The few sample questions that have been released by the council provide students with tables of data and prompt them to answer several analysis questions regarding the relationships between data sets.

Admissions officers have affirmed the importance of the new reasoning section, citing the need to provide grad students with more classroom experience utilizing data sets to make real world business decisions.  Still, it will take at least a full year after the section’s implementation for officers to fully determine how the results will be processed; in order for this to happen, the first round of students sitting for the new GMAT will need to make their way through the beginning of the graduate coursework.

The GMAT is one of several criteria used to evaluate prospective business graduate candidates.  Among the other areas considered are academic transcripts, interviews, admission essays and references.

Most schools stress that admission candidates should not overemphasize the effect of the GMAT; surveys have revealed that most applicants spend almost three times the hours spent writing admissions essays preparing for the GMAT.

With the uncertainty surrounding the upcoming modification of the test, many seniors who are planning on applying to grad school within the next five years will register for the GMAT now rather than wait until the changes have been implemented in June.  The idea may not be a bad one, as applicants typically are better geared toward test-taking while they are still in school, rather than during the years spent working immediately following graduation.

While the implementation of the integrated reasoning section is still months away, it is certainly something to consider for current juniors and seniors planning on attending business school in the coming years.

This information, coupled with fears of rising gas prices, has called many to question why energy companies are being allowed to export this fuel out of the U.S.

There is a simple explanation for this.  As the world grows into a global economy, the laws of supply and demand have shed their “national border limitations.”  The United States has, at the moment, a large amount of excess refining capacity, and energy companies have not let this opportunity slip through their fingers.  Imports of crude oil have continued to rise to feed this excess capacity, and then this refined fuel is exported back out.  It has allowed energy companies to cushion their balance sheets while providing American workers with thousands of jobs.

Still, the question remains:  why are fuel costs still so high for the average American?  The United States’ demand for gas has dropped nearly 10 percent in recent years.  It decreased from a peak of 9.6 million barrels a day in 2007 to 8.8 million barrels presently.  But consumers have not seen a significant drop in the price at the pump.  This is because exportation of gasoline has been yielding higher profit margins than just the vanilla sales in the United States.  The exports will provide a protection against a major spike in gasoline at home because much of this supply can easily be diverted to the United States.  Most importantly, no legislation should be allowed to come about due to this increased exportation.  Any curbing of the ability for energy companies to export refined gasoline will not result in lower fuel prices at home and will hurt economic growth.  If energy companies move refining facilities elsewhere, it will cost the United States thousands of jobs, millions in tax revenues, and trade imbalances.

How job-seekers comport themselves during all parts of the hiring process, from the first interview to the job offer, plays a role in determining their salary.  In many cases, a salary is negotiable, and students should not be too quick to settle, even if they are desperate for employment in the difficult economic climate.  When the interviewer asks about the salary a job-seeker has envisioned, there are a few strategies one should use to effectively negotiate.

First, timing is everything.  Many experts believe that one should not bring up a salary until the employer has extended a job offer.  According to Jack Chapman, a career consultant and author of Negotiating Your Salary: How to Make $1,000 a Minute, “At the start of the interview process you don’t have enough information to know what the job’s worth or what its potential could be. You could agree to a smaller salary than the job is worth.”

“If you don’t lowball yourself and you aren’t eliminated outright, you may be eliminated later when it comes down to two candidates and it turns out you cost more,” Chapman continues.

This requires some evasion when the manager asks about the salary in the first interview.  According to journalist Marcia Passos Duffy, interviewees should be polite and say something like, “I don’t want to box myself in in terms of salary right now. If you don’t mind, I’d like to focus on the value I can produce for your company,” or “I’m sure we can come to a salary agreement if I’m the right person for the job. I’d like to see if we agree that I am.”

The time to discuss salary is when a job offer has been extended.  In preparation for the salary negotiations at this point, it is critical to do some research in advance.

“To know what to ask for in negotiations, you must know the pay range for your position. Check out salary surveys online and in trade journals,” says Penelope Trunk, who has founded three start-ups, the most recent of which is Brazen Careerist, a career management tool.

“Talk with friends in similar jobs or recruiters who regularly fill this type of position in your geographic region,” she says.  “Find the top of the salary range and ask for that. Show the hiring manager your research and remind her why you are worth the top of the range.”

Besides networking, some good sources of information regarding salary ranges for specific jobs include the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), newspapers, and trade journals.

Students should not let a fear of negotiating prevent them from making the salary they deserve.  Further, being aware of the tradeoffs one is willing to make in terms of pay is necessary to evaluating a job offer.  Ultimately, however, the salary is only one facet of a job, and in many cases, doing what one loves or working at one’s dream company can be more important than the size of a paycheck.

The Externship Program is a mentoring and shadowing program that allows undergraduate students to shadow a professional in a specific industry for one day, learning about the business or field that their mentor works in.  Students are able to ask questions about specific job responsibilities and day-to-day business functions that students are considering pursuing in real life.

The program encourages students to build important networking relationships with alumni and organizations, which may open up opportunities for them in the future.

The Externship Program cannot be completed for credit, and students do not receive any form of payment for their time; nevertheless, the experience gained is valuable to both the student and the professional.  Externships are located in both Boston and New York City and take place over the course of one week during winter break.

Students participating in the Externship Program can expect to meet people in their assigned organizations, sit in on meetings, complete various interoffice tasks, tour company buildings, learn about a variety of jobs within the company, and speak with professional and administrative staff members of the company.

The program exists to help students get their foot in the door of the real work world after graduation in a low pressure and stress-free environment.  The Career Center staff hopes that the Externship Program will serve to help students discover a field they are passionate about and to guide the next steps in their career discovery process.

The Career Center would like to place all interested students in externships.  However, there is an application process because there are a limited number of participating companies and professionals to shadow.  Externships will be assigned based on career interests and past experiences in the classroom, as well as extracurricular activities, in addition to the qualifications of companies.

Though experience is not a key factor in selection or assignment of externships, students must show interest, curiosity, and passion for a desired career path.  The Career Center also stresses that if a student is not selected the first time around for an externship, they should apply again for other opportunities in the future.

The Externship Program offers a great opportunity for any and all undergraduate students to experience a business or industry that they are curious about.  It is just one of many resources offered by the Career Center every fall.

Any type of experience outside of the classroom can really help a student decide either their major or their career goals, and the Externship Program is a stepping stone in those discoveries.  Applying for an externship is excellent practice for obtaining internships and full-time positions and learning how to use the EagleLink program.

Visit the Career Center website for more information on the Externship Program and similar programs offered throughout the year that help students learn about possible careers after graduation.

Whether students create a website that revolutionizes networking, a space-maximizing model of dorm furniture, or a campus laundry service, college start-ups can prove not only profitable, but also valuable in terms of the experience they may offer aspiring entrepreneurs.

There are many reasons to start a business while in college.  Generally speaking, college students are in low-risk situations—they have more free time after classes than the average entry-level employee, they have guaranteed housing for the semester, and they are surrounded by a market of open-minded peers who might be willing to try out a new service or product.

College students also have great resources at their disposal: faculty may serve as mentors, and there is opportunity for networking with alumni who could invest in a college student’s entrepreneurial endeavor.

At the same time, college students often need money, and a business can provide a source of income for those struggling with their budgets.

So, how does one handle a business while keeping up with the regular demands of college work?  As in all things, time management is key.

Establishing priorities, learning the value of hard work, and overcoming obstacles are just a few skills that students may cultivate by running a small business while they are in school.

Recruiting friends may also lessen the burden of a project.  By partnering with equally dedicated and passionate people, a student entrepreneur can see greater progress in not only the ease with which a company may be run, but also in the expanded connections each partner may bring to the project.

The balance necessary to run a business with a college student’s schedule carries over into the entrepreneurial mindset as well.  Mona Olson is Founder and President of the Board of iMADdu (I Make a Difference, do you?) Inc., a nonprofit organization that empowers college-age entrepreneurs through apprenticeship and mentoring experiences.

Her advice to student entrepreneurs is to strike a balance between ideas and implementation.

