Your First Week of Business School

So you have finished the GMAT, got all your essays done and recommendations in. You passed the business school admissions interview with flying colors. You’ve decided where you want to go to school and have just moved into your new home for the next two years. Well the hard work is just getting started, but first, how about some fun, also known as orientation week. Every school does it a little differently, but there are a few things to look for and some tips to help you survive the week.
Before all of those fun activities, you’ll obviously want to take care of various logistics quickly. Things like getting a local bank account and cable and internet setup in your housing. Make sure to take a tour of campus and get to know the lay of the land before you get swamped with school functions.
Typically orientation week contains many different activities. Some highlights might include a service activity. Getting the chance to get into the local community and do some volunteer work can be a great way to meet new classmates while doing good for others. You’ll also hear from many different speakers welcoming you to campus and talking about the journey ahead. Often student clubs will be there to introduce you to the various activities you can participate in. Be careful here, you’ll want to sign up for everything, and they typically have a membership fee. Sign up for one or two clubs you know you will be interested in and save the rest for once you get a little bit better acclimated to campus and get a better idea of how you will want to spend your time.
You might participate in some kind of team exercise, often broken up by section. Remember you will be surrounded by A type personalities and it can be a little difficult trying to work with new people so quickly. What you should look for here is to not necessarily declare yourself as the leader. Make it known you are a great teammate and will do anything needed to help the group be successful.
You might even start meeting some recruiters early on. They will often come to campus to sponsor various events like “MBA Olympics.” Remember, you can’t get a job in the first week, but you can certainly lose one, so don’t try to overdo it with the recruiters.
There will also be lots of time for socializing with your new classmates. Our only advice here is that business school is a marathon, not a sprint. Don’t try to keep up with the undergrads on campus. Reputations can be easily made in one night and people are paying attention.
Finally, remember that you have plenty of time to meet people and enjoy yourself. Don’t try to force everything to happen in the first week. Despite the fact that your time will soon be filled with classes, group projects and recruiting, there will still be plenty of time for some fun.