Each three-hour exam was exhausting. My first action was to scan the questions and then (as I mentioned in my previous post) jot down any relevant memorized items before I forgot them. After that I would look through each of the questions in a little more detail. This is very important since it is not that uncommon for a later question to provide some hints that could be useful in answering an earlier question.
I answered all the questions in order. Typically I wrote 12-15 (minimum 9, maximum 18) full A4 pages per paper. This means about 4-5 pages per hour and it also means 1-2 pages for each 10% of the total score. Roughly every half hour I checked my progress based on this timeline.
I tried to complete the paper at about two and a half hours or slightly thereafter so that I would have enough time to read through my answers, ensure that they were legible and add any thoughts which occurred to me on re-reading. I typically only wrote on the right-hand-side pages so that I would be able to add and elaborate after I finished the question. In two cases I finished the answer book and had to squeeze at the end but generally this approach worked well for me.
From a timing perspective, I finished every exam in less than 2:45 and typically left the room in advance. I'm sure I could have found something to improve but usually I was so burnt out that I just wanted to leave and/or start studying for my next exam!
On that topic, I should also note that I have had a habit of scheduling multiple exams per diet. In December 2008 and 2009 I sat four exams each. This is an extremely intense experience but it is possible. I've heard of cases where students have sat five or six exams but four is certainly the limit for me. I would also never schedule two exams on the same day unless there is absolutely no way around it.
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24 January 2010
My approach - exam preparation
When it comes time to prepare for the exams there is one primary source of information that far exceeds all others: the past papers. Certainly, you need to have a foundation in the material before you take them on but my experience is that none of the other available resources are reliably aligned to what will appear on the exams.
One to two weeks before the exams I begin to work through each of the past papers. The official recommendation is to do this under exam conditions. I didn't heed this recommendation. Perhaps I would have scored better if I had. However, in my case I do not believe it would have helped me significantly.
There are two benefits of a live rehearsal. It forces rigorous time management and it provides practice actively articulating key concepts. I never experienced a problem with time management during an exam and felt comfortable articulating the concepts without a rehearsal. Others may not have the same experience and may very well find a rehearsal to be of critical importance.
In the last couple days before the exam, I also compiled a cheat-sheet. The idea wasn't to cheat (I swear I never brought it into the venue or cheated in any other way). Instead my objective was to actively and visually represent everything I needed to memorise for the exam.
In many cases these were lists and sequences that tended to crop up frequently in the exams. I found that by compiling them into a sheet and scanning over them a few times before the exam I was able to retain them at least until the exam started and I could jot them down on the exam materials.
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One to two weeks before the exams I begin to work through each of the past papers. The official recommendation is to do this under exam conditions. I didn't heed this recommendation. Perhaps I would have scored better if I had. However, in my case I do not believe it would have helped me significantly.
There are two benefits of a live rehearsal. It forces rigorous time management and it provides practice actively articulating key concepts. I never experienced a problem with time management during an exam and felt comfortable articulating the concepts without a rehearsal. Others may not have the same experience and may very well find a rehearsal to be of critical importance.
In the last couple days before the exam, I also compiled a cheat-sheet. The idea wasn't to cheat (I swear I never brought it into the venue or cheated in any other way). Instead my objective was to actively and visually represent everything I needed to memorise for the exam.
In many cases these were lists and sequences that tended to crop up frequently in the exams. I found that by compiling them into a sheet and scanning over them a few times before the exam I was able to retain them at least until the exam started and I could jot them down on the exam materials.
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My approach - studies
I didn't keep a record of how much time I spent studying each module. However, I believe that my effort typically ranged between 80 and 120 hours. This is significantly less that the official recommendation of 200 hours.
As I mentioned in my previous post, I believe I have some advantages which not all other students may enjoy. I would therefore caution anyone from assuming this amout of effort will be sufficient for them. I'm sure there are some who have managed with much less time than me - but my impression based on the feedback I've received from other students is that the number of 200 hours is aggressive on average.
I divide my studies into two phases. My objective in the first phase is comprehension of the materials. In the second phase I prepare for the exam. In this post I focus on the first.
In the first phase, I am less concerned with how well I do on the exam. In some cases I do not feel the materials were very closely aligned with the exam and this discrepancy was apparent to me early in my studies. Nonetheless, I actually wanted to learn something so I tried my best to begin with a solid understanding of the course text.
I read through this text in two cycles. In the first I merely attempted to get my head around the main themes. I always worked off a print-out of the course text (never the black books) and I would highlight all the keywords and keypoints. Usually I skipped the end-of-module questions and some of the embedded case studies (if I thought I had grasped the concept already).
In the second cycle I actively tried to summarise the text. I am providing my summaries to the student community and I hope that they will be helpful to some. However, I must emphasise that I found much more benefit in writing these summaries than in reading them. There is great value in actively trying to formulate the thoughts expressed in the text rather than simply skimming over them. My point is that I would advise all students to write their own summaries in addition to (or instead of) using other students' notes.
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As I mentioned in my previous post, I believe I have some advantages which not all other students may enjoy. I would therefore caution anyone from assuming this amout of effort will be sufficient for them. I'm sure there are some who have managed with much less time than me - but my impression based on the feedback I've received from other students is that the number of 200 hours is aggressive on average.
