Sunday, January 6, 2008

On Plagiarism, and Other Tidbits

I just caught up on my blogs after the weekend, and found this. I can't for the life of me fathom why someone would plagiarize a blog post. What could be gained?? It's just so odd to me, and yes, concerning to see proof that people like that may be in the same applicant or student pool as me. Creepy actually.

Hubby has decided to take the Manhattan GMAT class and take a stab at the GMAT in the Spring. I am very excited for him. His plans have yet to play out, but he's going to take advantage of this little lull in our lives to give it a shot. Good luck hubby!!

I just pulled out my Montauk book again to check out the chapters "What to Do Once You are Accepted" and "How to Get the Most Out of Business School." Two things jumped out at me:
1) He mentions a strategy of asking for a deferment from your second choice school, even if you get into your first choice, just in case something goes wrong with the first choice. That seems like a strange and rather unethical plan. I have heard of people doing this when they don't get into their first choice so that they can reapply to their first choice the following year, which I think makes a little more sense (but still isn't really ethical, but I'm not judging). I guess what struck me more is ... what does he mean by something going wrong? Should I be concerned??
2) Montauk recommends several books on each of the typical core MBA classes so that those from non-business undergrad background can read up before school starts. Wharton students on S2S have repeatedly said this is not necessary, unless you have no calculus background (I have plenty). I am confused about this. Should I use the time I have to prepare myself to hit the ground running academically? Or should I instead focus on completing some other priorities in my personal life (like downsizing all my stuff so I can squeeze into a student budget-friendly apartment, reading the novels and other fun books I have been eyeing since I won't have time come Fall, immerse myself in my hobbies, etc). Anyone out there able to speak from first-hand experience? Anyone receive good advice on this subject?

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

great post-

and i dont know what the answer to your second question is, but i'm wondering the same thing!

i won't lie, i've already picked up a few of the books (for pleasure, not school related) that have been piling up since the summer that i've been meaning to read.

Unknown said...

as for the second question, I have heard many times that it is better to pursue whatever is it you like to do personally. You won't get a lot of breaks once school has started. Go travel, read books (fun ones!), watch movies, spend time with your loved ones! Although I don't really have the luxury to do all that yet, I really can't wait to have time to do all that. If you spend time lurking at the BW forum, see Alex's thread, he has some advices about it (most likely he will tell you to spend them by NOT preparing for the academics).. have fun :-)

School In The Country said...

Great post. I am equally mystified by that incident. I think that it's plagiarism, though, not plagerism.

tinydancer said...

Ha! I guess spellcheck doesn't work in Blogger titles ...