20 Biggest Surprises For First-Year MBAs

 

I’m an imposter. A screw-up. I don’t belong here. My classmates are smarter. They’ve accomplished more. What can I bring?

Ah, the first-year MBA refrain. They gave up their job and income – moved hundreds of miles and collected thousands in debt. Before business school, they were the stars who played hard and climbed fast. Once they arrive on campus, they quickly recognized that everyone is good – and they have a huge learning curve ahead.

YOUR CLASSMATES ARE STILL FINDING THEMSELVES

Just ask Farisha Ishak. Two years ago, she arrived at the University of North Carolina after designing a sustainability program for a prominent university in Singapore. Before starting class, she had been warned: “You’re going to be in a sea of Type A’s. You better brace yourself!” Not exactly comforting words to someone moving half way across the world! Turns out, the warning was partially true, Ishak tells P&Q. Her Kenan-Flagler classmates brought impressive credentials and hard-working personalities. To her surprise, they were also incredibly supportive.

“We were always looking out for each other,” Ishak adds. “Being in an environment like this was so important, especially during the recruiting cycle when we were experiencing a roller coaster of emotions. Having people to lean on was crucial, and we certainly relied on each other immensely!”

Will Collier, a 2024 graduate of ESADE Business School, carried a different misconception of business school. Now a global marketing manager for McDonald’s, Collier believed an MBA program was akin to finishing school. He pictured his classmates as having it all together – they knew what they wanted and how to get there. In reality, Collier says, most were making transitions like himself.

“Many come only sure that what they were doing isn’t what they want for the future, so they come to explore.”

“BUSINESS SCHOOL OPENED MY EYES”

You don’t know what you don’t know. Folksy wisdom or eternal truth? Maybe a little bit of both. As the MBA Class of 2024 can attest, there are some things you can only learn through experience. By experience, they mean trial-and-error and baptism-by-fire. They take on too much or follow the wrong paths. They waste time and squander opportunities. In the end, they encounter the unexpected – the surprises. For Victor Heaulme, a June graduate of HEC Paris, the biggest surprise involved what the biggest takeaways would be from business school.

“I think many come into an MBA thinking they will master finance, become a marketing professional, or truly understand what it takes to be a public company CEO,” he explains. “The truth is, an MBA teaches you a little about all aspects of business, but nothing in deep detail. You learn enough to be familiar with most business discussions on any given subject, but never enough to be the smartest person in the room. You learn to lead by relying on your team, not being the subject matter expert.”

It’s not just what you learn in business school that truly matters – it’s also who you become. Looking back over two years at Emory University’s Goizueta Business School, Cameron Bard is stunned by just how much he changed as a student.

“I started at Emory as a huge introvert with a small, close-knit group of friends and evolving career ambitions,” he writes. “Now, as I approach graduation, I find myself leading several clubs, advocating passionately for decarbonization and climate equity, and enjoying the benefits of a diverse and greatly expanded friend group. Business school opened my eyes to a world I never could have imagined, and I can’t thank Goizueta enough for this gift.”

LIVE IN THE MOMENT

Indeed, some of the biggest surprises are the best ones: wider perspectives, deeper relationships, and greater possibilities. Maybe the one thing they don’t you about business school is this…the time goes past so quickly.

“The drawn-out application process, filled with anticipation and meticulous planning, paled in comparison to the whirlwind of the program itself,” observes Zachary Cho, a 2024 graduate of EDHEC Business School. “Suddenly, every minute was precious, every class an opportunity, and every interaction meaningful. My advice to future students is to savor every moment; despite the inevitable stress, remember that this intense, transformative period is a brief chapter in your life’s story.”

