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Hey congrats Hired Gun. With that GPA and GMAT, definitely apply to a few top 10/top 25 schools even if you think it's a reach. They will care to some extent where you did undergrad but not nearly as much as they will care what you studied and what you have done since then. Work on a compelling story for your applications (basically what you want to do in the future, why you need an MBA to do it successfully, why you need an MBA *now*, and why from this school).
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Sep 29, 2010 02:45
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xanthig posted:I too am a first year MBA student, and yeah, busy seems to be about par for the course. But buck up soldier, the only way they can really get to you is by making you bastardize the English language. "Deliverables" and "incentivise" are words that stupid people use when they are trying to sound smart. Another first year MBA checking in. I couldn't agree more with both of you. I love it, I'm overwhelmed with all of the work, and I'm going to punch the next person who says something like "going forward we need to synergize our transformational leadership qualities" or some other nonsense management jargon.
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Sep 30, 2010 01:01
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Tyro posted:Hey congrats Hired Gun. With that GPA and GMAT, definitely apply to a few top 10/top 25 schools even if you think it's a reach. They will care to some extent where you did undergrad but not nearly as much as they will care what you studied and what you have done since then. Work on a compelling story for your applications (basically what you want to do in the future, why you need an MBA to do it successfully, why you need an MBA *now*, and why from this school). I realized I loving hated IT a couple years ago and went back to get my degree in the evenings, weekends, and early mornings. I've pulled a 3.9 since going back while continuing to work in the same job position. I graduate in May and I want to go immediately into an MBA program because I'm 26 (27 next fall) and I have 5+ years of full time, professional work experience. The problem lies in getting a letter of recommendation from my company. They've been supportive of me getting my bachelor's and have been very accomodating with my scheduling around classes. Saying I'm going for the MBA and asking for the letter is pretty much admitting that I'm going to be leaving the company, and could piss them off since they've worked with my schedule anticipating I'd stick around. I also don't want to telegraph the fact I'm leaving in case I get rejected from the MBA programs and I do actually need to keep my job. Any ideas on this?
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Oct 2, 2010 03:17
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Hired Gun posted:The problem lies in getting a letter of recommendation from my company. They've been supportive of me getting my bachelor's and have been very accomodating with my scheduling around classes. Saying I'm going for the MBA and asking for the letter is pretty much admitting that I'm going to be leaving the company, and could piss them off since they've worked with my schedule anticipating I'd stick around. I also don't want to telegraph the fact I'm leaving in case I get rejected from the MBA programs and I do actually need to keep my job. Any ideas on this? Do you have a more senior guy, maybe not a direct boss, that you could discretely ask? Alternately, maybe contact the admissions department and ask them what people in your situation usually do.
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Oct 2, 2010 05:51
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Super Locrian posted:Another first year MBA checking in. I couldn't agree more with both of you. I love it, I'm overwhelmed with all of the work, and I'm going to punch the next person who says something like "going forward we need to synergize our transformational leadership qualities" or some other nonsense management jargon. First year-er here as well. After the first semester I realized that the material itself is not crazy difficult, its the time you need to dedicate that slays you. My courseload is 100% online and if I'm not putting in 1-2 hours every night then I'm spending all of my weekend catching up. Also I happen to like "incentivize" because its essentially how gentlemen says "bribe".
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Oct 5, 2010 15:16
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Im about to graduate with an undergraduate degree in econ in June 2011 and I want to pursue an MBA immediately. How realistic is this? Are there programs for people with no work experience? While I haven't been working a 9-5 for a few years, I do have multiple summer internships at different companies and research gigs from university. Edit: at my summer internship this past summer I was introduced to "deliverables". Also every god damned meeting we had was an "exercise". madkapitolist fucked around with this message at 17:53 on Oct 5, 2010 |
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Oct 5, 2010 17:45
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madkapitolist posted:Im about to graduate with an undergraduate degree in econ in June 2011 and I want to pursue an MBA immediately. How realistic is this? Are there programs for people with no work experience? While I haven't been working a 9-5 for a few years, I do have multiple summer internships at different companies and research gigs from university. It really depends on the program, but I think the youngest people in my program have 2-3 years experience, and the average student is 27 or 28 years old with 5-6 years experience.