“You can have the ideas, but if you can’t execute them, the idea can’t grow. If you have the execution but not the big picture, you can easily lose focus on the future of your business,” she says.  “To handle the growth of a business or nonprofit during school, you need to find a way to do both.”

Being a student entrepreneur can prove advantageous even if the endeavor is unsuccessful.  The experience of starting a company can differentiate one from other job seekers by demonstrating motivation, creativity, and ambition.

It grants a student credibility and real-world experience, which will give him or her an edge when it is time to begin applying for jobs.

Working as an entrepreneur is in some ways an education in itself.  Undertaking such an endeavor during the college years is ultimately an advantageous way to apply textbook knowledge to real-world situations and learn about hard work and success before the stakes are too high; for the college entrepreneur, it is okay to make some mistakes.  Learning from those missteps is part of what makes the experience so valuable.

The law called for the elimination of private banks as middlemen in the lending process, thereby eliminating an estimated $68 billion in transaction fees paid to the private lending institutions.  The savings generated were to be put toward expanding Pell grants and investments in community colleges, as well as reducing the national deficit.

Pell grants were to increase to compensate for inflationary pressure over the coming several years, resulting in an ultimate $425 increase in the maximum grant by 2017.  At the same time, the number of Pell grants offered is to increase by 820,000 by 2020.  Student recipients of federal aid were allowed to reduce the maximum repayment to 10 percent of discretionary income, from the 15 percent it had been previously; any remaining balances will be forgiven after 20 years of regular, on-time payments instead of the previous 25 years.

Though the student loan program overhaul was intended to make college more affordable, analysis has shown that increases in federal aid, which is up 438 percent in the past three decades, has only “enabled colleges to hike tuitions virtually without restraint,” says Jane Shaw, president of the John W. Pope Center for Higher Education Policy in Raleigh, North Carolina.  Studies have shown that each $1 increase in the average student loan results in a net tuition increase of 93 cents for public schools and 55 cents for private schools.

Though colleges absorb increases in federal student aid through tuition increases, the majority of the new tuition revenue is spent on administrative costs, rather than costs directly related to instruction and curriculum.

So, what does this mean for current and prospective students?  The two areas students will see most directly affected are the increases in Pell grants and the changes to income-based repayment plans.

In terms of the Pell grant increases, the amount of the increases will be small in comparison to those originally proposed by Obama; they will not be enacted until the 2013-2014 academic year.  Further, the changes to income-based repayment will not be in place until 2014; therefore, the majority of students currently enrolled in Boston College will not be eligible to benefit from the smaller monthly payments future borrowers will be entitled to.

While the intention to make a college education more accessible for the masses is certainly admirable, are we really going about this in the right way?  If federal aid increases only result in simultaneous tuition hikes, it seems that students struggling to pay for an increasingly expensive college education are not actually reaping the intended benefit.  Only time will tell if government officials catch onto this trend in time to prevent it from going out of control.

According to Dan Schawbel, who is recognized by The New York Times as an expert on the subject, personal branding is “the process by which individuals and entrepreneurs differentiate themselves and stand out from the crowd by identifying and articulating their unique value proposition, whether professional or personal, and then leverage it across platforms with a consistent message and image to achieve a specific goal.”

“In this way individuals can enhance their recognition as experts in their field, establish recognition and credibility, advance their careers and build self-confidence,” he states.

In many cases, developing a personal brand begins with an online presence.

Managing one’s online reputation is more critical today than ever before.  According to a March, 2011, study by the Center for Marketing Research at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, sixty percent of Fortune 500 companies have active Twitter accounts, up from 35 percent in 2009.  Twenty-three percent have blogs.  Social media usage among Inc. 500 companies has also skyrocketed, as 83 percent used at least one media platform in 2010.

As Gen Y makes its mark on the corporate world, social media outlets are revolutionizing the way companies do business.

Creating a personal brand can help one to forward a career, expand a social circle, or start a business.  Chances are, many college students are already well on their way to developing a personal brand.  Through LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter accounts, most students have an online presence; the question is how they might use that presence to advance their careers.

How can a student focus an online presence and begin to form a personal brand?  First, be yourself.  Present your brand in an honest and consistent manner that fits your personality: your projected brand should match who you are.  Communicating and sharing what you are passionate or knowledgeable about will help others to take notice.  Bring to the fore what makes you unique.  The brand should also fit what you are trying to sell, whether that be academic credentials, personal experience, or ability to do a particular job.

In their 1981 book Positioning: the Battle for Your Mind, Al Ries and Jack Trout coined the concept of self-positioning:  “The most difficult part of positioning is selecting that one specific concept to hang your hat on.  Yet you must, if you want to cut through the prospect’s wall of indifference.”

“What are you?  What is your position in life?  Can you sum up your own position in a single concept?  Then can you run your own career to establish and exploit that position?”  According to Ries and Trout, these are critical questions a person should ask before determining a brand.

Once a person has established himself or herself by integrating both internet and real-life presences into a cohesive and consistent identity, he or she is faced with the challenge of maintaining and expanding the brand in pursuit of opportunities.

Personal branding is only useful when combined with networking, however.  Starting a blog and interacting with other bloggers, joining Twitter chats, and seeking out mentors who believe in one’s brand are essential to converting an online presence into real tools for career advancement.

Making an impression through personal branding can prove valuable in countless ways.

It is never too early to start thinking about what makes you unique and how you can use that to tailor your online presence to develop a self-positioning concept, and perhaps even land your dream job.

Many thought that issues in Greece would not be revisited until the first quarter of 2012, but it is now clear that the time has already arrived.  On Friday, the Greek government will hold a confidence vote and a referendum on the acceptance of the EU aid plan.  This is sending world markets reeling and has forced France and Germany’s leaders to summon Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou to Cannes to ensure the aid plan implementation before the G20 Summit. The euro fell against the dollar, and the risk premium on Italian bonds over safe-haven German Bunds hit a euro lifetime high.  Investors see Papandreou’s already slim majority in the Greek Parliament weakening, and this will be a catastrophe.  Without a majority, Papandreou will not be able to enforce the austerity measures required for EU aid, and Greece will default.  This is a terrible scenario for the eurozone, major American and European banks exposed to the Greek and Italian bond market, and the Euro.  But it might be the best option for Greece.  The country will obviously go into an economic depression with high unemployment, a new weak currency, and terrible infrastructure.  But this depression will surely last shorter than a period of massive austerity and unemployment in order to satisfy the larger eurozone nations.  We have seen nations like Russia and Argentina bounce back relatively quickly from default, and the disastrous consequences they have called to private financial institutions (such as Long Term Capital Management).  But they were looking out for the interests of their citizens, and that is likely what Greece will ultimately do.

But besides this complete and utter lack of respect for our country, the Occupy Wall Street movement is riddled with hypocrisy.  The protesters take pictures with their Canon digital cameras and then log onto their Apple laptops to post pictures to Facebook: these actions speak for themselves.

Everyone should, however, look to the movement’s message, which demands the top 1% pay their fair share and redistribute their wealth to the other 99%.  But what they fail to realize is that the rich do pay their fair share of federal taxes: the top 1% pay 38%, the top 5% pay 59%, the top 10% pay 70%, the top 25% pay 86%, and the top 50% pay 97.3%.  I’ll do the math for them because most occupiers have majored in impractical subjects in college, but that leaves the lower 50% only paying 2.7% of federal taxes.  Occupy Wall Street has also received support from celebrities such as Russell Simmons, Susan Sarandon, Michael Moore, Roseanne Barr, and Kanye West, who all earn at least seven figures and live in lavish mansions.  Sarandon even had the gall to arrive at the protest by limo, take a few pictures, and then jet off to Italy.  None of the protesters seemed to mind the hypocrisy; they got their media attention.

