So, you’ve just been accepted into George Washington University School of Business and, understandably, you have a few questions—who are my classmates going to be, what kind of connections will I build here, how will my MBA path begin? Luckily, GWSB can answer those questions and ease your first-day jitters with the MBA Institute, a two-week orientation held before the start of classes.
The MBA Institute is an opportunity to interact and connect with new classmates as well as allowing students to get their first taste of the opportunities that business school has to offer. The orientation includes various panels, workshops, quantitative tutorials and presentations that provide strategies and tips on how to tackle an MBA from the get-go. Institute also allows for new GWSB MBAs to start networking from day one.
The first highlight of Institute is the MBA-in-Action Roundtables, an event that allows current students to speak with GWSB alumni about their professional experiences and the business industry in general. This lets MBAs mingle with their peers and alumni over some refreshments.
Another event held during Institute is the Case Competition. Sponsored by Pearson, new students are tasked with developing a marketing strategy for the launch of Pearson’s new web-based curriculum and textbook software. After being divided into different teams, participants have less than two days to devise a marketing strategy and prepare a presentation for an alumni panel. The three finalists have the opportunity to present their project to Pearson executives. The Case Competition is the culmination of the MBA Institute and puts everything that incoming MBAs have learned to the test, giving them a taste of what was they will be doing throughout their time at GWSB.
The MBA Institute not only helps prepare incoming MBAs for academics at GWSB but also provides a special opportunity to build strong relationships with fellow cohorts. It is this level of cooperation and camaraderie built in the Institute that’s helps separates GWSB’s MBA from other programs.