Most applicants breathe a sigh of relief once they receive their long-awaited admission packets in the mail. Your hard work has paid off--you're in! It's definitely a good idea to take some time to enjoy the feeling and congratulate yourself on your accomplishment. But as most students soon come to realize, the real work has just begun.
One of the most common questions I hear from admitted students is "How should I prepare for the start of the MBA program?" Business Week recently addressed this topic and published a list of books recommended by dozens of professors at top-ranked business schools.
The UST MBA staff and faculty also created a list a few years ago of recommended pre-readings for incoming students:
Magazines and Periodicals
As an MBA student, you should be familiar with the following magazines and periodicals. They provide a wealth of information and other resources about current issues in the national and international business community.
- Wall Street Journal
- Business Week
- The New York Times
- The Economist
- Fortune
- Fast Company
- Harvard Business Review
- Inc.
- Wired
Books
Most of the following are available in UST Libraries or the CLIC (consortium).
Authentic Leadership: Rediscovering the Secrets of Creating Lasting Value
Bill George
Accidental Empires: How the Boys of Silicon Valley Make Their Millions, Battle Foreign Competition, and Still Can’t Get a Date
Robert X. Cringely
The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement
Eliyahu M. Goldratt, Jeff Cox
Hidden Order: The Economics of Everyday Life
David Friedman
Snapshots from Hell: The Making of an MBA
Peter Robinson
So, to all of our incoming MBA students--enjoy your summer, but be sure to bring some light reading along with you to the beach!
