What’s good, folk. Just when I said that I was going to start writing more often, things started getting busier at work and I found myself not writing stuff that wasn’t work-related for a while. Well, I’m sitting on a plane right now, which gives me time to plug away at the keyboard and this seems like as good a time as any to respond to a reader email…

When I read the message below, I couldn’t help but grin because he’s vibin’ with me on three factors that have made up the foundation of who I am over the years: he’s from VA, he’s a Princeton alum, and he’s broke Well, maybe “broke” is too strong a term for him, but he is specifically concerned about the dollars and cents of business school, which is something I was keenly aware of when I was starting school. I’m not broke now, but I’ve maintained a “brokie’s mentality” since growing up on that humble, so I stay mindful of issues related to finances. I’ve answered the reader’s question by talking to him about my own experiences, so I hope he finds it helpful.

By the way, I just got back into town from Chicago, where I attended the 21st annual Kellogg Black Management Association Conference and it was amazing. I’ll write up an entry over the next few days to tell y’all about it.

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CG wrote:

“Marquis-

I discovered your blog randomly last week – I am a current b-school applicant and am always trying to read as much as I can about the process. I was sick last week and ended up in bed for about 4 days — and literally went back and read every single one of your posts. I enjoyed doing this tremendously — it was amazing to witness your entire “ride,” from applying in Reston to your role now as a mentor and “Ask Marquis”-style blogger.

I agree with the previous reader who said that the richness of your blog is your experiences — it is amazing how frank you are, especially while in school, about your experiences, and this truly makes you feel like you’re there with you. Plus, I can identify with a lot of the places – I too went to Princeton (class of ’03) and am from VA (Arlington).

I just have a comment and a question, if you’ve got the time:

-I think it’s totally wack that people expect a prompt answer from you, and the fact that they don’t send you a thank you is absolutely ridiculous. The fact you are fielding questions from India about sometimes obscure topics is simply a testament to your generousity. I know I couldn’t do it.

-Second, my question is kind of random, but I was thinking about it a lot when I read about all your b-school adventures. How did you afford all of the international trips and other side costs of b-school? I’ve worked in the non-profit sector for the past 4 years and thus barely have any savings, and I anticipate having full loans. Is it still feasible to go to Cabo, Thailand, and Morocco on this kind of student budget? It seems as if a lot of kids in b-school were former bankers, etc. who have a lot of bank to spend while they’re in school, and I see myself as more of a “starving grad student.” Do you think this will adversely affect my experience?

Thanks a lot, man. I just wanted you to know how entertaining and useful I found your blog.

Best,
CG

PS I didn’t apply to Stanford but had I read your blog before applying I definitely would have…”

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My response:

CG,

Thanks for checking out my blog and taking the time to email me. I get a lot of emails, but yours really made me smile because, at a high level, you sort of remind me of myself. You’re from the best state in the U.S. , went to the best undergraduate institution in the world , and are broke as hell as you approach B-school. You’ve pretty much nailed the “Marquis trifecta”…hahahahahaha! I dont want you to think that I’m making light of that last point because I can imagine how much the financial side of business school has you stressing right now. Back in the day, I used to lose sleep over thoughts of all the student loans I’d have to sign up for to pay for that MBA and, now that I’m paying them off, the payments themselves give me cold sweats. With that said, I’m positive that you can have a great business school experience without matriculating with phat pockets because, as you read, I was able to do it.

Before going into the issue of finances at business school, I’d like to thank you for your comment on some of the rush-job requests and lack of thanks I get from some readers. I agree that it’s janky when these things happen, but there’s nothing I can do about it except to stop writing entries altogether and I like helping people too much to go that route. It’s bothersome at times, but I honestly don’t think people mean anything by it. They probably don’t even think about it as an issue until I write something about it, so I can’t bug out every time it happens. I only mention it in entries when I’ve had it happen over-and-over-and-over or in especially “oh hell naw” cases (like when I had a kid ask me to respond to a business school essay for him, didn’t hide the fact that it was a Columbia B-school essay question, and ended his message by saying that it was a time-sensitive matter). When I chose to change up the format of the blog, I sort of signed up for the bad and the good, so thank you for the shout out in your email because it’s a part of the good that keeps me updating this joint after all these years.

