You could describe Timothy Hoffmann as a poet and a quant. At UCLA, he majored in Theater and minored in Global Studies. Early in his career, he worked as biotech strategy consultant, devoting his spare time to directing and acting. A bridge between the worlds of business, science, and arts, Hoffman viewed himself as something quite different after he joined IESE Business School.

An imposter.

At IESE, he found himself among the very best – “Brilliant people who seemed to be able to effortlessly do what felt herculean to me,” he says. In response, Hoffmann did everything he could to prove to himself that he belonged. He studied late every night, battling to perfect every assignment and master every detail. In the end, he became something else.

A burnout.

“I learned an enormous amount, but at a cost,” he admits. “I missed cultural events, lost touch with friends and family back home, and spent much of that first semester in an exhausted haze. I even resorted to taking naps between classes, career sessions, team assignments, and case prep on a bench hidden behind the small church at the back of the campus.

FROM BURNOUT TO BUY-IN

The turning point, Hoffmann says, came during a team feedback session. Here, classmates acknowledged he was doing great – but cautioned him not to be so hard on himself. Their message changed what he prioritized during his MBA going forward.

“I stopped trying to perfect every assignment and instead leaned into what makes me different, gave myself room to struggle with the topics that challenged me without burning out, and most importantly, made more time for the amazing people around me.”

Anureet Kaur Mann experienced a similar rite of passage at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School. Early on, she was equally impressed by her classmates – and inundated by activities and opportunities. She quickly stretched herself thin, terrified that she might “miss out” if she skipped anything. Like Hoffmann, she too wore herself out from the pressure to “be everywhere” and do everything.

“Over time, I learned to step back, focus on what truly mattered to me, and curate a path through the program that aligned with my personal and professional goals,” Kaur Mann explains. “This is the advice I share with anyone joining the school: know what you want to get out of your MBA, and don’t measure your experience by what others are doing.”

Wasted time. Dead ends. Missed opportunities. Squandered energy. They all make up the biggest regrets of MBAs. After all, business school is a six-figure expenditure – not to mention a year or two out of their lives. As first-years quickly learn, an MBA program is far more than exercises in honing skills, building networks, and impressing employers. Reality is, it is preparation for sizing up what really matters: managing time, setting priorities, conserving energy, and pivoting quickly. These are the hard-won lessons that ultimately maximize potential or curtail careers.

For the Class of 2028, school has just started. Among MBA applicants, there is still plenty of time to decided where to invest time and energy for the biggest return. Wondering what the biggest mistakes that students make in business school? We posed this question to the Best & Brightest MBAs and MBAs To Watch from the Class of 2026. Here are 20 things they would do over if they could go back in time.

1) Stopped Worrying About What Others Thought: “Looking back on my MBA experience, the one thing I would do differently is spend less time worrying about what others thought of me. Business school can be an intense environment, especially during recruiting, where it sometimes feels like everyone around you is moving forward with confidence. Early on, I occasionally found myself comparing what I was doing to others.

Over time, I realized that the most meaningful progress came when I focused less on external expectations and more on being authentic to who I am, including my strengths, my interests, and the way I like to approach challenges. Once I focused on that, everything started to come together more naturally, from academics to recruiting conversations and relationships with classmates.

Recruiting as an MBA can feel intimidating because so much seems to hinge on a few key conversations and decisions. What I learned through the process is that confidence grows when you stay grounded in your own story and values. If I could go back, I would remind myself earlier that this experience is ultimately my own journey, and that leaning into who I am, not trying to fit a perceived mold, is what leads to the best outcomes.”
Rebekah Koster, Brigham Young University (Marriott)

2) Accepted Less Than Perfection: “I’d try to stress a little less about being perfect and more about getting things done so I could go to sleep a little earlier. There were times when I couldn’t get myself to put something down and I exhausted myself in the process. A colleague once told me, “Perfect is the enemy of done.” I’ve gotten better at implementing that, but I’ve still got room to grow.”
Jennifer Sigl, UC San Diego (Rady)

3) Explored The Larger University: “One of the unique advantages of the Tepper School is being part of CMU, which is so strong not just in business, but also in engineering, arts, public policy, and much more. There are so many opportunities to collaborate across schools, and I wish I had leaned into that sooner. I eventually got involved in experiences like a collaboration with the School of Drama later in my first year, where we had a workshop session with a VP from Disney to talk about the importance of ethics in Disney operations. It was incredibly insightful and I wish I had attended these cross-school events earlier. That experience reminded me how valuable it is to be proactive and intentional about seeking opportunities beyond the classroom.”
Phrare Bhudharhita Teinwan, Carnegie Mellon University (Tepper)

4) Traveled Overseas: “Looking back, I wish I had taken one of Stern’s Doing Business In… courses abroad. I traveled a lot during business school and have incredible memories, but I didn’t fully take advantage of this one unique opportunity Stern offers. There’s something different about traveling with a large group of classmates, learning about international business during the day, and exploring a new city together at night. That kind of shared experience is hard to recreate later in life. When I saw friends on safari in Cape Town or wandering through Marrakech together, it wasn’t regret so much as a realization: this was a special window. Business school gives you the chance to experience the world alongside people who are all in the same season of life. If I could go back, I would make time to say yes to that, too.”
Justin Shalap, New York University (Stern)

