At the very onset, I want to make one thing clear: Getting good grades doesn’t need to be a top-priority for everyone in an MBA program. There can be various other equally or even better goals. This piece, however, is written only for those who have chosen academic performance as a key priority for their MBA journey.
Throughout B-school, we develop new friendships, find amazing opportunities through club activities and case competitions and expand our horizons. All this is great for personal & social development, but it may put us on backfoot academically.
Despite the heavy focus on IIM placements by students and media alike, Good grades can open many doors in an MBA program. There are several scholarships for which only top-rankers are eligible. You also have better job prospects in final placements. And if you do exceptionally well, You also can be one of the only five students in a batch to have your name engraved on the wall of the administrative building of IIM Calcutta for eternity.
Since attaining Institute Rank-3 at IIM Calcutta this year, I get requests from first year students from the upcoming batch for advice on getting good grades. While I enjoy having hour-long calls helping my new friends, I believe the MBA student community at large can benefit from such tips.
Here are the six strategies to deploy for getting good grades at b-school:-
1.Never Miss the class.
There are tons of things you can do at IIMs. Join student clubs, participate in business competitions, have parties & outings and what not. However there are only 2 things that you need to do. One is placement activities, the other academics.
While most placements activities are compulsory and there is considerable external and internal drive towards performing it, academics takes a back seat among these distractions. Hence, this is the one rule that you should follow no-matter-what: Always attend classes and be attentive. There is no activity that MBA admin allows to any club or placement team during class-hours. Neither should you in your own time schedule. If you study attentively in class, half of your work is done then and there only.
2.Stay Organized
As you must have already learned, MBA is all about multi-tasking and deadlines. And all deadlines are sacrosanct. Hence, make sure to be active on the student online groups to check for upcoming deadlines as well as maintain your own schedule on apps such as Todoist, G Calendar. Also, keep your study material - books, cases, class notes and assignments organized. You will need these for future quizzes and end-term examinations.
3.Manage your time
If there is one difference between MBA colleges and undergraduate, it is this. There are always multiple important things (events, exams, deadlines, placement preparations) that require your attention. And none can be missed. Hence, there will be times when you have to make a trade-off and balancing act can’t work. And as Dumbeldore has once told Harry Potter “It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities” - you will also need to make a choice.
Generally, the top-rankers choose academics over others. Also, remember that if you miss homework once, it is missed forever, at least in the first term. Managing time hence means two things: One is keeping priorities straight so that making trade-offs becomes easy. The other being maintaining a daily schedule and sticking to it.
4.Listen and participate in class
As stated earlier, You may have many reasons to join the MBA program. But I am sure learning about business and management is surely one of them. And irrespective of whether you want good grades or not, there is no better place than class to learn at a b-school. IIM Calcutta has superb professors with tons of experience- both in academia and consulting. Hence, you shouldn’t miss the opportunity to interact with them.
A curious student doesn’t need just class participation marks in order to listen and contribute to the class discussion. Also, the fancy term- Peer Learning actually consists of classroom group discussions too (though I have no doubt that midnight parties are also an important part of it ;) ).
5. Study, Study, Study
Doing exceptionally well in academics at IIMs can be a little alienating experience. You might miss on various parties, student activities, events and what not. But you need not worry. There are ample opportunities in 2nd year to participate wholly in these activities.
Hardwork and focus are understated qualities. They seem boring. But as Lionel Messi has once said, "I start early and I stay late, day after day, year after year, it took me 17 years and 114 days to become an overnight success.” Thus, have faith, work hard and you shall achieve the fruits. One practical tip here is to attend tutorials organized by students TAs (teaching assistants). They offer sound advice on syllabus & tips on exams.
6. Consistency is the Key
A final piece of advice and the glue that keeps the other 5 together is to ensure consistency. Don’t be studying 8 hours a day for the first few weeks and then being lethargic for the entire term.
Whenever a new term begins, there is a new hope amongst many students. With that hope comes motivation to do well in this fresh term. Most of these students have one thing in common. You will find them on the frontlines benches for the first few weeks and then lost somewhere on the last benches thereafter. If you want to have good academic performance, this cycle of super-high ups and super-low downs is disastrous. Rather focus on building long-habits (Say, 4 hours a day or until that day’s assignments are done) that you can keep for longer. It is a marathon, a very long yet still short, and not a sprint.
I got these tips from the top academic performers of the batch senior to me. I practiced them myself in first year and also observed other top-rankers implementing these. It truly works. Hence, all I have done in this article is share the inherited knowledge to the next batch. I hope that you not only read, but also execute this advice.