Come Labor Day, the real work begins for first-year MBAs. Classes pick up steam and recruiters start streaming onto campus. And FOMO – Fear of Missing Out – is replaced by RIST – Realizing I’m Stretched Thin. As the Class of 2026 starts on their journey, what mistakes can they avoid and what opportunities should they pursue? To answer that, maybe they can take a page from the Class of 2024. As part of choosing their year’s Best & Brightest MBAs and MBAs to Watch, P&Q asked 226 top graduates to share the biggest surprises they encountered in business school. From following the ‘dress code’ to playing the student card, here is what the Class of 2024 wishes they had known two years ago.

1) Fail Fast, Fail Forward: “I’d say the sheer velocity of the learning curve. It was certainly a baptism by fire, juggling classes, networking, and recruiting all at once. But what I found truly impactful was how quickly I adapted. This experience pushed me to develop better time management and prioritization skills, making me a more resilient and resourceful learner.”
Anvesh Jagini, University of Rochester (Simon)

2) Your Network Is Your Net Worth: “I was surprised at how quickly some of my peers went from “classmate” to “confidante.” At this stage in life, many of us have extensive communities outside business school, so while I expected to make friends, I underestimated how deep some of those relationships would become. Wharton has helped me untap a new network of people to learn from, rely on, and feel supported by.”
Nicole Ventrone, Wharton School

3) Alumni Welcome Hearing From Students: “What surprised me most about business school is how dedicated the alumni network is to helping students succeed in their career goals. I started the MBA program planning to go back into construction management in an administrative role. So I reached out to the network asking about construction management after an MBA, and I connected to 10 alumni in the field. I realized construction management wasn’t what I want to do, so then I looked at consulting. I had a similar experience when I reach out to alumni. There were so many people willing to talk to me because I was a BYU Marriott MBA student. Overall, I ended up talking to more than 100 people, from big companies to small boutique firms. It was a cool experience.”
Benjamin Cole Williams, Brigham Young University (Marriott)

4) Business Schools Prioritize Experience: “The most eye-opening part of business school for me was definitely the hands-on, real-world applications. Coming from an engineering background, where most of what I learned was theoretical, the shift to practical learning was both surprising and enlightening. Suddenly, I was not just studying business concepts, but I was also seeing how these strategies and philosophies played out in actual companies. Babson took this to another level by allowing us to dive into a product development project, making it feel like we were part of a corporation tasked with launching their next big thing. It was this blending of education and real-world experience that I found incredibly valuable. It went beyond traditional learning; it felt like I was truly gaining first-hand business experience.”
Ryan Carello, Babson College (Olin)

5) You Don’t Learn in Silos: “I’m increasingly—and positively—surprised by how interconnected the education is. In my admissions essays and the early core curriculum, I saw courses as being independent. Now I see the cross-linkages. For example, I have a class on the energy sector, and I find us pulling in optimization from my Analytics class, pricing from Microeconomics, negotiations strategy and tactics from Managing People—and all while working with a team in a way that has been informed by the experiential elements of Tuck. As well as a lot of other things, the MBA has been an exercise in refining my pattern recognition. I feel that when challenging technical, strategic, or moral issues come up in the future, I’ll be able to act more effectively because I’ve seen this movie before, and got to learn from professors, classmates, and my own triumphs and mistakes.”
Ben Marshall, Dartmouth College (Tuck)

6) Students Run The School: “What surprised me the most about business school was the extent to which initiatives are student-led, essentially influencing everything from clubs and travel to events and curriculum development. This hands-on approach empowered students to actively shape the school’s culture and educational experience. Johnson’s student-centered approach is inspiring and motivates you to discover ways to contribute to the community.”
Albert C. Matlock III, Cornell University (Johnson)

7) The Dress Code Is Pretty Lax: “Before business school, I dressed mostly in shorts and a T-shirt, so I thought I’d have to step up my fashion game on campus with my cosmopolitan classmates. In reality, the typical dress code at Haas is almost as chill as my aforementioned casual outfits. Every time I wear something from Brooks Brothers to class, people ask me if I’ve just come from a job interview!”
Whitner Chase, UC Berkeley (Haas)

 

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