Credit Line Increase!

Even in the midst of the chaos of unpacking, I'm getting checks in the mail (tax refund and stock dividend), as well as a credit line increase from Discover!

I've been using my Discover credit card for only four months now, and I've been granted an automatic increase!

Congratulations! We're pleased to inform you that your outstanding credit management in the first year has earned you a credit line increase on your Discover® card.

The new credit line on your Discover card account is $650, of which your cash credit line is $300.

In the coming months, we will continue to evaluate your account in the first year. Make sure to make your payments on time and stay under your credit limit. We may review your account and increase your credit line automatically if you qualify. If you would prefer not to receive automatic credit line increases, simply give us a call at 1-800-347-3085.

I checked my records, and apparently my credit utilization for Discover is less than 1%. Hehe. That doesn't mean that I don't use the card or reach the credit limit of $500; it just means that I usually pay off the balance before my statement is due so that the recorded monthly balance is zero or minimal.

(Hey, even if that's only $650, it's still $650. Which is a big deal for a foreign student just starting to build her credit history. It's around Php28,650 too. Not bad.)

My credit cards will be my lifeline if I ever run out of money before I get my first paycheck at my next full-time job. So it helps if I get surprise credit increases like this in the future!


Tips:
The key ways to achieving a high credit score are simple: Pay your bills on time, avoid carrying a credit card balance, and make regular (and on-time) payments toward paying down your debts as quickly as possible.

What (MBA) Grad Schools Won't Tell You

So I found a recent article on this topic on Yahoo! Finance, and thought that some of the points raised will be useful to you guys. I'll mention those with corresponding comments.

(For the full article, please click here.)

Expect empty seats, but you'll still be competing with the whole world to get in.

Now, this article is addressed to Americans, and states that fewer Americans are going to grad school. International students take the place of domestic students, but there have been reports that even international student enrollment - especially in MBA courses - is declining.

According to a BusinessWeek article, this could be attributed to better local educational options (such as the universities in India), currency exchange rates, and visa issues, among others.

So, if you're interested in applying to the US, there seems to be a lot less competition these days.

Grades alone won't get you in.

Work experience matters. A lot.

Sure, you can graduate at the top of your class from the Ateneo and jump straight to grad school, but if you want to apply for jobs in corporate America, they'll be wondering what you can bring to the table. Also, you'll be overwhelmed with all the class discussions where everyone else is mentioning how this or that happened at their previous job. And what can you say to that?

If you've had any volunteer experience that could be construed as work experience of some sort, then better mention it in your application.

Our second-tier status may hamper your career -- and your pay.

I liked how the article put it:

"People considering graduate school who don’t want to attend or can’t get into or afford a brand-name school should look for schools with notable alumni in their industry, says Bardaro. Such alumni might bring cachet to a school that isn’t necessarily Ivy League, says Bardaro. And if the program has a strong track record of placing people in a certain industry, that could also boost the student’s chances of finding a well-paying job, she says."

It's the power of the (alumni) network.

That said, consider location. If you want a job in California after graduation, better look at schools in - or close to - California. Not saying that you can't get a job there if you go to Harvard or Darden, but the proximity just makes it easier come recruitment season.


It isn't our job to get you a job...

I think that's pretty clear enough.

Your coaches can give you as much advice as they think you need, but everything is still up to you. Don't blame your coach if you make the wrong decision with regards to the internship or full-time job you ended up with. Don't lay all the blame on career services if you couldn't find an internship or job. Hey, if you see red flags in the performance of your school's career office, then act accordingly. Be responsible for your decisions. Be responsible for your actions. (e.g. If landing a job in investment banking is that important to you, why didn't you choose a school that could help you do that?)

...And we fudge the stats on students who get jobs.

Ah, yes. This was pretty annoying to me too.

When you get into an MBA program, and it's peak recruiting season, you would see how many of your class would apply to just about any opening, as long as you get one. It's a symptom of despair and mounting panic.

So, yes, just keep in mind that when you look at stats - especially international student stats - those people might have just taken that internship or job because it was the best one available. For instance, I had a Chinese classmate who previously worked in GE Supply Chain, wanted to shift into Corporate Finance and had even taken CFA certification exams. He interned in Google. Google Supply Chain. Was that a bad decision? (Hello, it's Google.) He still wants to shift into a finance position, so I'll let you know what happens.

That's a clear example on the value of work experience, by the way. If all else fails, that's all you have to fall back on.