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Oct 5, 2010 18:15
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madkapitolist posted:Im about to graduate with an undergraduate degree in econ in June 2011 and I want to pursue an MBA immediately. How realistic is this? Are there programs for people with no work experience? While I haven't been working a 9-5 for a few years, I do have multiple summer internships at different companies and research gigs from university. The MBA isn't like grad school. As I've written several times in this thread, the only 22-year-old in my class at Columbia Business School was the son of a well known CEO, and his life is a bit different. Even if you could get into the MBA after your BA, I advise against it. You will be at a severe handicap recruiting compared to your peers with work experience, and you will have no real career experience to draw upon in classes. You also don't get much respect. Carfax Report fucked around with this message at 18:50 on Oct 5, 2010 |
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Oct 5, 2010 18:45
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madkapitolist posted:Im about to graduate with an undergraduate degree in econ in June 2011 and I want to pursue an MBA immediately. Why? That's the question you'll have to answer for your essays, and without a good (and sufficiently detailed) answer, you're not getting in to anywhere worth going.
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Oct 5, 2010 20:48
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madkapitolist posted:Im about to graduate with an undergraduate degree in econ in June 2011 and I want to pursue an MBA immediately. How realistic is this? Are there programs for people with no work experience? While I haven't been working a 9-5 for a few years, I do have multiple summer internships at different companies and research gigs from university. I'm in a full time MBA program with about 50 students and I think maybe 1 came straight out of undergrad into the program. I've only got two years small business experience and I'm definitely one of the outliers, the majority of my peers have 4-6 years of solid corporate experience. If you want to go to B-school right out of undergrad, by all means try, but you're going to find yourself surrounded by people who are very different from you.
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Oct 6, 2010 03:04
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madkapitolist posted:Im about to graduate with an undergraduate degree in econ in June 2011 and I want to pursue an MBA immediately. How realistic is this? Are there programs for people with no work experience? While I haven't been working a 9-5 for a few years, I do have multiple summer internships at different companies and research gigs from university. Like has been said - it really depends on the program as to your chances. Unlike has been said - and MBA is just like grad school. In fact, it is grad school. The reason that the average age of MBA students has been pushing higher over time is based on the ranking system by used by U.S. News & World Report and others. One of the big metrics used is average pay of graduates. It follows that if you exit with work experience plus the MBA you will be making more than graduates with no experience. With most schools, those salaries will equalize after 5 to 7 years. There are programs out there that recognize that the rankings are flawed and are making moves to try and change them. It wasn't until the late 70's early 80's that the idea of needing work experience before entering a program was the norm - and the average age of students has been creeping up since.
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Oct 9, 2010 06:54
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Also, the average age has increased because of another increased average: the amount of student debt for all post-secondary levels of education. Whether you're fresh out of undergrad with debt, or debt-free but now facing 150k+ in tuition for the two year MBA program, chances are you want to try and save or build credit first.
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Oct 9, 2010 09:30
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How many people go into debt as opposed to having companies pay for it?
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Oct 13, 2010 00:53
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Lloyd Christmas posted:How many people go into debt as opposed to having companies pay for it? I'll have to do it through debt  . Finishing up my essays and getting ready to submit my applications for next fall. I'm applying to Emory (90% sure I'll get in), Duke, and Virginia (50/50 but it'd be nice). I really want the MBA, but if I'm going to go into a massive amount of debt I need to do it at the best school I can. Everyone tells me that I have an advantage with an engineering background but it's a little hard not to feel inadequate compared to people applying from Wall Street and such.On a side note, make sure the people doing your recommendations really like you. My boss spent about 5 hours doing 3 different school's forms. I'm buying him a nice bottle of something.
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Oct 13, 2010 01:04
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Graduated in August with a Marketing degree. Found a regional sales job. Going to work here for 5-6 years then go back to my alma mater for the MBA. This seems to be the standard path, right?
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Oct 15, 2010 16:09
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DrPain posted:Graduated in August with a Marketing degree. Found a regional sales job. Going to work here for 5-6 years then go back to my alma mater for the MBA. Is there a reason you are stucking on going to the same place you did your undergrad?
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Oct 15, 2010 17:19
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Thoguh posted:Is there a reason you are stucking on going to the same place you did your undergrad? I'd like to keep my job in town, and they've got a halfway decent MBA program as any I could afford. Also I figure being an alumni will help with the admission process, since I finished with a 2.9 GPA.
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Oct 15, 2010 17:59
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Hired Gun posted:I'll have to do it through debt quote:On a side note, make sure the people doing your recommendations really like you. My boss spent about 5 hours doing 3 different school's forms. I'm buying him a nice bottle of something. Lloyd Christmas posted:How many people go into debt as opposed to having companies pay for it? 
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Oct 15, 2010 23:24
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EDIT: uh, see below...
