While most of the preparation before enrolling in any graduation is quite similar, management graduation may require focused preparedness.

Plan the place of stay

While most B-schools in India offer hostel facilities, the non-residential students who come from other cities need to find accommodation for the program’s tenure.

While renting an apartment, one must consider

• Paying the rent in full vs. sharing the accommodation.
• Organizing groceries/cleaning/facilities for the duration of stay

The above factors might depend on the budget and affordability. Some cities have exorbitant rent and living expenses. Sharing the accommodation and costs makes sense in such cases. The flip side of sharing is compromising privacy.

Be organized

Organize physical belongings like clothes, accessories, devices, batteries, toiletries, or anything youwould use during the program. Keeping personal items organized in a closet makes finding them easy.

Time management

Top B-schools like the IIMs dole out notes on cases and topics that the lectures cover in class. Students must study the relevant notes before every class and analyze the same post the class.

Pre-reading is crucial to the program, and students must take them seriously.

Ensuring one has factored an excellent use of his/her time for personal chores between classes, pre and post-class preparation is not an option.

Be proactive

According to Bernie Klinder, Serial Entrepreneur, Investor, Consultant, if the first exposure to a topic is in the classroom, the student is doomed to failure. Pre-reading is not an option. Getting one’s money’s worth is preparing to discuss the topic with the professor.To leverage the professor’s knowledge by asking relevant questions, one must know the subject’s prior knowledge.

Understand the cohort and faculty

Students in B-schools move in cohorts for classes and projects. Getting to know one’s mates smoothens the sessions. Whetting one’s communication skills to build a good rapport with the affiliate is crucial to the smooth sailing of team projects besides bringing other advantages. Taking collaborative notes with the cohort enhances everyone’s perspective on a topic.

Networking

Polish social skills to build a good network. Batch mates, faculty, alumni, and industry veterans meet in B-school to form a collaborative, long-term, professional network. Networking with the right people adds to a graduates’ professional life significantly.

Prepare to volunteer

Volunteering to establish clubs, build projects, or organize events makes a graduate the cynosure of the batch. Learning to multitask will help establish one’s credentials as e “go-to” person for the various events in the program.   

Do not hesitate to seek help

While offering help is a way to earn brownie points, many people hesitate to ask for help. Help required could be medical emergencies or study-related. People seeking help are not all weaklings. Different persons may require different kinds of help at other times. Seeking help when in need is the wise move of the hour.

Give the resume a make-over

Summer internships and job placements come from various organizations. Keeping the resume updated and impressive can earn internships and job offers from top companies.

Enroll in short term courses

Taking online courses on specific areas like data analytics, finance, marketing, etc., adds value to the resume while grasping some of the subjects in the program.

Acuminate Microsoft office and other skills

Honing excel and PowerPoint would go miles in assignments and projects that the program mandates. Working smooth office skills is essential to survival in the program.

Learning to work with programs like Evernote, OneNote, or Google Docs lets one share and edit documents in real-time annotated with images, sketches, and video. These programs provide ease in searching images, supply/demand curves, charts, finance equations, and other examples into notes

Read

Reading is a given. What one reads is the key to graduating successfully. One must read business-related books and journals and keep abreast of the latest developments in the corporate world.

Stock up formals

While some organizations may not mandate formal dressing, a few companies require employees and MBA students on internships and projects to dress formally at their locations. The program may also have events that prescribe a formal dress code. Formal suits, complete with accessories, become part of a student’s MBA program.

Research the school

Visiting the school’s website to learn about its history and achievements lets one know the school and its philosophy. Learning about the school’s campus and what t offers helps in knowing where to find what one needs anytime. It is also crucial to read about the institute in the press and know what the world says about it. Connecting with the alumni is another step in understanding more about the B-school and the program.

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