Brandeis International Business School

I still remember receiving my acceptance letter to the Master of Science in Business Analytics (MSBA) program at Brandeis International Business School. I was so excited to begin the next step in my academic journey!

But I also wanted to make the most out of my Brandeis experience — and do everything I could ahead of time to ensure that I hit the ground running.

What programming languages would I be working with? Were there any topics I needed to start reading up on right away? These were just some of the questions on my mind after being accepted to the MSBA program.

As you might guess, with zero coding experience and only one undergraduate statistics course under my belt, I was pretty nervous about jumping into such an analytical environment. I knew, though, that the right preparation would pay off in the long run.

Spoiler alert: It worked! By my second semester, I was working as a teaching assistant and helping my peers learn Python.

Here’s a breakdown of how I prepared for the start of my program.

Do Your Research, Ask Questions

I had plenty of free time the summer before my program started and I wanted to make it count. The first thing I did was familiarize myself with the MSBA curriculum listed on the International Business School website. I found the sample course plans very useful because they helped me envision what my first semester would look like.

I was also lucky to have existing connections with professors, thanks to my time as an undergraduate student at Brandeis University. After sending a few emails I received lots of great advice and encouragement. For incoming students — especially those who are new to Brandeis — I would strongly recommend that you reach out to the Student Ambassadors team, who are here to support you and answer all of your questions about the student experience.

Nothing Beats Hands-On Learning

Among the advice I received was to familiarize myself with Python and R and to brush up on my statistics. So I began researching what options were out there and landed on DataCamp, which offers free beginner-friendly courses. I’ve also heard great things about Coursera, and I’m sure there are many other fantastic resources as well.

After completing several DataCamp courses, I downloaded Python and R and just started messing around with code. I used Google and Github to find code that I could copy and paste and then run on my end. I then tried to figure out how the code worked just by looking through it (while Googling plenty of questions along the way). Little things like this helped me get comfortable and familiar with tools that were totally new to me.

I spent less time brushing up on my statistics, figuring that I’d be able to pick it up again pretty quickly. I really wasn’t confident about my coding skills, so that’s where I focused my time. Of course, we all come from different backgrounds and what I needed to prepare for might not be what you need to prepare for.

My Recommendations for You

1. Familiarize yourself with Python and R
2. Play around with Tableau
3. Review some statistics
4. Chat with an Admissions Ambassador
5. Enjoy some screen-free time