Submitted by Tiffany Tommasini from the University of Phoenix.

I can write thousands of words of advice to any student.  But the most important (and simple) advice I can tell anyone is to gain experience while in school.  It’s a competetive world out there!  It may have been true at one point in history, that finding a job right out of school was a simple one.  At one point in history that piece of paper may have set you aside from everyone else.  Well, I’m here to tell you that while that piece of paper is incredibly important, your competition is graduating with 2 or more years of experience through internships inside the field that you’re trying to get an “in” with.  While you’re looking for entry level positions, they’ve already entered and are moving up in your field.  It is important, with today’s world economy, more than ever not only to get a four year degree but also gain applicable experience while earning that degree.  Today is not the day to settle for that serving position or part time job at the mall.  Go out there and acquire the experience necessary to set yourself aside from your fellow graduates!

Take it from someone with experience (or lack there of) and make a place for yourself in this tough, competetive time in which we live.

Submitted by Angela Anderson on January 28, 2012.

The best advice I can give a business student is to always do the homework assigned to you. Practice your writing skills and learn to write memos, business proposals, internal reports, and other business letters. Writing skills are very important with today’s high technology that enables you to get instant messages and emails on a hand held device. Many people expect instant or quick responses when they send an email or instant message. Knowing how to properly write in a business setting is extremely important since you will need to respond to emails and instant messages that relate to your career almost on a daily basis. Learn to be an effective manager as many business students become business managers.

Submitted by Francine Juhlin on March 4, 2012.

My best advice for students concerns using the feedback provided for assignments.  Often I hear fellow students complain about a grade, or say they are content with a passing grade.  School is not all about the grades, but what is learned in the process.  When I receive feedback, I figure out “what I did wrong”.  If my infraction was APA related, I look up the rule in my APA publications manual.  I once found that the teacher was wrong, and with a proper reference I was awarded the point I originally lost.  If my point deduction was for content, I will research further and ask for clarification.  If I misinterpreted an article or study, I will ask the instructor for clarification to ensure I understand the concept in the future.  These suggestions I am writing are techniques I use to maintain my 3.93 GPA.

Our advice to students (not just MBA students) is to learn from the finance expert. Learning from a good teacher is a hundred times more effective and impactful than learning from an average one.  Remember we read about how a good high school teacher can be valued at $100,000 plus a year! I personally think the same is true at the graduate level!

So learn Corporate finance or Valuation from the best at NYU’s Stern School of Business.  Prof. Ashwath Damodaran is putting up two of his current courses entirely online.  According to his blog:

a. Corporate finance class

What is it? This is my “big picture” class about how financial principles govern how a business should be run. It looks at everything that a business does, through the lens of finance, and classifies them into investment, financing and dividend decisions.

Who can use it? I am biased but I think that everyone can use a corporate finance class: entrepreneurs starting new businesses, managers at established businesses and investors valuing these businesses.

How do you join? Go to the site (http://coursekit.com/finance). Enter RWHZYG as your code and you can then register for the class. Once you are registered, you will automatically be put into this page, every time you enter the site.

b. Valuation

What is it? This is a valuation class and it is about valuing any type of business: private or public, large or small and across markets. My focus is on providing the tools that will allow you to create your solution to valuation challenges, since new ones keep popping up.

Who can use it? While investors interested in valuing companies may be the obvious target, I teach the class more generally to be useful (I hope) to managers running the businesses and those who are just curious about value.

How do you join? Go to the site (http://coursekit.com/app#course/b40.3331.damodaran). EnterEH7WZN as your code and you can then register for the class. Once you are registered, you will automatically be put into this page, every time you enter the site.

He is going to share his lecture notes, handouts, assignments and even exams with self-grading material with you. He will also put up his webcasts online so you really have almost all that a full time paying student has. The only component missing will be live feedback from the master himself.

