4 Reasons Why Business School is Awesome

Are you on the fence about whether to apply to business school? If you are, you arent alone. Although the decision to pursue your MBA should not be taken lightly, if you can afford to take 2-3 years off from the working world, its my opinion that you should do it. Here are 4 reasons not to miss out on what will probably be one of the best experiences of your life: 1) Diversity MBA programs are diverse both in geography and industry. At no other point in your life will you be in a classroom with 60-80 people who come from 20 different countries. The perspectives of your classmates are such an incredible resource for learning about how business works in other countries, and for gaining new perspectives on different industries. Business school also gives you  access to people who have worked in almost every industry. There may be people who are  architects, engineers, teachers, and tech gurus all in the same class. In my class at Ross this year, 24%  of the students are minorities, 40% are women, 4% hold military backgrounds, and 33 countries are represented. 2) Networking This occurs both  with companies and classmates. If youre one of the many people who  hears the word networking and immediately thinks, That’s definitely not something I want to be doing right now,  just think of it as a conversation instead. You get to talk to people from industries you’re really interested in and learn what it is they love most about their careers, and why they do what they do. Once you start asking people about interesting projects they’ve worked on, you really get a sense for their company culture, and how their company is structured. There might not be a better way to find out if you want to work for a company or not. Websites are great, but they can only tell you so much. At Ross, for instance, we have company-sponsored tailgates on football Saturdays you can have some food with company representatives, and chat over a beer. These events can really help you get a feel for the company in a way that pure research cant. When you’re learning about the backgrounds of your classmates, it’s likely you’ll find one (or more!) who has experience doing exactly what you want to do. For example, I’m interested in going into international development consulting in Africa post-MBA, and one of my classmates did exactly that for 7 years prior to business school. This is also a great way to find out why some of your classmates are exiting the industry you want to go into you can learn about potential drawbacks and decide if you want to go a different direction with your career. And, you get to have friends all over the world who you can stay with when you travel! 3) Success Depending on the size of the program you attend, youll be building a community of 400-2,000 really close friends. During business school and beyond, these peers are  going to make sure you succeed. You’ll be in small groups where everyone brings different expertise where you lack in knowledge, they’ll help teach you and make sure you understand the concepts. It will be such an inspiring group of people to be around every day, and they will push you to be your best self. They’ll also make sure you’re successful after you graduate if you’re looking for a job, they’re going to connect you with people in your target industry and make sure you aren’t looking for long. It truly is a lifelong support system. 4) Fun Business school is REALLY fun. Even if you don’t go to a program that has big sporting events, there will still be a lot of events going on around campus and in the surrounding neighborhood: theatrical productions, local music shows, and more. Ann Arbor is unique because it is such a strong college town, but no matter where you end up, there will be campus events, and probably a fair amount of sponsored and unsponsored happy hours as well. I’ll be honest, I’ve always liked school. It’s almost like a break from reality you don’t really have to have a job, you can take naps in the afternoon, and you basically just get to hang out while learning awesome material. I know school isn’t for everyone, but business school is more than just school. You’re learning real-life skills with hands-on application, and creating a network of people who will forever be there to support you. At the very least, apply. You can always decide later if it’s not for you. Applying to business school? Call us at 1-800-925-7737 and speak with an MBA admissions expert today, or take our free MBA Admissions Profile Evaluation  for personalized advice for your unique application situation! As always, be sure to find us on Facebook, YouTube, Google+  and Twitter. Colleen Hill is a Veritas Prep consultant for the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan. You can read more articles by her here.