The movement, like the Black Plague, is spreading; not through rats from Asia, but on the backs and minds of the delusional liberal horde.  Occupy Movements have sprung up across the country in the past weeks and now appear to be forming around the globe in cities such as Hong Kong, London, Paris, and Rome. Why is a movement so innately European occurring in the United States?  In Europe, where attempts to change the 35-hour work week in France to forty hours are met with violent protest, the majority of youth are lazy and unproductive. In my opinion, the American worker unions actually identify pretty closely with the ideals of Europe’s youth.  What the average American must take away from the Occupy Wall Street movement is that the American way of life is currently under attack, and we cannot in good conscience allow for the hard work of the generations who have come before us to be spit on and dragged through the mud.  If this is truly representative of the 99%- lazy, entitled, and delusional- then I believe the United States is better off with the values of the 1%.

One of my favorite professors is Amy Lacombe, who taught my sophomore year Managerial Accounting course.  Even though I have little interest in accounting, she made the class enjoyable.  Professor Lacombe is one of the main Portico instructors for freshmen, but previously she served as Assistant Dean for Advising in the CSOM undergraduate program, where she primarily advised juniors and seniors about concentrations and careers.  Before that, she was a full-time accounting department professor for five years and a graduate of Boston College herself.  She offers advice for students and has helped a number of my close friends pick concentrations and other majors that they are interested in.  Her classes fill up fast during registration, but I would highly recommend taking any class she teaches.

Another professor who has been nationally recognized for his work in Information Systems is John Gallaugher.  Professor Gallaugher has been recognized in Businessweek, Entrepreneur Magazine and other organizations for his innovative teaching methods at Boston College.  He has also had research published in the Harvard Business Review and MIS Quarterly in addition to his own textbook, Information Systems: A Manager’s Guide to Harnessing Technology.  His research and courses center on social media, strategy, and technology, and he has also co-led the MBA program’s international trips abroad as well as the undergraduate and graduate tech track trips to the west coast.  A BC graduate himself, he offers a great deal of experience and passion for Information Systems and the importance of technology in business today to the CSOM curriculum.

Professor Billy Soo has been part of the accounting department faculty at Boston College since 1990.  His interests include audit markets, disclosure incentives, and financial regulations, including the stock market’s and managers’ response to them.  He has been published in multiple accounting journals and teaches varying levels of accounting concentration courses to both undergraduate and graduate students.  Students who have had him for FAST I or II or have spoken to him about internship and job opportunities at a large accounting firm can attest to his knowledge and advice.  He was awarded the CSOM Honors Program Outstanding Teacher Award in 2008 and also received the CSOM undergraduate distinguished teacher award in 2010.

Another notable accounting professor is Ed Taylor.  Professor Taylor has taught a variety of courses during his time at BC, including financial accounting, managerial accounting, cost accounting, and federal taxation.  He has also been very active within the student body:  UGBC awarded him the 2004 Mary Kaye Waldron Award, which honors a staff member who demonstrates a commitment to the values and Jesuit ideals of Boston College.  Also, because of Professor Taylor, Boston College has been the host site for the Deloitte Tax Case Study Competition since 1997.  The competition gives students the chance to be tax consultants in a complex tax case while competing with over sixty other universities.  He has used his experience as a CPA and accountant for KPMG to give his students real-world exposure.

Professor Gerald Kane was my Computers in Management professor as well as my faculty advisor during my freshman year, and he helped me register for classes during orientation.  He teaches in the Information Systems department, specializing in the study of social networks and social media in their management uses in companies.  He was recently given a CAREER award, the most prestigious award given by the National Science Foundation for a junior faculty member that exemplifies the teacher-scholars’ role in the integration of education and research for their organization.  In addition to teaching Computers in Management, he also recently began teaching a Social Media and Web 2.0 class that investigates the importance of online media outlets for businesses.  He is a very knowledgeable professor and very current with his teaching techniques and case studies.

These five professors are only a few of the outstanding professors that teach in CSOM.

They bring not only years of teaching experience, but also real-life business experience to the classroom in their given disciplines.  It is important to not only learn the material in class, but also to get to know professors who give excellent career advice and networking opportunities.

Anne Archbald/The Observer

Timothy Anderson ’73 recently spoke to members of the BC community about his experience bringing technology to children around the world through the nonprofit organization he founded.  The event, held in the Murray Function Room, was organized by the Winston Center for Leadership and Ethics as part of the Winston Forum on Business Ethics lecture series.

The WCE founder spoke about “the values and ethics you put together when forming an organization.”  He believes this is what has enabled his company to make the impact it has.

World Computer Exchange (WCE) currently provides desktop computers and accessories to youth in 73 developing countries, including Kenya, Zimbabwe, India, Pakistan, Honduras, and El Salvador.  Through a system of partner organizations, WCE has shipped 30,000 computers, established 2,675 computer labs, and granted computer access to over a million children, according to the organization’s website.

The partners are local organizations in developing countries that believe digital learning tools could benefit the youth in their area.  The organizations are often comprised of volunteers who work to improve resources for orphanages, schools, libraries, and youth centers.  They are looking for “an opportunity, some skills, an education for their children,” Anderson stated.  The organizations apply to become partners and raise funds to help defray the costs of the project.

“For projects to be successful, communities must have a sense of ownership of the project. That is why partner organizations are required to raise a portion of the cost in matching funds, becoming co-investors,” states the organization’s website.  “In addition, our unique model of grassroots capacity-building combines trust, due diligence, cooperation and co-investment to ensure long-term sustainability.”

Anderson thinks of his organization as “a tool” that provides the partners with the resources they need to provide education for area students.

The computers arrive with learning software, a word processor, and other features, and the partners set up networks to obtain internet access.

According to Anderson, the formation of WCE was not without challenges.  The word “trust” was a recurring theme of his lecture, as he emphasized the great trust the partners, donors, and volunteers have placed in his organization, even when it had yet to establish its credibility.  Also among the difficulties is a lack of face-to-face interaction with the partner organizations, which are scattered across the developing world, as well as the trouble in shipping the fragile computers overseas while keeping costs low.

“You can’t just ship computers—you have to make sure the computers are working on the other end,” he said.

Although he was told repeatedly that WCE would not last more than a few years, his project has already had a huge impact in the eleven years since it was founded, and he is not planning on stopping any time soon.  “We’re always exploring, we’re always curious about what’s next,” he said.

In fact, about 1,000 more organizations are applying to become partner organizations of WCE.

WCE is currently working on an initiative to increase sustainability by reducing e-waste, both by reusing and redistributing computers globally and educating the communities receiving the computers about the need to properly recycle desktops that are no longer working properly.

Anderson also added that his volunteers like to include a few extras in their computer shipments, like soccer balls, books, and medical kits.

The lecture was the first of three major events to take place this fall that comprise the Winston Forum on Business Ethics series, launched in 2007.  The Winston Center for Leadership and Ethics sponsors the program.

Anne Archbald/The Observer

Eileen Holcomb, a CSOM MBA candidate, speaks to SWS associates in a seminar entitled “Understanding the Stock Market.”

Laura Travers (CSOM ’12) is co-founder and Co-Chief Executive Officer for BC SWS.  She says of the organization’s inception:  “Our founding team saw a need on campus for a medium through which women could learn about topics like saving and investing, before leaving the comfort zone of college.”

“SWS satisfies this need by providing a forum not only for undergraduate women to be taught these concepts, but also for them to ask questions, discuss with their peers and practice applying what they learn,” Travers said.

Fourteen chapters at colleges and universities nationwide comprise SWS, a not-for-profit organization that seeks to level the playing field for female investors in a sector that historically has a greater male presence.  SWS was created by two young women at Harvard and launched in fall 2006.

As written in its mission statement, Smart Woman Securities “seeks to empower undergraduate women of all academic backgrounds and career interests with the investment knowledge necessary to manage their personal finances.”

By educating its members about personal finance, investing, and numerous other topics, Smart Woman Securities hopes to enable women to be more comfortable with an industry that seems less accessible to undergraduate women.  According to co-founder and Chief Development Officer Juliet Zawedde, (A&S ’12), SWS hosts a ten-week seminar series, which “provides a concrete introduction to the world of personal finance and investing.”

