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Ntang
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"Ahead of the Curve" by Philip Broughton 22 Sep 2008, 07:08
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Anyone else read this book? It's this dude's account of his time at HBS.

Interesting HBS student's response: https://www.asktheharvardmba.com/2008/08 ... ss-school/

I wonder how similar the atmosphere Broughton describes here is to other top-tier B-schools. I see a lot of myself in this guy - he doesn't know the first thing about finance, and isn't all that interested in becoming a BSD I-banker - and I find his accounts of his section's politics and ups/downs really interesting. That said, I sort of get the impression he wrote this book because he wasn't sure what to do "next," so to speak.

Other impressions? Think it's really the "Double Billing" (or "One L," which was a better book) for B-school?
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PHoyle518
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"Ahead of the Curve" by Philip Broughton 25 Sep 2008, 12:29
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I also read Ahead of the Curve, about a month ago. I really enjoyed it, actually. His account left me unsurprised in some regards, particularly the theory and teaching and job search stuff. Perhaps the most pleasant surprise was Broughton's descriptions of his classmates - they were mostly very interesting people with lives outside of business school, not just genius number-crunchers or hotshots. All in all I found that the account humanized the whole b-school thing for me, which was definitely positive.

BTW... I also came away wondering if he wrote the book because he didn't exactly know what else to do.
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"Ahead of the Curve" by Philip Broughton 25 Sep 2008, 20:26
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Agree with the two posters above. It was a fast, interesting read that gave some color to an experience that is often dumbed down to buzz words, hype and stereotypes. It made me think more than ever that I should not apply to a full-time program (wish I had realized this a year ago). I also agree that One L was a better book.
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"Ahead of the Curve" by Philip Broughton 26 Sep 2008, 07:56
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If you don't mind telling, why did it make you regret the full-time program?

I agree that Broughton makes B-school sound like a very interesting time... intellectually and socially as well. I think he's made an interesting emphasis on getting the most out of one's time there as can be had. That said, I have to roll my eyes at some of the people he describes: the finance whizzes and hardcore banking guys who are just there to fight as hard as they can to get a job where they'll have the privilege of working 120 hours a week. Sounds a lot like the "gunners" in any top law school.