OK, now let’s get to your question about how I afforded all my business school adventures…the answer to that all came down to having the mindset to be willing to pay for it and I didn’t have that mindset the entire time I was at the GSB. In fact, my two years were basically night-and-day in that respect when compared to each other. So, as a means of answering your question, I’ll walk you through my thinking during each year:

- “Living the broke life” –> Like you, I was really concerned about my finances when I started B-school and didn’t know how I was going to make ends meet during those years. I didn’t have much in savings going in, so I was one of the many student who maxed out on student loans and expected those loans to cover my tuition, books, car payment, credit cards, etc. And, the thought of paying back over $100K in loans after graduation freaked me out, so I tried to be as careful with my funds as possible. I quickly learned that trying to live a frugal lifestyle in B-school is much easier said than done. The books and course packets hit me in the wallet on day one and, if I’d known better, I would have been more selective about the ones I actually bought. The bigger hit to the wallet is all the social stuff, which includes going on trips, group dinners, partying with classmates, etc. Because I had a “broke student” mindset, I ended up begging out many of those social things during my first year due to financial worries. Going to group dinners and having to chip in like $50 for a cheeseburger when the bill got split evenly between everyone else had me thinking that it was too expensive to go out like that. Then, I found myself trying to do whatever I could to save money, including missing out on Thanksgiving with my family for the first time in my entire life and choosing to chill out in VA with my family during winter break instead of doing any of the international study trips. I did go to Cabo during Spring Break but ended up getting sick while I was there, so I was basically shut-in the whole time. By the end of first-year, I’d managed my money well and was able to cover all of my bills, but I had missed out on many opportunities that would have enriched my MBA1 experience. At the time, I knew it sucked, but I had to charge it to the game because of my ingoing mindset.

- “BALLIN’ while broke” –> My mindset shifted when I went to Asia with a couple of my peoples before second-year. When my man BT invited me on the trip, I immediately said no because of the cost, but he convinced me that it would be cheap once we got there and would be an enriching trip. And, as you might have read in my entries at the time, I had a GREAT time during that trip. We went to a bunch of nice places, ate like kings, and lived the good life, often for only a few bucks per day. That showed me that I actually enjoyed living big like that. But, the true mind-changer for me was seeing the lifestyle of the locals and realizing that, although people didn’t have much, I frequently saw people smiling and enjoying the fact that we were there and wanted to experience their cultures. I know it’s a small thing, but I was amazed that people who didn’t have much in life could seem so excited about just living life in the manner they were accustomed. And, at that moment, it dawned on me that I really hadn’t fully enjoyed myself in ages (if ever) because I was so consumed with the fear of not having enough money to make ends meet. With only a year left before returning to the real world, I told myself that I had to make a change and, from then on, my motto became “put it on a credit card and let it ride”. I figured that I was getting an MBA from a great school and would be getting PAID once I graduated and, while money would always be there for me in the future, the freedom to enjoy it might not be. That’s when I finally decided to live like a baller even if I wasn’t one. When my roomies came up with the idea to hit Brazil, I didn’t hesitate to put it all on a credit card and let it ride. When my man CT invited a bunch of us to visit his homeland in Morocco in Spring Break, I just put it on a credit card and let it ride. When group dinner invites popped up during second year, I didn’t sweat the way the cost would be split because I wasn’t just getting a meal…I was getting to bond with my classmates outside of the classroom, which is what B-school is all about. Did second year cost more than first year?…heck yeah, but it was well worth it. By my GSB graduation, I’d gotten a lot of run out of my credit cards, but, as I’d told myself earlier, I was able to pay them off once I started working and am glad that I didn’t let the dollars and cents of it all keep me from having fun.

I’m not saying that you HAVE to adopt the “Ballin’ while broke” mindset, but I know that the “Living the broke life” mindset will cause you to leave a lot of experiences on the table during your time in business school. I recommend that you make a list of what you would want to get out of B-school if you had unlimited financial resources. If sharing amazing experiences with classmates in amazing locales is on your list, then you might want to fake like you’ve got unlimited financial resources every now and then and just make it happen for yourself. You won’t regret doing so…

Take care and good luck on your business school applications. I wish you’d applied to the GSB so we’d have a shot at being double-alums…you know there’s always a time for a 3rd round application to the GSB

-Marquis