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WNBA offers fast start for 'U' alum
By Mark Snyder
Daily Sports Writer
Like many University students, Craig
Schulman sat in class with grandiose
dreams of a career in the professional
sports realm.
Now, just 18 months after his gradua-
tion from the University, Schulman pos-
sesses a steady job in a burgeoning field,
a Manhattan residence and free tickets to
major sporting events across the country.
Sounds like the good life, doesn't it?
To Schulman, who joined the NBA's
internship program two months after
graduation, working for the newly-
formed WNBA is more than he could
have ever dreamed.
"Fortunately, I'm in a great position
where there are unlimited opportunities
(for advancement)," he said.
As much as Schulman may imply
otherwise, good fortune played little
role in his rapid advancement.
He entered the sports management
field at an early age, working as an
intern for the Spectrum Management
Group in Los Angeles following his
first year in college - which put him
on the fast track to a sports-related job.
Schulman, who graduated with a sports
management and communications degree
from the Division of Kinesiology, stressed
the importance of internships - especial-
ly in the sports world.
"Sports is difficult to get into, just
because everybody wants to," he said.
"A lot of it is persistence, and a lot of it
is luck.'
His collegiate resume from his sum-
mers reads like a laundry list of major
players in the industry. From Schulman's
beginnings with the Los Angeles Sports
Arena management, to ESPN where he
did production work and marketing for
two years, he has stayed a step ahead of
menial summer jobs.
During his senior year at the
University, Schulman was tipped off to
the position he was waiting for - a job
he didn't even know existed.
"When I saw the job posting (for the
NBA internship), I called home and
said this is going to be my job," he said.
"It was the ideal position."
The internship that launched his
career with the NBA and its subsidiary
- the WNBA - was posted on the
FORUM database in the Career
Planning and Placement office.
Schulman's program, which came-4o
the Michigan campus for interviews on
Oct. 15, is the brainchild of NBA com-
missioner David Stern. Instituted in 1995,
the entry-level training program has
evolved from a 14-month internship into
its present form - a year-long, four-rota-
tion cycle.
As with the rest of his progress in the
industry, Schulman was a step ahead
once the program geared up.
The launch of the WNBA coincided
with Schulman's third rotation in the
seven-person internship program, and
with his job set to expire days before the
inaugural game, the senior officials in the
league decided to end his internship and
make him a full-time WNBA employee.
"To bring in someone new would have
been very tough ...," he said. "My boss
knew he was interested in having me
return permanently and I was interested."
While the field is undoubtedly grow-
ing - the NBA has expanded from 600
employees to 715 in the last 12 months
- Schulman maintains "there just
aren't new positions for everyone."
That's why the Michigan alum feels
fortunate to have experienced the
NBA's program.
"You gain an overall feel for the
league and learn about the league's
business," he said. "You gain so much
more experience than someone who has
been there awhile, because you see all
of the departments."
Schulman said he won't be satisfied
with his present position forever.
"I want to go back to school and get
my MBA," he said. "This is temporary,
just because you command a higher
salary with an MBA. But this is great
experience. There's no better first job
that someone in sports can go into."
Study
guies
ease test
nerves
By Sam Stavis
Daily Staff Reporter
As midterms come to a close, many
University students can still be found
studying late into the night. These are
the students who are planning to
extend their college years and apply to
graduate, medical, law, or business
school, and are preparing .for admis-
sions tests.
There are several reasons why grad-
uate programs require standardized
tests for admission.
"The grading systems at colleges
aren't all the same,' said Kim Castillo,
advertising coordinator for Kaplan
Educational Services. "The tests provide
a standardized way to compare stu-
dents "
Tests taken during an undergradu-
ate's senior year also give graduate
programs a fresh look at the student's
capabilities, Castillo said.
"You go through four years of
school, your GPA is going to reflect
four years of work," she said.
"(Standardized tests) are something
that will tell them how you are going
to perform now."
Companies like Princeton Review
and Kaplan Educational Services offer
preparatory courses and practice
exams for students planning to take
standardized admissions tests.
In most cases, students applying to
PAUL TALANIAN/Daily
Instructor Scott Grove teaches a GMAT prep course at Princeton Review last week. Nearly all major graduate-level
programs require applicants to take the GMAT, and high scores are always essential.
graduate schools are required to take the
Graduate Record Examinations (GRE).
"The GRE is about a three-and-a-
half hour exam. It has three sections -
verbal, quantitative, and analytic,
which test vocabulary, math skills, and
critical reasoning," Castillo said.
Students taking the GRE also have
the option of taking any of 16 different
subject tests in various fields of study.
Students applying to business
school are required to take the
Graduate Management Admission
Test (GMAT). The GMAT is designed
to predict a student's first-year perfor-
mance at business school, and tests
language, quantitative, and writing
skills. The GMAT does not require any
study of business as an undergraduate.
All students applying to law school
are required to take the Law
Standardized Achievement Test (LSAT),
a six-hour test that is administered all
over the world, four times a year.