“During these seminars, students are taught by industry professionals in a comfortable setting and are able to practically apply the concepts they are taught through an investment project and investment competition,” she said.

The organization seeks not only to educate women about financial topics, but also to foster community among the women and to provide a real-world connection to what they learn in class and in seminar.

“We also operate our chapter in the spirit of the Jesuit tradition, by uniting higher education with real world application,” Zawedde said.  “SWS is not a pre-professional, but a pre-real-world organization that encourages all undergraduate women to be financially savvy in their personal lives.”

In addition to the seminars, BC SWS participates in a SWS national and JP Morgan investment competition, as well as a networking event with Barclays Capital.  This spring, they will join the Council for Women of Boston College in welcoming Kathleen Corbet (former president of Standard and Poor’s and BC alum) as a speaker on campus.

Smart Woman Securities has proved a truly valuable experience for its members in the BC community.  Ariel Belgrave, who graduated last spring and is now working at J.P. Morgan in Boston, participated in SWS throughout her senior year.  “I am extremely appreciative of the opportunities that I was able to experience while being a member of Smart Woman Securities,” she said.  She believes her involvement in SWS was key to obtaining her current position.

“Around the time of the interview process, I was attending the SWS seminars and learning about the financial markets, and this helped me greatly as I was able to apply what I learned to the interview questions.”

This year, Smart Woman Securities is hoping to expand its membership by reaching out to women who are not just in CSOM, but also in CAS, LSOE, and CSON.  Women of diverse academic backgrounds, Zawedde and Travers believe, can benefit from their experience with Smart Woman Securities.

“By appealing to all women at BC, we are catering to a substantial niche of students who don’t necessarily wish to pursue business careers but still want to lean about personal finance and investing,” Zawedde said.  “All women, regardless of their career interests, should be capable of managing and understanding their finances before they graduate.”

According to studies by PayScale for Bloomberg Businessweek, the value of a college education may, over thirty years, be worth closer to $400,000, with figures varying greatly among colleges.  The number of schools that make good on their investments are shrinking quickly according to the study, with only seventeen promising their graduates that they will make back their tuition costs and out-earn high school graduates by $1.2 million.  And of these seventeen schools, only four can claim to earn graduates $1.6 million more than high school graduates, with 500 other colleges offering a lower return on investment, or ROI.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is at the top of the list of elite schools with a ROI of $1.7 million over thirty years, making it the most valuable degree in the country.  Most MIT students enter the computer science or engineering fields, but MIT also offers a widely coveted core curriculum that employers find advantageous when hiring graduates.

PayScale’s study is based on research using their online pay comparison tools from self-provided compensation data.  They examined more than 1.4 million graduates and calculated the ROI for each school they attended using the actual number of years it took for students to graduate from college, whether it be four, five, or six years.

The best bargain college based off of ROI statistics is the Colorado School of Mines, a public university that specializes in engineering and mathematics degrees.  The thirty-year net return on investment for the Colorado School of Mines is $1,132,000.

Besides this data gathered by Bloomberg Businessweek, there are still many experts that see a college degree as much more important than a financial investment.  In 2010, Boston College ranked 49th on the Businessweek listing of the universities with the highest ROI for graduates with a thirty-year return on investment of $927,600.  Boston College doesn’t rank very highly on the 2010 ranking of the best universities to invest in, but the ranking only takes into account the income earned post-graduation—not the valuable learning experiences one may acquire while in college.  Beyond the books and reasoning skills, most college graduates deem their time in the classroom worthwhile, but ultimately, the value of a university education versus the cost of tuition is something to be determined by each individual.

If true, that would mean wealthy individuals pay a much lower effective tax rate than those earning less.  Well, in doing a quick check of those facts, Mr. Buffett would realize how grossly wrong he is.  According to the IRS, here are the facts:

Almost half of Americans pay $0 (that’s right…zip, nothing, nada) in income taxes. Furthermore, the top one percent of taxpayers account for almost forty percent of all the taxes collected.

The numbers are quite clear – those who earn more, pay more, both as a percentage and in net dollars. Buffett could argue that he thinks the mega-rich should pay more, but he shouldn’t have to distort the facts to prove his point.

He should, just as he does with his business, analyze the economic benefits and consequences and present a rational, educated argument backing his position.  If he feels so strongly that he doesn’t pay enough taxes, he is free to make a generous donation to the IRS.

Aside from this minor oversight by Buffett, he also could speak to a more basic issue—people not paying their taxes.    Maybe he could ask his good friend, President Obama, to have his cabinet nominees pay their taxes too.  Six of his nominees owed back taxes or “forgot” to mention large gifts.  Three of the six nominees were confirmed anyway, and one is our Treasury Secretary.

Call me an optimist, but I’d like to think our Treasury Secretary should know how to accurately file his personal taxes.  Maybe the real solution to increasing the government’s revenue is to have President Obama continue to nominate people for cabinet positions.

Now that we have established Buffett is simply playing political games and trying not to let the facts get in the way, maybe we can start talking about real solutions.  Tax reform is an issue that has been ignored far too long and certainly needs to be part of the upcoming national discussion.

Candid conversations not based on love of party but rather on love of country are what we need now, more than ever.

How our leaders resolve or fail to resolve this issue will greatly impact our generation and those that follow us.  To Mr. Buffett and all those with a powerful voice, please use it carefully, and value the long-term prosperity of our country more than another term for your political party in Congress.

Nine days later, on September 29th, Italy had its first auction after the downgrade, and the results clearly showed investors were not in line with Berlusconi’s reasoning.  Italy managed to sell 7.86 billion euros of long-term bonds, with the 10-year yield rising to 5.86 percent, up from 5.22 percent a month ago. The bid-to-cover ratio was 1.374 compared to 1.269 in August.  The panic button has not been reached yet, but if ten-year yields keep rising toward six percent, Italy and the Eurozone are going to be in trouble.  Yes, the Italian bomb is ticking, threatening to cause a cataclysmic chain reaction across Europe.

The Greek Debt Crisis over the summer was just a drop in the Eurozone pond, while the coming crisis in Italy will be a tidal wave.   Although Italy is the EU’s third largest economy, the country’s large debt position has categorized it as a peripheral member within the EU.  Italy’s nearly €1.9T debt load makes it Europe’s most indebted nation, with over 35% of that debt maturing through 2013. As a percentage of GDP, Italy’s debt ratio of 118% is one of the highest in the advanced economies, although still below Greece’s 144%.

Coupled with these eye-watering debt statistics is the obvious inability for the country to service these debts.  Market interest rates will continue to rise over the next few years, pushing up the cost of servicing its debt, while along with its downgrade, S&P cut its outlook for Italy’s growth to an average of just 0.7% a year for 2011 to 2014, from a prior projection of 1.3%.  Italy also has put first austerity measures for budgetary savings, though nearly two-thirds of the savings in the crucial 2011-2014 period rely on revenue increases in a country already carrying a high tax burden.  As you can see, investors around the world should be watching the Italy situation progress over the coming months and truthfully be quaking in their boots.

Flag of Europe

Under the three-stage “liquidity” plan recently announced by the Federal Reserve and other European officials, the U.S. central bank will print money to bail out the EU.   The goal of the program is to supply dollars Europe can use to buy its own bonds in an effort to prevent the entire European economy from crumbling under the burden of debt-ridden nations such as Greece, Spain and Italy.

The program is reminiscent of the 2008 bailout of U.S. banks, using enormous amounts of money to purchase public debt.

Europe’s fiscal situation has become increasingly dire in recent months, as the euro struggles from the exposure of European banks to the debts of weak euro countries.   Furthermore, the EU Commission has issued statements warning that the debt crisis is bringing economic growth in the euro zone to a halt; a state that is likely to continue into the spring of next year.

The euro rallied after news of the bailout this past Thursday.  However, will the plan meet with long-term success?  While it may hold off the imminent collapse of Greece, Spain or Italy, it is ultimately not a solution.  The current state of the EU is a result of the irresponsible spending policies of its members.  Remedying the situation by merely putting more money into the system will inevitably fail, as long as the spending policies of the member nations remain unchanged.

