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WHAT TO EXPECT - AND WHAT NOT TO EXPECT - FROM BUSINESS SCHOOL
By Dominic Basulto

As the March and April application deadlines for the leading American and European business schools pass and the season for receiving acceptance and rejection letters draws nigh, it is worth considering what exactly one should expect from business school, and even more importantly, what NOT to expect from business school. While reading through glossy brochures or surfing web sites is important, it does not convey the real essence of what an MBA program offers. In fact, the brochures often play the game of teasing the reader, complete with full-color photographs of students frolicking on a lawn in London while studying, or serious-looking New York corporate professionals, briefcase in hand, walking to job interviews. Before writing the first check to the bursar's office and booking a flight to Europe or the USA, there are three key areas of the business school experience that should be reconsidered: Academics, Recruiting, and Culture.

ACADEMICS.

Most programs consist of anywhere from 15 to 25 courses, depending on the length of the program's, of which at least 50% typically will be "core" courses. The typical core curriculum at a U.S. or European school consists of classes in economics (micro- and macro-), operations management, business strategy, organizational behavior, accounting, finance, marketing, and statistics, in short, precisely those disciplines which constitute the basic building blocks of business. Since the incoming class comprises a wide range of future professionals, each business school wants to ensure that its future graduates have all the necessary skill sets to succeed in a global environment. For instance, each B-school class usually includes a few professional athletes, actors and actresses, members of the clergy, doctors, and ambassadors-in-training, obviously people for whom the "core" makes sense. On the flip side, however, the "core" may frustrate entering professionals with an extensive work background. Traditionally, the core reflects a heavy quantitative bent, so much so that most top schools offer a "math camp" prior to the start of the program for those individuals who have never touched an Excel spreadsheet or programmed an HP-12c calculator.

Only in the second year do students have an opportunity to "custom-design" a program that is compatible with their future career goals. It is important that a business school offer a wide palette of elective offerings so that students can create the "right" profile for their dream employer. A Russian student intending to work in finance - and emerging markets (EMG) finance in particular - might supplement the core with advanced finance electives as well as courses which reflect an emphasis on EMG. Only the largest programs, however, can offer a wide variety of electives. Individuals with specific interests in a particular niche (such as, high-tech venture capital for example) attending a smaller-sized program probably would have difficulty structuring the appropriate elective courseload. Russian professionals planning to attend Western business schools should also bear in mind that the learning environment is vastly different in business school than at a Russian university. As noted in a previous article ( "The Case Study as a Cornerstone of Western Business School Education") the primary teaching method in B-school is the case study. While the core courses often require textbooks, most electives do not. Instead, these courses are usually so "cutting edge" or narrowly specialized that there are simply no textbooks written on the subject. Professors create their own case studies based on prior experience, develop their own web pages with hypertext links, and bring in a solid array of guest lecturers. Moreover, some courses may emphasize field-based learning, where more time is spent outside of the classroom than inside it.

Finally, students should not expect across-the-board excellence in all departments. Most programs do not have the necessary resources to develop specialties in, say, finance, marketing, and strategy. Courses that do not fit into an MBA program's "core brand" probably will be taught by junior professors or individuals who are not recognized experts in the field. As a result, individuals intending to focus on a "non-brand" discipline may find a paucity of course offerings and only limited access to leaders in that industry.

INTENSIVE RECRUITING FOCUS

After the first month on campus, the focus of attention inevitably turns to the job search. For two-year programs, this relates to the all-important summer internship, while for one-year programs, it is the post-MBA career track. Recruiters start to appear on campus in early fall, having prepared a seductive schedule of cocktail hours, lunches, dinners, and late-night "study breaks." Moreover, most classrooms begin to resemble a corporate boardroom more than an academic classroom, with students carrying briefcases and dapperly attired in suits, ties. While some students manage to ignore the pressure-inducing recruiting drive, it is rare at best to ignore the siren songs of high-paying recruiters. Having invested $60,000-$80,000 in an education forces one to focus on the bottom line number earlier than expected. Time once devoted to preparing coursework soon becomes dedicated to interview preparation. All the more so, since there are no ironclad guarantees of a job offer after graduation. It is a "buyer's" market, not a "seller's" market and the top multinational firms, consulting companies, and banks have far more applicants than spaces. For graduates intent on working in Russia, there is the added caveat that most schools (even the most "global" B-school) do not have any Russia-dedicated resources. There may be the occasional flyer indicating a career fair in Eastern Europe, but other than that, the best entree to Moscow is usually through the multinationals looking to staff their Russian operations.

CULTURE.

Anyone who has worked for a variety of employers knows that there are obvious "cultural" differences within firms, across sectors, and between industries. In much the same way, each business school has a distinct "feel" to it. Some schools are cutthroat (with forced grading curves), while other are more cooperative and, well, friendly. B-schools located in an urban environment will be more sophisticated and fast-paced than those located in a rural area. Large schools will feel more impersonal than small schools.

Despite these differences in culture among business schools, however, there are certain unifying factors which are common to almost all business schools. First of all, a heavy emphasis on teams, learning groups, and sections. Teams can be either assigned or chosen, while sections are almost always assigned. Most U.S. schools divide a class of students into a number of sections, the members of which take all their core courses together, study together, and often socialize together. Secondly, the "diversity" of each class leads individual members to participate in a number of outside activities, only some of which are related to business. At Yale School of Management, for instance, each student in the incoming class of 220 takes part in a variety of athletic teams, special interest groups, and social clubs. Third, these outside interests lead to quite a bit of socializing and friendships. As the pressure of the first term dissipates, more and more case study groups find the time to plan ski trips, excursions to the local watering hole, or simply all-night discussions at a local cafe.

Thus, business school is more than the sum total of courses, professors, and recruiting. It encompasses a unique 1- or 2-year experience which is almost always intense, challenging, and stressful. In fact, two excellent books on the business school experience have been written - Snapshots From Hell: The Making of an MBA (about Stanford) and Year One: An Intimate Look Inside Harvard Business School (about HBS), both of which should be considered "must-reads" for anyone not familiar with the business school experience.

Dominic Basulto is a 1998 graduate of Yale School of Management and currently works as a consultant for Pericles ABLE (American Business and Legal Education) in Moscow. Pericles offers a full MBA advising program.

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