The Most Surprising Things About Business School

Fast Pace

“The most surprising [thing] about business school is how empowered I’ve felt through the learning experience. The skills we are taught are for the most part immediately applicable to the real world, whether it involves a greater understanding the financial markets, or creating actual financial projections for a business. In just a year, I went from having vague awareness to actually reviewing expense-to-revenue ratios and determining the financial ability of a real company to service new debt. The speed with which skills are acquired and immediately tested has been one of the most surprising aspects of business school.” – Nadine Payne / University of Maryland, Smith School of Business 

Industry Connections Available

“Everyone has been incredibly helpful. I was especially surprised by the contacts that the professors have in any kind of industry. Being interested in a niche industry from an MBA perspective (aviation), I still found more than a handful of professors with industry contacts that were willing to help me out.” – Victoria Teworte / IESE Business School

Extensive Travel

“How much travel I was able to do. Last year alone I went to 10 different countries on trips hosted by my classmates local to the country. I really feel like my horizons have expanded and I have a much better understanding of the world around me!” – Anne-Marie Kruk / London Business School 

Intensity Of Recruiting 

“How quickly networking and recruiting for your summer internship begins after you start school. I think I had visions in my mind that I would just have my nose stuck in a book for a while, but I was meeting recruiters from the first semester.” – Alyssa Callister / University of Minnesota, Carlson School of Management

“I was surprised by how intense the job-search (Both internship/full-time) is while in business school.  Within my first week at Krannert I was attending career fairs and interviewing for my future.” – Eric Barajas / Purdue University, Krannert School of Management

Success Career Changes 

“The most surprising thing about b-school is how fluidly people are able to switch into careers as they’re exposed to a range of opportunities that fit within their interests and skill set.” – Jennifer Meacham / New York University, Stern School of Business

Ability To Make A Real Impact

“It’s not just partying all the time. My classmates really want to give back. Many are already focused on social impact projects and many were ready to help with the CDCN when I asked them.” – David Fajgenbaum / Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania

“How large of an impact you can have in making your school a better place, especially as a 2nd year student.  When I was elected President of our Marketing Association, we revamped the whole club.  We nearly tripled the amount of events and networking opportunities for students, created the first-ever Marketing Case Prep book for our school, established a Mentorship Program with marketing professionals in Toronto, and overall, boosted the visibility and presence of marketing in the halls of Rotman.  I was surprised but really proud to see how much of a quick impact we could have.” – Amy Bi / University of Toronto, Rotman School of Management 

Grades Matter 

“The most surprising thing to me about business school was how competitive it is. I really thought it would be a collaborative effort to learn and help each other shore up weaknesses. I was surprised how much grades mattered and how everyone wanted to get an A. I have always been one to look at business school as a way to gain a deeper understanding of the business world and to add at least one tool from each class to my tool belt.” – Kevin Bentley / Rice University, Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Business

Don’t Know Everything

“How much I didn’t know! I was a business student at Fisher as an undergrad so I thought I had the basics down, but it turns out I still had a lot to learn!” – Katherine Beaulieu / Ohio State Ohio State, Fisher College of Business

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