Need info on MBA and which kind to get?! First college grad in family looking for info and direction! HELP PLZ?
October 6, 2009 by college
Filed under Scholarship Answers
Need info on MBA and which kind to get?! First college grad in family looking for info and direction! HELP PLZ?
Okay, I know this is really, really long. But I desperately need your help. Please!
I’m the first person in my family graduate college. I’m really interested in pursuing higher (grad school) education, but I really know nothing about it and have no one to ask about it.
I complete my bachelors in Political Science at the end of next semester. I ended up majoring in it only because I’m interested in current events and one particular professor kind of encouraged me to do it. I don’t regret it by any means, but given the knowledge I have today, I would have chosen a different major. If I have known anything about what majors are and what they actually mean, jobs that are available and future employment/income implications etc. I definitely would have gone with other interests I like equally, but would have been more beneficial in the long run.
SO, I’m interested in getting an MBA. Mostly because I think I’d be really good in management and have an interest in it, but also because I’m not entirely sure what I want to do when “i grow up” and it occurs to me that an MBA will open opportunities without closing others. (as opposed to a public policy degree that would leave me screwed if I hated the jobs out there that were available). Also, given the economy, it seems like a solid investment in that I’ll always have job opportunities.
The problem is, I know NOTHING about getting an MBA. I don’t know the best schools, or what the specializations available are. I don’t know what the specializations mean in the classroom or as far as job opportunities are considered. I don’t know what kind of GPA I have to have, how much it generally costs, if scholarships are available, or which are the best schools to attend. I don’t know who to get recommendation letters from, or how many are expected.
Is it ok to go to the school you got your undergrad at or better to attend a new school? How important are school ratings from financial times etc? How much time should I spend in the workforce before attempting my MBA? It seems like if its too long, I might lose focus and not go back. Too soon, and I’d lose the valuable work experience that would make the degree more beneficial and easily utilized. Any information or resources you have would be helpful!
About my qualifications:
I do know I have to take the GMAT (I plan on doing this next year). By the time I graduate I should have a 3.7 GPA from Southern Methodist University. I transferred from a community college and got a scholarship (i’m hoping for some sort of financial assistance/grants/scholarship for grad school?). I have no extracurriculars as I work 3 jobs to support my mother and myself while in school without incurring thousands in debt. I’d like to stay in Dallas, or at least Texas, but I’m not 100% attached. I know that I’ve heard SMU (my current school) and UTD have highly rated/good MBA programs. I was also looking at a MBA program UT has in dallas (but not through UTD).
PLEASE HELP!
by: aizlynskye
Need info on MBA and which kind to get?! First college grad in family looking for info and direction! HELP PLZ?
2009-10-06 22:32:56
Hello,
I would suggest that before you enroll in the MBA program, you go get some full time work experience, preferably in the business field. The reason being that not only good MBA school would value work experience when they are judging for admission to their MBA program, but also for you it is valuable to have some sort of working experience in business field, so you can better relate and grasp the knowledge you will receive in the business school.
I would suggest not just looking blindly at the ratings of various business school in newspaper or magazines when deciding to attend which schools are appropriate for you, but rather, it is better for you to explore some of the schools you’re interested to apply and find out by attending the schools information session and contacting the admission officer of these schools to find out whether these schools fit your needs.
I also find that an article in the following blog is very helpful when I decided to go for an MBA degree myself:
I hope this helps.
Regards,
Jefery Kusnadi
MBA student
California State University, Long BeachShow my IP
Jefery K on: 2009-10-09 17:29:33
The average MBA student is about 28, and has between three to five years of work experience. Some schools don’t even let you apply until you’re able to meet a minimum requirement. However, because you’ve been in the workforce longer than the average student and you’re qualified academically (more on that in a bit), you might be able to succeed as a younger applicant. It mostly depends on the type of work you’ve been doing. If you’ve managed people or projects or large sums of money and made some kind of significant contribution to your company, that’s exactly what they’re going to want to see. If you’ve mostly done administrative or low-level retail work, you’ll probably want to wait a bit and get more leadership experience. (If you don’t have at least two supervisors or senior coworkers who know your work well and who you trust to write you a good recommendation, that would also be a reason to wait.)
Waiting will also give you a chance to research different schools in depth and figure out which one offers the right approach for you. One of the most critical ways in which programs differ is in whether or not they have specializations that affect the core courses students have to take, or whether they just offer a general MBA and students get to customize it with the courses they’re interested in once they’ve completed the basics. Regardless of whether the program itself is specialized, though, it is going to be important for you to have some vision of what you want to do with your MBA after you graduate and how it ties into the experience you already have, whether you’re building on what you currently do or changing focus. A lot of students do end up changing their minds once they’re in a program, but if you’re just generally interested in everything, you’re going to have trouble picking the right classes and internship for you.
In terms of the other parts of your application, if you can keep the 3.7, or even if you slide a tiny bit, don’t give that aspect a second thought. You’ll be qualified and a prime candidate for scholarships on that basis no matter where you look. Match it with a high GMAT score (700 or higher with a particularly strong math score is what top schools are looking for), and you’re set on the statistical measures.
On the subject of scholarships…they’re out there (mostly through the schools themselves), but odds are you will have to cover some portion of your expenses through loans. Business schools assume that you’ll make enough when you get out that they won’t constitute a severe hardship. If you do plan to stay in Texas, you might want to give UT more consideration on the basis of in-state tuition (though I believe Austin has the better ranking).
Good luck! Believe me, I know how tough it is trying to do this without guidance, but you seem very determined and put together; I think you’ll manage just fine.Stop global warming
MM on: 2009-10-10 06:24:24