Build Your MBA Community Before B-School
If you’ve already been admitted to your dream MBA program, congratulations! Now, the countdown to your first day begins. While that may feel like eons away, the next several months are the perfect time to build your MBA community with your future classmates. Starting early can ease your transition, expand your network, and make the B-school experience even more rewarding. Here are some excellent ways to strengthen bonds before stepping foot on campus in the fall.
Build Your MBA Community Early at Admitted Student Events
Schools often host receptions for admits where they can mingle and network with alums and fellow admits. However, admitted student preview days, AKA “Welcome Weekends” or “Admit Days,” are not just about meeting classmates, faculty, and alums.
These events offer a great preview of your future school’s culture. You’ll engage in networking sessions, social outings, and even sample classes designed to help you feel at home before the program officially begins.
If you have the opportunity to attend in person, do so. The face-to-face interactions will help you build your MBA community way more than online introductions alone. However, if travel isn’t feasible, many schools also offer virtual sessions where you can still interact meaningfully with your incoming class.
Engage with Local Admits
If you live in a major city or metro area, chances are other admits do, too. Schools often facilitate local meetups, or you can coordinate informal gatherings with nearby classmates. Meeting in person for coffee or a happy hour allows for organic conversations and relationship-building that can make your transition to campus feel even smoother as you build your MBA community.
Join Online Communities
Even before admitted student events, many schools create online spaces for their new cohorts, such as Slack workspaces, WhatsApp groups, and Discord channels. If your school hasn’t set one up yet, take the initiative yourself. These groups are great for breaking the ice, sharing housing tips, discussing career interests, and even planning pre-MBA trips.
If you’re unsure how to start a conversation, consider asking a question about the program, sharing an interesting article related to business, or simply introducing yourself and your background.
Attend Pre-MBA Treks and Conferences
Many industry groups and student clubs organize summer treks or pre-MBA conferences that offer networking opportunities before the school year starts. These can be particularly helpful if you target specific industries like consulting, tech, or finance.
Attending these events alongside future classmates can help you develop shared experiences early and build a support system for recruiting season. By networking early, you’re taking proactive steps to prepare for your future career.
Participate in School-Sponsored Projects or Initiatives
Some top MBA programs offer specific pre-MBA opportunities designed for admitted students to help them transition smoothly into the program.
- The Wharton School, offers summer case competitions and workshops tailored to admits, helping them build their problem-solving and teamwork skills.
- MIT Sloan School of Management provides pre-MBA internships and structured prep programs, including case competitions and problem-solving exercises.
- INSEAD offers its Business Foundations Week, focusing on essential subjects like accounting and finance to help new students hit the ground running.
Engaging in these can help you build your MBA community academically by introducing you to potential study group members. If your school doesn’t have a formal program, consider forming an informal reading group or business case discussion club with your classmates.
Plan a Trip with Future Classmates
Believe it or not, some MBA cohorts plan vacations together before the program begins. Whether it’s a casual weekend getaway or a more adventurous international trip, these experiences can help you build your MBA community and create lasting friendships before classes start.
Many admits also take advantage of pre-term, non-academic travel programs. For example, Kellogg School of Management has KWEST, a pre-matriculation global experience planned by and for students.
Incoming students in Kellogg’s full-time MBA program come together before classes start to travel to nearly 40 countries under the leadership of second-year students, who spend almost a year planning and training for the experience.
Kickstart Your MBA Journey with Connections
“When applying to school, there are a million little things to do, but it’s vital to not forget making a human connection with schools, since that will be a great indicator of your next two years,” says UCLA Anderson School of Management MBA student Hannah Clark.
“When getting an MBA, it’s the people who make the degree valuable. Having connections with fellow applicants and people already at schools you’re applying to is so important because these connections will stick with you long after the application process and truly enhance your MBA experience,” she adds.
“You never know if a simple coffee chat can open up incredible opportunities or lead to lifelong connections.”—Hannah Clark (UCLA MBA ’26)
Starting an MBA is a major life change, but you don’t have to wait until day one to start feeling like part of your MBA community. By taking advantage of admitted student events, joining online groups, and connecting with classmates early, you’ll enter your MBA program with strong relationships already in place. So reach out, get involved, and start building the foundation for a successful and fulfilling MBA journey!
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If you’ve already been admitted to your dream MBA program and need guidance for financial aid applications as a US or international candidate, we are here to help with SBC’s Financial Aid Advisory service. Please email info@stacyblackman.com to learn more.
Here’s a snapshot of the caliber of expertise on our SBC team.
Ashley
Ashley is a former MBA Admissions Board Member for Harvard Business School (HBS), where she interviewed and evaluated thousands of business school applicants for over a six year tenure. Ashley holds an MBA from HBS. During her HBS years, Ashley was the Sports Editor for the Harbus and a member of the B-School Blades Ice Hockey Team. After HBS, she worked in Marketing at the Gillette Company on Male and Female shaving ...
×Pauline
A former associate director of admissions at Harvard Business School, Pauline served on the HBS MBA Admissions Board full-time for four years. She evaluated and interviewed HBS applicants, both on-campus and globally. Pauline's career has included sales and marketing management roles with Coca-Cola, Gillette, Procter & Gamble, and IBM. For over 10 years, Pauline has expertly guided MBA applicants, and her clients h ...
