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AUGUST 2003
MBA JOURNAL: B-SCHOOL REVIEW Drew & Megan Hess: Reflections on the Overall MBA Experience "One of the biggest mistakes we saw people make is taking things a bit too seriously...Just do the best you can and take time off from your studies to play, to work out, to travel, and to hang out with friends." Drew & Megan's Top Ten Lessons for Prospective MBA Students 1.) Know what you are getting yourself into. Before you decide to enter a full-time MBA program, be sure to thoroughly weigh the risks and rewards of this endeavor. Becoming a student again is a major life change, so make sure that this is the right time and the right decision for both you and your family. An MBA is a valuable investment in your future, but it has short-term trade offs. There should be a warning label on the MBA welcome packet that says: Side effects may include exhaustion, sleep deprivation, weight gain, sudden interest in the Wall Street Journal, and the frequent use of strange phrases like "liquidating non-core assets" or "evoked set of product attributes". 2.) Choose wisely. If you have a particular focus, start your MBA search with the top ranked programs in that area. Your job hunt upon graduation will be much easier. Employers recruit at different schools for different departments, so it pays to major in a subject area where your program excels. It is also important to look beyond the rankings. Sometimes quality of life and scholarship opportunities are more important than rankings. The most important thing is to look for a program where you are comfortable with the faculty, staff, and students. A campus visit is critical to making a wise choice. 3.) Ace the GMAT. Part of choosing wisely is having choices in the first place. Do not underestimate how important GMAT scores are to the application process. The GMAT is a test that can be mastered, but it does take a lot of studying. If you cannot score in the mid-700's then do not even waste your money applying to a top ten MBA program. 4.) Save those pennies. Save/borrow more than you think you will need. Books, course packets, and all of those mandatory university fees add up quickly. 5.) Get outside your comfort zone. Texas A&M Marketing Professor, Jeff Conant shared this piece of advice with us on our first day, and it has certainly proven to be valuable. Think about the MBA program as a fresh start and a once in a lifetime chance to try new things, meet new people, and do things that you previously unnerved you. It is hard work to try to change your ways, but the rewards are worth it. 6.) Involve your significant other. It may surprise many of you to know that we believe it is easier to be a couple in an MBA program than it is to have a spouse or significant other who is not a student. Our married friends whose spouses were not in the program certainly felt more stress in their relationships. Most had uprooted their families to new cities and asked their spouses to support them financially while they got to enjoy what is, for the most part, a really fantastic experience. From the outside, the MBA schedule seems strange (why do you need all of these late night team meetings?) and the workload far preferable to the usual nine to five grind. In short, try to make things easier by including your significant other in social events, keeping a regular schedule, and by setting aside time where you promise not to talk or think about school. 7.) Work hard and play hard. One of the biggest mistakes we saw people make is taking things a bit too seriously. The professors assign a lot of work and have very high standards, so it is easy to spend all of your time with your nose in a book and still not get everything done. Just do the best you can and take time off from your studies to play, to work out, to travel, and to hang out with friends. We wish we'd done that more. 8.)Seek out the best your school has to offer. Do not feel as though you have to stick to the traditional MBA curriculum. Take classes from the best professors, regardless of the subject matter. Study abroad, if your school offers it. Whatever your university is especially proud of (even if it's football), experience it. You can really broaden your perspective with these extracurricular activities. 9.) Make the program work for you. In order to get the most out of our MBA, you have to be proactive. This means that you have to take the initiative to plan your career and then work with the career center to line up the right interviews. You have to decide what classes you want to take and then work with the administration to get you into them. The proactive students always got more out of the program and invariably left everyone else wondering what made them so special. They weren't special; they just knew how to ask for what they wanted! 10.) Be entrepreneurial. We believe that every MBA student should write a business plan. Offer your services to a local start up or take an entrepreneurship class. Better yet, start your own business. Testing your knowledge and skills in the real world is the best way to draw together everything that you have learned over the course of the program. It will give you confidence and prepare you for what ever is next. Post Script: Drew and Megan are now living in Atlanta, Georgia where Drew will be getting a Ph.D. in Strategic Management from Georgia Tech. Megan has accepted an offer from Deloitte & Touche to work as a Senior Associate in the Financial Advisory Services practice. 
BW MALL
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