Life On The Other Side Of The Wall: B-School Edition | XLRI Jamshedpur

Let’s address some of the good old perceptions here.

Am I the right fit? – If ever there were a diverse bunch of Indian templates, you will find them all in a B-school. Behold, the all-encompassing, mother-load of diverse individuals in the country. If God wanted to create a person with set characteristics, all he has to do is to run through permutations and combinations of the incumbents of a B-school. Rest assured, a B-school has a place for everyone.

Academic Rigor – Deadlines, deadlines, and more deadlines. Life is a series of deadlines in a B school. Sounds bad? No matter the number of assignments, exams and study material piled upon us we have developed a potential to take it all. The first weeks that were filled with exasperations of ‘Oh no, this seems impossible’ were soon replaced with ‘Is that all they got?’

Will I be able to prove myself? – The range of subjects taught in a B-school is incredible. Here you have an opportunity to experiment, explore and toy with your interests. Numerous clubs present you with opportunities in drama, public speaking, adventure, and social service. The sheer number of clubs accommodates the entire B School population. For people who think their social lives drop dead the moment you step into a B School, social life takes a whole new meaning.

Survival – You are not alone. One thing that you realize being here is that you are not so different from other people in here. However different they are from you, they share your fears and reservations about B Schools. After all, we are all human – with our own individual set of strengths and weaknesses.

Above all – Simply put, what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. Forget the wild tales of hardship and toil to reach the light at the end of the tunnel. You will have a bunch of friends and batch mates who will be torchbearers in the tunnel, and to make sure the tunnel of MBA is not a dark place filled with horrors but one filled with treasures. Unfortunately, you cannot carry all the treasures out of here. You will have to choose the treasures you want in the form of knowledge, experience, competitions, committee work (or) any other activity on campus.

Above all, if all else fails, rest assured that we, the senior batch here, have your back.

- A letter from a, ‘I was also an MBA aspirant once upon a time.'