"Only" Week 3

Last Friday it was somehow brought to my attention that we had just completed the second week of classes—it was actually a shock to realize that only two weeks had passed. It really felt much more like eight weeks. I had expected to be busy, especially with all of the forewarning about the intensity and craziness of MIT Sloan's Core Semester, but the level of intensity and busyness has definitely exceeded my expectations.

Now you may think, "Wait a minute—this is business school we're talking about. Don't M.B.A.'s all just drink and socialize?" I can't speak for other schools, but at Sloan they've definitely been piling it on. To clarify, it's not a matter of any particular tasks being incredibly intellectually difficult, at least not when compared to science/engineering (although Econ and DMD (data, models, and decisions) aren't pushovers). The best analogy is drinking from a fire hose.

In addition to classes and their respective high volumes of required assignments and reading, much time is required for the many interesting student clubs and interest groups. The idea of opportunity cost is well ingrained in us since nearly every lunch period or evening is an exercise in deciding which of the two (to six) meetings/presentations/events to attend (or to simply find time to catch up on assignments).

Although it's been stressful and tiring, it's been a great experience. Life certainly won't get much easier in the near future in terms of time management and prioritizing things, so I'm certain I'll look back on this experience as an invaluable lesson to draw upon throughout my career.

To speak a little more personally, the Core classes (required for everyone) I'm taking are:

• 15.010 - Economic Analysis for Business Decisions
  
• 15.060 - Data, Models, and Decisions (DMD)
  
• 15.515 - Financial Accounting
• 15.280 - Communication for Managers
  
• 15.311 - Organizational Processes (OP)
  
• 15.328 - OP Team Project

Of the below two electives we have to choose between, I'm taking Marketing.

• 15.401 - Finance Theory I
• 15.810 - Marketing

And lastly, as part of the Entrepreneurship & Innovation Program, I am taking the course:

• 15.360 - Introduction to Tech Entrepreneurship

What I've found impressive is how all the classes blend fairly well together. Ideas from the various classes are often introduced or play a role in other classes, so it makes sense from a practical standpoint how you can use the lessons in real workplace situations.

I'm just starting to get my head around prioritizing the countless activities available on campus, so hopefully I can touch upon that in my next post!