “same day delivery” and I was badly falling behind in stats because I didn’t have a notebook…so I gave up. I had to drown my sexy black IBM dreams and pick up a sleek HP machine.
For someone aspiring to be #3 in the world, you would think these guys could have had at least a decent Verisign or Paypal certification. In all fairness, a classmate got someone to lend him an American c.card and pre-ordered a Lenovo machine before he landed up…he got it in less than a week. This was one of those “Why me?“ experiences which should be quickly covered up with beer and forgotten.
Thank you...
There have been a set of people who have been instrumental in getting me into GSB-Chicago…this has been a seriously exhausting and exhilarating journey and to acknowledge the people who have stood by me would only be dulce & decorum…
1. DoZ: Doz along with another classmate at my old grad school had this weird idea of studying further on; at that time I was like “Madness!”. But after 1st hand reports (involving many oohs + aahs ;-) about experiences at universities like Chicago, Harvard and Wharton, I decided to take the plunge. Thanks, Doz for that seed and yeah…for paying my $300 housing deposit too ;-)
2. Alex: When I was looking for people to help me with my essays, Alex volunteered without a 2nd thought and he’s been at times more involved than me in this entire process. Often I would send him 5 drafts in 1 day and he would return them all promptly and neatly edited too. Actually he was the one who spurred me to apply to Stanford after which I started looking at other universities like Chicago seriously. There’s so much I owe this one man.
3. The Juggler: At a very frustrating time during the process, when I was neither here nor there, the Juggler was at hand for advice, support and general bitching. Along with other people whom I came to know in the admission process, they helped me craft a well-rounded strategy that would ensure an admit.
4. An assorted medley of friends: Ah, what would one do without them…s/ware engineer, HR consultant, financial analyst, sales manager…what a team to have with for taking on the admission process. Thank god for such mercies!
5. The folks @ work- Some very dear folks at work knew about what was happening in my life and had the kindness+grace to help me when I was distracted with the admit process and my “work” work was falling through the cracks. Needless of the incessant stress that telecom can generate, these are people who have taken time off for me and have been around me pushing me to finish this off and “get outta here”.
6. Needless to say, everyone at home including a slightly loony Labrador have been taking on most of the stress that was generated by the admit process. Wish you guys were here with me at Chicago.
I know what you are thinking…with all these people around me, I would have been a dumbkopf not to get into a decent B-school, right? Sigh…I know.
1. DoZ: Doz along with another classmate at my old grad school had this weird idea of studying further on; at that time I was like “Madness!”. But after 1st hand reports (involving many oohs + aahs ;-) about experiences at universities like Chicago, Harvard and Wharton, I decided to take the plunge. Thanks, Doz for that seed and yeah…for paying my $300 housing deposit too ;-)
2. Alex: When I was looking for people to help me with my essays, Alex volunteered without a 2nd thought and he’s been at times more involved than me in this entire process. Often I would send him 5 drafts in 1 day and he would return them all promptly and neatly edited too. Actually he was the one who spurred me to apply to Stanford after which I started looking at other universities like Chicago seriously. There’s so much I owe this one man.
3. The Juggler: At a very frustrating time during the process, when I was neither here nor there, the Juggler was at hand for advice, support and general bitching. Along with other people whom I came to know in the admission process, they helped me craft a well-rounded strategy that would ensure an admit.
4. An assorted medley of friends: Ah, what would one do without them…s/ware engineer, HR consultant, financial analyst, sales manager…what a team to have with for taking on the admission process. Thank god for such mercies!
5. The folks @ work- Some very dear folks at work knew about what was happening in my life and had the kindness+grace to help me when I was distracted with the admit process and my “work” work was falling through the cracks. Needless of the incessant stress that telecom can generate, these are people who have taken time off for me and have been around me pushing me to finish this off and “get outta here”.
6. Needless to say, everyone at home including a slightly loony Labrador have been taking on most of the stress that was generated by the admit process. Wish you guys were here with me at Chicago.
I know what you are thinking…with all these people around me, I would have been a dumbkopf not to get into a decent B-school, right? Sigh…I know.
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