Student Life

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Prematric    Year 1 Fall    Year 1 January
Year 1 Spring    Year 1 Summer    Year 2 Fall
Year 2 January    Year 2 Spring    Alumni

Take the HBS Journey

W hat's it really like to be in the HBS MBA Program? While our students' experiences are as distinct as their personalities, talents and ambitions, their journeys proceed along a common series of stages.

Use the console above to reveal the activities, events, and transitions you can expect along the pathway from prematriculation to membership in the HBS alumni network.

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Prematriculation

Once accepted into HBS, there are a number of ways you can prepare for life on campus and within the MBA Program.

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Year 1 Fall

Your first semester immerses you within the Required Curriculum and Section life, while giving you time for reflection before formal recruiting begins in the middle of November.

  • Find out your section assignment
  • Watch The Classroom Culture by Professor Frances Frei
  • Registration
  • Orientation and Welcome
  • Attend Surviving and Thriving Together at HBS session with partners
  • Student moms meet with Support Services team to plan activities and support
  • Orientation for international students
  • Get acquainted with MBA Support Services
  • Student Association (SA) social events
  • Student club fair and membership drive
  • Partner registration and orientation
  • Get to know your learning team
  • Pick up course materials
  • Get Inside the Case Method
  • Learn and practice the case method
  • Read about HBS faculty in the news
  • Develop community identity (w/learning team, section, first- and second-year students)
  • Meet your section (social events, retreat weekend)
  • Meet MBA Program Chair and MBA staff members at section lunches
  • Enjoy Term 1 classes (FRC, Marketing, LEAD, TOM, Fin1)
  • Meet and talk with faculty at learning team dinners and faculty research lunches
  • Learning team projects
  • HBS International Week
  • Thanksgiving dinners with sections
  • Allocating mindshare — striking a healthy work/life balance
  • Club events (planning, speakers, club fairs, symposiums, etc.)
  • First exams
  • First break!
  • Learn about and run for section and SA leadership positions
  • MBA liaison available to newly elected student reps (and all year!)
  • Community Values Fall Report
  • Attend "Let's Talk Community Values" gatherings with Director of Community Values program for informal conversation and refreshments
  • SA social events and meetings
  • Attend conferences
  • Alumni Achievement Awards panel
  • Write HBS Fellowship thank-yous
  • Take time to reflect on your career (do self-assessment, join a career team, get career coaching)
  • Participate in industry weeks
  • Evaluate work authorization options with Harvard International Office
  • Participate in career treks
  • Attend a Career Fair
  • Prepare your resume
  • Attend company presentations and events
  • Consider an Immersion Experience Program during January break
  • Consider the HBS Leadership Fellows Program
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Year 1 January

Expand your educational opportunities through career treks, Immersion Experience Programs and other activities as you pause between semesters.

  • Participate in an Immersion Experience Program or career trek
  • Meet with alumni
  • Visit MBA Career & Professional Development office of a reciprocal school
  • Apply for summer internships
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Year 1 Spring

Prepare for your summer internship and plan your elective courses as you continue the second half of the Required Curriculum.

  • Prospective Students' Day
  • Admitted Students' Weekend
  • Apply for EC financial aid
  • Preregister for EC classes
  • Enjoy Term 2 courses (Fin 2, BGIE, Strategy, TEM, Neg, LCA)
  • Meet and talk with faculty at learning team dinners and faculty research lunches
  • Participate in an Immersion Experience Program, career trek, or student trip
  • MBA Family Spring Fling
  • HBS Show
  • SA social events and meetings
  • Club events (planning, speakers, club fairs, symposiums, etc.)
  • Attend conferences
  • Class-wide elections in March (SA co-presidents, COO, CFO)
  • Club officer elections and trainings (after classwide elections)
  • RC to EC transition
  • Recruiting week session for partners
  • Community Values Spring Report
  • Attend spring "Let's Talk Community Values" gathering
  • Attend student-run conferences
  • Interview for internships on and off campus
  • Continue to network with alumni
  • Join a Job Search Roundtable with classmates
  • Prepare for your internship
  • Participate in the MBA Global Career Forum, an online recruiting event offering interaction between companies and MBAs graduating from top 10 B-schools
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Year 1 Summer

Your summer employment experience informs important decisions for selecting next year's courses and preparing for field-based learning.