GraduateTutor.com will try to fill up this missing component for our students by providing live support for your questions and being your group mate as you work through the assignments and projects. We are getting together the mechanics of the best way to make this happen. So if you are interested in participating, please join us below and we will keep you posted as we get this going.

This entry is written by Matt Greer mostly for programmers on his blog. We thought this applies to MBA, CFA and CPA students too.

Waking Up at 5am to Code

Angela Anderson from Phoenix.edu

The best advice I can give a business student is to always do the homework assigned to you. Practice your writing skills and learn to write memos, business proposals, internal reports, and other business letters. Writing skills are very important with today’s high technology that enables you to get instant messages and emails on a hand held device. Many people expect instant or quick responses when they send an email or instant message. Knowing how to properly write in a business setting is extremely important since you will need to respond to emails and instant messages that relate to your career almost on a daily basis. Learn to be an effective manager as many business students become business managers.

I’m not a type A, investment banker type 4.0 GPA student about to lecture you on your studies or your career but a guy who enjoys life.  But I have some advice that will help you live well and without pain or aches. My advice to MBA students is simple:  Get healthy.  I’m sure you have had enough lectures about exercising, eating, etc so I’ll save you that. Here is something I came across recently:  Avoiding sitting down = Avoiding weight gain!

Here is an article from the NYT on the benefits of not sitting down.  This aspect has been proven by many, many studies (refer to the article for study details).  Irrespective of whether you exercise vigorously or not, sitting for long periods is bad for you.

Sitting down essentially slows your metabolism and prevents you from burning calories. There are many things you can do to reduce the time you spend sitting including 1) walking to talk to someone instead of just emailing them 2) avoiding the elevator 3) using a stand-up desk  4) using a therapy ball instead of an office chair 5) minimize TV-watching or move your TV onto your treadmill!

So avoid sitting down and avoid weight gain! Live long, live without pain and live happily!

There has been so much talk about the cost of graduate studies and higher education in general. Much of it focused on the debt incurred and the return derived or the many years spent trying to pay it back!

I just want to shout out now :

COLLEGE IS WORTH IT. MY GRADUATE EDUCATION WILL PAY OFF !

Thanks to Catherine Rampell for this excellent article in the NYT Economics blog and this Georgetown university’s Center for Education and the Workforce report for calling this out with hard statistics! (Our economics tutors and our statistics tutors will be proud of your work too).

Here is the crux of it from Catherine:

Unemployment for new graduates is around 8.9 percent; the rate for workers with only a high school degree is nearly three times as high, at 22.9 percent.

So even new graduates are better off on average than those who have just a high school degree. As these graduates gain experience, their lot improves. Graduates do better both in terms of unemployment percentages (first graph below) and in earnings (second graph below).

This definitely should make you feel better about your decision to pursue higher education.

Unemployment rates by education level

Earnings of Graduates by subject

Thanks again to Catherine Rampell and the  Georgetown University’s Center for Education and the Workforce report.

My advice to fellow students is to keep reading!

The MBA program is a challenging one. Plenty of classes, assignments, homework, social activities, job hunting, networking, interviews, etc. What takes a hit is your reading. This is unfortunate as valuable wisdom is often found outside the classroom.

Here is a recent WSJ article that talks about where business thinkers learn their lessons! If business thinkers are challenged by books such as these (notice they are not text books, nor do they cover accounting or statistics!) then you and I can benefit tremendously from these books!

So keep reading – not just during your MBA program but long after it too.

As an MBA student, one thing I find very stressful is managing time.  There are just too many things going on all the time! Seminars, camps, club activities, team sports, competitions, networking events, current events to keep up with……..

Here is what I am doing to take control and here is what I recommend each of you do. It will help you too (do remember to vote for my post

1) Think hard about what you are looking for from your MBA

2) Prioritize the above list

3) Identify what activities will help you get closer to the top three items in your list

4) Plan on spending a minimum number of hours on the activities from step 3

5) Track and monitor the time you spend every day on these activities.