MBA student blog posts tend to be pretty lackluster. You know the kind: dull, meandering and uninviting. Luckily, they’re not all like that! The best ones add a shot of vibrancy in an otherwise drab landscape. What you want are blogs that offer just the right blend of helpful views of the educational journey for prospective MBA students. Something that somehow manages to maintain a fun and free vibe that informs while it entertains.
Well, today we bring you just that: three MBA student blogs laced with outrageous humor plus sharp and nuanced writing, revealing a slice of MBA life, and bursting with rich stories that both teach and inspire. You might just have so much fun reading them that you don’t even notice you’re being informed about MBA programs, online or campus-based.
Anderson’s MBA Student Voice: Wild, Raw and Educational
For the first blog, the MBA Student Voice, we can thank the current students of UCLA’s Anderson School of Management. It’s wild, a bit raw, and even educational at times! You can get a sample of it in this post from 2014 MBA student Ayushman Jain. He takes us along on a tour of a whole range of MBA-related topics: interviewing for top-level companies throughout the school year, on-campus classroom distractions, hardcore partying (“what happens in Anderson stays in Anderson”), never-say-never MBA students taking part in the Harlem Shake, and last but not least, the family-like atmosphere that grows up between business school friends and students over the course of the program.
The Online MBA Student Perspective
Interested or already enrolled in an MBA online program? Then you’re going to have different concerns than the typical readers of these campus-based blog posts. When it comes to study-abroad opportunities, networking with classmates and professors, and classroom activities (which take place wherever your computer happens to be), you’ll have to get creative and improvise. According to Devon Haynie, writing for U.S. News, it takes more effort for online students to gain the advantages of those normally on-campus experiences. But it is possible! Study-abroad opportunities? Check with your online business school. Networking? This calls for some initiative on your part. You might need to add a LinkedIn profile, arrange face-to-face meetings, and reach out to faculty, alumni and career services, according to Haynie.
But for the most part, your online MBA program experience is going to cover much the same ground – jobs, internships, interviews, papers, tests, and beyond – as the campus-based option. That makes these blog posts a great way for you to learn more about MBA programs, get an idea of the differences between online and on-campus study, and prepare for what comes next in your education.
In his UCLA blog, Jain devotes a few paragraphs to the difficulty of preparing for job interviews – large numbers of job interviews – while still keeping up with classes. Apparently, it’s even harder than it sounds! And this is where you’ll see one of the many ways his blog can help prospective MBA students who want more information about getting an MBA. In the midst of a light and enjoyable read, Jain reveals a detailed picture of the program, which provides you with that all-important educational goodness you need, along with the aforementioned entertainment factors.
Ross’ Ambassador Blog: Quirky, Stunning Images and Career-Focused
Another student-maintained blog, the Ross Ambassador Blog comes to us courtesy of the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan. Here you’ll find sparkling and quirky musings on topics like student travel to remote locations, interviews, internships, and – the point of the whole exercise – what it’s like to move on to the next stage of life after graduation: namely, a career.
In fact, Ross’ blog actually goes beyond what it’s like to simply work towards an MBA. Stunning photos take you to parts of the world many people never have a chance to visit. Descriptions of interesting events outside the spectrum of education make you feel like you are there. And if you’ve been busy studying, prepping for interviews, taking tests and thinking about careers, you might just welcome the chance to escape for a little while from education or the work-a-day world. That’s what Ross offers.
VA Tech’s MBA Blog: Eclectic and Stimulating
As if that weren’t enough, our last blog today is the Virginia Tech MBA blog – an eclectic and stimulating mix of articles. Topics run the gamut from spring break trips, travel in Europe and challenging internships to careers, women in the MBA world and working while taking classes. Top that off with what to expect in the first year of an MBA, networking and the news you need, and you have a recipe for posts that really hit the spot for both campus-based and online MBA students.
To give you a taste, try this inspirational post from Barry O’Donnell. He talks about how to deal with rejection during your job search. As the Associate Director for Virginia Tech’s MBA program, O’Donnell definitely has a wider perspective for students, sharing words of wisdom for job seekers trying to open doors during their seemingly endless job search. He tells about one Virginia Tech alumna who was rejected by her target company four times! The key for her was to keep trying, and in the end she finally found the right door to knock on. If anything is a motivation-booster for graduating students, this should be it. And the story’s happy ending gets even better, says O’Donnell: 15 years later, she is still working there! Her perseverance obviously paid off in full.
A Sense of What an MBA is All About
We’re sure you’ll like all these blogs. They’re outstanding for two reasons. First, they entertain readers, and what is life without a little entertainment? Second, they give prospective MBA students a sense of what an MBA is all about. You get the inside track on everything from the classroom experience to online opportunities, and from travel and work to the lifelong friendships you can make during your study. This is not just valuable, it’s priceless.
And you get all this while having fun! It’s no secret that posts that are too dry, or that try too hard to be informative, defeat the purpose: they’re boring, tedious and repetitive. Today’s trio shows us the other kind, and they have a little something for everyone. Uncensored and witty, they bring you serious-minded educational updates touched with a raw vibe. Best of all, they give students a peek at what it really takes to do the work, meet the challenges, and succeed in the MBA program of their choice!