Second round admissions cycle for most business schools for MBA programs is over and well above 50,000 excited students are ready to join schools just in the US this fall. Many times over that all over the world. Congratulations to all the prospective students! It is a great journey.
Way back in late 2004-early 2005 I was in the same place. I had a fun time between my admission and the first day of classes in Ann Arbor. It has been 10 years and I can’t even imagine what life would have been like if I hadn’t gone through my MBA. I learned a lot during my MBA and even more between then and now. So, I feel qualified to dispense some unsolicited advice :-).
Irrespective of what MBA program you are going for and where, there are three major elements in the life of every MBA student:
- Academics: You are going for an advanced degree so this is obvious.
- Recruiting: Most of the people go for an MBA for career advancement and to justify the significant financial investment you want to make sure that you do make that leap towards an accelerated career path of your choice.
- Social: Last but not the least, one of the biggest reasons people go for an MBA is to build life-long network that they can rely upon.
So, here is the BLUF (Bottom Line Up Front)
Your MBA doesn’t start with the first day of your classes, but consider that your course has already started. If you do not get a handle on all three major elements of your MBA NOW, you will not be able to take the full advantage of your time at the business school.
I know this from first-hand experience. 10 years ago, I didn’t know this and didn’t have the sense to ask someone about this. I paid for this mistake dearly and in many ways am still paying for my mistakes 10 years later.
So what to do? Let me walk you through my thoughts:
Academics
You want to get a head start on your academics right now by studying up subjects that you have little idea about or reviewing those that you may have studied but forgotten. This is especially true for the basic core courses like microeconomics, statistics, accounting etc based upon your specific program’s requirements. Almost all the programs have the list of their courses available online or in your admissions packet.
The idea is not to study them in so that you waive the core courses but to become familiar and comfortable with the basic material and ideas. There are multiple ways to study but I have found MOOC’s like Coursera, edX, Udemy, Lynda etc to be the best. You can also get the course curriculum and go ahead and acquire the required textbooks etc. and read them in your free time.
Recruiting
This applies to all MBA’s. Even if someone is not recruiting, many aspects will be useful to the people looking to start their own businesses, going back to their employers or family businesses. This also applies to the people who know exactly what they want to do immediate after their MBA as well as those who are looking to explore other professions and career path.
You want to get a head start in your recruiting efforts by getting into action right now. There are two ways to go about this: Via your school’s alumni and others.
Alumni: Most of the admitted students should have gotten access to the alumni database of their respective schools or will get the access after depositing the confirmation fee. Most alumni are happy to speak with and guide admitted students. So, search through the database for alumni who are already in the positions and companies that you want to be at. Conduct informational interviews with them (over the phone or in-person, if possible), ask for their advice and build relationships with them now. Some of them may even come to the campus for information sessions and recruitment. If you happen to be so lucky the process of recruitment will be significantly easier and smoother.
Non-alumni: Most of the people who have an MBA should be able to understand your position and more likely than not be willing to assist and guide you. Of course, the alumni from the school you are going to are likely to be more responsive, but you should hit up non-alumni as well to learn about industries and positions you are looking to work in post-MBA.
You should also reach out to the career services office of your school and take their help.
Note: Reaching out to people for advice and guidance is a numbers game. While most people are willing to assist, they are busy in their own lives and work. So do not feel discouraged or offended when someone doesn’t get back to you. Follow up a couple of time over a period of 2-3 weeks and if you get no response move on to another person who may be more willing and able.
Social life
Your classmates at the business school make for a lifelong network. While the most important factors in building friendships depend upon individual personalities, you can at least work on maximizing the time, opportunities and conditions for relationships to foster.
Also, start building acquaintances with your future classmates as well as people headed to other business schools right now. In fact, people headed to other business schools are even more important at this stage. There were online forums during our time and I am sure there would be many more where prospective MBA students hang out. These relationships with students headed to other schools would expand your network significantly.
Regarding other admitted students at your school, you should also reach out to the local alumni chapter who may have/obtain the list of all admitted students from the adcom.
In all of this I want to highlight that I am not advocating working on these areas too much and not having fun between now and the start of classes. At the business school, you are going to get busier than you have ever imagined so you certainly want to spend time with friends/family, have fun and may be cross off a few things on your bucket list. Just learn to manage your time well and do enough so that you are prepared well. After all, showing up burnt out may not be the best idea either.
You are headed for one of the most enriching experiences in life. Make the most of it!
As always, feel free to reach me any time if you have any questions or thoughts. Also, share your experience and strategies by commenting on this post.