The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, October 30, 1984 - Page 3
MBA hopefuls test the waters
By KAMALA WHITE
To many students at yesterday's Pre-Business Day a
master's program in business administration was several
years down the road, but not so far that they weren't plan-
, ning.
Recruiters from 37 business schools who were gathered at
the Michigan League answered questions from a large num-
ber of sophomores, juniors, and other students, some of
whom planned to work before entering graduate school.
STUDENTS are planning early for careers in business, the
recruiters said. Many know the high salaries MBA graduates
can earn and they know that more and more undergraduates
are turning to graduate business programs before settling
down in the world of work.
"I have seen some impressive planning going on," said
Ward Snearly, a representative from Purdue. "I'm im-
pressed with the number of sophomores and juniors I've
talked to. That in my view shows some excellent planning."
And with application fees at $50 and up, students are spen-
ding more time assessing schools before they actually apply.
"WITH THE COST of each application somewhere in the
$50- range, it's very wise for students to find out which
schools they are really competitive for, and which schools
they really want to become a part of," said Maria Blackburn,
director of admissions at Cornell's Graduate School of
SManagement.
# Students hammered recruiters with such questions as
"What GPA should I have? What kind of GMAT
(Graduate Management Admission Test) scores do I
need? How important is work experience before applying?"
The round of questions became so routine that Jeannie
Thompson, a recruiter from Northwestern University, sim-
ply circled the information relating to grades, test scores,
and work experience on the school's admissions profile sheet
and methodically handed the sheet to students.
AT LEAST ONE recruiter expressed concern that students
looking toward a graduate program in business place too
much emphasis on the quantitative qualifications and
stressed that extra-curricular activities and social skills are
equally important.
Some recruiters also thought students weren't thinking
beyond getting their foot in the door of the business school.
"Surprisingly enough, I have not had one person ask me
about follow-up job placement," Snearly said.
BUT MOST OF the students at yesterday's event said they
were only looking for general information.
Tom Richardson, an LSA senior, said he "came just to
gather information. I plan to work for a while before going on
to graduate school, but I wanted to know what was available.
I heard about this day, and since it was right here, I decided
to come and talk to some people."
Tom Dolan, a business junior, said the high salary of an
MBA is a lure to go on to graduate school. But he said he
didn't know if his friends had similar motives.
"I THINK THAT everyone would like to have a lot of
money, he said. "It's hard to say whether that's the primary
goal of most of my friends in the B-School."
But R. Brooks Gekler, a recruiter from New York Univer-
sity, warned business students seeking the MBA fast track to
big bucks and success:
"Business School is not necessarily going to provide all of
the financial opportunity some students expect.
"Unfortunately, there are no guarantees," he added.
"However, there are a great number of possibilities open to a
student who has pursued or is pursuing an MBA."
Doily Photo by KAREN ROMFH,
A representative from Eastern Michigan's business school waits students questions regarding admissions.
Drama portrays problems in teen suicides
CARMEL, N.Y. (AP) - "I was
seeing my son and reliving his death,"
said Donna Buckley after previewing
an upcoming television movie about a
fictional teen-ager's suicide.
"The film covers everything. The
distress signals are in the film. I didn't
know my son's signals until after he
died," she said.
UP TO the time her 15-year-old son
Jon hanged himself last May, she was
unaware of how badly he was hurting,
Mrs. Buckley said.
The film, "Silence of the Heart,"
focuses on the suicide of a 17-year-old
high school student whose parents are
similarly unaware of his distres.
AFTER HER son's death, Mrs.
Buckley said, "I began making calls
and trying to learn everything I could."
Now she can read signals that she
couldn't decipher then, she said.
p Because too many teen-agers are
taking their own lives and too few
adults seem to understand why, the
producers of the film - scheduled to be
broadcast tonight on CBS - hope that
the drama of their character, Skip
Lewis, will heighten awareness of the
problem.
THE, FILM'S producer, David
Simons, said his interest was sparked
when he read about a 9-year-old girl
writing her will. Asked why he chose a
drama as his vehicle, he said, "I could
have done a documentary, but I wanted
to reach the average American family
and let them know what's happening."
The suicide rate for American young
adults has climbed 41 percent in 10
years, according to the Nation Centers
for Disease Control in Atlanta, which is
conducting a study to try to determine
why. An estimated 6,000 teen-agers took
their lives in 1983 and experts say the
number could be as much as four times
higher, since many of the deaths are
categorized as accidents.
Suicide is the second leading cause of
death among young people with
statistics showing that at least half of
all high school students have con-
sidered the act to the the point of plan-
ning, according to Charlotte Rosse,
director of the Suicide Prevention Cen-
ter in San Mateo County, Calif., and co-
chairperson of the National Committee
on Youth Suicide Prevention. She acted
as adviser to the film.
"KIDS THINK they're all alone and
that if they're thinking suicide, they're
crazy," she said. "They're not. They
are kids who hurt.
"Kids learn about suicide the same
way they learn about sex, on the
street," Ms. Ross said. "And the misin-
formation they get is far more
dangerous than the accurate infor-
mation they can be given."
Skip Lewis hurts. Low SAT scores, a
failed relationship, an inability to cope.
with his weaknesses or recognize his
strengths put Skip on the edge and no
one, not even his best friend, under-
stands.