"The LSAT is divided into games,
reading comprehension and arguments.
It looks at your logic and analytical rea-
soning, how you read and digest infor-
mation, and are able to understand it,"
said Amy Conway, director of graduate
studies for Princeton Review.
Students applying to medical school
are required to take the Medical
College Admissions Test (MCAT).
The MCAT is a six-hour test that
stresses a student's thought process
over the memorization of material.
"They're not asking you to regurgi-
tate isolated science facts," Conway
said. "They present you with a para-
graph, and they want to assess the stu-
dent's ability to- interpret data and
apply knowledge to new situations,"
This approach applies to most of the
other graduate and professional school
tests, Castillo said.
"They are testing your application
of knowledge. They're asking you to
apply your knowledge to problem
solving" Castillo said.
Students prepare for these tests in a
number of different ways.
"Some will take preparatory cours-
es," Conway said. "Others will buy a
book from a book store and study on
their own. Others will wing it and
hope that they do well."
LSA senior Rebecca Schneider is
enrolled in a Princeton Review course.
"I'm very nervous," she said. "Most
of the schools I'm applying to require
the GRE. Learning strategies take a lot
of time, but they help. I'm improving."
LSA senior Amy Seiner is also in a
Princeton Review course, and is
applying to the School of Social Work.
"I'm not too nervous" she said. "It's
not a life and death situation. I'll do
the best I can."
SARA DRAPER
ADMISSIONSECOUNSELOR FROM
THE NATIONAL COLLEGE OF CHIROPRACTIC
WILL BE ATTENDING THE
University of Michigan
Graduate School Information Fair
Thursday
October 30, 1997
12 - 4 p.m.
Stop by to learn more about chiropractic and NCC!
FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION CALL:
1-800-826-NATL
Debts, loans sought to pay for graduate school
By Neal Lepsetz
For the Daily
While graduate degrees have become
an increasingly important mode of
transportation on the road to success, so
has the question of how to pay the fare.
The cost of tuition along with the cost
of independent living can seem a pretty,
heavy burden, but numerous opportuni-
ties exist to help lighten the load.
Students can finance their masters
and doctorate degrees through various
avenues including federal, state, pri-
vate and institutional loans, scholar-
ships, assistantships, fellowships,
work-study programs and employee
benefits such as tuition reimburse-
ment. University graduate students
have taken advantage of all those
opportunities - receiving some $63
million aid in the 1995-96 fiscal year.
Rackham Assistant Dean Cynthia
Cross said one of the first things a stu-
dent should do during the grad school
search is to find out the pattern of fund-
ing for the school. At Rackham, for
example, most students in the doctoral
program are able to get their tuition
covered through fellowships or teach-
ing and research assistantships.
"Chances are if you are good enough
to be admitted, you will also be offered
some departmental support;' Cross said.
Most students attending professional
schools in law, business, and medicine,
along with the majority of masters pro-
gram students at Rackham, however,
have to depend on loans.
Since students enrolled in a graduate
or professional educational program are
considered independent, they may have
the advantage of greater loan options
than when they were undergrads
financed by their parents. The U.S.
Department of Education offers both
the Direct and Federal Family
Education Loans (FFEL) Stafford loans
(both subsidized and unsubsidized) as a
major form of aid. Graduate students
can borrow up to $18,500 per academic
year through these programs.
More funding can be obtained through
private sources that work with the
University such as The Access Group.
But loans can be scary because of the
inevitable problem of paying them back
one day.
"It's a lot;' said Eric Jopperi, who is
working toward a masters in social
work by floating loans. "I don't want to
even admit it myself. It's big time.
"It's really expensive to live in Ann
Arbor and going to school here, espe-
cially out of state," Jopperi said. "It's
definitely going to be tight."
About 50 percent of students at the
University's School of Business
Administration receive some sort of
financial aid in the form of loans, with
an average debt totaling $45,000 by the
time they receive their masters degree.
For medical school, most four-year pro-
grams across the country, require a
higher with a mean debt of approxi-
mately $80,000.
Office of Financial Aid Director Pam
Fowler said students for the most part are
able to meet the demands of the loan
once they enter their profession.
"Our default rate is very low," Fowler
said. "Also, studies have shown that stu-
dents who graduate are less likely to
default than those who fail to complete
the program."
For repayment of the government
loans, there are several plans to meet
each person's needs and on average it
takes about 10 years for students to pay
them back.
One tip that Business School
Financial Aid Assistant Suzanne Walsh
gives is to prevent the interest from
accumulating onto the principle.
"The faster you pay off your loan,
the'less money you will pay overall,"
Walsh said. "If you can pay it off in
five to seven years, you're well ahead
of the game."
The Office of Financial Aid offers
assistance in the process of finding out
what aid package is best for them.
"The students who pursue a graduate
education have varied backgrounds,
financial circumstances, and long-term
goals," Fowler said. "In all cases, we pro-
vide the student with all available options
and let the student decide what is best for
them.'