Advice for Your Time at B-School

If youll be earning your MBA as part of the Class of 2017, chances are that right now youre either finishing up your last weeks at work or enjoying some much-needed downtime before heading to campus.

During the months you toiled over your applications and then waited to hear back from admissions committees, you probably spent a lot of time anticipating how youd fill your days at business school. And once your acceptance letter was in hand, were sure you gave some thought to what you want to get out of your experience. But just because youve gotten in doesnt mean we dont still have a few last tips for you!

Here they are:

• Leverage your student status as much as possible. Were not just talking about things like student discounts. Were talking about the fact that everyone loves students, and everyone loves giving advice to students. So if theres an alum, a local businessperson, a politician or community leader you admire, use the fact that youre a student to try and set up an informational interview or an informal meeting over coffee. Youll be surprised at the kind of access you may be granted that you otherwise wouldnt.
• Listen to as many visiting speakers as you can. There will probably be at least a few big-name CEOs and public figures who give talks on campus, and everyones going to turn up for those. But we encourage you to also consider going to hear what lesser-known business and political leaders, entrepreneurs and nonprofit executives have to sayespecially some of the younger ones. In a decade you just might be able to brag about how you rubbed elbows with someone whos now internationally respected.
• Choose your extracurriculars wisely. Repeat after us: its impossible to do everything. Dont be the person who signs up for 20 clubs in the first week and then regrets not being able to be meaningfully involved in any of them. You will be totally overwhelmed by how many cool things youll have the opportunity to get involved with outside of class. So before you step foot on campus, think long and hard about what you really want to learn and whats important to you so that you can focus your efforts accordingly.
• Dont forget that the real world still exists. Dont get us wrongbeing in the b-school bubble is a thing of beauty. Except for when youre especially tired and stressed (think interview season, exam time, etc.). Thats when you need to reach out to your family and friends back home, talk a walk or drive into the nearest city, or do whatever else you can to put things back into perspective. The campus will still be there when youre ready to resume Student Mode, and youll feel re-energized.

Remember:

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