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19 o'clock posted:Sorry for the bump, but I am still curious. How are others in this thread funding their MBA? I am looking at this route, too, and was wondering if maybe I should do something different? I still have undergrad debt remaining and am reticent to put any more on top of it. How do others feel about it? Letting my company pay for it. And keeping my undergrad loans in deferment the whole time while I'm at it. It's going to be sad having to actually start paying them back this summer. But I got five years of free money and two masters degrees out of the deal. And because I've learned about the time value of money, I can rationalize that not paying back my undergrad loans that are in deferment and will only be at like 3% interest once I graduate isn't being lazy or irresponsible... it's just allowing me to use someone else's money to pay for booze all these years. Thoguh fucked around with this message at 17:18 on Feb 13, 2012 |
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Feb 13, 2012 16:47
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Thoogsby posted:Study hard kids. This site is awesome, like a Metacritic but for where to go. One thing B-School has over law is there are a lot more voices offering up an opinion on where to go and why. Law only has US News, and the answer is "Go to Yale, everywhere else requires thinking long and hard." Check out the comparisons between Berkeley and Stanford if you're trying to head down Californee way. Interesting stuff and very detailed.
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Feb 18, 2012 09:42
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Omits-Bagels posted:How did you like your MBA experience in France? I'm also an American and I've been working in Paris for almost 6 months now. I've been toying with the idea of going back to school and I'd like to continue working/living in Paris (or internationally). I am not getting my MBA its a MSc in international management. I liked it and it was very cheap compared to the US. On top of that the school is a top 10 school so you get a lot of serious students there who have pretty interesting backgrounds. Management school can be pretty competitive here but I didn't think it was super hard though. I found it really easy to get into the programs here. I mean, I didn't get into the top-3 schools but the other ones I applied to I got into.
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Feb 19, 2012 15:01
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Help me please! I'm an undergraduate student at SFSU without a strong background in anything, really. In fact, i'm pretty mediocre. I'm a mediocre student. I'm a business major and trying to turn things around. I was excited when I visited my schools open house until I actually read this thread and realized its an unranked program. I definitely drank the kool-aid with the OMG AACSB only 25% of schools...uhh sure if you count DeVry I guess but every University in the State is AACSB...so I'm..looking at HAAS. I've been reading stuff like this article and figure that if I...volunteer in a business capacity, do some research for a professor, keep working retail, and pull off a 3.5 counting my last 60 units only, maybe I can get to 700 on the GMAT and have a shot at HAAS if I write/interview well. MBA's weigh in? edit: less goons goons goons ONEMANWOLFPACK fucked around with this message at 05:43 on Feb 20, 2012 |
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Feb 20, 2012 05:24
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sigmachiev posted:Check out the comparisons between Berkeley and Stanford if you're trying to head down Californee way. Interesting stuff and very detailed. Wish they had a more specific search function because plugging in Berkeley and Stanford yields way too many results. What article are you talking about specifically? e: found it http://poetsandquants.com/2010/08/30/berkeleys-haas-school-of-business-vs-stanfords-graduate-school-of-business/ ONEMANWOLFPACK posted:HAAS You will live and die by your work experience, so better find something not awful Real Soon Now. Also, Haas is not an acronym. Mandalay fucked around with this message at 06:13 on Feb 21, 2012 |
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Feb 21, 2012 02:29
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Mandalay posted:Wish they had a more specific search function because plugging in Berkeley and Stanford yields way too many results. What article are you talking about specifically? Any articles to share for Haas?
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Feb 21, 2012 05:23
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ONEMANWOLFPACK posted:Any articles to share for Haas? Dude, you're putting the cart way way before the horse. Worry about getting a good job first, because you'll need good work experience to get into any top tier MBA school. Doubly so if you are a mediocre student (esp in a soft major like business at a non-target school).
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Feb 21, 2012 05:34
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Mandalay posted:Dude, you're putting the cart way way before the horse. Worry about getting a good job first, because you'll need good work experience to get into any top tier MBA school. Doubly so if you are a mediocre student (esp in a soft major like business at a non-target school). Thanks, You are definitely right. But I still want to know what I should know, what i'm up against, and how to make the right calls so I have my best shot.
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Feb 21, 2012 05:46
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ONEMANWOLFPACK posted:Help me please! Initial advice: Don't write your admission essays like this. At all. Also, it doesn't sound like getting an MBA right away is what you need to do. You aren't going to gain any benefit from an MBA from any school that'll let you in with a non great GPA and no work experience.
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Feb 21, 2012 06:46
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I don't claim to be any type of expert on MBA admissions but my perception is that work pedigree is one of if not the most important criteria for admissions. Schools like to pretend that everyone is on a level playing field but you need to have a pretty interesting story to get into a top school from somewhere other than a well-known tier 1/2 company.
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Feb 21, 2012 16:03
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Thoogsby posted:I don't claim to be any type of expert on MBA admissions but my perception is that work pedigree is one of if not the most important criteria for admissions. Schools like to pretend that everyone is on a level playing field but you need to have a pretty interesting story to get into a top school from somewhere other than a well-known tier 1/2 company. Yeah I see what you mean. I should focus on finding a "real" job and graduating.
