Spring quarter should be pretty easy going or at least that what we thought towards the end of the winter term. The weather would be warming up, course load would be manageable, some of us may be recruiting still, but overall, things would be looking up because we wouldn’t be so busy doing so many things and can come up to take in some fresh air.
I wish it was that simple. What most of us didn’t consider then, is the fact that student club transitions would be happening at the same time and fellowship decisions for the various centers at Tuck would be made at the same time as well. There are so many visiting executives coming to Tuck to talk to so many classes that there are numerous opportunities to interact with them, whether during lunch, in class lecture, during office hours, or over dinner.
In addition, there are always activities that are going on outside of academics that really make the MBA experience so special, and you want to participate in as many of them as possible. And then, there’s the first year project. Two weeks to go before the quarter ends and teams are scrambling to get things finalized before they have to start working on the report and the presentation – meetings and phone calls with clients, internal meetings, research – all of them take time.
There’s the tail-end effect as well, just like it is for any other quarter. All the final projects are coming due in all the courses at the same time. When do you get to work on these projects in the courses you are currently taking, continue researching for the FYP, meet with visiting executives, and take part in the numerous club activities…. it’s a delicate balancing act. And every minute you spend on something, it’s a minute that you don’t get to spend on something else (opportunity cost of time anyone?).
Like one of my classmates was saying the other day, spring quarter seems more intense than any of the other quarters we’ve gone through so far. I cannot agree more!
Read the full article: The myth of Spring quarter