How to Excel During Your MBA Studies

[magellan1]

The master of finance and management are two of the most prestigious and sought-after programs. Completing one of the two courses at a top business school will significantly improve your career prospects and impact positively your future salary. If you have already obtained a perfect GMAT score, nailed the interview, passed the admission process and are accepted to a master's program, you might wonder what to do next. I obtained a master's degree with the highest score from 3 of the best universities in the world and will share some tips based on my experience.

1) Have clear goals from the beginning
You can do a master's degree for many different reasons such as fulfilling a job requirement, career transition, personal development, or making new friends. Master's degrees are relatively short and your time as a student will pass very fast. You don’t want to waste any precious time and should start working towards your goals as soon as possible. For example, go to the career center, familiarize yourself with all company events and network with Alumni from your university starting from the first weeks if you want to get a very competitive job

2) Have a strategy
There are different paths to completing your master's degree with flying colors and none of them is right or wrong. The first path is to choose the easiest subjects, obtain high grades with the minimum effort possible and focus on other aspects of student life such as networking, job preparation/applications or entertainment, The second path is to choose the most difficult but rewarding courses. Some quantitative finance courses can be very challenging and require a lot of work but they can open doors to jobs with higher salaries and lower competition. The third path is to just choose the courses that you like no matter how easy, prestigious or popular they are. I recommend this path because if you enjoy the subject you will excel in it, no matter the level of difficulty.

3) Attend the course lectures
I know that this sounds very simple but I had dozens of classmates who didn’t go to lectures that did not have attendance lists and preferred studying on their own for exams. You could do that but it is very unlikely that you will get one of the highest grades in the class. There are several reasons for that. Firstly, professors remember the most active students and tend to increase their grades on oral exams and even on written exams if they can somehow make an association between the exam answer sheets and the students. Secondly, teachers like to include in the exams questions that were covered extensively in the lectures and not so much in the study materials. Thirdly, often there are additional points that are awarded based on group projects, class participation, presentations and other activities.

4) Use the notes of the best student
Everyone has a slightly different way of processing information, some people are extremely systematic, careful and detail-oriented. If you are not such a person, find out who is the best note-taker in your class and use his/her notes for studying.

5) Don’t postpone the difficult subjects
Sometimes you will encounter subjects that are new to you and you do not understand them well (for example Options and Derivatives). The natural reaction of many people in such situations is to focus on the other subjects and procrastinate (postpone the difficult ones for later). However, things only get harder as more time passes and in the end, those students find themselves in a situation where it is extremely difficult to catch up. To avoid this, one should deal with the problematic courses and seek help as soon as possible.

6) Try to build good relationships with professors
Some elective courses at the graduate level are very specific and quite small. In some cases, a class can have less than 15 students and there can be a very intense interaction between the professor and the students that foster more meaningful personal relationships. Many professors are not pure academicians and have senior positions or work part-time for highly reputable firms. They can recommend you and help your advance career if you go to their office hours, send them emails with questions and make a good impression. Building a strong relationship is even more important if you plan to stay in academia and pursue a Ph.D.

University is the best time of life for many people and you should enjoy it while it lasts. Don’t overthink it and don’t forget to have fun!​

 

[JustAnotherHuman1]

Thanks for sharing. I especially agree with your last sentence, which is quite true as life gets exponentially more serious after graduating from uni, for some people anyway (which is difficult to realize at the time as it may seem so far away but is a fact). Also, overthinking to the point of not taking action is actually a common error to make, yes, sometimes things are outside your control but you should focus on giving whatever it is your doing your best shot to the best of your abilities and knowledge at the time and hope for the best outcome.

Although it is important to get good grades I wouldn't overestimate the importance of it. Sure, you become smarter and it looks good on resume and maybe 3. if you want to get a PhD after at a top institution and/or work in academia. Your grade really won't make a difference as long as you pass and your degree is earned from a reputable university. You'll get interviews. Would you agree with this, as in, grades are a lot less important for a masters than for undergraduate, where job offers are always conditional on achieving at least a degree classification of 2:1 (equivalent of a 3.5 GPA)?

Don't get me wrong: a perfect GPA looks great but there is really much more to doing a masters than that. I'd actually argue networking is a huge part of of making the most out of your investment. Maintaining relationships takes time and effort and is especially difficult to do post-graduation due to not being in the same geographical location, but there is many ways this is more worthwhile, in ways you would never expect, and with a better reward than if you spent the same time on studying or wasting time (not leisure time, mind you, which is equally important). Perhaps it's not intuitive as you could get by without really talking to a lot of people in your university (not only your course), and still graduate with amazing grades, this is really missing an important point of doing an MBA.

