Before you fill out that application and write those essays, and even before you give your GMAT, just stop for a minute and think….Why should you do an MBA? There is certainly an awe that you feel when you tell those around you that you have been recruited as an MBA by an outstanding School. Once you join a prestigious school like Oxford Saïd Business School, the perks are no doubt great! The dinners, balls, events, hanging out at the bar with your mates are all fantastic experiences. Once you graduate, and you end up getting a catch of a job as an investment banker, or a consultant, it seems all worth the hard work and effort. But really, one needs more than these to be an MBA student.

As a student at Saïd, one has to be open to new ideas, new ways of doing things. We are often surprised at the level of disagreement only in the end to find out that there was no right or wrong answer. Most discussions end with, ‘it depends’. In many cases, one has to unlearn what we have gained in our pre-Oxford lives, to grasp new concepts. One has to be able to sit through seven hours of coaching plus a two hour networking session all in a single day. So an MBA student has to be a constant bubble of energy.

My intention here is not to discourage anyone from pursuing an MBA. Just that one has to think things through before investing a whole year of time, huge amount of savings and infinite bundles of energy into such a program. I, myself am having a wonderful time learning new things. It’s whole new world at SBS that I am still learning to integrate with my existing one. But yes, everyday is a new beginning. A different challenge each day and a new friend to greet. Are you up for it?