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Quick Answer
A pre-MBA roadmap helps incoming business school students prepare academically, professionally, and personally before starting their program. It includes brushing up on quantitative skills, networking with future classmates, attending pre-MBA programs, organizing finances, and finalizing logistics. Following a clear roadmap ensures a smooth transition into business school and maximizes your success from day one. Keep reading for a step-by-step pre-MBA checklist to guide your preparation.
Here are the topics we’ll cover:
- Why You Need a Pre-MBA Roadmap
- Pre-MBA Checklist
- Academic Prep Before Your MBA
- Professional Development and Networking
- Pre-MBA Programs and Bootcamps
- Organizing Your Finances and Budgeting
- Lifestyle and Personal Readiness Before Business School
- Final Logistic: Relocation, Housing, and Visas
- Key Takeaways
- Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
- What’s Next?
Why You Need a Pre-MBA Roadmap
An MBA is a huge investment of time and money. Therefore, understanding how to prepare for business school will help you start on the right foot.
The MBA compresses a technical upskilling, a career switch, and personal development into a short period of time — generally, just 18–24 months. Without a pre-MBA roadmap, you might waste time catching up on the basics and starting to build your network.
Planning your pre-MBA academic prep and thinking about personal preparation for your MBA will give you the following:
- Academic preparation: You can feel confident in core coursework.
- Recruiting readiness: You’ll have a solid plan for internship recruiting.
- Life stability: You’ll square away housing, healthcare, and finances.
- More time: You’ll free up time to build relationships in your first term.
If you’re wondering how to prioritize your time, keep reading to create your MBA prep timeline.
TTP PRO TIP:
Time moves quickly in the MBA! By creating a pre-MBA roadmap, you can arrive on campus ready to make the most of your experience.
Pre-MBA Checklist
Here are some of the areas where you can plan ahead:
| Category | What to Do | Why It Matters |
|---|---|---|
| Academics | Prepare for MBA math subjects before school starts (i.e., pre-MBA coursework across stats, finance econ, accounting, and Excel) | reduces the intensity of the first term and core coursework, freeing time for recruiting |
| Networking | Connect with future classmates and alumni. Join Slack and WhatsApp groups, set up coffee chats, and engage in MBA career clubs | establishes a warm network faster, building insider insights and momentum for recruiting |
| Finances | Build a budget, create an emergency fund, compare loan terms, set up a tuition payment plan, and explore additional scholarships. | enables you to focus on classes and recruiting, rather than stress about finances |
| Logistics | Search for housing, initiate the visa process, get health insurance, update your tech, and prepare for relocation. | helps you focus on orientation and pre-MBA activities, rather than scrambling at the last minute on logistics |
TTP PRO TIP:
Planning ahead can help you mitigate or completely avoid distractions in the first term of your MBA.
Academic Prep Before Your MBA
A little bit of MBA math prep before school can really help. Luckily, you don’t need to become a quant jock! However, becoming familiar with the subject matter will help you acclimate to the academic environment.
Here are some of the core topics to review:
- Stats: descriptive stats, probability, distributions, regression intuition, hypothesis testing
- Accounting: balance sheets, income statements, cash flow statements, accruals vs. cash, working capital, depreciation, revenue recognition
- Finance: time value of money, NPV/IRR, capital budgeting basics, risk/return
- Analytics tools: Excel, basic data visualization, keyword shortcuts
- Microeconomics: supply and demand, elasticities, market structure, externalities
- Communication: writing for business, executive summaries, slide structure
Here’s how to structure your pre-MBA academic prep:
- Diagnostic week: Take short assessments to identify gaps in your current knowledge. Then, schedule practice.
- Topic sprints: Create 2-week blocks to deep dive into topics (i.e., stats, accounting, finance).
- Mixed practice: Blend quick drills with mini-cases (i.e., NPV for a product launch).
- Capstone: Build a 1-page model in Excel that links the income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow.
Consider reading a few well-known business books to aid in your prep. For example, check out Accounting Made Simple (Stroll), The McKinsey Way (Raisel), and Good Strategy/Bad Strategy (Rumelt).
TTP PRO TIP:
Even basic comfort with Excel and financial modeling before school can help you prepare before recruiting and coursework ramp up.
Professional Development and Networking
Networking is a critical aspect of your MBA experience. Therefore, we recommend you start networking before MBA classes begin to aid with your recruiting process.
Here are some actions you can take 3–4 months before you start:
- Revisit your career hypothesis. Pick 1–2 target paths (i.e., banking and consulting).
- Refresh your resume. Ensure that each of your bullet points leads to a result (using metrics whenever possible).
- Engage alumni. Align your alumni outreach with your target career paths and set up 15-minute chats.
Two months before you start, you can do the following:
- Start networking with peers. Join admitted students Slack and WhatsApp groups (if you haven’t already) and make friends in your area.
- Informational interviews. Continue scheduling informational interviews with alums and professionals in your target career paths and at your target companies.
- Improve your skills. For example, start to warm up for consulting case studies.
Finally, you can do these things 1 month before you start:
- Check out career clubs. Shortlist the clubs you plan to join.
- Prep interview stories. Prepare 6–8 START examples across leadership, teamwork, impact, collaboration, conflict, and failure.
- Update your LinkedIn profile. Refresh your banner and tagline, and add your future function and industry.
