In part two of this series, we discussed the thrills of finding roommates and driving across country for relocation, the adventures and the excitement of orientation, as well as what to expect during the final two weeks before classes actually start. The journey continues…

Orientation provides a great opportunity to get to know your future classmates outside of the classroom. Depending on the size of your incoming class, you may or may not be able to meet everyone, but regardless, it is a prime opportunity to go out and meet those people that you will see walking the halls of the grad school buildings. However, once orientation is over, there is a chance that you may hardly ever see those people that you met, but again, this depends on the size of your incoming class.

It seems that most large MBA programs are similar in the set-up of class structure and curriculum. In general, most schools will divide the incoming class into sections and you will take the majority of your “core” classes (such as accounting, finance, marketing, statistics, etc.) with this same group of people. There are advantages and disadvantages to this set-up. The advantages include increased rapport among your classmates, better flow in lectures as the class becomes accustomed to student and instructor styles, and a great environment to really get to know your fellow classmates. The main disadvantage is that you don’t get to spend much time with other students in your program and you will probably notice that cliques begin to form. However, there are many other social activities that will provide you with opportunities to meet those students who are not in your section.

There is a funny feeling of anticipation on campus the first day of class, as no one knows really what to expect. There are students who have been out of school for ten years or more mixed in with students who were in undergrad not too long ago, providing for an environment of anxiety, excitement, and “fear” of the unknown Additionally, no one knows what to expect from the professors and whether or not they will be as boring as hell or very powerful and effective leaders. No matter what, the first day of school is very exciting and a great experience. There is nothing to worry about, except for the fact that you will likely already have reading, homework, or assignments to get started on.  This is what we came back for school for in the first place, so don’t be surprised if you get more work than you expected. After all, you are paying top dollar for your education (you might be on someone else’s dime, but someone is paying) so you might as well take it all in and enjoy it! You will likely have four or five classes (and again depends on your school, whether they are on semesters or quarters) that meet twice per week.

Odds are that you came back to school to switch careers and/or boost your resume to get a better job. Besides attending classes, doing homework, and socializing, you will probably be attending a lot of on-campus company presentations. There are many companies from all sorts of industries (management consulting, investment banking, marketing, investment management, etc) that come to many of the top MBA programs each fall to recruit for both full-time positions (for the second-year students) and for summer-internships. You career center will have a list of all the firms coming to campus and a schedule of when they will be presenting. If you want to be taken seriously in the recruiting process and in interviews, it is imperative to attend these events. They provide you with a wealth of information on the company and the industry, and employees from various levels come to share their experiences and discuss what types of projects you might be exposed to. It is extremely informative and beneficial and will help you decide if a company is your dream firm or some place that you do not want to work at. These presentations will enable you to meet recent grads from your school who you will be able to network with and build strong relationships that will no doubt serve you well further on down the interview process. If you network well, you can establish relationships with employees from your target companies that will lead to further interaction and encounters with them. Companies love people that are ambitious, informed and excited about the prospect of joining their company. Sometimes there are receptions following the presentations, complete with appetizers and beer and wine, which allow you to have more one-on-one conversations with firm employees.

You will find that fall quarter is a very busy time with class, extra-curriculars, and recruiting. It is a lot to handle sometimes, but it is important that you take the time to do it right. This means doing well in classes, taking the effort to meet as many new friends as possible, and also putting your best foot forward in recruiting so that you can obtain a fantastic summer-internship.

This article is the third in a series….please be on the lookout for the fourth piece, where we will discuss the summer-internship interview process, second semester, and other exciting thrills of your first year of an MBA program. It’ll be crazy fun, but watch out, the time flies by, soak it all in!!!! Soon you will be sitting at your desk during your summer internship wondering where the time went!

Read other articles in this series:

The Complete MBA Student Lifecycle, pt 1

The Complete MBA Student Lifecycle, pt 2

So, the lifecycle starts similar to this, err, well it’s really different for everybody. We have processed and finalized all our applications to the schools that any of us think we have a shot at (which by the way is so arbitrary because the admissions committees at all of the best schools are far too subjective for their own good; they’re can’t differentiate a grape and an elephant, or perhaps a turtle and a hare, a number of them just don’t obtain it. What I am saying is don’t be disappointed if you don’t get into one of your target schools, inspite of your “seamless” credentials, it is far more subjective than we will be able to realize). Now, that we have applied, we wait! While we wait, there are some things that we should remember that are fairly standard, no matter what school we end up going to….”is it a boy?!?”

First, there comes a point we must tell our bosses, supervisors and staff that we are leaving the company. Tears,yes, and much more tears, but that is reality. However you decide to cut the cord, it is respectful to give your company a proper heads up that you are leaving, a company that is paid that hard earned a salary. You owe it towards your company, and your superiors, to provide them ample period of time to interview and hire someone else to replace you. Honestly, it isn’t bad as it seems, and in fact, people are happy and glad for you that you are sane enough to realize and arrive to the decision that you don’t want to work with your company through out your days. Sure, you might not get the $100 Olive Garden gift certificate that you will probably receive for your 25 hard years of work, but don’t worry about it, once you leave business school, you’ll be sick of free lunches (and if you don’t realize this yet, you don’t belong in business school, as there is no such thing as free lunch!) You will be surprised how easy this day is and relieved you will feel whenever you tell everyone this news. Don’t fear the reaper, you might be replaceable after all, let’s get over this thought that we aren’t! The main point here, tell your boss and supervisor that you’re planning to go to a business school. Don’t burn bridges and don’t bite the hand that feeds you, even if it’s not for much longer.

Odds are, unless you are going to the Medieval State University School of Business, you will need a laptop for your next two years of higher education. Trust me, you will require it for all of the pictures, downloaded music, and surfing the web while sitting in a boring accounting class, if nothing else. Finances for a computer, and my advice is to network with your soon-to-be classmates (through class distribution lists, etc) to see if anyone has a discount with a regarded computer company (Dell or Lenovo are popular). Plan ahead, because you don’t want to arrive on campus, simply to hear that there was a problem together with your order that you placed 11 weeks ago. You will get behind immediately and you will be generally known as “that person without a computer, what a jerk, who doesn’t have a computer!?!” Also, sorry Mac lovers, Macs usually are not used in the business world, I would advise against getting a Mac.

Additionally, it is also a great time to start out thinking who you will be living in business school. If you have a significant other, then that is probably already decided, unless you want to be sleeping on the couch the night you have that conversation…and for the foreseeable future. It might be a good try to meet people out from your current city (if you reside in a big city, like NYC, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, etc) to know if you are suitable with anyone there that you’ll be going to school with. It is much easier to meet someone BEFORE you transfer in with them, the last thing you desire is an incompatible roommate, one which will be throwing beer cans against the wall at 5 in the morning, 6 nights a week. Some people might think this is an excellent thing, but we are now acquiring a “professional” degree, let’s not forget about that.