Agent Escalus fucked around with this message at 21:41 on Oct 16, 2010 |
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Oct 16, 2010 07:57
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I'm not sure if this should go here but I asked in another thread and never got a reply. I graduated about a year and a half ago with my bachelors in nursing, have been working since then as a registered nurse in a fairly good sized hospital. I really want to get away from patient care into the more business side of things. I'm trying to decide what's the best way to do this, basically MHA vs MBA, and since this is something I'd most likely have to do online, how the hell do I know whats a good program.
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Oct 16, 2010 15:32
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Agent Escalus posted:The better MBA programs ask for at least 2 years' experience, so the fact that you're alumni may be the only reason you get in, really. Even with that, you really need to push on those essays. Why not do at least 1 year before applying? Unless it's a seasonal/temp job your bosses probably won't like the fact that you're shoving off so quickly, either. And you need those references!
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Oct 16, 2010 15:39
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I misread it as "months" because that's what happens when you read the forums on a lack of sleep - you make yourself look dumb!
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Oct 16, 2010 21:40
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Orgasmo posted:First year-er here as well. After the first semester I realized that the material itself is not crazy difficult, its the time you need to dedicate that slays you. My courseload is 100% online and if I'm not putting in 1-2 hours every night then I'm spending all of my weekend catching up. It's a way to say bribe, but "incentivize" encompasses that and more. I don't know of a more elegant way to say, "provide some motivation to." Ditto "deliverable" and "synergies," both of which seem like rather woolly terms but actually mean very specific things (ie. they are jargon, not babble). Whoever does not get it is not sufficiently with it, and should hold his/her nose and embrace it to succeed in the environment  /derail My view is that when you get your MBA you should seek to trade up from your undergraduate degree and/or existing work experience. If you're going to go $150k in debt just to stamp your undergrad alma mater on your resume twice that seems like a waste to me. Also i've learned that your undergrad institution and GPA will dog you for a surprisingly long time (at least in finance)
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Oct 17, 2010 10:14
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Admirable Gusto posted:My view is that when you get your MBA you should seek to trade up from your undergraduate degree and/or existing work experience....Also i've learned that your undergrad institution and GPA will dog you for a surprisingly long time (at least in finance) Gusto that's basically what's motivating me to pursue an mba. Graduated cum laude but from a no name school, and I work for a no name investment management firm. I have my CFA exams done but it doesn't seem like enough to get into a brand name firm or remove the shackles of a weak school from my professional bio. I have a good gpa, 730 gmat, CFA, but the competition is so intense for the top programs now I'm not sure how much chance I have. It seems like having good "stats" is just a minimum requirement nowadays and without some kind of interesting story you won't get in. I'm hoping to get into a top 10 school, work for a little bit at a top firm/pay loans off, then have the freedom to do whatever I want. I also think having a good school & firm brand name would be extremely helpful when trying to convince others to trust me with their money if I ever opened my own firm.
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Oct 17, 2010 17:34
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xdimitrix posted:it doesn't seem like enough to get into a brand name firm Hm well what sort of position are you trying for? Corporate, PE, hedge fund, bigger name asset manager, etc?
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Oct 17, 2010 18:38
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Final exam week is going swimmingly. Why, why, why did I choose a school on a quarter system? 
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Oct 19, 2010 18:51
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Didn't notice this thread buried down here. I'm looking at the possibility of going back for an MBA while working. (The executive MBAs are the ones you can do on the weekends, right?) My employer will provide some assistance, but won't pay for the whole thing. I'm in my late 20's and have been out of school (and working or self-employed) for a few years now. I have a BS (+ minor) and MS CS from Georgia Tech; GPA was a little over 3.4. I took the GRE several years back when I was considering an PhD, and got an 800 math / 570 verbal. I'm basically a senior software engineer, I'm good at what I do and don't intend to change for at-least a few years, but I'd like to move into upper management (or something similar) eventually. I'm used to traveling a lot (mostly by plane), and the way it would likely work out is I'd be in LA for the few days prior to each "school" weekend -- so I want somewhere that's within, say, an hour by car or a couple hours by plane from LAX. UCLA sounds too competitive, and I'm not sure I want to hang around LA more than I need to... Seems like, based on the social network aspect, I'd be smart to go to go where I think I might be interested in moving next time I'm in the market for jobs. I think that might be Texas; I went with a family member applying to a few undergrad schools there (e.g., UT Austin) and really liked them. Alternatively, maybe UC Irvine, which is car-accessible from LA (IIRC). However, I'm not necessarily opposed to something in North California, or even Oregon/Washington, but I'm not really familiar with any of those universities. I'd preferred reasonably well ranked and known, although it doesn't need to be #1. These came from what I known about the universities, and not necessarily the business programs themselves. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Also... Anyone else here presently in one of those weekend/evening MBAs programs for employed folks? How many people are in your classes, and what sort of socialization/events go on? Does everyone go to lunch/dinner together? What's the usual dress like? Are most of the folks local?
