Auburn University| MBA Program

Allison Little: A Day in the Life of a First Year Student

As a first year student in the Auburn MBA program you are assigned a group project for almost every class. It can sometimes be a difficult task trying to get a group of busy graduate students together. In order to determine a time which would work for all our group members, we generally had to do a lot of communicating through email and over the phone. When trying to manage group meetings with 3 different groups, it can seem a bit overwhelming at times. However, one benefit of these projects is that we definitely learn time management skills that will help us both in and out of the program. On average, a first year student can spend up to 10 hours a week working with various groups for different classes. For example, during the CapSim® project, which is a requirement for our Strategic Management class, my group had to meet almost every other day for about an hour and a half. Since most of our groups consist only of first year MBA’s, we all have classes together from 8am until 11 am, Monday through Thursday. This was a very helpful aspect because we were each able to touch base with our various groups everyday through classes. One of the most challenging concepts of being a first year student is balancing the course load with our Graduate Assistantship work duties. Everyone with an assistantship is required to work at least 10 hours a week, and this can get quite hectic at times. This is especially true when we have tests or projects due in our core classes. Over the course of the semester, I have become accustomed to the many demands of the program and I welcome the many challenges that lay ahead.

Laura Cobb: A Day in the Life of a Second Year MBA Student

A day in the life of a second year MBA student can be one that many others would probably envy you for. At this point, with the two most trying semesters behind you, you are finally given the chance to combine the challenges of your graduate program with the fun of being in college with people who have become some of your closest friends. Not to say that it is no longer stressful – it is! Many times I have weeks that consist of working on my group’s case analysis project, researching articles for the presentation in one of my electives, and working for my graduate assistantship. But I finally feel that I have a better grasp on what I need to do to get everything done, and for once, I don’t feel like I am drowning in schoolwork that I will never be able to get done – also known as fall and spring of last year! I definitely feel more settled in this year. And while I now have to deal with the stress of finding a job, I have also been able to enjoy my time with my classmates who have become some of my closest friends. It’s sad we are all about to go our own ways, but I think we all know that we never could have gotten through the past year and a half without each other.