The Social Side of B-School
Tuesday, May 31, 2016
One of the best parts about business school are all the friends you make and the fun social things you do. From weekly happy hours, to Follies and Prom 2.0 (as I call it), there is no shortage of fun things to do with your classmates and blow off some steam. Here are some of my favorite memories from my MBA experience at Carlson.
TAPS – “Thursdays After Professional Studies”
Every Thursday afternoon you will find a majority of Carlson MBA students at Corner Bar enjoying TAPS. TAPS stands for “Thursdays After Professional Studies” and is beloved by many students because it is the time each week where we can all come together, blow off steam after a long week and have a few laughs with friends. No matter how schedules differ among students each semester, you know you will always see your friends at TAPS every Thursday. I can honestly say that so many of my favorite business school memories happened in this bar, and it is where people really got to know each other and where lasting friendships are created. Also, they have a free popcorn machine and delicious wings, so you really can’t go wrong with TAPS!
Carlson Follies
Follies is another Carlson favorite that happens every April. Students create and submit videos of funny stories, experiences and moments that have happened over our two years. We poke fun at each other and the faculty, award superlatives to the second years, and even have some live performances (think, lip sync battle). It’s a time to reminisce over the past two years and have a LOT of laughs. After a few hours of laughs, we kept the party going at a local rooftop bar, as you can see below. Follies is definitely one of the most anticipated events of the year, and one of my favorite b-school memories!
MBA Prom
MBA Prom, or Prom 2.0 as I like to call it, is the culminating social event at Carlson that happens each May. Like the Prom you remember from high school, it’s a great time of year where we all get dressed up and dance like it’s 1999. The thing that makes this prom way better than your high school one is that this includes drink tickets. This year our Prom was in the IDS building downtown, which included sweeping views of beautiful Minneapolis. As one of the last business school events of the year it is a great time to catch up old friends and teammates for both first and second year.
Even though Carlson is a smaller program compared to other business schools, you can there is no shortage of social opportunities and events. This combination gives you the chances to really get to know all of your classmates and create deep and meaningful friendships that will last well beyond the two years of business school.