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Oct 27, 2010 07:19
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never mind.
Ample fucked around with this message at 20:27 on Oct 27, 2010 |
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Oct 27, 2010 20:13
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Small White Dragon posted:I'm looking at the possibility of going back for an MBA while working. (The executive MBAs are the ones you can do on the weekends, right?) My employer will provide some assistance, but won't pay for the whole thing. No. That's a fully employed MBA. You are (most likely) not qualified for the executive MBA program. They are 2 different programs at UCLA and most other universities. You should really go to an FEMBA open house, you can meet a lot of LA area people in your position and they'll answer your questions. UCLA had one, I don't know if USC does. I think UC Irvine does too.
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Nov 1, 2010 06:49
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So I'm approaching the end of my second semester (evening program) and I am definetly burning out. Gonna have to reach down in the well to convince myself that giving up my nights and weekends for another two years is worth it. Totally depends on the class I'm hoping. I'm taking two this semester, Statistics and Marketing Management. The Stat class is great since the prof is awesome. The Marketing class, on the other hand, is absolutely worthless. I honestly feel emberassed for the guy teaching it. I know the subject can be worthwhile, but damned if we couldn't have covered everything in a 1 hour seminar back in August and then called it quits. Starting up right after finals I've got a Friday Night/Saturday All Day class that runs in December. That is for sure going to try my patience.
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Nov 8, 2010 23:12
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Josh Lyman posted:If you do decide to go to Emory, I've got some things to tell you... Can you elaborate? I'm at Emory's law school and a few of my friends are considering applying to the JD/MBA program here. It doesn't sound like you have good things to say.
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Nov 11, 2010 01:36
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I'm teaching 1 of 4 sections of the core undergrad finance course in the spring, Intro to Corporate Finance. The other sections use Ross, Westerfield, Jordan "Fundamentals of Corporate Finance" which is $155 on Amazon, but I want to use Ross, Westerfield, Jaffe "Corporate Finance", typically an MBA book, which is $163 on Amazon. The main difference is the MBA version has a section on options and derivatives, which I'm hoping to spend a week on. I plan to tell my kids they don't need a textbook, but that if they're going to spend $150, they might as well get the full version. This makes sense UNLESS the kids plan to sell their textbooks back to the bookstore after the semester, in which case Fundamentals would always be in demand while the MBA one would not. On the other hand, they could always sell it on half.com for more than they would get at the bookstore (50% of the used book price). Assuming many of you are former business undergrads, what's your take? Omerta posted:Can you elaborate? I'm at Emory's law school and a few of my friends are considering applying to the JD/MBA program here. It doesn't sound like you have good things to say.
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Nov 12, 2010 23:08
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Josh Lyman posted:I'm teaching 1 of 4 sections of the core undergrad finance course in the spring, Intro to Corporate Finance. The other sections use Ross, Westerfield, Jordan "Fundamentals of Corporate Finance" which is $155 on Amazon, but I want to use Ross, Westerfield, Jaffe "Corporate Finance", typically an MBA book, which is $163 on Amazon. If you say they don't need the book they're not going to buy it.
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Nov 12, 2010 23:55
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Josh Lyman posted:I'm teaching 1 of 4 sections of the core undergrad finance course in the spring, Intro to Corporate Finance. The other sections use Ross, Westerfield, Jordan "Fundamentals of Corporate Finance" which is $155 on Amazon, but I want to use Ross, Westerfield, Jaffe "Corporate Finance", typically an MBA book, which is $163 on Amazon. Require the same book as the other sections, but give them the option of buying the other one. Mention everything that you've told us here so that they can make an informed decision.
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Nov 13, 2010 01:23
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Does anyone here have any experience with the Heriot-Watt University/Edinburgh Business School and their MBA? http://www.postgraduate.hw.ac.uk/courses/view/209/ They seem to offer MBAs internationally through an "Approved learning partner" and here in Norway they provide weekend sessions(16 hours) with lectures. They do not have any real world projects, no international sessions or well-known people lecturing like the other MBA programs I have looked at. I'm wondering because the 16 hours of lectures locally during the weekends seems really nice for a part-time program.
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Nov 13, 2010 23:32
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Re: the finance book - could you supply the options & derivatives sections as supplements in a course reader?
