Sloan runs an online bidding system each semester for students to bid for courses. After completing the core required classes in the first semester, we’re given complete freedom to select our own schedules for the next three semesters.

The bidding system is pretty straight forward: students are given 1000 points and can allocate them however so desired to potential classes. There are only a few constraints to consider. First, you can not take more than 54 credit hours per semester. Next, there’s a bidding hierarch; second year students bids overriding lowly first year bids. Finally, if you are the lowest bidder and capacity for the class fills up, you don’t get in the class.

With that in mind, I bid using a some strategies I learned from 2nd year friends. Given its harder to get into certain competitive classes as a first year, I decided to max out the ‘unpopular’ classes I wanted to take before leaving Sloan. I chose courses such as Financial Theory which received 1 point. Next, I decided to be teacher agnostic. Although I’m taking strategy next semester, I only bid 1 point again; I’ve heard stories of people bidding 500+ points to take that course with Professor Sorensen. I’m sure he’s a great teacher, but that just seems a little silly to me.

With the above guidelines, I got into every class I wanted to take. My schedule next semester is:

New Enterprises
Strategic Management
Finance Theory I
Macroeconomics
Special Seminar on China and India: Opportunities and Issues
Global Markets, National Policies and the Competitive Advantages of Firms