I wonder a life-balance in a business school, especially in some top school like HBS. Students there not only have time for their classes, but also have time for their own. They just spend a couple of hours to prepare their school work. I thought that we need at least 4-5 hours every day for extra work or a case-study.

http://www.hbs.edu/mba/profiles/kwhite.html

If school is anything like work - the "higher up" you go, the easier it actually is.

I hope you are correct!! I could do with some sleep!

Seems like there are a good number of variables that affect how much free-time students have:

1. The degree to which they participate in club activities
2. How well they want to do grade-wise (getting all A's is much, much harder than getting mostly B's)
3. How well they manage their time -- procrastinating can be a killer

I've spoken with some students who talk about how they struggle to get more than five hours of sleep a nigth because of their busy schedules, but I've also spoken with many students who start their day at 8am and finish it at 7pm and are then completely free all evening and on the weekends.

I also think that people tend to exaggerate how hard it is. Current students like to sound like martyrs, admissions folks like to make their schools sound like prestigious brain trusts, and professors like to think they're slave drivers.

I have no doubt that school is going to be tough and involve some late hours. But I do think we need to take these reports with a grain of salt.

(I'm talking about salt a lot today.)

I agree with that. I think there will be periods during the first year where things will be very tough. Probably the first month or two adjusting to the new environment and new material. The first month or two after winter break will be tough because of recruiting. The rest of the first year should be reasonably manageable if you have the proper background for the subject matter - I think that's why so many business schools say that the first steop in their admissions process is determining whether incoming students can handle the material.

I have heard many reports that the 2nd year is very laid back. At Darden, the campus golf course gets a lot of use ($400 for an unlimited semester pass), and if you have a job offer you don't need worry about recruiting. I also think the overall stress level will be tied to the strength of the job market. If jobs are scarce, there will be a lot more competition in class, in extracurriculars and in the job hunt.