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The best place to get the straight scoop about what B-school life is about is from students themselves rather than some "expatriated expert" from a pedigree B-school or some "high-society" magazine who do mumbo-jumbo about the school, faculty, facilities, etc., without experiencing... or rather not living like the soldiers... breathing the same air... and thinking way beyond the regular "individuals".

Great Lakes, like all leading B-schools across the globe, is not only trying to break into the "Big-5" of the B-schools but with determined focus and vision, its beating hollow its competitors and cheap "B-school imitations" who have sprung up across India in the past year or so.

Oops... I started with my own gyan... anyways, let the experts decide the ratings of the schools... and let me give you a snapshot from 5000 feet of life at Great Lakes... tighten your seat belts... sit back and enjoy your ride...

The first question that anyone asks me is, "Is B-school life as hectic as people say?" For me, it's definitely not hectic, but in a way, lots of fun. There are about 50-60 hours of classes per week (excluding the guest lectures... we would get to that in a while...) and study groups, but also the requisite dinner parties and bar nights... But it runs in spurts - sometimes it's very busy, and then there are lots of slower times when it's possible to socialize, relax, and catch up on Zzzzz...

The next trip we take on life away from books... Walking through the Great Lakes campus is an experience unlike any other. This may not be a stately (as of now), elegant thirty-five-acre campus of classic red-brick buildings, tree-lined walkways, and open, grassy courtyards like the ISBs and the IIMs, but yes, the corridors of Great Lakes ooze with energy, enthusiasm, ideas, sparks of brainwaves, the insatiable knowledge banks built into students... the essential ingredients of a par excellence B-school.

The campus serves to strengthen the sense of comradeship at the school, with the belief that the daily interaction of life between students, professors, visiting faculty and guests only increases the potential for learning. There are abundant opportunities to participate in student government and clubs as well as activities that match your particular interests, whether you are looking to find a diversion from academic life or to have a significant impact on the Great Lakes community. Student clubs at Great Lakes are never considered "extra" curricular, because they are an important part of the curriculum and foster valuable opportunities for learning and relationship-building with students outside of the classroom.

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* Contributed by -
Sandeep Khanna,
PGPM Class 2007,
Great Lakes Institute of Management, Chennai.