HE QUITS his job, bequeaths his
record collection to his kid sister and
gives the girl who spurned him a bat-
tered volume of the poems of Sylvia
Plath, who was herself a suicide. The
film's title is taken from her verse.
None of his actions are recognized as
the distress signals they are - even by
the parents who love him.
"Jan talked about it to his
friends," Mrs. Buckley said, "It was
in his school essays, in how he acted.
But no one knew enough to know."
IN AN effort to help teachers, parents
and teen-agers recognize warning signs
in themselves and others, pilot teen-age
suicide prevention programs are
beginning in California and in New
York.
The New York program was laun-
ched here, in Putnam County, one of
three suburbs north of New York City,
where 11 youths aged 13 to 20 have
taken their lives so far this year.
Here, as in Houston and in the Dallas
suburb of Plano, counseling sessions
were held after a "cluster" or rash of
young suicides.
BUT MS. ROSS and New York's Lt.
Gov. Alfred DelBello, her co-chair on
the national committee, said the
programs should be ongoing and man-
dated for all students starting in junior
high school.
"Kids talk to kids, not adults," said
Ms. Ross. "Then you have the double
tragedy. The teen who kills himself and
the one he told who feels guilty for the
rest of his life."
Are you considering professional school?
HARVARD UNIVERSITY
JOHN F. KENNEDY
SCHOOL OF GOVERNMENT
Is Looking for Future Leaders in Public Affairs.
Come Learn About Harvard's Two-Year Master's
Program in Public Policy, Leading to Either
the Master in Public Policy or
City and Regional Planning Degree.
MEET WITH:
Madeleine Thomas
ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR, PUBLIC POLICY PROGRAM
DATE:
Friday, Nov. 2, 10-11 and 11-12 groups
CONTACT:
Your Career Placement Office
All Students, All Majors, All Years Welcome!
Joint Degree Programs Offered with
Harvard's Other Professional Schools.
Generous Cross-Registration Privileges with Other Schools.
HGAPPENINGS
Highlight
Ernest Boyer speaks about "The Future of American Education & the
Role of Liberal Arts" tonight at 7 p.m. in the Union Ballroom. The lecture is
sponsored by LSA student government.
Films
MTF - Halloween, 7 p.m., Halloween II, 9 p.m., Michigan Theatre.
Cinema II/AAFC - Shoot the Piano Player, 7 p.m., East Quad
Auditorium.
Performances
Musical Society - IvoaPogorelich, 8:30 p.m., Rackham Auditorium.
School of Music - String department recital, 8 p.m., Recital Hall.
Center for chinese Studies - Brown bag, Michael Oksenberg, "The
Making of Energy Policy in China," noon, Lane Hall Commons.
Bioengineering, Wen-Jei Yang, "Prospectives in Biomechanics," 4 p.m.,
1042 East Engineering Bldg.
Center for Afro-American & African Studies - Jonah Isawa Elaigwu,
"African Soldiers as Social Reformers & Economic r4anagers: The Case of
Nigeria," 7p.m., CAAS Lounge, Lorch Hall 407.
History - Margot Stein, "The Image of the Mother in Developmental
Psychology, 1945-1960," noon, West Conference Room, Rackham.
Comparative Literature - Stephen Muecke, "The Scribes - Towards an
Ethnography of Writing," 4:10 p.m., 411 Mason Hall.
Public Health Students' Association - Quentin Young, "The Reagan Ad-
ministration's Health Policy," noon, School of Public Health Aud. 2.
Aerospace Engineering - Martin Bendsoe, "Sensitivity Analysis of
Problems of Elasticity with Unilateral Constraints," 4 pm., Rm. 107,
Aerospace Engineering Bldg.
Stasheff Lecture - Norman Corwin, "The Golden Age of Radio," 3 p.m.,
Aud. 3, MLB.
Turner/Conoco Lecture - Lisa Tauxe, "Magnetostrativgraphy and Time
Resolution in Sediments," 4 p.m., Rm. 4001, C.C. Little.
Industrrial and Operations Engineering - Steven Deutsch, "Social and
Organizational Factors in Introducing Technological Change," 4 p.m., Rm.
144 Cooley Bldg.
Rudolf Steiner Institute - E. Katz, 'The Nature of Meditation," 8 p.m.,
r 1923 Geddes.
Meetings
CEW - Job Hunt Club, noon, 350S. Thayer.
Ann Arbor Go Club -7 p.m., 1433 Mason Hall.
Center for Eating Disorders - Support Group, 7:30 p.m., Human Growth
Center, Suite 13, 2002 Hogback.
Polish American Student Association - Mass meeting, 7 p.m., Michigan
Room, Union.
Miscellaneous
Computing Center - Chalk Talk: "Examples of Tell-A-Graf Bar Charts,
12:10 p.m., 1011 NUBS; "Tell-A-Graf," 3:30 p.m. Ontel Room, NUBS.
Netherlands-American University League - Reading, Peter Ten Hoopen,
8 p.m., International Center.
Student Wood and Craft Shop - Introduction to wood working class, 7
p.m., 537 SAB.
School of Business Administration, Course, "How to be an Effective Sales
Manager," for information call 763-1000.
Student Organizational Development Center - Workshop, "If Nobody
Knows, Nobody Goes: Publicity How To's," 4 & 7 p.m. For information call
763-5900.
HRD - Course. "Effective Business Writing," 9 a.m., Rm. 4051 LSA.