How to sail through in the 1st Year of MBA?

After an arduous journey into the world of CAT or other MBA related entrances, it feels like Alice’s wonderland once you’re inducted into the prestigious B-schools of your choice.

As the deliquescent honeymoon phase soon vanishes into the thin air, it is the time to face some not so sugar-coated realities. We often hear it from students that the 1st-year in a B-school can be one of the semi-herculean obstacles to overcome. But is it that difficult?

My answer to this question would be like that of a hangman! Yes, it is difficult simultaneously it is full of fun.

To understand my answer which betrays both the extreme spirits of ‘Yes’ and ‘No’, I shall substantiate it in the following lines:

Peers of multiple Age-groups

“Birds of a feather flock together.”

This old English proverb proved to be genuine until you joined the MBA course. Since we are accustomed to peers of same age till our graduation, it hardly matters for us, what others think of this world? Our view is quite narrow and peevish till then and suddenly we are put together with students who had been ex-professionals, mature with a family and added responsibility, naturally, there will be moments when we will find it difficult and our ideas won’t match and this is what an MBA course wants us to understand.

The course prepares students to become future business leaders, who will have an arsenal of professionals under their command. One needs to be well-prepared beforehand to tackle such a situation by keeping the Larger picture in mind.

Clarity reigns over Competition

‘Competition’ has been mostly associated with vicious ‘Ego’, but do you think they ought to match? Simply ‘NO’. Competition is a sport which can help you to know more about yourself, in the form of your strength and weaknesses so there is no point in bringing the Ego in between, since, most of the time your rival and you would take up completely separate opportunities.

However, one thing that reigns over Competition is Clarity. Clarity is the state when you’re sure about the things that you’re doing and not merely being part of a universal Rat Race. Often times students in B-schools get confused with too many opportunities, student engagement initiatives etc, and end up taking part in many and still cannot escape confusion. If this happens, it should be taken as a warning bell for going astray.

It is not necessary to run after many things but tread on one thing and execute that with ease, this will certainly make you feel more confident and focussed.

Treading an Unknown territory of Competitions

B-schools has a perfect gamy with various competitions organised by big corporate houses as a part of their employer branding. While it benefits the organisation to get in fresh talents on-board and it opens the students to a new world of opportunities and sees the theory that they study in practice.

Often times, these budding business professionals have no clue about how to approach the case studies of the various competitions, business simulation games etc. Students can opt for a prior planning and engage in a small research to find out the requirements and also read about big brands and sites like Dare2Compete has a plethora of articles and videos of professionals in this regard.

Sudden Rise in Engagement

Students often experience as if a sudden gust of strong wind struck them and made their life super engaging. Simply ‘Accept it’. You’re in a Business course and it has consumer as its heart so it has to be engaging.

Take this as an opportunity to understand as many people and their views as you can, for it will help you in your impending professional life.

Rise in Expectations

Over the years with the entry of multinationals, MBA has become a niche course to be pursued. This naturally increases expectations not only personal level but on an external level as well. However, live a simple life and do not get bogged down, you’re doing something out of purpose and with your steady effort, you will achieve success. Think that it is just another course that people pursue.

Studies have shown that over utilizing your brain does not prove beneficial to bring out new innovative ideas, so it will really smart to live a normal life and not get carried away.

I hope that this article will help you prepare in advance and sail through this all-new experience.“ Life is a continuous surge into unknown experiences, just be with the flow and accept everything new to become the sturdiest one."