How to make the most of your MBA? Part 1/5

Now that a lot of whom I have known over the last couple of years are joining b-schools, I thought I would share a few of my insights. I would be breaking it down into these parts

1. Managing expectations during the first month
2. Targeting committees and clubs
3. Staying away from negativity pockets
4. Dealing with the stress of placements
5. Overall learning at a b-school

Managing Expectations during the first month:

The perception that you create in the first few days will stay with you throughout your next two years and beyond so keep that in mind!

First of all, CONGRATULATIONS! It is a significant achievement and for most of you, the best day of your life till now. For some of you, it is a transition from your workplace to college for some others, from one college to another. But this will be significantly different from any institute that you would have attended, in most cases. The first few days/months are going to be super-hectic and there might be times when you will be questioning your decision of joining the b-school in the first place.

Why do some students feel this way?

Imagine this: you are entering the b-school with a lot of pride, expectations, and a general sense of accomplishment that has gradually built up over the last few months. You have experiences the emotions of achieving something significant and have been lauded by friends, family, teachers, and institutes alike. And now you are suddenly in the company of peers who are equally good, if not better than you. How do you react?

During my first couple of days at FMS, I was quite overwhelmed with the quality of students. People used to look confident, talk fluently, dress up well, and had better skills than I. I came from a humble background and so, was slightly taken aback by all of this (although I had expected all of this to happen, it still took a couple of days to digest the actual thing). But gradually I realised that every one of us was there because of a reason, and that was that every one of us DESERVED it! If the panelists didn't believe I was going to survive the rigour of the b-school, they would not have selected me in the first place. So, I had to trust their judgment more than anything else. If you are feeling underconfident, do remind yourself that a lot of people believe that you can manage this!

The other thing that you will have to understand is the overall rigour of the first few weeks at a b-school. All the seniors are eager to share their knowledge with you and all the committees want to show you how good they are. And trust me, they are that good! And then, there is this romanticism associated with making freshers work for 16-18 hours in a day so that they "get ready for their corporate stints". All combined, you are going to spend sleepless nights for the first couple of weeks at least. I won't spoil major interactions that you will have at your institute but it is going to be intense. The best way to deal with this is to go with an open mind and a lot of energy so that you are not getting stressed out by all of this. And if you feel stressed, do talk to someone whom you think understands you instead of bearing it silently and building up resentment. That will be extremely dangerous for your mental well-being.

So bottom line, trust your seniors and faculty, and take the plunge. Learn the essential skills quickly and get into the company of people whom you can relate to and who are equally ambitious and driven and you will enjoy it more than you would have otherwise!