Many people wonder what to expect from their fellow students when they join an MBA program. Of course, your MBA class will be a fairly diverse lot, but there are some trends (please keep in mind that these generalizations are just that: generalizations). You can expect to see a mixture of students with very little or no work experience, some with a few years of experience, and a few who have a significant amount of experience. Of those with work experience, the majority will have worked in banking or technology.

MBA students tend to be competitive, overachieving types, and as such, can sometimes be irritating. They are often grade focused. They may seem to talk in class simply to be heard. You probably won't be discussing philosophy or literature with your classmates, but then again, you may not want to. Learning to get along with all the different types of students is a good skill to develop.

Since the collapse of the technology bubble a few years ago, a lot of former technology professionals have migrated into MBA programs. These students tend to be good at the analytical subjects, but less skilled at some of the "softer" subjects such as management, communications, negotiation, and the like.

If there is a "typical" MBA student, he (yes, it's probably a he) is bright, friendly, a bit of a philistine, and a bit of a loudmouth. He's more interested in the how than the why. But your results may vary. Our experience is that there are a lot of interesting people to meet in MBA programs, from many different backgrounds, and with many different interests.