It was a big letdown. It was only week 1 and I was already wondering whether I had signed up for the wrong thing. Perhaps I had not read the fine print. The campus was located miles from the city, the weather was preposterously humid and food seemed awful. Other fellow students seemed solemn and reserved. Well, I knew better than to judge a book by its movie or a college by its first week.
So hardly a week into my 1st semester at IIM Shillong, and I could feel all the pressure falling on my shoulders. Academics, inductions, corporate competitions, assignments - all appearing at once. That is when I realized what is the rigour of a B-school like. I believe every MBA student goes through this phase and many of them start questioning their decision to take up MBA and their ability to survive this hectic process. So let me share some of my personal experiences so far in IIM Shillong and give a few tips on how to better manage your time and yourself in a b-school, especially in the 1st Semester.
A new phase of my life began on the 27th June, 2017 when I received an e-mail mentioning the much-awaited confirmation of my admission into the Indian Institute of Management, Kashipur. It is known for its location advantage of being situated in one of the most densely industrialized regions in the country with over 180 industries having plants in and around the region. I had a short window to complete my further proceedings and life was never the same since then as I had my first challenge of managing my time constructively even before stepping into the college. I was already getting introduced to the slogan of the institute, which focusses on ‘Learning by Doing.’ I had a baggage of emotions primly being determined to perform at "The" place and that was accompanied a little bit of constructive anxiety.
For most MBA students, the b-school journey often starts on a very stereotypical note. It happens in an instant… stressful competitive exams, interviews in starchy formals and then suddenly you’re in! Almost overnight, your bags are packed to leave home. That’s when the gravity of it all hits you. This is it.
Once upon a time attending an early morning class at 10'o clock, half asleep I relentlessly scrounged through my case study looking for that paragraph. The one that is expected to be discussed next. Skimming through myriads of lines, I finally bumped on to something. As soon as the teacher moved to the next expected topic; my hands went up high. High enough to stand tall to talk about that one paragraph I read in class. That's the story of almost every class about "How I participated in Class Participation."
“There’s too much to do but not enough time.”
“How will you manage yourself at a b-school if you are this quiet? Do you really have it in you to do MBA?” Had there been an offline question tracker this would have made the ‘Top 10 questions asked by people’ list at least for me. Now, of course, I can answer these questions. But at that time I was clueless like many other aspirants are.
As per the general lingo, adapted for a B-School environment, "Everything that shines isn't a B-School". Is that true?
It was a big letdown. It was only week 1 and I was already wondering whether I had signed up for the wrong thing. Perhaps I had not read the fine print. The campus was located miles from the city, the weather was preposterously humid and food seemed awful. Other fellow students seemed solemn and reserved. Well, I knew better than to judge a book by its movie or a college by its first week.
So hardly a week into my 1st semester at IIM Shillong, and I could feel all the pressure falling on my shoulders. Academics, inductions, corporate competitions, assignments - all appearing at once. That is when I realized what is the rigour of a B-school like. I believe every MBA student goes through this phase and many of them start questioning their decision to take up MBA and their ability to survive this hectic process. So let me share some of my personal experiences so far in IIM Shillong and give a few tips on how to better manage your time and yourself in a b-school, especially in the 1st Semester.
A new phase of my life began on the 27th June, 2017 when I received an e-mail mentioning the much-awaited confirmation of my admission into the Indian Institute of Management, Kashipur. It is known for its location advantage of being situated in one of the most densely industrialized regions in the country with over 180 industries having plants in and around the region. I had a short window to complete my further proceedings and life was never the same since then as I had my first challenge of managing my time constructively even before stepping into the college. I was already getting introduced to the slogan of the institute, which focusses on ‘Learning by Doing.’ I had a baggage of emotions primly being determined to perform at "The" place and that was accompanied a little bit of constructive anxiety.
For most MBA students, the b-school journey often starts on a very stereotypical note. It happens in an instant… stressful competitive exams, interviews in starchy formals and then suddenly you’re in! Almost overnight, your bags are packed to leave home. That’s when the gravity of it all hits you. This is it.
Once upon a time attending an early morning class at 10'o clock, half asleep I relentlessly scrounged through my case study looking for that paragraph. The one that is expected to be discussed next. Skimming through myriads of lines, I finally bumped on to something. As soon as the teacher moved to the next expected topic; my hands went up high. High enough to stand tall to talk about that one paragraph I read in class. That's the story of almost every class about "How I participated in Class Participation."
“There’s too much to do but not enough time.”
“How will you manage yourself at a b-school if you are this quiet? Do you really have it in you to do MBA?” Had there been an offline question tracker this would have made the ‘Top 10 questions asked by people’ list at least for me. Now, of course, I can answer these questions. But at that time I was clueless like many other aspirants are.
As per the general lingo, adapted for a B-School environment, "Everything that shines isn't a B-School". Is that true?
