things i wish i've done right at cbs

Question

Writing this for whoever is coming to cbs, international students, non traditional background(i.e you didn't do accounting, financial modeling for a living), and think you are pretty awesome, thats why you are going to CBS.

Read this, coz you are about to go down, and you don't even know it

Background: 
Prior to CBS, I have done entrepreneurship and venture capital, all heavily involved in product development and people development. With an undergrad in fine arts and education, I stumbled my early career in business and did well with my perseverance and the spirit of wanting to grow.

Reaching to the stage where my hustle and perseverance could not bring me to the next level, i know I need financial skilsl and a good brand to bring me to the next phase of my career and life.

Things i wish i've done right # Pre CBS summer  
What I did do right is that I was forced by my mentor to participate in a pre-mba internship, i did a summer internship in a PE shop. But man did I suffer, I finally achieved! I'm going to New York! after all these hard work and tears! And you want me to work ?? ugh… 
Now look back it was a good thing on my CV even though I suffered and didn't learn much.

What i wish i had done: search for next summer internship before school starts 
I should have spontaneously looked for the next summer internship while I was working on the pre mba internship. This would have saved me tremendous amount of time juggling between core classes and networking and recruiting(which is mission impossible, everybody is suffering on this) 
There is one girl who did above, she secured this coming summer internship + return offer from mckinsey and amazon, this means, she faced less competition, she could focus whilst she is doing that, and during core semester she was having a much easier time and can actually learn, which would be worth the tuition.

Things i wish i had done #exempt classes  
Ok, you missed the window of searching for the next summer internship, time is coming closer, you are ready to move to nyc in just one or 2 weeks. There is still a chance to save something!
When you receive the email reminder to exempt classes, don’t ignore it and think you will save all the learning at school, that’s exactly my thought process.

Because you didn’t land a summer internship, you will be searching for jobs during this fall semester with the majorities, YOU WILL NOT HAVE TIME TO STUDY( or you can but dont network, or sleep less? I think at the end everyone choose to sacrifice study coz of grade non disclosure, but this is another thing i regret)

Try your best to exempt classes, teach yourself, do some crammed learning, at least give it a try, you will be saving yourself 90min*2 a week for each course you exempted. And that's the time you could steal to go for coffee chats, and write thank you letters to your coffee chats in peace. 
Think you are smart can learn during class and do homework thank you letter after class? Nah. coffee chats slots release happens at whatever time they release it, you need to pay attention to that during class, pull out your campus group and vmock to sprint register, this will last throughout the recruiting process, i don’t think anyone was listening/studying to even 50% of the time.

Things i wish i had done # the actual learning, and have my own timing 
   CBS has great professors(especially at core), don’t exempt your strategy class coz you might be lucky and have Dan Wang as your professor. Yiming Ma teaches at both CBS and Stanford GSB, all great professors you can count on for actual learning. 
 If you have missed exemption exams, and you didnt do accounting and financial modeling for a living, this is the part you will find challenging( like me) and start to wonder, am i dumb? (asked myself numerous times in tears) 
 If I could relive my first semester, I would NOT follow everybody’s track: throw away studying, focus recruiting.  
 I now remembered, I came here not just bcoz of the degree, but also bcoz i want to learn. I never had the opportunity to be exposed to such intensive learning opportunities and intellectual brains.  
 I would keep a very strong mind of what I want and what is best for me. I would throw away recruiting for the 1st semester(yes it’s hard while everyone is doing banking consulting and looks so busy you will feel left out). Core is only the 1st semester, you will miss the opportunity if you don’t learn now. Econ, Valuation, Corp Finance, Accounting, Marketing, Strategy, Business Analytics. Everything is extremely useful and foundational in your future career, in banking, consulting or enterprise. I would not care about grades so much but actually aim for learning goals.  
 I.E, my goal is to eventually make it into PE. I would focus on Corp fin and accounting, then do supplement courses such as LBO modeling on wall street prep, that's free offered by CBS. Collect useful skills, be able to talk smart in the PE business lingo, and have foundational skills to work in the field you want to get in.  
 Participate in competitions such as KKR competition offered in the PE program, that will elevate your learning exponentially, and you will also find out how useful your core classes are.

And I would plan & execute my recruiting from the second semester Jan to May. You will have plenty of time to do so. 
The second semester is supposed to be a lot easier, because its all electives, you can design your own schedules and classes, you can put all classes together in 3 days and have 2 days off, or you can take mostly evening classes and have day time visiting firms get coffee chats. More flexibility and freedom.
Sometimes I wonder, how could I forget, i was able to “ make it” because I did things “ my way”. 
If I had followed what everybody else has been doing, I would have been a teacher in China, married with kids in a small town, like all my university friends.
Embrace the resources and opportunities, but don’t forget who your are. You are a career professional, you did things your way, and you know how to navigate, don’t discount what you already know.
This could be difficult for internationals like me, coming to NYC, i wanted to completely open myself and embrace whatever NYC and CBS give me. 
Be picky, be yourself, know what you want, it's a buffet, and you have 2 hours to eat, plan it in your head before each time you go fetch food. Let's go.

I have much more to share but will stop here, coz i need to prep for exams. But to be continued.

gauravbahl · Answer

Thanks for sharing your experience as an international student. This is very insightful.

This will be applicable for all other top business schools as well, right?

Posted from my mobile device

MonkeyTomato · Answer

i would say so.
i remember sitting at a cross ivy school mixer, where we commiserated together on a number of stressful things.

but don't be discouraged, the first semester is commonly known to be tough, then it will get better

bb · Answer

Thanks so much for sharing and posting  MonkeyTomato !

What do most people at Columbia pursuing? Finance, Consulting, Tech?

Great point about searching for internships ahead of time and researching companies. Most applicants/admits think they will have time during school to do that. My other tip is to be as specific as you can get with your recruiting goals down to companies. Seems that's what you are doing already.

thisisit25 · Answer

Good to hear some experiences around this. I found your point around choosing two of (studying, networking, sleeping) interesting. Always heard about how hectic it gets but can finally understand that better with the details you provided. Thanks!

bb · Answer

things i wish i've done right at cbs

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