UPDATE (July 1, 2014): So what happened to my classmate who interned in Google? Google kept him hanging all throughout the year. They said he was in line for receiving an offer, and he never got a formal rejection notice from them. Yep, that sucks. He ended up interning for a VC firm after graduation, and accepting an offer for a supply-chain role with a manufacturing company. So... I guess he's still keeping the Finance dream alive?






Reference: 10 Things Grad Schools Won't Tell You. Marte, Jonnelle. Aug 19, 2013. http://finance.yahoo.com/news/10-things-grad-schools-won-113008623.html?page=1.

Investment bank intern, found dead in his London flat

This article is from the Daily Mail. My prayers to the intern and his family. My previous work involved long hours either at the office or off-site, and I've had enough of that already.

Investment bank intern, 21, on £45,000 worked 'until 6am for three nights in a row' before he was found dead in his London flat

• Moritz Erhardt had been interning with investment bank Merrill Lynch
• Erhardt, from Germany, was found dead in his East London flat last week
• 21-year-old had 'pulled all-nighters' during his summer internship
• Summer interns are paid £45,000 a year pro rata for their work

By Christian Gysin, Claire Ellicott and Martin Robinson
PUBLISHED: 16:29 EST, 19 August 2013 | UPDATED: 05:19 EST, 20 August 2013

'All-nighter': Moritz Erhardt, 21, had been working gruelling hours as an intern at an investment bank

A young student has died in mysterious circumstances while employed as an intern at a top investment bank – amid claims he was asked to work punishingly long hours.

The body of Moritz Erhardt was discovered on Thursday evening as he neared the end of a seven-week internship with the Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s investment bank division.

The 21-year-old – understood to be from Germany – had joined  Merrill Lynch earlier in the summer hoping to forge a career with the firm.

Paid interns at the bank normally earn £45,000 a year pro rata - around £2,700 a month.

Yesterday it was claimed Mr Erhardt may have suffered a fit or seizure. However internet forum users said he may have been working ‘all-nighters’ during his stay with the company.

Many banks are known to encourage their young students to work late into the night and in the past there have been claims those keen to impress have put in long hours with very little sleep.

On one site, called wallstreetoasis.com, many posters insisted Mr Erhardt regularly worked long hours and added: ‘One of the best interns at BAML – three all-nighters, didn’t turn up, colleagues went to find him.’

Mr Erhardt had been living in the Claredale House student accommodation flats in Bethnal Green, East London. The apartments are rented out to hundreds of interns during the summer months.

Another poster on the wallstreetoasis.com site added: ‘It is absolutely true – he was found dead in the shower by his flatmate. Intern at BAML who went home at 6am three days in a row.’
 
On Friday staff at the Claredale complex issued a statement to residents, part of which read: ‘Some of you might be aware that the emergency services were called to Claredale yesterday evening.

‘The reason for this is that we were made aware of an incident involving one of our residents. Sadly the resident concerned had passed away.

‘To avoid any rumours or misinformation, we would like to inform you all that there were no suspicious circumstances surrounding the death.’

In recent years interns have told of working long hours at investment banks.

One 20-year-old told London’s Evening Standard in 2011 that ‘you work whatever hours you’re  asked to’.

He added: ‘Every intern’s worst nightmare is what’s called “the Magic Roundabout” – which is when you get a taxi to drive you home at 7am and then it waits for you while you shower and change and then takes you back to the office.’

Another 24-year-old told the same newspaper: ‘About 100 hours a week was the minimum and the average was probably 110. I worked six-and-a-half days a week.’

A source at Bank of America Merrill Lynch said Mr Erhardt had completed previous internships at other investment banks but could not confirm or deny claims he had worked exceptionally long hours.

However he insisted staff are given both ‘mentors’ and ‘buddies’ when they join the firm and are monitored by staff from the human resources department.

The source added Mr Erhardt was very well-liked by members of staff and there will now be a post mortem examination and inquest into his death.

A statement from BAML said: ‘We are deeply shocked and saddened by the news of Moritz Erhardt’s death. 

'He was popular amongst his peers and was a highly diligent intern at our company with a promising future.

‘Our first thoughts are with his family and we send our condolences to them at this difficult time.’

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2397527/Bank-America-Merrill-Lynch-intern-Moritz-Erhardt-dead-working-long-hours.html#ixzz2cYwhc4Xw