  • Be an Immersion Experience Program student leader and join planning team
  • Continue EC course planning in light of summer job
  • Connect with alumni
  • Prepare your second-year resume
  • Prepare for field-based learning (field study or independent student research)
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Year 2 Fall

The Elective Curriculum helps you bring a personal focus to your academic and career interests.

  • EC Welcome Back (Dean's welcome, section reunions, and EC cookout)
  • "Shop" classes at term start, request course changes
  • Cross-register @ HU, MIT, Tufts
  • Begin EC year of flexibility and academic choices
  • Participate in field-based learning (field study or independent student research)
  • EC reflections on summer experience
  • SA social events and meetings
  • HBS International Week
  • Student club fair and membership drive
  • Club events (planning, speakers, club fairs, symposiums, etc.)
  • Attend conferences
  • Immersion Experience Program planning continues
  • Alumni Achievement Awards Panel
  • Consider an Immersion Experience Program during January break
  • Community Values Fall Report
  • Attend "Let's Talk Community Values" gathering
  • Apply for HBS Leadership Fellows program
  • Reflect on summer internship
  • Assess job search goals
  • Meet with a career coach
  • Apply for full-time opportunities
  • Participate in the MBA Global Career Forum, an online recruiting event offering interaction between companies and MBAs graduating from top 10 B-schools
  • Evaluate work authorization options with Harvard International Office
  • Begin full-time job interviews
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Year 2 January

Your last academic break within the MBA Program offers multiple opportunities to expand your network and deepen bonds with your peers.

  • Participate in an Immersion Experience Program or career trek
  • Meet with alumni
  • Visit MBA Career & Professional Development office of a reciprocal school
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Year 2 Spring

As you complete your Elective Curriculum, take advantage of activities that help you reflect on your MBA experience even as you pursue your chosen career path.

  • Prospective Students' Day
  • Admitted Students' Weekend
  • HBS Fellowship Dinner
  • Exit interviews for loans
  • Explore fellowships and loan assistance programs
  • "Shop" classes at term start, request course changes
  • EC courses continue
  • EC Viewpoints in February
  • EC Capstone Class and section reunion in April
  • MBA Family Spring Fling (April)
  • Submit an essay to The Portrait Project in answer to the question, "what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?"
  • HBS Business Plan Contest in either the Business Venture Track or the Social Venture Track
  • HBS Show
  • SA social events and meetings
  • Club events (planning, speakers, club fairs, symposiums, etc.)
  • Attend conferences
  • Club Leadership Appreciation Dinner
  • Community Values Spring Report
  • Attend spring "Let's Talk Community Values" gathering
  • HBS Leadership Fellows program Fellows selected and announced
  • Attend student-run conferences
  • Continue to network with alumni
  • Continue networked job search
  • Join a Job Search Roundtable with classmates
  • Prepare for your full-time position
  • Career Chats with Alumni
  • Network with Executive Education participants
  • Class Day (Dean's Award breakfast, HBS Leadership Fellows brunch, Baker Scholar dinner, Portrait Project exhibition)
  • Commencement Day
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Alumni

Graduation initiates you into a global network of HBS alumni that offers a lifetime of mutual support.

  • Update any changes in address w/loan lenders
  • Request transcripts and other certificates of attendance
  • Student to alumni transition
  • Join alumni club in your area
  • Return for reunions @ HBS
  • Contribute to Class Notes in HBS Bulletin
  • Use your LEFA (Lifelong E-mail Forwarding Address)
  • Stay LinkedIn
  • Professional development opportunities on campus and access to Job Bank for HBS Leadership Fellows
  • Begin your full-time position
  • Return to HBS to participate in an Industry Week
  • Give back to current students through informational interviews
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