UBS foreign-exchange strategy director Geoffrey Yu does not believe the bailout to be a long-term solution: “This doesn’t change anything.  It helps the banks for the next couple of months but that’s it.”  Mark McCormick, currency strategist at Brown Brothers Harriman agrees: “You’re warding off contagion and crisis, but it’s not going to solve the problem, which is too much debt.”

Euro zone countries have a history of fiscal irresponsibility.  The Stability and Growth Pact which originally established the euro contained specific requirements that countries maintain deficits of less than 3% GDP; their total debt was to remain below 60%.  The public debt of the euro zone today, however, is a staggering 88%, and it is in danger of defaults across the board.  Its member countries have yet to curb the spending, as evidenced by the states of Greece, Spain, Italy and Portugal.

The program is likely to frustrate Americans, whose economic struggles are likely to continue through year-end.

Business cards are a great way for students looking for jobs and internships to establish a connection and provide an employer with something tangible to take away from the conversation.  Whether one is a senior or a freshman, having a business card on hand when meeting a new contact looks professional, and it indicates that the student is serious about his or her future.

A business card should pique the interest of an employer while providing important contact information.  In most cases, it is better to create a card with a simple design.  The business card might include an address, telephone number, email address, website, degree, graduation date, and some indication of career objectives.  This information should be conveyed using a standard and readable font.

Students should also keep in mind the field they are pursuing when designing a business card.  For instance, if one is considering a job in graphic design, the card should showcase some skill in this area.  Students may include a short list of their goals, skills, and accomplishments on the back of the card, which will serve as a miniature resume.  These details will help a contact remember a student at a large social event like a job fair.

Further, offering a business card to a future employer is a great way to receive a card in return, which might prove useful in the future.  Employers tend to hold on to business cards and refer to them if looking to fill a certain position.

Some students may fear that pulling out a business card in a networking situation is pretentious.  In reality, however, having a personal card is crucial to establishing a connection with a potential employer.  Such connections may be established in informal settings as well.  One should carry some networking cards everywhere—to family gatherings, social events, and other informal settings—because a contact that can help a student find a job or internship could be anywhere.

Some students as young as high school carry business cards to give to admissions officers during the application process.

Business cards are often the first step in the process of creating a personal brand that can set students apart from the crowd of job hunters.

It is important to remember, however, that a business card is not going to make or break a first impression.  It is merely a tool by which aspiring professionals can keep in contact with the people they meet with the hope that the connection may lead to greater opportunities in the future.

Corporate fraud is rampant, government conspiracies abound, and barely honest economic and business practices are being utilized.
Who would have guessed that constructing massive ghost cities could come back to haunt them?  Isn’t it strange that an acre in Yiwu City is now $24 million– just about double the per acre price which developer Brett Torino paid for a 2.15-acre lot at Harmon Avenue and Las Vegas Boulevard last year?  These prices are absurd, and it is only a matter of time before a swift collapse of the economy occurs.

As the Chinese bubble unravels, investors are slowly seeing who is “swimming naked.”

For the most part, local governments have already shifted 2-3 trillion dollars to central government books. But fear not: according to experts at the IMF and World Bank, once China has finally revealed that total local government debts exceed 10 trillion Yuan (about 27 percent of GDP), concerns over systemic financial risks “will actually ease.”

To be honest, I believe this as much as I believe pigs can fly….and I’m not referring to skyrocketing pork prices in China.

To understand the problems rampant in the Chinese economy, one just has to look at the borrowing practices of its local governments.

For example, according to an auditing official, local governments have created 10,000 investment companies to borrow money from banks, mostly to finance infrastructure projects. The real number, however, could be much higher than that.

The Chinese national audit office has confirmed that it has found many irregular activities, such as local governments using “unreal,” illegal means. They have even found instances where local governments are overestimating collateral to secure loans.

With the Eurozone in shambles and President Obama continuing to cripple the economy by attempting to follow in the footsteps of FDR, we have been looking to China to be a crutch for the world economy.

Well, the crutch isn’t as strong as we thought, and it is about to snap.

One of the best—and often overlooked— resources for CSOM students is the weekly email from Erica Graff called “This Week in CSOM.”  This email is customized for each class and lists the events going on in the Carroll School that week, from Dean Coffee to club announcements to recruiting events.  It is a good resource to keep one informed about opportunities for networking and career research.  There are so many opportunities to learn about different careers and employers at BC, but sometimes students are just not aware of them, so the weekly email from Erica is a good reminder of events one can attend during their free time during the week.

Many freshmen who have tested out of University Core classes ask me what CSOM core classes I recommend, and if it is too early to take Introduction to Law and Math for Management freshman year.  Freshmen have to take Computers in Management and Portico during their first year, but I would recommend they also take Law and Math for Management if they have tested out of Micro/Macro Economics or the History core.  This will free up room in the next couple years to either add a concentration or add an A&S major.

Students should make sure they have as much room as possible as a junior or senior to either go abroad or take electives that relate to the career field in which they are interested.  I would definitely recommend saving the fine arts and cultural diversity cores for study abroad or taking one that also fulfills a major or concentration requirement.  Students should take classes they are interested in but also try not to take too many classes that do not count for anything:  often students change majors or schools, and then they are hindered when it comes to going abroad or getting a good schedule senior year.

I think every Carroll student should study abroad if they have the opportunity while at BC, whether for a semester, a year, or a few weeks during the summer.  It was one of the most eye-opening and educational experiences of my life, and I think everyone should experience a new and different culture.  That being said, I would not necessarily recommend studying at a school that only offers business courses because there are so many other things to learn abroad outside of an international business curriculum.

BC has an exchange program with some phenomenal business schools, but I chose to take only one business class while abroad; the rest were language and cultural courses, and I really learned a lot.  I think it is important to take a good mix of business and liberal arts courses to see how many different industries one can pursue after graduation.  Studying abroad is a good time to take electives, since most CSOM classes will not be approved abroad.

The big push in CSOM seems to be internships.  During junior year, Carroll students are frequently spotted walking around campus dressed up for interviews with accounting firms, investment banks, and a myriad of other companies that come to BC every year, and with good reason, since internships do seem to launch the majority of careers.

Most students use the Career Center Eagle Link website and database to search for internships and later jobs, but there are other ways of finding internships in Boston and other cities across the country.  In fact, I found all three of my past and present internships myself through my own contacts and research online.  I recommend that if students are not having any luck with Eagle Link or are looking for something in their hometowns, they should use networking contacts or personal research to find opportunities.

The father of one of my friends at BC was able to get me in contact with someone at an advertising agency in my hometown, which led to a great internship after my sophomore year.  That experience then led me to work in the internal marketing department of another company this past summer and my present internship at a magazine this fall.  You never know how one foot in the door will lead to many more opportunities, so it is important to use all the resources you can and not be afraid to send your resumes out to anyone you might know in an industry you want to pursue.  You never know if they might be able to help you in the future.

Finally, I want to say that for all the CSOM students who are not interested in working at an accounting firm or investment bank, there are so many other companies and industries where they can thrive with an undergraduate business degree from BC.  It seems many students worry that they need to know exactly what they want to do right away, but my advice is to try a couple different things out and see what you really want to do.

The work environment is very different from the classroom, so an internship at a big company versus a small start up will show you exactly what type of job you are looking for.  I also recommend that if you have another interest, you should major or minor in A&S because that could also direct you towards a new career you never thought of before.  Overall, CSOM is not as intimidating as it seems, and it provides an excellent education with great professors, classes and people.  So take it from a senior who has survived CSOM so far— you will not only get by, but you will get by successfully and emerge ready to enter the real world.

Times change.  Companies evolve and grow.  Markets shift.  The changes that take place over the course of a company’s history are indicative not only of a natural developmental progression, but also of the cultural and technological factors shaping the company’s future.

In anticipation of the upcoming April 26th lecture by Susan Gianinno, ’70, entitled “Mad Men Would Never Make it in the World Today,” trends in the media world may be examined for their impact on companies such as the fictional Sterling Cooper.  Susan Gianinno is the Chairperson and CEO of Publicis Worldwide in the USA, an advertising and communications company whose clients include BMW, T-Mobile, Vicks, and numerous others.

