The Pale Blue Cake 3.9.25

After graduating from Randolph-Macon college in 1983 with a major in mathematics and a minor in physics, I accepted a job at NASA as a Systems Analyst.  I took the job knowing that I wanted to go back to Business School in two years. And working at NASA only confirmed it. 

But I also knew that I needed to retake the Gradate Management Admissions Test, also known as the GMATs. I had taken the GMATs the first time in the fall of my senior year in college. But with my part-time job and my overloaded class schedule, I did little to prepare.  I did score a 560, putting me in the 86th percentile, which, when combined with my R-MC GPA, was good enough to get me into the Duke and Rice MBA programs.  

However, I knew my GMAT score was not good enough for the more selective schools like the University of Virginia and the University of North Carolina, not to mention the Ivy League programs.  The University of Virginia, the third program I applied to, suggested I reapply in two years. This was not uncommon because the top schools typically required a minimum of 2 years of work experience before being accepted. That and empty pockets led me to take the NASA job with a plan to reapply to B-School in two years. 

Because a primary component of my job at NASA included supporting Space Shuttle launches in real time, I had some down time between Missions, which allowed me to study and take practice GMAT exams. So, in the Spring of 1984 I retook the GMATs and scored a 640, which put me in the 96th percentile. This was a huge improvement. And to this day I believe it was due to preparation and learning how to take the test. So, when people argue that standardized test scores measure a person’s intelligence and predicts a person’s success, I disagree. Test preparation can increase scores on these exams. And this gives people with the means and the money to do so a leg up on those who do not. In addition, I believe these tests (in general) have a socio-economic bias, giving people with certain backgrounds an advantage. 

Armed with my higher GMAT score, I felt much more confidant applying to Graduate Business Schools.  So, in the fall of 1984 I applied to Duke again. But this time I did not apply to UVA or Rice.  Realizing that most jobs are landed in a school’s sphere of influence, I eliminated Rice because I did not want to live in the Southwest.  And I eliminated UVA, because like Harvard, UVA used the pure “case study” method, which I was not a fan of.  This is where every class is taught using business case studies and the student learns by figuring out a solution to the case. Like the law school-based TV show “Paper Chase” from the 1970’s, the professor calls on a student in the class and that student presents the problem as he understands it and the solution to the identified problem.  And thus, the class discussion begins. To be honest, as an introvert who did not like to speak in public, that approach intimidated me. So, I applied to UNC-Chapel Hill, Duke and Vanderbilt. And I got accepted to all three. Chapel Hill used a combination approach, with Duke and Vanderbilt using the traditional approach of mostly lecture.

During my two years after college, I did more research on UNC and saw it as a “good fit” for a number of reasons. One, it was one of the top ranked business schools. Two, most of the school’s graduates took jobs in the mid-Atlantic and southeast regions. Three, like Dartmouth, it was one of the smallest programs in the top 15, which appealed to me having attended a small liberal arts college. Four, it was by far the least expensive programs. Tuition at UNC was a 10th of the cost of an Ivy League school, and a fifth of the cost of Duke or Vanderbilt. And finally, being a basketball junkie and an ACC basketball fan, I admired UNC’s basketball tradition.  In fact, my soon-to-be mother-in-law, Sarah, accused me of applying to UNC because of its successful basketball program. Who knows, she may have been correct. So, when I visited Chapel Hill, I knew in my bones that this was the program for me.

But then a funny thing happened. After my acceptance letter from Vanderbilt arrived, a follow-up letter arrived from the school offering me a full tuition scholarship.  I guess studying for the GMATs paid off!

But now had a difficult decision to make. Growing up poor, I have always been insecure about money.  So, in February of 1985 I decided to take a road trip with my brother Keith to Nashville and visit Vanderbilt. By this time, Elizabeth and I were engaged to be married in August. So, Elizabeth getting a job in whatever town we moved to was part of the equation. 

And Vanderbilt rolled out the red carpet. The visit was amazing. They had just built a new complex that housed the Owen Business School, and you could tell that Vanderbilt was committed to making its Graduate Business School a top 20 program. They would also assist Elizabeth and me in securing housing.  In addition, they made a point that they would help Elizabeth find a job in Nashville. So, in other words, they were doing everything they could to recruit me. And this is where my ego came into play. I had to admit that I loved being courted. And on the drive back to Virginia my brother even commented on how much they had rolled out the red carpet.

That did not happen with UNC. When I approached them about getting some type of financial assistance, they almost laughed. They did say that many students were successful at getting in-State status the second year, which dropped the tuition to an astonishing $700 per semester – almost free! I never got that deal, but some of my classmates from out-of-state did. And to this day, I still have not figured out how they were able to secure in-state tuition, and I did not!

So, I struggled with my decision. And as March of 1985 approached, I still had not decided. And Elizabeth was getting frustrated with me. She finally said, “I do not care where we live, just make a decision!”  And I finally did.

We had decided to celebrate Elizabeth’s 22nd birthday by meeting in Louisa the first weekend in March. As a surprise, I decided to bake her a birthday cake from scratch. As I sat in my split-level house in College Park, Maryland admiring my made- from-scratch carrot cake, I realized my handiwork needed icing. And that is when I came up with the idea of icing the cake the color of the school I would attend. It took a while using food coloring to get the color right, but that is how Elizabeth ended up with a cake with pale blue icing for her 22nd birthday. And to top it off, I used white powdered sugar to write the letters “LIZ” on top.

I never regretted turning down that full scholarship from Vanderbilt to attend UNC. One of the things that I picked up on when I made my visit to the UNC MBA program was how much the students loved the program, how the students supported each other, and their genuine affection for their professors. But most of all, they exhibited little hubris despite their accomplishments. And looking back, those two years were some of the best years of our marriage, making friends that we would stay in close touch with the rest of our lives. It was a true close and supportive community.

I did not get that vibe at Vanderbilt. And so, I am so thankful that I did not let my ego drive my decision.  This would happen again later in life during my investment banking career when I would have to check my ego. It is nice to be flattered. But we need to be careful about flattery and ego. It can sometimes lead to bad decisions.