Pre-MBA Summer: Programs, Internships, and Travel

I recently had lunch with two future HBS classmates during which we discussed many topics including our pre-MBA summer plans.  Actually, I had lunch with one future HBS classmate, and one HBS/GSB admit that recently chose GSB.  We were introduced via the various Class of 2015 social media groups (Facebook, LinkedIn, etc) that became active the instant the R1 decisions were released.

The three of us have an array of summer plans as diverse our life priorities and experiences.  One classmate was interested in traveling to China, the other had a relatively open travel schedule.  I was already done working for my full-time employer (USMC), one planned to work a few weeks more, and the other hadn’t even told his employer that he was leaving!  To extrapolate beyond just our three cases, I look to our Class Facebook page, in which many classmates are organizing trek to every continent, including some initial brainstorming about future treks to Antarctica.  Others are launching their start-ups or pursuing pre-MBA internships.

The breadth of ambitious activity is both exciting and inspirational.  It’s motivating me to make the most of the next 11 weeks before schools starts (August 18^th).  Many activities will fall into one of a few major initiatives.

1.       Spending time with my newly expanded family.

In March, my wife and I received life’s greatest gift, our first child.  I had the privilege of spending all of May as a full-time parent, as my wife bravely went back to work.  Ever hear your parents, or older family members, say “Man, kids grow up fast”?  I used to hate hearing this because as a kid you just want to reach the next age milestone because it brings new “freedoms.”  But truth be told, they weren’t lying.  Our son is still very young and not all grown up, but the month of May was a complete blur to me.  Time is flying by. 

I recently heard someone say that no one on his/her deathbed proclaims, “I wish I spent more time at the office, or taken one more meeting!” But usually they reflect on the quality of the relationships with those closest to them.  I know over the next two years, and certainly in the years to follow, as I try to add value to the world around me, I will have to wrestle with (and sometimes lose battles) finding a life-work balance.  But for this one summer, I’m glad that I don’t have to.  Everything will easily come second to spending time with my wife and child.

2.       Moving from San Diego to Boston.

The logistical challenge is clear: move all of your belongings from the space you occupy in San Diego to the space you will occupy in Boston.  And the military provides one final move for their members, so the largest muscle movement is accounted for.

The details however are more opaque.  For one, I’m going through a task I’ve done a half-dozen times before, but is never easy or pleasant; I must find a pet friendly rental that has no breed restrictions, as I have an 8 year-old, very well mannered Pit Bull.  Thankfully, I’ve found many landlords willing to take the “risk”, and with each one, I’ve gained a great rental reference. While I haven’t found Boston to be as pet-friendly as San Diego (few places are), I’ve found there is enough inventory, so I’m optimistic that we will eventually find a place.  As for now, the search continues.

My future place in Boston will cost more per square foot than I’m now paying, therefore we’ll end up in a slightly smaller place.  Commence the downsizing.  Luckily, we’re already living in less than 1,000sq ft, and have been planning to keep a small footprint.  The majority of my downsizing efforts are being directed at selling our second car (the smaller of the two).  As someone who grew up in NYC, I cannot justify the added cost or utility of having two cars in a major American city.  (For reference, parking a car for one year in Boston is approximately $1,500.  That’s assuming you only have to pay for parking at one location, your apartment or on campus.  If you live off-campus, you may be paying for parking at both locations.) 

For less than $1,000, I bought a bicycle and a bus pass!

Lastly, even though I won’t be traveling to China, French New Guinea, or anywhere overseas, we are driving from SD to Boston over the last two weeks of July.  As much as I enjoy traveling overseas, though most of my travel has been for work, I love seeing more of this vast nation.  We’re taking the “Southern Route” and we look forward to seeing our family in the weeks before school starts.

3.       Pre-MBA coursework.

Along with about 240 of my classmates, I’ve been assigned to attend HBS’ one-week pre-MBA financial accounting / quant boot camp for incoming MBA students-Analytics.  This program starts one week prior to the school year starting.  (Many MBA programs have similar prep courses, and most of the military admits that I know going to top 10 schools, have had to complete these courses.)  Prior to starting, we have to complete two online review courses estimated to take about 25 hours total. 

So far, I’ve completed 0 of 25 hours.  I’ll also spend sometime reviewing material from a financial accounting class I took at UCSD prior to applying, though I imagine a lot of it will overlap.

4.       USMC Reserves.

I have decided to continue my Marine Corps service in the Reserves for several reasons, which are beyond the scope of this article.  More on this topic can be found hereand here.  I anticipate serving between 14-21 days over the summer.  I’m looking forward to checking into my new unit and reconnecting with Marines.  These initial meetings will lay the foundation of our work relationship and will foretell how flexible the unit will be with my upcoming school schedule.   I’ve been completely upfront with my anticipated availability, and they have been more than understanding.

5.       Self-development.

Even while completing the individual tasks of these initiatives, there is still time left in the day.  My goal is to continue to grow as a person, spiritually, physically and mentally. 

Spiritually: I’m pushing further into a relationship with my creator, whom I believe is a knowable force.  Like all other relationships, this one is expensive in time, energy and treasure.  Of course, in so many other ways, it is unlike any other relationship. 

Physically: like many other many other military members, I’ve found that I’m in the best physical condition while on deployment.  After looking at the typical daily schedule during the school year, I don’t think the same will be true while I’m in school.  So this summer, I’m attempting to increase my physical capacity prior to the school year starting, such that I have the ability to maintain good physical health.  To this end, I’ve been logging many miles on that new bicycle (my main form of transportation to school) that I discussed above.

Mentally: aside from the pre-MBA prep, I’ve also been knocking books off my reading list.  Several of the books have been on there for years (I’m about half way through a cover to cover reading of the Bible), but most of them are business classics aimed at closing the general business knowledge gap between my and my future classmates the come from a more “traditional” business background.  I hope to post an end of summer short book report.

---

Written by Ahron (ahron@MilitaryToBusiness.com), a transitioning Marine Officer starting HBS in the Fall of 2013