What Should You Do After You Get Accepted to Business School?

Congratulations on securing an admit! Getting that acceptance letter after months of hard work, including taking the GMAT, submitting your application and interview rounds, is cause for celebration. But after the initial excitement settles, you must be wondering, ‘What’s next? How do I use the time before business school starts?’

One option is to take some time out and relax. This is a great time to unwind, travel, develop a new skill and spend some time with your family because come fall, business school awaits!

On the other hand, you may be eager to get a head start on your MBA programme.

Here are some tips to help you use the next few months effectively:

1) Explore funding options:

An MBA is an expensive proposition. If you have received a merit-based scholarship from your business school, then funding may not be a concern. However, if you require funding then use this time to explore different financing options offered by banks, organisations and online platforms. You might be eligible to apply for a scholarship offered by organisations in India for candidates who want to study abroad, such as the Chevening Scholarship or the MPower Global Citizen Scholarship.

2) Pay attention to business school emails:

Once you have confirmed your place, you will start receiving emails from the admissions office regarding the next steps. These could be related to deposits, housing, medical tests, your courses and syllabus, among others. Read each email carefully and address them as soon as possible. Some programmes may also have pre-matriculation requirements that you must complete before you start, including online classes. Start working on those as leaving them for the last minute will cause you more stress.

3) Brush up on key concepts:

It may have been a while since you last sat in a classroom and might have forgotten some key concepts and formulae. Look through your course syllabus carefully and identify what you need to brush up on and, if need be, take a course in maths or finance, just to get up to speed with your classmates.

4) Plan your departure from work:

Now that you have secured a place at business school, it’s time to start planning your exit from work. If you are confused about when your last day should be, watch our video here. Make sure that everything is in place for your handover and provide any support that may be required during this transition period, as you don’t want to leave on a bad note.

5) Connect with fellow classmates:

An essential part of any MBA programme is networking, so why wait until you get to business school to start speaking to your classmates? After all, these are the people with whom you will be sharing this unique and gruelling experience. Most programmes have dedicated online communities for admitted students where you can meet and connect with your classmates. Besides this, getting to know a few people before you start your MBA journey can help you feel at ease in your new environment and make the transition easier.

6) Start looking for internships and jobs:

It is never too soon to start researching and planning for the future. So if you are a part of a two-year MBA programme, start looking around for internship opportunities between your spring and fall semesters. Alternately, for those doing a one-year programme, start thinking about landing a job post your MBA. Leverage your school’s alumni, attend any pre-MBA meetings and start connecting with potential employers.

7) Build your network for the future:

An MBA is supposed to help you further your career goals. So, start connecting with alumni and people in your targeted industry now. Your MBA programme will have alumni based in different industries who can serve as mentors, business partners and employers in the future. Apart from this, use LinkedIn to reach out to people in your target company and industry so that they can help you with your job search.

If you’ve been placed on a waitlist and still haven’t heard from your school, read about the steps you can take here. Alternatively, if you haven’t applied yet, but are thinking about a global MBA and have questions, get in touch with us.