Drum Roll Please...

Some of you have been on this journey with me for awhile but I believe that to most this will come as a bit of a surprise. For years I've gone back and forth about getting my MBA (Master of Business Administration) but it never seemed like the right time or I could never justify the expense (as much as $150K) or time (potentially 2 years not working). There are several reasons why I've wanted to get an MBA:

1. Business knowledge - most of what I have today was gained through experience so I'd like to learn a more disciplined way of making business decisions
   
2. Networking - you can never know enough people
3. "Do Over" - I never felt as though I applied myself enough during university and I missed out on certain things by graduating nearly a year early

So in late January of this year I frantically took the GMAT and got a decent enough score to start applying to part-time and executive programs that were still accepting applications which really left UC Berkeley 2nd round and London Business School 2nd round. Thanks to the assistance of many (namely Kati, Kelly, Sally, Neil, Mike, and Argy) I was able to complete the applications and myriad of required and supposed "optional" essays. In May I found out that I had been accepted to both the UC Berkeley evening/weekend program and the London Business School executive program which meant that I spent the rest of May agonizing over whether to move back early to attend UC Berkeley in August or stay an extra year to attend London Business School in September. I thought about it, talked about it, emailed about it, had nightmares about it and still couldn't come to a decision that felt right so at the end of May I decided it was best to do nothing and turned down both offers. This was a huge risk for me since neither school was willing to defer my acceptance to another term without putting down a huge deposit which I was not ready to do.

Months passed during which I convinced myself that I wanted to move back to the Bay Area in spring 2009 to attend either the Wharton or Berkeley-Columbia executive MBA program. Then in September when I finally uttered the words to my management I realized that I wasn't ready to leave London. It all felt so sudden and abrupt and I got a bit sad thinking about my last Christmas, my last picnic, my last concert and all the things I would miss out on that were already being planned for next year. I back-tracked as quickly as I could with my management and with London Business School. I decided that if they would accept me for the upcoming January intake without re-applying then I would figure out a way with work to stay longer and do the executive program in London. They gracioulsy accepted me back into the program and also awarded me the scholarship for women! My company has also allowed me to stay until December 2009 so somehow it has all worked out and I feel really right about this decision.

Thanks again to everyone who helped me through the application process and a HUGE THANKS to everyone who helped me through the decision/indecision process. It's going to be a lot of work so wish me luck.