Modern advertising at a multinational company such as Publicis is a multifaceted endeavor involving more than just creating advertisements.  The company employs market research of brands and products, as well as psychological studies, in order to best capture the attention of its target audience.

This modern advertising agency stands in contrast to those depicted in the acclaimed AMC series Mad Men.  The show offers a glimpse into New York’s 1960s advertising echelon by following Don Draper, creative director at Sterling Cooper, and later a founder of Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce, as he epitomizes the spirit of an era in which advertising was limited to two primary spheres:  television and print media.

In an article for The Washington Post, James P. Othmer, author and former creative director at advertising giant Young & Rubicam, writes about the differences between advertising during the time of Mad Men and modern advertising.  “Ads in the ‘Mad Men’ day were about the art of persuasion. Advertising today is about the art of engagement,” he stated.

The goals of advertising agencies are not dramatically different; however, developments in social media and marketing strategy have had a significant and far-reaching impact.  Fifty years ago, television was the primary medium of persuasion, as it guaranteed a “captive audience.”  However, as increasing options ranging from DVR to YouTube drive the media world in new directions, advertising agencies must likewise reevaluate their strategies.

Othmer discusses the way in which modern consumers play a critical role in the success—or failure—of a particular product.  If a consumer likes a product, he or she will praise it in any number of social media forums:  Facebook, Twitter, or blogs.  However, if the consumer has a negative reaction to the product, the backlash can spread at an alarmingly high rate.

Innovative media usage is essential in order to grant a product a favorable impression among consumers.  What was once the medium of choice for advertising—a short block of time during the commercial break of a television program—has been overshadowed by campaigns on Facebook and Twitter, as well as viral video streams and even iPhone Apps in what has become known as “360 degree” advertising.  Under this approach, all possible channels are utilized to share information and promote a product.

Advertising is largely a response to changing business demands, emerging technology, new media, and shifting cultural contexts.  The 1920s marked the beginning of advertising’s rapid growth in the United States.  Today, the pervasive influence of advertising is felt in a broad range of media.

Market research demonstrates that thirty years ago, the average American living in an urban environment was exposed to about 2,000 ad impressions each day.  Today, that number ranges from 5,000 to 20,000 impressions, according to Othmer.

Louis Gaglini, Associate Director of Employer Relations at the Boston College Career Center, offered his professional opinion on the benefits of moving forward, no matter your job or internship.

Gaglini addressed the concerns of students who may not have received their first choice internship or job for the summer and how they might still make the summer a productive one. While he believes that working in the field a student wishes to pursue is advantageous, he also believes that “returning to a summer job can be beneficial.  Typically, a returning employee will be granted additional responsibilities and given opportunities to do more and learn more.”

“It also demonstrates that you have done well in the past, and that your employer would like you to return to do more good work,” Gaglini continued.  These types of jobs also strengthen a student’s relationship with his or her boss and create an opportunity for a letter of recommendation in the future.

Gaglini also stated the importance of the interactions many summer jobs provide. Many jobs that students have started in high school are the ones that they continue with in the first few summers of college. It is these jobs, says Gaglini, that provide some of the most valuable experience: “Many of the summer jobs from high school and the early college years will involve dealing directly with the general public (retail, food service, volunteer efforts, camp counseling, etc.) and can be some of the most challenging work you will ever do.  Being successful in that arena is definitely something that employers notice and will appreciate.”

Not only do students gain valuable experience, but they also add stories to their repertoire that they can tell during future interviews.

Gaglini had one final piece of advice for students who are looking forward to their jobs and internships this coming summer. He said to “continue moving forward, taking on more responsibility, accomplishing more of your goals and objectives, and challenging yourself whenever possible.” No matter what job or internship a student might have, there are skills that students can work on developing. Each job and internship offers unique opportunities for growth and accomplishments.

Each summer provides a unique opportunity for students to develop themselves for their intended field, if they wish. However, students can also use the time to volunteer, expand their horizons, and gain new experiences. All of these opportunities allow students to work on their résumés, but they also provide experience which students can pull from in future interviews or when applying for other jobs and internships. All of the chances that summer provides are chances for students to gain new experiences that can help build up a repertoire of knowledge they can use in whatever career path they ultimately follow.

Some of the largest and most prestigious business schools in Europe have already opened campuses internationally in an effort to foster their students’ needs for more exposure to the global economy at work. INSEAD, the top ranked European business school by Businessweek in 2011, now has teaching facilities in Singapore and Abu Dhabi in addition to their home campus in Foutainbleu, France.  INSEAD is currently the only European business school that runs an entire Asian campus, making it not only at the forefront of international business education, but also very influential around the world.

IESE in Barcelona opened a New York affiliate last May to create a research center on international business and to install customized programs for its executives and students.  IESE is starting a new, first-year course in its MBA program that will be called Globalization of Business Enterprise.  Its intention is to provide “a framework for thinking systematically about the cultural, administrative, political, geographic, and economic differences across countries and how they affect business decisions,” according to Pankaj Ghemawat, a major proponent of the course.  The program entails a trip of a professor and students to New York City for a few weeks in order to be completely immersed in a global city.

The Copenhagen Business School has developed a program that takes 15 undergraduate business students around the world for 18 months to learn about international business in Denmark, Hong Kong and the United States.  Normal classroom lectures are intermixed with field trips and other hands-on activities to truly immerse students in the different cultures so that they may learn more about the impact of global economics around the world.

IMD in Lausanne, Switzerland, has no direct satellite campuses abroad, but it does require all students to work on international consulting projects in an area of interest to them.  They must also spend two weeks in South Africa to learn about a developing economy and how to manage its complexity efficiently.

Since such international experiences and non-conventional teaching practices are more common at business schools in Europe, many more international students choose to pursue their MBAs there instead of at U.S. schools.  Beyond the coursework, the culture experiences abroad are very eye-opening and give students a better idea of the world waiting for them after school.  The payoff of such an international experience is huge for students who are able to adapt to change quickly and work well with people from very different backgrounds.  Management education has never been as strong as it is now in Europe.

Probability and statistics play a significant role in such decisions.  Probability is used in business to both evaluate financial and decision-making risk and to improve business performance.  Business statistics is the science of making sound decisions in spite of uncertainty, and it may be applied to fields ranging from econometrics and financial analysis to auditing and market research.

As Steve Bradt explains in an article for The Harvard University Gazette, “[E]veryday decision makers must compare the relative sizes of costs and benefits, as when a car buyer balances the cost of a warranty against the cost of repairs.”

“The consumer doesn’t know at the outset whether he or she will have to pay for expensive repairs down the road,” he stated.  This is just one example of the risk that accompanies a given decision.

Statistical techniques play a significant role in business applications.  Factors such as randomness, sample size, and statistical inference are all critical to acquiring data that may be of use to decision-makers.  This data may be reported on topics such as customer satisfaction, financial ratios, and profit and loss statements—information that would be useful to investors, industry analysts, and the companies themselves.

For example, potential investors may use statistical data to investigate investment options. Companies can use the data to trace their development and performance, and they may subsequently use such information to analyze their strengths and weaknesses, and develop a strategy for improvement.  Finally, industries may examine such performance trends on a larger scale to yield information that might have a broader impact on the economy.

According to statistical consultant Ann Kalinowski, Ph.D., a table of profits may be used to yield expected outcomes when certain events are true.  One would look for a dominating action—one “where the choice of action is obvious, so you don’t need to go through the calculations to decide between it and the inadmissible events,” Kalinowski stated.

In the absence of a dominating action, she says, “The easiest way to make decisions is to calculate the Expected Monetary Value (EMV) of each action, and then choose the action that gives the highest expected profit.”

However, there is always uncertainty in decision-making events.  It is necessary to achieve a balance in probability analysis between formal mathematics and more informal factors.

