There's not a lot of time to waste in business school. Here are 10 tips for making the most of your first semester. Hitting the ground running your first semester is possible, but it takes some careful planning. Here are 10 tips from administrators, professors, and second years on how newbies can navigate the first semester, balance their lives, and stand out among their peers.

Get reacclimated to being a student. Most B-school students likely haven't sat in a classroom for several years, except maybe as a student in a GMAT preparation class. After a long stint as a working professional, switching gears from a high-powered career achiever to student is tougher than one might think.

To ease into the transition, focus solely on being a student for the first week or two of school. Spend the majority of your time on homework and class readings; joining school clubs and signing up for career workshops can come later.

Don't overcommit. Talk to other students or club leaders to gauge the time commitment required by certain organizations. Some require you to put in a certain number of hours every week, whereas others only have an occasional monthly meeting. Put yourself on a club's e-mail list if you think you don't have time to attend meetings, a move that lets you be selective about the events you attend, Shushtari recommends. You'll serve yourself and the students you're working with better if you can focus your energy on the activities that you are really passionate about. That will give you the most learning and gratification.

Avoid the herd mentality. Take the first few weeks to narrow down the fields that you're interested in, a step that is especially important if you're planning to change careers. Then be selective about the company recruitment presentations you attend. A student can easily spend all of his free time attending these events and ultimately end up more confused.

Be a team player. With so many of the assignments in B-school focusing on teamwork, making the right impression on your classmates is more important than ever. During team assignments, be as inclusive as possible and try not to dominate the conversation.

If you're insecure about how your classmates perceive you, don't be afraid to ask them for advice on how you're affecting the team dynamic, administrators say. Take them aside after class or a team session and ask for candid feedback. You may have to swallow your pride, but it's a step that will reap benefits in the long run.

Sit in the front row or an aisle seat. One simple way to stand out in class is to choose where you sit. It's easy to blend into a sea of students the first few weeks. Small steps like sitting in the front row or in an aisle seat can help you get noticed, students say. Once you've found the right seat, make a point of coming prepared to class and participating in discussions. But don't talk just for the sake of talking. Professors view this as a waste of important classroom time and, ultimately, it reflects poorly on students, administrators say.

Get to know your professors and teaching assistants. For many students, the only place they will encounter their professor is before a podium in a large lecture hall. While students are not required to make any effort to get to know their instructors outside the confines of the classroom, it can pay to exert a little extra effort on this front, teachers say.

Stop by during professors' office hours. First-year students can be hesitant to approach faculty, but this is a mistake. Students who stand out on campus tend to be the ones who have developed relationships with their professors and administrators and sought out their advice and guidance, professors say.

Take advantage of programs to help you develop relationships with professors outside the classroom.

Strategize early for career events. Students who have a leg up at career events in the fall are usually ones who have spent some time preparing early, administrators say. How does one get a head start? Make an appointment in September to talk with a career services counselor about your options. Students who sign up for résumé workshops and mock interviews the first few weeks usually feel more confident when recruiters come to campus to interview for summer internships.

Take some time to breathe. If you're not careful, you can lose yourself in an ever growing pile of schoolwork, club commitments, and campus activities. Students forget to carve out relaxation time. When this happens, they can quickly succumb to stress and pressure and lose focus. Make it a priority to schedule time for the things that matter for you outside the classroom, like being with family and friends. It takes a little extra effort, but the payoff is worth it in the long run.

Don't be afraid to ask for help. B-school students who need extra academic support can be reluctant to ask for tutoring help or assistance from professors. That's a mistake. Midterms start in mid-October, and it can be hard to recover academically if you founder during these exams.

Students should not hesitate to take advantage of any tutoring resources offered by the school. For example, many have programs where students can ask the school's tutoring committee for help via e-mail. If you're struggling with a concept in class, reach out to a professor or teaching assistant as soon as you sense trouble.

Don't be a perfectionist. Students can spend hours trying to make sure they have handed in the best possible version of an assignment. While this is laudable, sometimes there just isn't time to spend three or four hours on one report. This can be a surprise to first-semester students, often type-A personality types used to putting their all into every project.

The most important thing is to keep one's priorities in check, recognize when you've stretched yourself too thin, and reach out for help when you need it. Keeping everything in proper perspective is the key to staying afloat in the first phase of your MBA career.

Source: Businessweek.com