×Laura
Laura comes from the MBA Admissions Board at Harvard Business School (HBS) and is an HBS MBA alumnus. In her HBS Admissions role, she evaluated and interviewed hundreds of business school candidates, including internationals, women, military and other applicant pools, for five years. Prior to her time as a student at HBS, Laura began her career in advertising and marketing in Chicago at Leo Burnett where she worked on th ...
×Andrea
Andrea served as the Associate Director of MBA Admissions at Harvard Business School (HBS) for over five years. In this role, she provided strategic direction for student yield-management activities and also served as a full member of the admissions committee. In 2007, Andrea launched the new 2+2 Program at Harvard Business School – a program targeted at college junior applicants to Harvard Business School. Andrea has also served as a Career Coach for Harvard Business School for both cu ...
×Jennifer
Jennifer served as Admissions Officer at the Stanford (GSB) for five years. She holds an MBA from Stanford (GSB) and a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Jennifer has over 15 years experience in guiding applicants through the increasingly competitive admissions process into top MBA programs. Having read thousands and thousands of essays and applications while at Stanford (GSB) Admiss ...
×Erin K.
Erin served in key roles in MBA Admissions--as Director at Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley and Assistant Director at Stanford's Graduate School of Business (GSB). Erin served on the admissions committee at each school and has read thousands of applications in her career. At Haas, she served for seven years in roles that encompassed evaluation, outreach, and diversity and inclusion. During her tenure in Admissions at GSB, she was responsible for candidate evaluation, applicant outreach, ...
×Susie
Susie comes from the Admissions Office of the Stanford Graduate School of Business where she reviewed and evaluated hundreds of prospective students’ applications. She holds an MBA from Stanford’s GSB and a BA from Stanford in Economics. Prior to advising MBA applicants, Susie held a variety of roles over a 15-year period in capital markets, finance, and real estate, including as partner in one of the nation’s most innovative finance and real estate investment organizations. In that r ...
×Dione
Dione holds an MBA degree from Stanford Business School (GSB) and a BA degree from Stanford University, where she double majored in Economics and Communication with concentrations in journalism and sociology. Dione has served as an Admissions reader and member of the Minority Admissions Advisory Committee at Stanford. Dione is an accomplished and respected advocate and thought leader on education and diversity. She is ...
×Anthony
Anthony served as the Associate Director of MBA Admissions at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, where he dedicated over 10 years of expertise. During his time as a Wharton Admissions Officer, he read and reviewed thousands of applications and helped bring in a class of 800+ students a year. Anthony has traveled both domestically and internationally to recruit a ...
×Meghan
Meghan served as the Associate Director of Admissions and Marketing at the Wharton MBA’s Lauder Institute, a joint degree program combining the Wharton MBA with an MA in International Studies. In her role on the Wharton MBA admissions committee, Meghan advised domestic and international applicants; conducted interviews and information sessions domestically and overseas in Asia, Central and South America, and Europe; and evaluated applicants for admission to the program. Meghan also managed ...
×Amy
Amy comes from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania where she was Associate Director. Amy devoted 12 years at the Wharton School, working closely with MBA students and supporting the admissions team. During her tenure at Wharton, Amy served as a trusted adviser to prospective applicants as well as admitted and matriculated students. She conducted admissions chats with applicants early in the admissions ...
×Ally
Ally brings six years of admissions experience to the SBC team, most recently as an Assistant Director of Admission for the full-time MBA program at Columbia Business School (CBS). During her time at Columbia, Ally was responsible for reviewing applications, planning recruitment events, and interviewing candidates for both the full-time MBA program and the Executive MBA program. She traveled both internationally and dome ...
×Erin B.
Erin has over seven years of experience working across major institutions, including University of Pennsylvania, Columbia Business School, and NYU's Stern School of Business. At Columbia Business School, Erin was an Assistant Director of Admissions where she evaluated applications for both the full time and executive MBA programs, sat on the admissions and merit scholarship committees and advised applicants on which program might be the best fit for them based on their work experience and pro ...
×Emma
Emma comes from the MBA Admissions Office at Columbia Business School (CBS), where she was Associate Director. Emma conducted dozens of interviews each cycle for the MBA and EMBA programs, as well as coordinating the alumni ambassador interview program. She read and evaluated hundreds of applications each cycle, delivered information sessions to audiences across the globe, and advised countless waitlisted applicants. ×
Kate
Kate served in the MBA Admissions Office at Columbia Business School for over five years. In her capacity as an Associate Director, Kate advised applicants daily and reviewed hundreds of applications per cycle. She was also an applicant interviewer, a liaison to other offices within the School, and a CBS representative at events around the world. Kate managed several recruiting and operational projects for the Admissions Committee. After Columbia Business School, Kate transitioned into cam ...
×Holly
Holly worked as a member of the NYU Stern MBA Admissions team for seven years and holds an MBA from NYU Stern. In her tenure as Director of NYU MBA Admissions, Holly worked closely with admissions teams from Columbia, Michigan Ross, UVA Darden, Cornell Johnson, Berkeley Haas, Yale SOM, and Duke Fuqua on recruiting events domestically and internationally. On the NYU Stern admissions committee, Holly conducted interviews, planned and hosted events, and trained staff on reading and interviewi ...
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