Getting a Running Start at B-School

There's not a lot of time to waste in business school. Here are 10 tips for making the most of your first semester

by Alison Damast

Like many first-year students, Shahnaz Shushtari walked onto Cornell's Johnson School campus last fall thinking she had the right game plan for her first semester of business school. Eager to be involved in campus activities, she signed up for 15 clubs during the activity fair the first week of school, including golf, wine, and outdoors. She quickly realized she had gotten in over her head. "When a classmate pulled me aside and asked me how many clubs I signed up for and I couldn't say them in one breath, I knew I was in trouble," says Shushtari, who spoke at an orientation last week for first years about lessons she learned as a wet-behind-the-ears MBA student.

Predicaments like Shushtari's are all too common for a first-year MBA struggling to gain her footing the early weeks of school. The first semester can be overwhelming for students, the majority of whom have been out in the workforce, on average, three to five years. They need to readjust to being a student while simultaneously networking with classmates and strategizing for their careers. Add to that the temptation of joining the dozens of student clubs, and it's easy to see why students feel stressed their first semester, says Peggy Bishop Lane, deputy vice-dean of the graduate division at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School. "The whole thing, it is one big balancing game," Lane says. "How do you get to do it all?"

Hitting the ground running your first semester is possible, but it takes some careful planning. Here are 10 tips from administrators, professors, and second years on how newbies can navigate the first semester, balance their lives, and stand out among their peers.

Get reacclimated to being a student. Most B-school students likely haven't sat in a classroom for several years, except maybe as a student in a GMAT preparation class. After a long stint as a working professional, switching gears from a high-powered career achiever to student is tougher than one might think.

To ease into the transition, focus solely on being a student for the first week or two of school. Spend the majority of your time on homework and class readings; joining school clubs and signing up for career workshops can come later, says Ray Hernandez, a second year at the University of Virginia's Darden School of Business who worked for 10 years before pursuing an MBA. "Business schools stress so much on work experience that you sometimes forget what it was like to be a student," he says. "Get through a solid week of school because it is easy to underestimate the amount of time you need for study and preparation."

Don't overcommit. Shushtari, the Cornell student, eventually had to eliminate most of the 15 clubs she joined, which allowed her to focus her energy on a handful more relevant to her career goals. It was a necessary step that allowed her to rise to leadership positions in groups such as the business school's student council and the women's management club.

Talk to other students or club leaders to gauge the time commitment required by certain organizations. Some require you to put in a certain number of hours every week, whereas others only have an occasional monthly meeting. Put yourself on a club's e-mail list if you think you don't have time to attend meetings, a move that lets you be selective about the events you attend, Shushtari recommends. "You'll serve yourself and the students you're working with better if you can focus your energy on the activities that you are really passionate about," she says. "That will give you the most learning and gratification."