The AIM Blogger

Here are some images of how some members of the Pre-MBA class were preparing for the Financial Accounting quiz last July 31, 2007. Studying: Maya Perez (left) and Faye Abis (right) hitting the books hard. "CAN" Group (L-R): Liberto Sidhaan, Paolo Tomas, Nina Laquindanum and Shri Reddy. MBA Gals (Clockwise from top left): Wang Shu, Karen Sumcio, Julie Ann Chua and Diamond Uy.

We had our Financial Accounting long quiz for the Pre-MBA program and being our very first quiz (although technically this quiz is not graded), I had no expectations but I felt the pressure. It's more like a first date, actually. (uh oh, bad analogy). What I can say about the exam is I to see who will do good and those who won't. The 85-question multiple choice test gives little room for error as erasures are not allowed and all computations must be shown. I'm thinking the nature of the exam is either you get it or you don't-- If you're done early, you are either studied your ass off or you spent the weekend watching Ratatouille . Personally, I found the quiz not too hard, but not a cakewalk either. I'd rate it a 6.5 out of 10 in terms of difficulty. The Indian folks in our class didn't seem to have difficulty with the test and I'm not surprised. What I'm surprised about is how they seem to take the exam seriously and really took their time finishing...

I was surfing on YouTube.com and found a handful of videos, particularly this 3-part video series from a Tiger's Night event at AIM that was posted last May 14, 2007. Part 1: Part 2: Part 3: What was going on in the videos? I have totally no idea, but it looked like they were having lots of fun.

One week has past in our Pre-MBA and there are already some who have tapped out and decided to defer and there are some contemplating to follow suit. I can't emphasize how rigorous and and comprehensive the Financial Accounting phase of the pre-MBA program has been. While I've read about how accounting in AIM is like a boot camp, nothing could have prepared me for this. That's why Prof. Lim, along with several MBA seniors, gave a pep talk on how we shouldn't feel discouraged and gave us a chance to express our frustrations and fears regarding our performance in the Pre-MBA. The common theme was that a majority of the incoming First Years feel intimidated with the pace and frustrated with not catching up (especially with almost all of us have little accounting knowledge and experience). Prof. Lim tried his best to allay our fears by recounting how he felt the same way 20 years ago when he took his MBA. The seniors chimed in and shared their individual experiences, like p...

The Pre-MBA course's pace is just unbelievable. We cover topics in a day that some would consider two week's worth of discussions in a "normal" setting. But I guess the MBA at the Asian Insitute of Management is not "normal" in that sense-- this compressed and highly dense treatment of topics would really compel one to have a sense of urgency to do everything not to lag behind. After all, I AM paying to go through the rigors of business school. If there's one learning about the MBA I've had this early on, it's to be a step ahead . Knowing the topic beforehand and being a step ahead of what the professor is discussing has yielded some pretty good results for me, particularly on the class participation aspect. At this point, I find the competition is not against the other MBA students but within myself. -- We also started on the Data Analysis part of the Pre-MBA course with Prof. Anthony Zosa and so far, the class has been treading more on the trad...

The Pre-MBA started today and it was both a sneak peek at the MBA program and a typical day of an AIM MBA student. It also gave me the chance to see my classmates for the first time (well, at least almost all of them.) The session started promptly at 8 o'clock in the morning and Prof. Ricardo Lim gave a brief intro to the MBA freshies. His deadpan humor and quick wit was able to get the class laughing early on, but it was all business after that. Prof. Lim turned the floor over to Prof. Hilario Tan, the designated instructor for financial accounting. Prof. Tan started his version of "Accounting for Dummies" as the class was comprised primarily of zero accounting background students. (Well, I heard there were auditors and business analysts in the class, which made me scratch my head.). There were some good questions and some "Duh!" questions that flew around, but it was really evident that the class was like encountering a new animal-- quizzed looks, raised eyebr...

Let backtrack a bit: How was I able to get admitted to the Asian Institute of Management (AIM)? The admission process is a relatively brief process, but rigorous nonetheless. The AIM Website outlines the procedure on how to apply and the requirements as well. However, I found some old content at the AIM site that might get some users confused. But in spite of that, my experience in applying was a very smooth and hassle-free one. I made sure that I had the following accomplished: Application Form - This can be downloaded online . The application form is very long and has 14 essay questions! It is better to answer the essay questions briefly and direct to the point. Official Transcripts - This is my undergraduate transcript from the University of the Philippines - Diliman . Academic Recommendation Letter - I had a former professor of mine from the Ateneo Graduate School of Business accomplish this one. Professional Recommendation Letter - I asked a former superior make a recommenda...

I just registered for the Pre-MBA course at the Asian Institute of Management (AIM). The Pre-MBA is a course recommended for incoming MBA students with limited exposure to business subjects such as accounting and finance. The two-week course will run from July 23-August 3, 2007. Given my background in Engineering and Information Technology, it was an easy decisions for the AIM folks to recommend me for this course. I absolutely have zero background in accounting and a limited working knowledge of financial matters. I see myself struggling from the get go. The course is free, but I had to pay for the required book for this course. The textbook that will be used is Financial Accounting (Paperback 13th Edition, by Williams et al.). The reading assignments have been given and I have browsed thought the material-- pretty different stuff from I've done before. Also, if you're wondering what's with the grainy image in this blog post, it's a web cam capture of my nameplate. E...

"There is no rest for the wicked," some one once said. Well, I'm not wicked, but there seems to be no rest for me. (More on this a bit later.) This post marks the start of The AIM Blogger, a blog I started to chronicle my journey towards my MBA at the Asian Institute of Management (AIM), one of Asia's top business schools, if not one of the world's. Classes start this August 5, 2007 for the 16-month intensive MBA course and since that date is a few weeks away, I figured to cover some of the preliminary stuff I went through in getting admitted to AIM and the Pre-MBA course I'll be taking. Now on to the "no rest" bit: The MBA degree program I shall be pursuing is not my first post-graduate program. I just finished my MS Information Management degree at the IT Cluster of the Ateneo Graduate School of Business (one of AIM's rival business schools in the Philippines). It has been over a week since my harrowing thesis defense and here I am, preparing...