I divide my studies into two phases. My objective in the first phase is comprehension of the materials. In the second phase I prepare for the exam. In this post I focus on the first.
In the first phase, I am less concerned with how well I do on the exam. In some cases I do not feel the materials were very closely aligned with the exam and this discrepancy was apparent to me early in my studies. Nonetheless, I actually wanted to learn something so I tried my best to begin with a solid understanding of the course text.
I read through this text in two cycles. In the first I merely attempted to get my head around the main themes. I always worked off a print-out of the course text (never the black books) and I would highlight all the keywords and keypoints. Usually I skipped the end-of-module questions and some of the embedded case studies (if I thought I had grasped the concept already).
In the second cycle I actively tried to summarise the text. I am providing my summaries to the student community and I hope that they will be helpful to some. However, I must emphasise that I found much more benefit in writing these summaries than in reading them. There is great value in actively trying to formulate the thoughts expressed in the text rather than simply skimming over them. My point is that I would advise all students to write their own summaries in addition to (or instead of) using other students' notes.
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My background
I hope that it may be of some help to fellow and future students for me to share my approach to studing at EBS. However, before I do that I would like to emphasise that I do not believe my approach will work for everyone since each student is different. I will share some key elements of my background that may help you to determine if you share much similarity with me and/or allow you to gauge whether you may need to take a different approach.
In summary, I believe I am very fortunate in that my background gave me an advantage over many in studing and in writing exams. Some areas which were of benefit include:
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In summary, I believe I am very fortunate in that my background gave me an advantage over many in studing and in writing exams. Some areas which were of benefit include:
- My native language is English (even though I live in Austria) so I could understand the materials more easily and write the papers with less care of the language
- I have degrees from three other universities so I am somewhat familiar with academic studies.
- I have twenty-five years of industry experience in a variety of roles, including consulting engagements with many of the worlds largest corporations. So I have seen many of the principles in action.
- I have published five books. I would contend this is a stronger indication of persistence than of talent. The relevant point in this context is that it had forced me to articulate my thoughts very quickly in written form which is useful when it comes to writing exams.
I'm sure there are some students who are more fortunate than I was but there are surely also some who entered the programme at a considerable disadvantage. I applaud their effort and admire them for taking on the challenge.
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Overview of my MBA
My overall feedback of the programme is that it was very demanding but also very rewarding. I enjoyed the studies and feel that I learnt a considerable amount which I am able to apply to my current and future work.
I enrolled in the EBS programme in January 2008 and scheduled my MBA papers/exams as follows:
My scores on the MBA programme ranged from 63 (Strategic Negotiation) to 87 (Accounting). Since my average was slightly over 70 I was able to graduate with a distinction. Generally my scores were higher on the more numerical modules (Accounting, Economics, Finance) and lower on the modules which require (in my opinion) more subjective answers.
I would add that there is not necessarily a high correlation between the modules where I scored highly and those which I felt to be most valuable or enjoyable. In fact there isn't even a significant correlation between how I felt after writing the paper and how well I did. Every score was a surprise - some higher and some lower than I had anticipated.
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I enrolled in the EBS programme in January 2008 and scheduled my MBA papers/exams as follows:
- June 2008: Marketing, Organizational Behaviour
- December 2008: Accounting, Finance, Project Management, Economics
- June 2009: Strategic Planning, Strategic Negotiation, Competitive Strategy
My scores on the MBA programme ranged from 63 (Strategic Negotiation) to 87 (Accounting). Since my average was slightly over 70 I was able to graduate with a distinction. Generally my scores were higher on the more numerical modules (Accounting, Economics, Finance) and lower on the modules which require (in my opinion) more subjective answers.
I would add that there is not necessarily a high correlation between the modules where I scored highly and those which I felt to be most valuable or enjoyable. In fact there isn't even a significant correlation between how I felt after writing the paper and how well I did. Every score was a surprise - some higher and some lower than I had anticipated.
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Making the choice
I entered the MBA programme of Edinburgh Business School at Heriot-Watt University in January 2008. I have a strong background in technology which I felt needed a complementary business foundation in order to permit career progression.
At the time I was employed by Hewlett-Packard and had been authorized to pursue a degree as part of HP’s Degree Assistance Program. I was given (relatively) free choice of the institution which I chose in considering the following criteria:
These criteria led me to the EBS MBA programme, with which I have been very satisfied. I completed my MBA in June 2009 and am now working on an MSc in Strategic Planning.
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At the time I was employed by Hewlett-Packard and had been authorized to pursue a degree as part of HP’s Degree Assistance Program. I was given (relatively) free choice of the institution which I chose in considering the following criteria:
- I wanted to ensure that I gained as much insight and practical understanding of business as possible and therefore carefully evaluated the credentials of leading faculty members.
- Since I travel frequently I needed a programme that would accommodate a free style of learning without specific time and location-based commitments. In other words, I prefer self-study over classroom tuition.
- I live in Austria and required an MBA programme which would allow me to attend and graduate without travel to examinations.
- In order to filter serious and professional programmes from mail-order MBAs I only investigated programmes with supervised examinations.
These criteria led me to the EBS MBA programme, with which I have been very satisfied. I completed my MBA in June 2009 and am now working on an MSc in Strategic Planning.
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