Psychology and neuroscience, for instance, may shed light on the nature of such decisions.  As quoted in Steve Bradt’s article, Joshua D. Greene, an assistant professor of psychology at Harvard, stated, “Research in neuroeconomics has identified distinct brain structures responsible for tracking the probability of various outcomes, the magnitude of various outcomes, and for integrating these two kinds of information into a decision.”  Clearly, a wide range of factors often contributes to a decision and the subsequent course of action.

The science and mathematics behind business decisions aim to analyze risk and enable a person to make an informed decision when the stakes are high.  For this reason, many business programs require courses in statistics and probability, so that future decision-makers have training and experience as they confront difficult choices.

In Devlin Hall recently, he shared his insights on changes in emerging market economies, or EMEs, in a lecture entitled Emerging Markets: Resilience and Growth Amid Global Turmoil.

The topics covered in the presentation reflected those explored in the December, 2010, book of the same name by Kose and Eswar S. Prasad, the Tolani Senior Professor of Trade Policy at Cornell University.  Organized by Boston College’s Economics Department, Kose’s lecture presented an account of the evolution of EMEs in recent years and analyzed that transformation through the lens of the global financial crisis.

Kose used a delineation of the status of EMEs before, during, and after the crisis to illustrate the resilience of emerging market economies in light of the recent financial crisis lasting from 2007 through 2009.  Using the concept of decoupling, or the ability of an economy to grow in the absence of corresponding increases in environmental pressure, he demonstrated that EMEs may fare better during an economic crisis than more developed countries.

Although recessions may hit emerging markets much harder than more developed nations, Kose argued that the EMEs were nevertheless more likely to avoid a major recession and subsequently to bounce back.

He explained this resilience in terms of structural factors and policy-related factors.  Ultimately, structural changes in EMEs are more gradual, he said.  Emerging markets exhibit a more independent market cycle to the extent that they are “slowly becoming reliant on their own growth… rather than the growth in advanced economies.”

EMEs have become significant players on the world stage.  Led by BRIC—Brazil, Russia, India, and China—economic development among EMEs has been steadily expanding to exert a more prominent role in the global market.

The economies of the BRIC countries have developed so rapidly, in fact, that some experts believe they may eclipse current economic powerhouses such as the United States within 50 years.

“There was a role reversal,” Kose said.  “These countries no longer rely as much as they used to on advanced countries.”

This is likely due to changes in the economic policies of EMEs as they strive to be less dependent on foreign finances.  Such trends include a shift away from foreign currency, which carries the risk of denominated external debt, as well as the accumulation of large buffers of foreign exchange reserves.

“They try to mimic the economic policies of advanced countries,” Kose said.

As a result of such economic policies, the EMEs have been realizing positive changes: stronger global trade and financial linkages, greater trade and financial linkages with other EMEs, and more diversified economies.  Emerging market economies are trading not solely with developed economies, but with other EMEs.

As Kose stated, “Diversification of trade is a reflection of diversification of industrial production.”  As EMEs decrease their sales of primary goods, they are increasing their profits from the sale of manufactured goods.  This has led to an explosion of financial growth over time.

EMEs have drawn significant attention from investors and researchers in recent years as companies such as J.P. Morgan, Goldman Sachs, and Deutsche Bank have bought into what Kose deems a kind of euphoria about emerging markets.

Despite positive growth and a rapid rise as important players in setting global priorities, there are countless new challenges for EMEs, not the least of which is what Kose calls “a striking dichotomy between advanced and emerging economies after the crisis.”

As Kose concluded, “The big question is whether [EMEs] can shoulder the responsibilities of being bigger players…in the global economy. . . and whether this [growth] will continue or not.”

Cities have become hubs of activity with coveted real estate.  But what gives cities such an allure?  Why does urban real estate operate with different principles than other real estate? Why do cities grow where they do?

To understand urban real estate, it is important to understand real estate as a concept. Real estate, for the purpose of this article, can be split into personal and public sectors, with the personal sector indicating a person or family’s home or apartment, and the public sector being a business or storefront. Understandably, people want to live in cities for slightly different reasons than businesses want to establish a base in cities; however, both are crucial to the other’s success.

Businesses are driven by a fundamental desire to grow and expand. Known as the growth machine theory, researchers have studied the driving forces of city growth and have come to understand that cities grow due to the intertwined and combined efforts of many fields.

Cities throughout recent history have mostly developed where there was land and a water supply to support a rapid increase in population. However, even more recently, cities have become the most economically viable option for many people. Even though the real estate can be more expensive than rural real estate, the compactness of cities cuts down on transportation costs.

Cities are also central hubs for many businesses, and these cities provide far more job opportunities than rural areas. Urban real estate is also driven by the availability of highly desired jobs. As jobs in high demand open up in different cities, people will flock to that city and fill those new positions, creating a flow of people into these metropolises.

The national economy is another driving factor for city development and expansion. People go where there are jobs, and since most companies and businesses are in cities, there will be more need for new employees. The downside of having to invest in a more expensive piece of real estate on the onset is outweighed by the benefit of a job and limited commuting costs.

The most important aspect of urban real estate may be that there are so many factors that contribute to its ever-fluctuating status. Businesses, workers, the city’s government officials, and “name-brand” all factor into the real estate of certain cities. Areas like Manhattan and Beverly Hills will always have higher real estate prices simply because they are well-known and established cities, where people are willing to invest money and are more likely to find job opportunities.

Cities are constantly changing, responding to economic distress and surplus, but their real estate situations will always be different than more rural areas because they not only provide more job opportunities, but more people are willing to invest in the real estate of well-established cities than unknown rural areas. Since cities are in higher demand, their price ranges are greater than more rural areas.

The economics of city real estate are complicated because there are so many different factors to take into account. However, if one does choose to invest in urban real estate, the benefits of public transportation, a greater density of resources, and job opportunities seem to outweigh the price.

A broad range of educational levels was represented, covering teaching positions for students in Kindergarten through Grade 12 and representing a wide spectrum of social backgrounds. Positions were advertised from a wide range of different institutions, from Catholic, independent, and public schools, enabling aspiring teachers to learn first-hand from representatives about the different types of schools and the variety of experiences available.

Other employers in attendance included the Peace Corps and Citizen Schools, which provided BC students with the opportunity to learn about alternative educational routes outside of a regular 9 to 5 teaching job. These organizations aim to help educate those who are most vulnerable in society, providing the motivation underprivileged students may need to strive for success.  These organizations demonstrate the valuable and diverse experiences a career in education can bring graduates.

Representatives came from schools predominantly in the Massachusetts area, with three positions being offered in Connecticut, New York, and Rhode Island in public charter schools.

The fair was open to all students and alumni, with or without a teacher certification.  The event acted as both an informative session for students unsure of their career plans and an opportunity for those definitely pursuing a career in education to speak with potential employers and apply for positions.

Representatives from the Boston College Career Center were also readily available to instruct students with helpful advice for connecting with representatives and how best to follow up with potential employers after the fair. The Career Center offers in-depth advice on their website for all students wishing to follow a career in education. The site gives information on what to expect from the different types of schools, how to approach employers, and when to apply. The site, http://www.bc.edu/offices/careers/ provides various resources offered by the Career Center. Students may also visit the Center at 38 Commonwealth Avenue for drop-in appointments, or they may schedule an advance appointment.

For growing numbers of international students, the transition to college involves more than a new roommate, a new set of courses, and a new laptop.  It requires adjustment to a new culture.

Boston College’s international and exchange student population encompasses over one thousand undergraduate and graduate students from 91 countries, according to statistics obtained by the Office of International Students and Scholars (OISS).  Distributed among a range of schools and majors, international students face a period of adjustment as they begin their Boston College experiences.

Through the OISS, the university offers numerous resources for students of various backgrounds and nationalities.  These range from the Thanksgiving Day Host Program, which provides international students with a place to stay over the Thanksgiving break, to programs helping international students practice English conversational skills for job interviews.

Another program that has been established in order to address the needs of international students is the International Assistant Program.  This initiative pairs students coming to Boston College from around the world with current students, the International Assistants (IAs), who may serve as a valuable resource and friend during the transition period.

