Hack: 5 secrets to hacking the MBA
This blog post will cover ways to ‘hack’ the MBA without paying $200K (plus the opportunity cost) to get it. I will NOT be going over the specific business books, subjects, and content you can mostly learn by reading cases or reading books like The Personal MBA. I will be talking about how to ‘hack’ the network — the major benefit of attending a top MBA program.
1. Take one class
If you go to a nearby school, you can cross register or take individual classes through programs like the Harvard Extension School. I have a friend who took an HBS (Harvard Business School) class through the extension school (hint hint… not the same application process or degree, but exactly the same experience). You get to meet current students and learn about events on campus. It is a perfect way to network yourself in.
We, at ALEX, are creating a marketplace for higher education courses so individuals can take then one at a time. We don’t yet have graduate courses, but sign up so we can let you know when we have them in your city!
2. Drop-in
School course schedules for most schools are online. I have sat in courses at both MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) and HBS that I was not registered for (although MIT is much more open to this than HBS). I asked the professor if I could sit in and he said to sit in the back and make sure that full-time students get to choose seats first. I did not participate, I simply observed, but I was able to immerse myself in the MIT experience.
3. Date
2-for-1 deal. Date some one that is going to an MBA program and move in with them. I am not kidding. I had several classmates who had partners audit classes, join the student groups, frequent the gym, join the basketball team, and many times I forgot they were not full-time students. Your partner is paying into a network for the both of you. Take it. It is yours.
4. Shadow MBA
Maybe you don’t have a partner that is going into an program, but you have a good friend (or a co-founder) that is. They are your ticket. If you live in the same house or apartment with them and other students in the program you will be quickly networked into the social scene. Go to campus and student group events and you are on your way.
5. Conferences
Student groups host dozens of conferences on campuses each year on a range of subjects from energy, venture capital, social entrepreneurship, women leadership, and more. They bring business leaders and attendees from various organizations and around the globe. For what you are paying — usually — the value is incredible, because of the community it convenes.
Like below if you found this useful — additional hacks welcome in the comments!
