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JULY 2001 MBA JOURNAL: B-SCHOOL REVIEW Stephane Goldsand: Reflections on the Overall MBA Experience "The MBA at Columbia matched and surpassed many of my expectations. More specifically, I knew that this was a very challenging graduate program but I must also say it happened to be even more demanding that I expected." B-School Assessment My CBS experience was very satisfactory and enabled me to grow as a person in numerous ways. First, my academic and professional foundations have been expanded considerably. Second, my interpersonal skills--specifically leadership and teamwork skills, as well as task and time management abilities -- have greatly improved in these past months. Moreover, the opportunity to interact with a very diverse group of students and learn from their professional and cultural backgrounds has broadened my overall business perspective. I believe there are several extremely valuable things that I will be taking with me from this experience. For starters, I now feel prepared to approach with confidence and credibility any business situation and give it my best shot by applying solid problem solving and analytical tools. In addition, the two years at CBS have provided me with not only a vast network of relationships for my future business career but also with precious friendships. Overall, an MBA from Columbia has given me the necessary training, business network, and legitimacy to thrive in an increasingly competitive business environment. That being said, one can always benefit in other ways from a B-school education. For instance, the fact that I participated in so many professional and social happenings, in addition to studying, represented an enriching challenge to my time management capabilities. The other side of that coin is that the time allocated to academic activities was sometimes limited. Furthermore, I sense that several steps could be taken to allow students to maximize their learning from class participation at business programs. For instance, the size of classes could be reduced to enable everyone to participate during case discussions. Also, professors could contribute more to raising the quality and not the frequency of students interventions. In my wish list, I would also have liked to enroll in more than five courses per semester to benefit from the innumerable topics that can be learned at business school, specifically in fields such as Finance and Economics. There are also many aspects of B-school that I will dearly miss. Possibly leading the list is the flexibility and unique environment that I enjoyed while a student at Columbia. My friends and professors will also be greatly missed. And although one of the things that I will miss the least is the scarcity of time, I am sure that I will also yearn for the adrenaline rush resulting from the frenetic pace of life of B-school. Humble Advice for Future Students The advantages of going to B-school are undeniable. However, many prospective students hesitate to enroll in a two-year program versus shorter programs, like those offered by many European schools. The energy, time, and financial investments are greater when going to two-year, U.S.-style programs. In my opinion, these short-term constraints are by far outweighed by the long-term opportunities offered by American MBA programs such as CBS. For students aimed at the top schools who hope for similar high academic standards and professional opportunities, it is very important to understand what differentiates each school. For example, the study environment, geographic location, and student diversity were very important for me when I decided to go to CBS. The MBA at Columbia matched and surpassed many of my expectations. More specifically, I knew that this was a very challenging graduate program but I must also say it happened to be even more demanding that I expected. I was also astonished by the dynamism of my classmates. After completing the MBA program, I can affirm that one of the main characteristics of MBAs is their energy and drive. Prospective and incoming business students should be prepared to dedicate themselves intensely to this program. As I exit the campus through Broadway, I can't help feeling nostalgic, but I'm also very motivated by what lies ahead. A realm of professional opportunities have now become available and owe it all to my Columbia Business School MBA. Graduation for my class at CBS took place a few weeks ago, and yes, we are finally MBAs. Even though we might not feel very different, our place in life has changed. Our business student phase has come to an end and it is time to move on to the next stage in our lives, where we will be responsible for applying the knowledge we have acquired and shine in our business careers: Welcome!  Get BusinessWeek directly on your desktop with our RSS feeds.  Add BusinessWeek news to your Web site with our headline feed. Click to buy an e-print or reprint of a BusinessWeek or BusinessWeek Online story or video. To subscribe online to BusinessWeek magazine, please click here. Learn more, go to the BusinessWeekOnline home page  | | JULY Learn about your online education options |
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