MBA Student Life

Happy Friday everybody,

There is a ton of great advice out there, but there are a number of people speaking as "experts" as well, who haven't actually walked the walk. I just started at HBS this semester. This has been a goal of mine for years, and I am ecstatic to be here. Every time I go into the cafeteria at Spangler, I am overwhelmed that this is my dining hall.

There have been so many things that have surprised me by my first impressions as a student. When I have such anticipation for an experience, I am usually let down when I actually experience it. But HBS has been everything I hoped for and more.

The diversity of the school surprised me the most. At the moment, my section is ordering flags to hang in my classroom to represent how diverse my section is. The community is even more global than I imagined. And the diversity of industry is present and impressive as well. I was expecting more of a presence of finance and consulting. While the bankers and consultants are there, there are also tons of entrepreneurs, people from the tech world, non-profits, you name it.

One thing I was really concerned about was the expense of living for the next two years without a major source of income, but the school does a tremendous job of offereing many options for a lower cost. I definitely did not expect to maintain my standard of living, but the school offers unbelievable opportunities. Shad is the most amazing gym (for ONLY the business school, Spangler is better than most restaurants out there and not even comparable to any other dining hall Ive ever been in.

I have a number of friends who are applying for admissions this year, and want to share the experience with them. When I was applying, I wanted to speak with a current student who would give me the good bad and ugly about the student experience and admissions experience. If anyone has any questions for me, feel free to let me know.

Good luck!