Moreover, once out of the programme, you will find that it is much harder to meet likeminded people of the same age (except for your colleagues at the company where you work at, of course), but the class size in higher education is a lot more diverse and a lot bigger than the same pool at your workplace.

Do you have any self study tips? I guess everyone is different but what has worked for you?

 

[curious_finance1]

I myself recently finished the MBA program, and couldn't agree more on the above, especially the last sentence ... Definitely enjoy the experience! What I can say now a few years after graduation, I would add to be more engaging with what is happening at the school or in campus, so you really get to enjoy every bit of your time during the university, honestly do not waste it.
In terms of career development, attend as many workshops and self-development seminars, look out for the careers office and build as many relationships and network as possible, you have no idea how valuable even one of those could be!
At the same time, the master program I considered it to try out to improve some things on myself that I didn't previously consider, and that because you encounter different situations, with international peers and working culture, so what other best time to test yourself and your limits? Honestly go all out during the university time, there is no time like it!

 

[magellan1]

Thanks for sharing. I especially agree with your last sentence, which is quite true as life gets exponentially more serious after graduating from uni, for some people anyway (which is difficult to realize at the time as it may seem so far away but is a fact). Also, overthinking to the point of not taking action is actually a common error to make, yes, sometimes things are outside your control but you should focus on giving whatever it is your doing your best shot to the best of your abilities and knowledge at the time and hope for the best outcome.

Although it is important to get good grades I wouldn't overestimate the importance of it. Sure, you become smarter and it looks good on resume and maybe 3. if you want to get a PhD after at a top institution and/or work in academia. Your grade really won't make a difference as long as you pass and your degree is earned from a reputable university. You'll get interviews. Would you agree with this, as in, grades are a lot less important for a masters than for undergraduate, where job offers are always conditional on achieving at least a degree classification of 2:1 (equivalent of a 3.5 GPA)?

Don't get me wrong: a perfect GPA looks great but there is really much more to doing a masters than that. I'd actually argue networking is a huge part of of making the most out of your investment. Maintaining relationships takes time and effort and is especially difficult to do post-graduation due to not being in the same geographical location, but there is many ways this is more worthwhile, in ways you would never expect, and with a better reward than if you spent the same time on studying or wasting time (not leisure time, mind you, which is equally important). Perhaps it's not intuitive as you could get by without really talking to a lot of people in your university (not only your course), and still graduate with amazing grades, this is really missing an important point of doing an MBA.

Moreover, once out of the programme, you will find that it is much harder to meet likeminded people of the same age (except for your colleagues at the company where you work at, of course), but the class size in higher education is a lot more diverse and a lot bigger than the same pool at your workplace.

Do you have any self study tips? I guess everyone is different but what has worked for you?

Thanks for the questions.
I think that grades are somewhat important. It is true that having high grades does not guarantee you anything in life but it is signaling to employers that you are better than other people (at least academically). The reason for this can be that you work harder, have a higher IQ, memorize faster or something else. In my experience, a GPA below 2:1 shows that a person has some problems - laziness, lack of focus, low IQ, poor discipline, etc.
For me personally, studying independently in the library using my notes and summaries was the most effective method. I have tried many things including group studying, studying at home, attending lectures and reading books but I found it difficult to focus, identify and memorize perfectly the most important information if there were some distractions around me like other people or noise. I have friends who studied mostly in groups and did well. Every person is different and needs to find what works best for him/her.

 

[JustAnotherHuman1]

Thanks for the questions.
I think that grades are somewhat important. It is true that having high grades does not guarantee you anything in life but it is signaling to employers that you are better than other people (at least academically). The reason for this can be that you work harder, have a higher IQ, memorize faster or something else. In my experience, a GPA below 2:1 shows that a person has some problems - laziness, lack of focus, low IQ, poor discipline, etc.
For me personally, studying independently in the library using my notes and summaries was the most effective method. I have tried many things including group studying, studying at home, attending lectures and reading books but I found it difficult to focus, identify and memorize perfectly the most important information if there were some distractions around me like other people or noise. I have friends who studied mostly in groups and did well. Every person is different and needs to find what works best for him/her.

Agreed, however the point I tried to make was that the marginal utility one gets from knowing 10 more people vs a .1 GPA bump is a lot higher, that’s all.