Week 1: Three ways to quickly refresh on core topics

Week 1: May 4, 2024

Three ways to quickly refresh on core topics

Andrea,

Our goal for the 100 Week Sprint is to increase the value of your MBA investment. As we talked with previous students, many of them shared how much their confidence in the program was dependent on their early preparation.

This week is about providing you resources, classes, and programs that can help you to get ready for school in the fall!

The 100 Week Sprint team

To-do's this week

Got 5 minutes? Consider the areas where you're a bit rusty. Download an app or two and give yourself a quick review in your spare time.

Got 30 minutes? Set up an MBA IQ account. Getting acquainted with a range of topics early will prepare you for pre-MBA employer interactions.

Got an hour? Take the Excel quiz to see how you fare. Scored less than a 15, or want to go above and beyond with Excel? Start your preparation with the Efficient Excel tool.

Have many hours and want to be really prepared? Consider in-depth preparation courses, including Math for Management. Given the importance of modeling in many programs (and how much advanced skills can make your life earlier), consider Training the Street or other similar programs.

Learn MBA lingo quickly

In finance but new to marketing? In consulting but never had an operations case? Or are you just new to business overall? Familiarize yourself with MBA terminology across several topics before starting school this fall. Increase your knowledge with MBA IQ.

Be prepared to use Excel

"One area where I still feel I'm behind compared to my peers is Excel, since I did not use it very often in my career. I wish I had done some sort of Excel training to learn all the shortcuts that dazzle and amaze me when my friends make spreadsheets do magical things." - GSB Student

Even after years of consulting or banking, many MBA students are surprised by how much more Excel can do than they imagine. Mastering it can make you (a) more efficient in your own work and (b) a helpful resource for classmates.

An Excel whiz in my class changed my second year MBA experience. She saw me agonizing in the cafeteria one night, struggling to create manual sensitivity tables in Excel for a finance class. She introduced me to table functions that I used almost daily in my first year post-MBA.

New to Excel, want to learn new Excel tips and shortcuts, or seeking advanced Excel skills? Resources such as Efficient Excel are easy-to-use and helpful, regardless of your skill level. For a full list of recommended Excel resources, click here.

Curious about your level of expertise? Click here for a quick Excel quiz! Score 20/20, send us a screen shot of the results, and your next coffee is on us!

Save time later, brush up on math now

Getting back up to speed now means that you are less likely to get bogged down in class in your first term. The question is, should you build your math momentum now, or tackle it later when recruiting is top of mind? Prior 100 Week Sprint subscribers agree that tackling it now will save you time and stress later on.

Consider these options to start refreshing your math memory today. Choose from online videos, books, or apps to get ready for school.

Looking for extra credit?

Check out Harvard's Certificate of Readiness program, also known as the HBX CORe. This course will be particularly helpful if you are a "non-traditional" candidate with a background other than business (e.g. sciences, media, etc.). Current MBA students have noted that the accounting portion of the program has been particularly helpful!

Looking to feel extra confident? Try Training the Street. This program is intended for professionals intending to have a career in finance, however, the rigor can prepare you for many of the assignments you are likely to face over your two years in school. While many classes do not require this level of knowledge, many students have noted the confidence that this level of training has provided.

Are you considering quantitative classes (anything from finance to marketing analytics)? Consider training in R, Tableau, SQL, and SAS which can be helpful for analytical work across multiple industries.

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