Starting any degree is exciting, but starting your MBA at a globally renowned school like Schulich?

It’s a big life event.

As such, you’re likely eager to prepare yourself the best you can to succeed.

In that spirit, each year Graduate Admissions offers a  4-day MBA/IMBA prep course to newly admitted students. This power event is called Flying Start and it helps students feel better prepared (and less stressed) about kicking off their MBA.

This year’s Flying Start will be held August 31 – September 3, and will be delivered by renowned Schulich instructors, all of them previous Seymour Schulich Teaching Excellence Awards nominees. The workshops span four modules:

  • Quantitative Methods
  • Accounting
  • Finance
  • Case Analysis

Why Prep?

The prep course is ideal for students with limited working exposure to these core disciplines, providing them with fundamentals and foundational knowledge.

“Starting an MBA can cause a lot of anxiety for some,” recalls Robert Bellis, MBA 2015. “Flying Start can alleviate some of that anxiety – often by revealing that many of your classmates do not have a formal business education.”

“I think that the unique value that Flying Start offers to students is that it provides a non-threatening opportunity where students can sample the various courses,” says Greg Chiykowski, instructor and course director for Introduction to Finance. He’ll be leading the Finance module in this year’s Flying Start and looks forward to introducing students to core principles of finance.

“Finance is important not only in the corporate world but also gives students a good personal understanding of the subject so that they can deal with their own financial matters,” he says.

Nerves Are Normal

While Flying Start is undeniably valuable, it bumps up the start of your MBA journey and makes things feel very real, very fast.  Don’t worry if you feel unprepared – this is normal.

“I had a few reservations before entering the program,” Robert admits. “Namely that I would be at a disadvantage because I lacked a business background.”

Not only does Flying Start mitigate these concerns by helping you prepare, there are plenty of extra ways to ensure you have a positive experience. Perhaps the most important? Put yourself out there.

“Introduce yourself to everyone – peers and faculty,” encourages Robert. “Don’t be shy in the classroom. Volunteer to present on the case competition day, especially if your public speaking skills are weak – this is the best time to practice.”

Don’t miss the opportunity to take a flying start at your MBA! Visit the Flying Start website for full details and additional testimonials. Be sure to register here to reserve your spot before  time runs out.

Good luck to all of our new MBAs this fall!