There's more than one way to find out what it’s like to do an MBA. Each week, one of four MBA insiders will give readers the scoop on what it’s like to study at some of the top business schools in the UK, the US and Europe.

“I will conduct class like an orchestra. Eliciting what I want, challenging you to perform.” That, I learnt during orientation, is one professor’s way of saying: “Prepare beyond measure. You will be cold called.”

Tuck’s unique learning model is this: they assign you to a study group (the school purposely creates diverse groups), overload you with work and challenge you, under pressure of time, lack of sleep and individual differences, to become effective members of a team. The intensity is more than I anticipated.

My study group is reflective of the student body and consists of three men and two women. One group member is from China, another from Serbia.

Day 1: As my study group prepares for Decision Science, I hesitate. The amount of material we cover in a week is incredible. I never considered what it would feel to be the one for whom the group is steadying its pace. We each arrive full of tools to lead and the transition is challenging.

Day 2: “Sector Smarts” started: great panel discussions covering every industry with former students reflecting on their path. Company briefings begin next week. Interviews follow.

Day 3: My daily time budget forecast
Classes – 3 hours
Study group – 4 hours
Homework – 4 hours
Eating – 2 hours
Career search – 2 hours (dream job = happy)
Networking/socialising – 4 hours (will help to get dream job)
Sleep – 8 hours (necessary)
Misc (meetings, exercise, procrastination) – 5 hours
Total: 32. Actual hours in a day: 24. Yikes.

Day 4: I took advantage of the misc category today. I walked back through the path in my backyard to explore the trails behind my apartment. Along a dry stream bed I startled two whitetailed deer, curious, uncertain and anxious.

Weekend: I finished week one with some Friday night networking. Saturday, I enjoyed Tuck’s incredible location hidden in the New England mountains, jumped off a great rope swing into the river and adventured through running trails in Dartmouth's backyard. There is a tree on my bike-commute to school that is slowly dropping its prematurely coloured leaves. Fall is peeking in; midterms are in two weeks. “Remember why you are here,” the orchestra conductor told us. “Write it down.” Here it is: When I was younger, I believed I could have a positive impact on the world. I still do.

Next week: Peter Sherman, a second-year IESE student, discusses a summer spent working at Google

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