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Nov 14, 2010 00:49
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I'm 23 and thinking about getting an MBA in a few years, but I'm wondering how my post-college work experience will be viewed. I graduated without a job in 2009 and ended up getting an internship in India for the summer with a software development outsourcing company (Note that I have no background in IT) doing marketing and writing bids/proposals. When I got back to the US I spent the winter basically being a ski bum and working two restaurant jobs in Jackson Hole. As of April I've been working at the Justice Department in DC doing antitrust economics and data analysis. It's a pretty sweet gig, I'm actually using my econ degree, and I work on a lot of high profile mergers and investigations. I'm getting kind of used to the federal lifestyle (8:30-6, every other friday off) but I wonder how the admissions office at a top school would view a few years of government work as opposed to doing the same thing in the private sector. If I wanted to, I could probably get a job next summer with an economic consulting firm doing the same work for more money but it would be a shittier lifestyle with more unexpected long hours and whatnot. My goal is to get into a top program. I went to a good undergrad school, have a good GPA, and I'm pretty confident about the GMAT if I give myself enough study time. Do you guys think I need to transition to the private sector in order to accomplish this, or would staying in the government for another year be a plus for me? For reference, two of my former coworkers went from the DOJ to Chicago Booth, although they both had either private-sector experience or another graduate degree already.
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Nov 14, 2010 20:00
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Pianist posted:I'm 23 and thinking about getting an MBA in a few years, but I'm wondering how my post-college work experience will be viewed. I graduated without a job in 2009 and ended up getting an internship in India for the summer with a software development outsourcing company (Note that I have no background in IT) doing marketing and writing bids/proposals. When I got back to the US I spent the winter basically being a ski bum and working two restaurant jobs in Jackson Hole. Just a disclaimer, I haven't done an MBA, yet am looking to do one in the next few years as well. As far as I know your at no disadvantage from doing a government job at all, especially one such as yours in antitrust. You would perhaps be at an advantage if applying to joint MBA/MPA programs. As far as i've read the main thing MBAs look for is having done a good job where you are now and showing potential (references take care of this). The most important differentiator is that you have a good reason/story for doing an MBA at that point in your life. For instance, lets say your really passionate about starting your own consultancy advising companies on antitrust laws or something along those lines. For myself my area of interest is in low cost products for the developing markets. As long as you can tell a convincing story and that you really believe and want to put it into action, then that is normally enough. Prereqs as always is a good score, i'm aiming for a 730+ GMAT, i'm currently on a 690 with about two weeks pre beforehand, but I think I was exceedingly lucky with the questions! GPA wise as you've said needs to be good as well. As you've said yourself, two of your colleagues went to Chicago Booth, and I wouldn't be surprised if more DOJ guys don't go to other prestigious programs even just having DOJ experience. One thing you might want to do is do something you love on the side, charity work or start a small business, but just enjoy doing it to give yourself something more on the commercial side. Changing jobs just for the sake of an MBA in the future, at least in my view won't be worth it, particularly since your working on big deals like you said. Once again, take that with a pinch of salt, but that seems to be the prevailing view in what I read.
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Nov 18, 2010 00:44
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xdimitrix posted:I have a good gpa, 730 gmat, CFA, but the competition is so intense for the top programs now I'm not sure how much chance I have. It seems like having good "stats" is just a minimum requirement nowadays and without some kind of interesting story you won't get in. If you're interested in staying in equity research, you should take a look at UT-Austin and UW-Madison (ASAP). Both of these schools are top ~30 programs with focused investment management programs. Both have student investment portfolios, and have pretty decent recruiting success with top New York firms. I'm a 2nd year student at UW-Madison, and I scored an internship with Credit Suisse this past summer. My buddy interned at UBS. I can give you some insights into these programs if you're interested in non-top 10 options.
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Nov 18, 2010 05:50
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I'm curious about financing an MBA. My anti-debt mindset is telling me I should work until I can pay cash for a program (maybe 2 years left) then apply because, well, going into debt sucks if you can afford to pay cash. However, my swaps side is telling me if I can earn decent returns on what I have, it should negate the interest associated with the debt. What kind of interest rates are common for student loans? I earned enough to pay my tuition (lowered thanks to scholarships) in undergrad so I never really had to deal with this kind of thing. I am assuming I won't qualify for any MBA scholarships at all since I'm a non-poor white male. For those of you on loans, if you don't mind, can you share the details? What the rates are, schedules, etc.? Obviously some schools are more expensive than others, but I'm shooting for $120K before I take the plunge, is this a good target? edit: and my employer won't pay for anything, we have a constant influx of MBA holders anyway
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Nov 18, 2010 07:21
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