5) Tested Out Entrepreneurship: “If I could do one thing differently, I would have leaned more heavily into the entrepreneurship resources available to me. As someone with a deep passion for building something of my own in biotech, I focused much of my MBA on core business fundamentals. This is something I don’t regret, but I could have complemented that foundation with more hands-on entrepreneurship experiences. Texas A&M has resources like the McFerrin Center for Entrepreneurship and courses focused on venture funding, business plan development, and startup operations that I didn’t fully take advantage of. One day, I plan to start my own company, and while the MBA gave me the strategic and financial toolkit to do so, I wish I had used my time here to also practice the mechanics of launching one.”
Marcus Glass, Texas A&M (Mays)

“Looking back on my MBA experience, one thing I would do differently is more seriously explore an entrepreneurial path. During business school, I developed several ideas that could meaningfully shape the dog rescue community, but I often treated them more as thought exercises than opportunities to build something real. With the benefit of hindsight, I would have spent more time pressure testing those ideas and seeing what it might look like to bring one of them to life. The experience has helped me realize that some of the most meaningful opportunities come from pursuing ideas you genuinely care about, even if the path forward is uncertain.”
Olivia Ahearn, Carnegie Mellon (Tepper)

6) Been Less Intimidated: “If I could go back, I would worry less about whether I was qualified for things. I see it in the new full-time MBA cohort now, when they are asking the same questions we were asking a year ago: “Can I do this if I have not done it before?” “Am I the right person for this role?” Somewhere in the last 15 months, I stopped asking for permission and started assuming I could figure it out. I wish I had made that shift earlier.”
Olga Melekhina, ESMT Berlin

7) Understood My Value Earlier: “Looking back, I wish I had more fully recognized that everything I bring to the table is an asset from the very first day of orientation. While in business school, in an eager attempt to absorb all the things I did not know, I sometimes overlooked the value of what I do know. The journey of business school education is not only about the absorption of knowledge, but a diffusion of knowledge as well. There is a balance to be found between learning from others and trusting your own perspective, which I have come to appreciate. In many ways, I went through a period of deconstruction, trying to reconstruct myself into a “successful” business leader before I had fully defined what success meant for me. That process, while uncomfortable, ultimately pushed me to think more critically about my own values and direction.

I also recognize that this experience is not unique. As my classmate Michael Beckson pointed out when we talked about this, that period of deconstruction — of questioning, absorbing, and evolving — is also what helps maintain humility. In that sense, what I would do differently is not avoid the process entirely, but approach it with more confidence in what I already bring, while remaining open to growth.”
Jasdeep Kaur Dulay, Washington University (Olin)

“Looking back, the one thing I would do differently is to see myself as a leader sooner. When I began my MBA, I didn’t necessarily walk in identifying that way. I focused on contributing, working hard, and supporting my teams, but I didn’t always claim leadership as part of my identity.

What surprised me was how often classmates naturally looked to me to lead. Across different teams and settings, I found myself being nominated or encouraged into leadership roles, even when I hadn’t actively claimed them. It made me realize that leadership isn’t always self-declared; sometimes it’s reflected back to you by the people you work with.

If I could revisit my first year, I would step into that identity earlier, rather than waiting for external validation. The experience taught me that leadership is less about having a title and more about the way you show up. Now, I choose to show up with greater ownership and confidence.”
Karla Camarillo Huitron, University of Rochester (Simon)

8) Stayed Connected with Loved Ones: “The UK is only a five-hour time difference from the East Coast, and I know I could have made more effort. I’ve always valued staying close to friends around the world, but at times I let the busyness of the MBA create distance from my core support system. In hindsight, I wish I had been more committed to protecting that time and nurturing the relationships that mean so much to me.”
Megan Dirgins, Warwick Business School

9) Been More Intentional With My Time: “If I could go back to Day One, I would give myself permission to do less, but with more intention. No one prepares you for the sheer volume of choices an MBA throws at you: competing social events, high-stakes networking, leadership roles like the MBAT, and a constant stream of career paths. In the beginning, I fell into the trap of trying to do it all. I wanted to be the perfect student, the most active networker, and the most present friend – all at once. However, I quickly realized that when you try to be everywhere, you aren’t truly anywhere. I saw the toll it took on my peers—and myself—leading to a cycle of being overwhelmed and, frankly, not delivering my best work to my teams.

The MBA taught me a hard but vital lesson in opportunity cost. I learned that the most effective leaders aren’t those who say “yes” to everything, but those who are intentional about where they place their focus. If I could start over, I would navigate those early months with that clarity from the start, choosing three things to do exceptionally well rather than ten things to do passably. Understanding that “no” is a complete sentence was the most valuable leadership tool I gained, and I wish I had used it sooner.”
Luis Dominguez Guillot, HEC Paris

“I tend to say yes to anything that feels like a learning opportunity (which is most things!). Coming into business school and recruiting across tech, startups, and VC, that approach led to a first semester of breadth over depth. I don’t regret the curiosity or what it taught me, but I was overextended and would have been better off being more realistic about my priorities. That would have helped me go deeper sooner and invest more quality time in the areas I’m now most passionate about. Learning to say no and protect my time better is still a skill I’m actively building, but Stern has given me the environment to practice it without losing momentum.”
Suchi Patel, New York University (Stern)

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