Note: much of the material below was written by people in the classes of 2003 and earlier. Maybe they had a tougher January program than us, or maybe they are trying to manage expectations, but in general many of us (class of 2005) did not find the January program as busy, challenging, or intense as they describe. Yes, it's busy, and yes, there's lot of work, but we find it hard to imagine anyone "passing it out" or anything close to that. Nonetheless, we leave the original material below for your consideration.
There are going to many days during the January program when you will be hard pressed to find the time to eat or sleep. As difficult as it may be, it is important that you try to find the time for the items listed below, because they will pay huge dividends in the months to follow.
Prepare your coworkers and supervisor for what is about to come.
This can not be overstated! If you are fortunate enough to have other SDM students in your work group, at least there will be an appreciation of the time commitment required. If it is your company’s first exposure to the MIT SDM program it would be beneficial to have your supervisor contact the MIT SDM staff. At least your supervisor will get some understanding of the time commitment required from the SDM program. Your supervisor should understand that your company is making a large investment in your education and the MIT SDM program is not like other graduate programs that they might be familiar with.
Get to know the SDM program office staff.
The January program will be your best opportunity to let the staff know who you are. It probably is not necessary to take the staff out to dinner or buy them expensive gifts. However, introducing yourself and being cordial to the staff will go a long way when you are back home and need their help. To help drive this point home, remember that you are one of about 100 students that they are responsible for. You should present yourself in a positive light and be considerate of the staff’s time demands.
Do not try to be a hero.
During the heat of battle there might be a temptation to “do it myself so I do not have to deal with the aggravation”. This could be a huge mistake. The workload pace is way too intense to take on group assignments by yourself.
Try to be a team player.
One of the key objectives of the program is to learn how to work in teams. Most of the students will have at least some supervisory experience so this should not come as a surprise to anyone. A more subtle reason for wanting to be a team player is that reputations will be made during the January Program. When it comes time to look for team partners, students will be looking for people they can work with and who carry their share of the load.
Take good notes.
You will receive lots of information pertaining to things about the program, classes, video conferencing, the faculty, and MIT in general. Come to campus prepared to organize this information in a systematic and easily retrievable manner. It will make things a lot easier for when you are back at home.
Prepare mentally.
No one can possibly prepare you for the magnitude of work you will be expected to do during January. Whatever we say here, the message will not come through loudly enough – do absolutely everything in your power to set things up so that you can completely concentrate on MIT while you are here.
You will not have enough time to read your email from work, process work voicemail, or do anything but The Program and basic bodily functions. People in excellent physical condition have (literally) passed out from overwork/stress. You will want to spend more time with spouses, kids, and your pillow than 24 hours a day allows. Part of this is self-inflicted: one of the most important lessons here is the “80-20” rule, or knowing when to move on. This is class work, not your job: the incremental learning from absolute perfection is negligible. Always consider how much a given assignment is worth (to your grade in the class, versus sleep, whatever) before spending an additional chunk of time on it.
As one graduating senior here put it in an editorial spring 1998, MIT teaches you the art of triage: some things must be left for dead in order to save others.