Things to do in the months before MBA starts

What do you guys plan to do in order to prepare yourself for the upcoming two years?

My list:
1.)Start keeping up with current events. WSJ, HBR, and the Economist at a minimum
2.)Getting healthy. Sleep at least 7 hours consistently and exercise three times a week.
3.)See friends and family cause I will not have the time after school starts. That includes flying to 5 different stats and two countries
4.)Brushing up some stats and accounting. Take some Coursera courses or WSP
5.)Read some business books. michael gladwell, michael porter, etc.

What is on your list?

11 Comments
 

Lol, I plan to actively avoid all learning in the months leading up to school this fall. Everything you'll need to succeed will be taught to you in school or in the pre-term classes on accounting/stats/finance/etc.

 

I'll go against the grain and agree with the OP. I too will be doing some brushing up on accounting and be reading The Economist. The key to doing well in a case study style course is confidence. If I am confident in my business basics, I will speak up more often and perhaps free up time that would otherwise be spent preparing for each class, allowing me to enjoy more of the non-scholastic aspects of school.

Will it make a noticeable difference in my performance? I'm not sure, but preparation can't hurt.

 

1- Prepare the move (find a roomate, lock the lease, get accustomed to the new city ...) 2- Put your house in order (loans, taxes, investments ..). Don't start the program with a complicated financial situation 3- Start 'networking'. Your school surely has a facebook page or something. Get to know the people. If you live in a big city, I am sure that your classmates have organised a meeting. 4- If you still have time, pick a language. I am going with Spanish.

It is not about classtime, more about facetime.

 
Best Response
TheTwoHacker

What do you guys plan to do in order to prepare yourself for the upcoming two years?

My list:
1.)Start keeping up with current events. WSJ, HBR, and the Economist at a minimum
2.)Getting healthy. Sleep at least 7 hours consistently and exercise three times a week.
3.)See friends and family cause I will not have the time after school starts. That includes flying to 5 different stats and two countries
4.)Brushing up some stats and accounting. Take some Coursera courses
5.)Read some business books. michael gladwell, michael porter, etc.

What is on your list?

What are you trying to do after bschool? Do some research on different industries because recruiting starts faster than you'd think

 

My current plan is:

  1. Enjoy time with family and the present, I spent most of the last year waiting to get into b-school. Instead of doing more waiting I am trying to live in the now.

  2. Read WSJ and review corporate finance and accounting basics, I am coming from a non-traditional background, so while I did study some of this in my undergrad I have not actively used any of this in my professional life.

  3. Participate in a short internship at a BB in NYC. Excited for the opportunity to get some finance experience before school starts. I had planned on participating in a formal coursera mooc, but I think this opportunity will provide the same academic bump while also helping me better understand what I want to do post b-school.

 

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