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Surviving the First Semester: Best Practices from Georgia's Full-Time MBA Students


By Rob Grabowski, MBA '20

The first semester of full time MBA programs is generally seen as the most difficult. For myriad reasons, the first semester brings about anxiety and stress for those brave enough to leave their jobs and come back for continued education. It may be that it takes some time to get back into the swing of class and homework, or maybe it’s the front-loaded course content, meant to prepare the new business students for the intense recruiting period ahead, or could it be the recruitment period itself? Jumping back into the job search is not an easy thing to do. You could be worried about any or all of these realities that you will face in the first semester, but do not fear, because it has been done before and you were admitted for a reason. You have the capability and competencies to crush your first semester, and we’re here to give you a few tips from current UGA MBA’s that should help ensure that!

We polled the current class of MBA’s and have included the best responses to help you crush the first semester:

How did you survive the front-loaded course content?
“Working with my team on all projects. We all have diverse backgrounds and there is always someone in the group that can help.”
“Time Management.”
“Live each day like it is a work day, get to the business school at 8 and leave at 5. Don’t just show up for class and go back home.”

How did you survive National Black (MBA recruiting conference attended by 1,000’s of MBA’s)?
“Be aggressive with recruiters.”
“Do prep and gather interviews beforehand by applying online.”
“Visit your top 5 companies in the first 3 hours of the day. This is when you will be most successful.”

What best practice helped you the most in the first semester?
“Don't be afraid to ask questions in class if you don't understand something. The professors really do want to us succeed.”
“Put everything you need to do in a calendar or planner - be ridiculously thorough.”
“Listening to the 2nd Years.”
“Prioritize job search and don’t focus on grades.”
“Strategic approach to recruiting – i.e. 5 applications a week.”

Whatever your strengths are, it is going to be important that you prepare for the transition into the MBA program. It takes finesse and strategy to perform at a high level, and hopefully you can glean some helpful hints from these suggestions. These best practices helped those before you succeed, so know that if you implement them as well, they can help you survive and even excel in the first semester of your full time MBA program.

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