An INSEAD MBA On ‘Living In B-School Paradise’

With apologies to Coolio and L.V., Krystal Kovalick borrowed the backing track of Gangsta’s Paradise to riff on the MBA experience at INSEAD. A former Deloitte consultant in the firm’s Washington, D.C., offices, Kovalick is now studying for her MBA at INSEAD’s Singapore campus.

Her lyrics to Gangsta’s Paradise make for a fun parody of business school life and also capture the often stressed-full days of searching for that post-graduation job. As she writes it, “Interviews ain’t nothing but a heartbeat away. I’m gonna try for McKinsey, what can I say? I’m 29 now but will I have a job by 30. Yo the way things is going I don’t know.”

Yo, enjoy the video (especially the often awkward dancing) and the full lyrics (below):

As I walk through the hallway on the way to my class

I take a look at my life and realize it’s going fast

‘Cause I’ve been having a blast for so long that

Even my mama thinks I may never come home

But I ain’t met a student here that didn’t deserve it

Me be cheating on the GMAT, you know that’s unheard of

You better make sure you’re talking or Facebook stalking

Or you and your homies might get caught in a *SHH!*

I really hate to brag but I gotta gloat

As we grow I see us all on my private boat, fool

We’re the kind of class the 14Ds wanna be like

Using these day and night, making plans for a good time

Been spending most our lives living in a B-school paradise

Each week a different flight living in a B-school paradise

Shaker on Wednesday nights living in a B-school paradise

We hustle hard and all do fine living in a B-school paradise

Look at these simulations they got me facing

I could never be a chef, climbing mountains ain’t my thing

So I gotta be down with Consulting

Too much presentation watching got me chasing dreams

I’m an educated fool with money on my mind

Got my CV in my hand and a gleam in my eye

I’m a stressed out, anxious test-taking student

I got one in an hour so chilling wouldn’t be prudent, fool

Interviews ain’t nothing but a heartbeat away

I’m gonna try for McKinsey, what can I say?

I’m 29 now but will I have a job by 30

Yo the way things is going I don’t know

Tell me why are we so blind to see

That in under a year we’ll be graduating

Been spending most our lives living in a B-school paradise

Cubicles are hard to find living in a B-school paradise

National Weeks are tight living in a B-school paradise

Not many girls but tons of guys living in a B-school paradise

Someday we’ll have money and maybe we’ll have power

But for now we’re depleting our savings by the hour

Everybody’s bidding, but half of them don’t know

How many points they need for Singy, and if they’ll get to go

They say I gotta learn and professors here will teach me

But if I can’t understand them how can they reach me?

I guess TAs, they’re really smart, one’s kind of hot

That’s how I know I’m never gonna flunk, fool

Been spending most our lives living in a B-school paradise

Final exams turn out alright living in a B-school paradise

Club 16 is up all night living in a B-school paradise

INSEAD love for life living in a B-school paradise

Tell me why are we so blind to see

That in under a year we’ll be graduating