What to Do before you Start your MBA

Great article as usual bb. I disagree with the private feedback though. It is very tempting to buy those case books and get a headstart but honestly consulting recruiting is so incredibly nuanced that without strong peer support, it might actually be damaging to do it on your own. First of all, there are a lot of concepts that you actually learn in school that go into case prep (microeconomics of sunk cost fallacy, economic costs, cost accounting, contribution margins, financial statements, basic marketing etc) that you just wouldn't know. Second, most people improve on casing by practicing with peers, and most schools have tight structures to help you with that. I think once you have done enough cases with others, it is fine to do on your own but definitely not the other way around. Lastly, I have first hand experienced the casing fatigue (similar to GMAT Prep - people who take 2-3 years to prep for the test do not do very well) after doing a million cases. Figure out what is optimum for you and maintain a strong error log. Don't overdo it.

Agree with all the points about case prep fatigue, peer support etc . Of course, we need know all the microeconomics concepts, strategy, marketing concepts to prepare for it. I mentioned the case prep books to go through what we all will be doing during our consulting recruitment cycle. Just like reading a syllabus of the class of which we are signing up or a "plan for plan" sort of thing. Many students who set their eyes on consulting would already know what they need to do during the recruitment cycle before coming school. Unfortunately not all do. This is also for people who want switch their career or have some back up option to try other industry recruitment. Maybe I should have been clear in my suggestion to buy those books and preparing for case prep. Thanks for pointing out!

Anyone else is waiting for the 2nd article?

Huh.... what do you mean?
I was not planning to be putting anything together (unless anyone had specific questions)... or was that joke?

Hi souvik101990
I hope you are well and got the internship you hope for.

As a seasoned consultant in the operation field, I disagree with you but partly. Many career switcher do not know what consulting is. what is the role of a consultant? what is MBB? what is the difference between them? resume....etc. I target the soft the side of the consulting with advising to touch about case interview. This helped many before starting their MBA journeys. It is kinda warming up. However, I agree with that people that many may take the warming up to burning out and buy many book as many as they can and may enroll in paid courses, which I do not advise as big schools actually host many of them inside schools beside all the resources available in each school.

I wish you happy journey

Thanks for the thoughtful advice!

Bumping this topic up for the next group of folks who just have been admitted

An MBA alumnus here from the UK.

Feel free to ask anything related to Pre and Post MBA!

Happy to help.

Cheers.

Ash

Thanks and Welcome! Are you sharing where you went/attended? Industry or any other details?

Thanks,
BB.

Sure.

MBA:Manchester Business School.

Pre-MBA: Research + Analysis+ Consulting + Presales + Marketing

Post-MBA: Product Management + Design + Strategy

Hope this helps!

Cheers.

Ash

Thank for the tips, I'll make a plan based on the points you mentioned...

These tips are really very helpful . Thankyou

I agree. These are all solid suggestions.

At Admissionado, we get the question about pre-MBA internships quite often. It is important to level set that that they are VERY hard to obtain. MBA internships between your 1st and 2nd year are reserved for current MBA students, so those are off limits no matter who you know at whatever company.

That said, many corporations, consulting firms and banks have offered pre-MBA internships, which are effectively truncated versions (~4 weeks) of their traditional summer MBA internship. If you are interested in the specific companies or sectors offering them, you do your research in Q1/Q2 of the year you are matriculating and apply if interested! It is a great way to get a feel for what the internship and, ultimately, the full-time job. They are no doubt extremely selective, but you have nothing to lose by throwing your hat into the ring.

In general, students who pulled off pre-MBA internships did so mostly because they had a connection or worked REALLY hard and got REALLY lucky in securing one. At the end of the day, there is also nothing wrong with enjoying your "free" summer. There aren't too many left of them after school!

Best,
Seth
https://admissionado.com/