Apologies for having the blog dormant so far. The Academics committee has been working on quite a few interesting things which we would like to share with the EWMBA student community.

One of the programs we are involved in is helping the first-year students with the bidding process for electives. We have had several information sessions (working with the Program Office) where 2nd and 3rd year students helped answer questions. Thanks to Vince Wu, Preston Smalley and the AAC co-chairs, all sessions had student representatives answering questions and allaying fears that the first-year students might have had.

Some of the bidding tips from these sessions are included for quick reference:

Bidding tips
1. Mark your calendars for these bidding rounds and do not forget to bid ! Unlike in the first-year, there are no default registrations.
2. Research, research, research ! Look at the course descriptions, podcasts/videos by Profs, talk to the 2nd/3rd year students, talk to the Profs themselves, read up the ratings information on the Profs.... and do all these *before* bidding begins .
3. After completing your research, come up with a ranked list of courses that suits your goals and needs.
4. Do not divide up your points equally among your courses. For popular courses, feel free to bid really high. And conversely, bid fewer points for your lower ranked courses - do not be afraid to bid a solitary point on your lower ranked courses ... a lot of times, this is all that is needed for you to get into a class.
5.If you are really interested in a course in the other cohort, bid undeclared. The points that you lose in this process are more than made up for by the benefits of a "perfect-fit" course. But be aware that if this is a really sought-after class, bids will be really high.
6. And finally, do not stress out. There are add/drop periods where you can get into a desired class.

Good luck with your bidding process!