What To Do Before Starting B-School

5 Things to Do Before You Leave for B-School

 

It’s that time again! Students are flooding back to business school, determined to build their network and make their fortune. Before these future leaders fulfill their manifest destiny, they likely have more pressing concerns: “Where do I get my laptop fixed?” “What is a pivot table?” “How do I get from point A to point B?”

New city. New people. New routines. That’s the first few weeks of b-school in a nutshell. And the unforgiving, breakneck pace of your program leaves little time for surprises or catching up. So what steps can you take to save time and ease your transition?

Leslie Moser, a Harvard MBA candidate, shared some ideas in The Daily Muse.  Here are her strategies:

1) Set a Budget: From rent to utilities, you’ll have monthly fixed costs. However, you can fall into debt fast by not managing optional activities like shopping, eating out, and travel. Know what you can spend and stick to it.

2) Anticipate Your Weaknesses: Do you struggle with statistics? Would your grammar embarrass an 8th grader? Line up resources ahead of time, such as Khan Academy modules, so they’re on hand when you need them.

3) Schedule ‘You’ Time: Your workload will wear you down, no matter how invigorating your studies are. Identify activities that help you re-charge and integrate them into your daily routine.

4) Get Your Health Information Together: You’re probably losing your insurance plan when you leave your job. And that means you’ll need to find a new doctor. Get your health file together. Better to be safe than sorry.

Source: The Daily Muse

MBA Roundtable Releases Entrepreneurship and the MBA Study

 

There is a new growth engine on business campuses. And it can be summed up in one word: Entrepreneurship.

That was among the findings from a study conducted by the MBA Roundtable, an association of global business schools. The study, which encompassed 137 MBA programs, was sponsored by the business schools at the University of Virginia, the University of Louisville, and the University of Texas. Here are the key findings about the MBA programs that participated:

• Broadening their curriculum to include entrepreneurial topics, such as “commercialization, intrapreneurship/corporate entrepreneurship, managing growth and social entrepreneurship.”

• Placing greater emphasis on soft skills like “communication, team building, and sales pitch development/delivery.”

• Establishing multidisciplinary partnerships in areas where students are likely to launch businesses, such as “engineering, life sciences, law, and medicine.”

• Incorporating an “apprenticeship” teaching style, with a hands-on learning style where students are mentored and coached by faculty and entrepreneurs. In particular, students are exposed to areas like “opportunity recognition, market testing, iteration, and venture launch.” In fact, 91% of participating schools include experiential learning in their entrepreneurship programs.

The last point is particular important, as it represents a “sharp contrast” from traditional teaching methods like lecture and case studies, according to Sarah Gardial, president of the MBA Roundtable. Gardial, who also serves as the dean of the University of Iowa’s Tippie College of Business, added that entrepreneurial programs could provide a model for a “healthier balance” between theoretical concepts and practical application.

In addition, the study found that 60% of respondents expected more students to participate in entrepreneurial programs over the next three years. As a result, these respondents are planning to “increase their use of incubators, add concentrations and/or new certificates, and expand their use of cross-disciplinary initiatives.”

Sources: MBA Roundtable, Business News Daily