TTP PRO TIP:
If you establish relationships with local peers prior to b-school, you will arrive with a foundational network.
Pre-MBA Programs and Bootcamps
A focused pre-MBA bootcamp, MBA finance prep courses, or pre-MBA summer programs can add structure to your process. Consider these options:
- Quant bootcamps: stats and accounting refreshers that have problem sets and a cohort set-up — especially great for students from non-traditional backgrounds
- Career accelerators: casing for consulting, workshops for product teardowns, primers for specific industries
- Language and communication intensives: helpful for non-native English speakers
Your MBA program may offer pre-MBA coursework in these areas. If so, be sure to take advantage of these courses and workshops.
TTP PRO TIP:
Check to see if your MBA program offers pre-MBA coursework you can take advantage of.
Organizing Your Finances and Budgeting
The best plan for MBA budgeting and finances helps to reduce stress and improve your optionality.
Here’s a budget framework to help you get started:
- Fixed expenses: tuition and fees, rent, insurance, and mobile phone
- Variable expenses: groceries, transport, dining and going out, personal, and travel.
Students from many of the top MBA programs love to travel. However, travel expenses for MBAs can add up quickly.
- One-time expenses: laptop, moving costs, orientation trips, conferences, and interview attire
- Emergency funds: Aim for 3–6 months of living expenses
Here are some tactical steps to help you with budgeting:
- Compare interest rates and origination fees and run amortization tables.
- Set up automatic transfers across tuition and living expenses.
- Open a no-fee foreign exchange card if you’re recruiting or traveling abroad.
- Track your burn rate on a monthly basis and adjust after 1-2 months, if needed.
KEY FACT:
MBA students often underestimate how quickly travel costs add up.
Lifestyle and Personal Readiness Before Business School
It’s just as important to prepare your body and mind for the MBA experience.
Here are some of the ways you can ensure that you’ll be ready to tackle the first term:
- Get your health checkups: Schedule your annual physical, dental, and eye exams, and get prescription refills for 6–12 months. Additionally, understand what your school’s health insurance will and will not cover.
- Establish healthy habits: Develop a predictable sleep schedule and exercise routine, and learn to meal prep, if you don’t already.
- Build systems for productivity: Create time blocks in your calendar, email rules, and a task management system.
- Update your tech stack: Get a new laptop, if needed, and ensure that you have the right software installed. Some MBA candidates wonder whether it’s better to use a PC or a Mac. However, it really depends on your target careers and the industry needs. If in doubt, chat with current students to understand what will work best for you.
TTP PRO TIP:
If you need a new laptop, chat with current students to see whether a PC or Mac works better for your industry goals.
Final Logistic: Relocation, Housing, and Visas
Use an MBA relocation checklist to ensure that your move-in runs smoothly.
Here are a few items to consider as you work through logistics:
- Decide whether you’ll live on or off campus. Then, begin your housing search.
- Create a roommate agreement if you’ll be sharing accommodations and include issues such as quiet hours, guests, bills, and more.
- Set up utilities and Wi-Fi service 48 hours before your arrival.
Additionally, here are some pre-MBA tips for international students:
- Confirm I-20/DS-2019, pay SEVIS, book your visa interview, and plan your entry date.
- Digitize all of your documents; keep physical copies in your carry-on.
- Open a local bank account ASAP and understand your mobile pay options.
- Practice academic English — presentations, cold calls, and quant vocabulary.
During your move-in week, you can do the following:
- Pick up your student ID and transit passes, as applicable.
- Walk or drive your route to school.
- Set up Slack and Zoom with your school accounts and download your course packs.
Key Takeaways
Your preparation before starting an MBA doesn’t need to be complicated. However, it does need to account for the many considerations and logistical tasks that accompany a move and life transition.
We recommend that you prepare for your MBA in numerous ways: across academics, finances, and logistics. Then, you’ll be able to hit the ground running once you arrive on campus and start classes.
Start with this MBA prep timeline and checklist, and you’ll reach campus more confident, organized, and ready to optimize your MBA ROI.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What is the best way to prepare before starting an MBA?
Review the tips in this article to follow a structured pre-MBA roadmap. First, prepare for the academic curriculum. Then, clarify your career goals and start networking before MBA classes begin. Next, establish a budget and loan plan. Finally, get housing and finalize healthcare.
Do I need to take pre-MBA courses?
Generally, pre-MBA courses are not mandatory. However, if you don’t have a quantitative background, a pre-MBA bootcamp or MBA finance prep course can really help you. If you already have a strong foundation in business, self-study and/or a math refresher are sometimes enough.
How do I build my network before business school?
Start with your classmates. Then, target alumni in your target industry or function. Specifically, request 15-minute chats, ask relevant questions, and follow up as appropriate.
Should I attend a pre-MBA bootcamp?
If you’re changing industries or functions, it may help. First, check into what your MBA program offers and whether it will help you. If not, explore programs with practical deliverables and mentorship.
How do I manage finances before an MBA?
Create a budget, compare loan options, and plan for one-time costs. Additionally, it helps to build an emergency fund of 3–6 months, if possible. As you move through the program, track your spending and adjust as necessary.
What’s Next?
Your pre-MBA preparation roadmap is the final step before starting your MBA. However, if you’re just getting started, we can help you create a strategy and standout applications. To learn more, book a free consultation today.