Approximately 300 international students and assistants comprise the program, which was established in 1980.  Each IA is assigned to assist between two and four international students so that the students may become acclimated to life at Boston College, familiarized with the city of Boston, and informed about the culture of the United States.  The students are paired based on similar interests and personal qualities.

According to one of the International Assistants, Pilar Ortiz (CSOM ’12), “Throughout the year, the students and IAs form relationships that will hopefully not only make international students feel more at home, but also gives the IAs a greater perspective on the world outside of their culture.”

“The program is a unique opportunity to not only meet new people and help them enjoy their time at BC, but also become acquainted with the differences and, more importantly, the similarities between cultures,” she continued.

Felipe Lima (A&S ’12) is an IA on the steering committee, a group of twenty students that interviews applicants to the program.  He believes the program is valuable to all of the students involved, particularly because some international students may be too shy to reach out for information on their own.

“International Orientation is a huge part of the program; it’s an opportunity for students to meet IAs and each other, and it serves to introduce them to a lot of the different programs and opportunities offered to students at BC,” Lima said.

The International Student Orientation is held at the end of the summer break as a supplement to the Freshman, Exchange, and Graduate Orientations.  However, the beneficial resources the program provides do not end with the orientation.

Lima explains, “For the rest of the year, IAs meet with their students as often as they feel is necessary, to catch up with them and offer any guidance the student might need.”

The International Assistants undergo two training sessions to ensure that they may be effective resources for the international students.  Recognizing the different customs and values of different cultures is a central aspect of the program, and one that has proved valuable not only to the international students, but also to the assistants.

The selection process for International Assistants is currently taking place.  The application, which is due March 25, may be found online through BC’s Office of International Students and Scholars website.

Currently, there are over 1.5 million advocacy, grant-making, and civic organizations in the U.S., with one in twelve Americans working in the nonprofit sector. According to Independent Sector, $670 billion is earned by nonprofit organizations annually. Despite salaries that are generally lower than those in the for-profit sector, with earnings averaging at $17.31 an hour compared with $18.08 per hour for all workers in the private industry in 2008, these organizations offer graduates interesting and unique prospects. Employees at nonprofits are usually working on issues they care deeply about, leading to great job-satisfaction. They share their commitment with coworkers and often work collaboratively, not competitively, within their organizations.

As the majority of jobs in the industry come in the form of small establishments employing fewer than fifty people, the sector offers a close-knit and personal work environment.  Perhaps as a result, employees generally have the opportunity to develop new skills, assume more responsibilities, and move up the career ladder more quickly than their peers in corporate organizations.

With such an attractive working environment for new graduates, the sector is open to most majors, with 74 percent of jobs available in management, business, and financial occupations, as well as service and administrative support occupations. Jobs are also offered as broadly as the private sector, existing at international, national, state, and local levels. Establishments are found throughout the country, with the greatest numbers of jobs found in California and New York, states with large populations. This also looks to be a sector that will continue to grow with the economy, the workforce driving demand for business, professional, and labor organizations. In particular, employment public relations specialists are expected to grow in the sector as organizations rely on these workers to advocate their viewpoints and maintain a positive image for their members. With these prospects, the nonprofit sector looks to be as competitive, diverse, and board-reaching as the private sector.

Opting to work for nonprofit organizations can greatly enhance a sense of purpose and meaning for graduates entering the workforce for the first time. This is a chance to practice skills while getting behind a highly professional cause that is trying to make a positive difference.

When a business decides to improve its environmental policies, it is no small feat. Businesses must understand that pledging to improve the way they manage their relationship with the environment will take dedication from all levels of staff, so that the company may begin to operate with the knowledge that these changes are meant to help in the long-term. This is why many businesses are slow to make the changes. Many companies feel that the short-term deficits will outweigh the potential long-term benefits. However, there are many angles from which businesses can begin to tackle environmental deficiencies in their businesses, some of which only require small amounts of money, time, and effort.

According to the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), becoming greener begins at the very inception of a business. Right now, forty percent of global warming pollution comes from residential and commercial buildings. If companies invest extra money from the start to build more environmentally friendly facilities that might include rainwater recycling systems, a green roof, or certified wood, businesses would be helping to create a more sustainable future.

Companies also spend a huge amount of money paying for energy. By having an energy audit, already existing companies can calculate ways of lessening their energy costs. Energy audits tell businesses far more than to change incandescent light bulbs to compact fluorescent light bulbs. They can illustrate where the most heat is lost and what is the best way to rectify such existing issues. The NRDC also demonstrates how small changes, made by entire companies, can have a huge impact.

The paper industry is the leading consumer and polluter of freshwater in industrialized countries. If companies purchase recycled paper, made without chemicals, not only will they reduce the amount of acreage sacrificed to paper, but they will also contribute to less pollution of air and water.

Though there are certain policies in place around the country and the globe, it is taking many companies too long to switch to environmentally friendly policies. Not only is it harmful to the environment, but also, as the market shifts in accordance with consumers’ desires for greener products, companies who have not made the change to environmentally efficient policies will harm their own profit.

In recognition of the way the global economy is attempting to tap into many environmentally friendly policies in the workforce, as part of Green Month, BC is hosting an event entitled, “Green Economy and Career Night.” The event, to be held in the Walsh Function Room on Tuesday March 22, from 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., will feature a presentation from Professor Charles Derber, as well as a panel of Boston College alumni who are active in the field. The event is part of a month-long effort by Boston College to increase environmental awareness on campus.

There are many ways for businesses to improve their environmental policies. The changes can help to increase the company’s sustainability as well as improve their profits. Businesses must exert their sphere of influence and make the necessary changes to improve their relationship with the environment. Especially in industrialized nations, businesses consume large amounts of resources and emit large amounts of waste. They should take responsibility for their part in global climate change and do all they can to decrease this waste and consumption.

For ways in which all businesses can decrease their environmental footprint, see www.nrdc.org.

The Career Center's Blog

The Career Center at Boston College has recently launched a new resource that may prove to be a great asset for students looking for jobs and internships.

The RealJobs Blog features a series of posts by BC alumni describing their daily experiences in the workplace.

The updates provide students with real insight into life on the job in a multitude of fields.

Other features of the website include tips for interviews and advice on what to wear when meeting a prospective employer.

The site claims to be a place where students can learn about “career development skills, succeeding in the job market, and happenings at the Career Center.”

Posts are contributed by alumni from a vast range of occupations, including a Player Personnel Administrator for the Miami Dolphins and the Vice President for College Relations at Connecticut College.  There are also posts by account supervisors, teachers, physicians, and many BC graduates who have gone on to become self-employed.

The blog entries describe the work on a weekly basis, showing what the job actually involves beyond the basic ideas associated with a job title.

One contributor, Brett Wilzbach, ‘06, who works in fixed income sales at Citi, comments that,  “The more professionals you speak with, the more you will begin to understand what people do on a day to day basis, and the more impressive you will sound in an interview.”

The majority of the bloggers are recent graduates, and their words give valuable insight and advice to those who have recently entered the current job market.

This will provide students with some idea of what they face upon graduation and the experience needed for jobs they are considering.

Other contributors who graduated a few decades ago offer more seasoned advice.

Alumnus J.R. Clark, who majored in political science and philosophy in the graduating class of 1988, is now working as an attorney.

He advised,  “Keeping my eyes open for opportunities has been the key part of bringing me to this point. You never know what’s around the corner or from where the chance you need to realize your dream may come.”

He added, “Being prepared goes hand in hand with keeping your eyes open.”

Encouragingly, he claims his experiences at Boston College were crucial in his eventual progression to work as an attorney.

He commented, “How I prepare, plan and pursue my dreams still is rooted in the time spent on the Dustbowl comparing ideas with friends.  The conversations and meals in the Eagle’s Nest is where I made some of my best arguments on matters that were critically important at that time.”

He added, “It’s funny that when the tools and skills acquired at BC are used you may not even realize it.”

The RealJobs Blog may be accessed through the Career Center website.