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Feb 21, 2012 16:51
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ONEMANWOLFPACK posted:Any articles to share for Haas? I'm not sure if they have profiles on each school easily available, it's more like a lot of editorials you can wade through. And yeah not a great search function but you can learn a lot if you spend time with it. As for Haas: a plurality of grads go into tech, with the next largest crop going into finance. They're cool in the sense that they're trying to be a lot of things to a lot of people - undergrads, MBAs, part-timers, etc. are all part of the community. Some also view that as a downside, because it means resources are spread thinner compared to peer schools. But if you have Bay ties and want to stick around there then its clearly one of your two big options. I'm not sure how a Haas degree plays on Wall Street but I suspect it's tougher to move to the East compared to if you were in law (major New York law firms always recruit here and people do get those jobs).
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Feb 21, 2012 18:49
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It's more of a situation where I'm interested in keeping bay ties. I'm more interested in silicon valley than wall street and would like to join a big tech company like LinkedIn. My undergrad emphasis is marketing. I would like to work in advertising and need some information system/computer science sprinkled in now. I'm not overly concerned with prestige but figure I have no shot at Stanford probably none to UC Berkeley and will end up at SFSU. But maybe I can change that.
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Feb 21, 2012 19:31
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ONEMANWOLFPACK posted:It's more of a situation where I'm interested in keeping bay ties. I'm more interested in silicon valley than wall street and would like to join a big tech company like LinkedIn. My undergrad emphasis is marketing. I would like to work in advertising and need some information system/computer science sprinkled in now. I'm not overly concerned with prestige but figure I have no shot at Stanford probably none to UC Berkeley and will end up at SFSU. But maybe I can change that. Just like you, I'd love to go to business school in the Bay. But I fear that my 2.x undergrad GPA from Berkeley (engineering) will also exclude me from Berkeley full stop. Since you are still in school, the best thing you can do is to try to pump up your GPA as much as possible. Not sure how CS courses will help you in that regard unless you plan on programming. Advertising jobs don't seem easy to come by these days either. Even if I were to do a masters to show that I can do well in school, I'd be 30 by Fall of 2013 and be too old for the target FT MBA crowd by the time that rolled around...
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Feb 21, 2012 20:35
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So I'm putting my feelers out there for an MBA but I'm not sure if I have what it takes. My undergrad is in marketing (3.4 gpa, probably about a 3.7 in my major) from a generic state school. I was in the AmeriCorps (the "domestic" PeaceCorps) for 14 months, then I worked in an advertising agency for about 10-11 months as a copywriter (I wrote print/radio/online advertisements). My wife had to move to Paris for her MA so I've been working in Paris for about 6 months now in a small vacation apartment rental company. My contract is good until July and then I might be able to extend until Jan 2013 (although I don't know if I will stay past late July '12). My boss is getting ready to move out of Paris so I'll pretty much be in charge of the day-to-day operation of the company. I don't think I've done anything super special but I guess I do have "international" experience. I'd like to continue living in Paris (or in Europe). I've looked into a few MBA programs in Paris but they seem pretty prestigious and they are expensive. I'm also totally open to doing a program in the US. I guess my question is if I have a decent chance of getting into a good MBA program or should I continue working and look into an MBA in a few more years? EDIT: When I say "good MBA program", I'm not talking about Harvard, Wharton, etc tier. I'm more talking about a solid program that is respectable. Omits-Bagels fucked around with this message at 22:31 on Feb 21, 2012 |
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Feb 21, 2012 21:33
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People trying to gauge their chances at different schools should start following this series of articles on P&Q. http://poetsandquants.com/2012/02/17/your-odds-of-getting-into-a-top-mba-program/
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Feb 21, 2012 22:01
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Omits-Bagels posted:
You are where I would like to be. Why don't you do something special. Do you do any pro-bono work?
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Feb 21, 2012 22:05
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ONEMANWOLFPACK posted:You are where I would like to be. Why don't you do something special. Do you do any pro-bono work? Things work different in Europe and especially in France. Most students get their Masters of Science, then work, and then go back and get their MBA. I know very few people who went straight from their undergraduate degree and went straight into the MBA. I attend a top 10 French business school and I am in a MSc program.
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Mar 3, 2012 11:03
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I'm hoping you guys can help, I'm at a bit of a cross roads right now. I'm twenty six years old and graduated from a mediocre state school (Towson Pride!) in January 2011 with a degree in History (useless). My GPA was 3.49, so I had that going for me. I never really knew what I wanted to do in college, but I was a business major at one point and even joined a business-focused fraternity to help with my extra-curricular activities. I ended up failing accounting my first try, and after that dropped my business major and made my minor (History) my major with the thinking that I would figure out everything after college. I had this idea that after school, I would just go the legal route with the goal of becoming an attorney. Then two things happened. 1.) I got a job as a Paralegal at a litigation firm 2.) I read the "Lawyer & Law School Megathread" Result? I no longer want to be a lawyer! So I'm looking for a career change, and I'm looking to get back into business. I've been talking to a friend of mine, and he majored in Supply Chain Management and seems to be doing really well in that field. I also did an internship in college for a museum where I helped them with their marketing materials, but I am not sure if the marketing field is all that lucrative of a prospect (still probably better than the legal field). My question to everyone in this thread is, should I start studying for the GMATs now? I know everyone absolutely recommends "2-3" years of work experience before starting an MBA. Problem is, I'm currently working in a field that gives me no valuable business experience, and I'd rather start grad school before I'm 30. Perhaps there is a way I can get an entry-level job in the fields I'm interested in (marketing/SCM) in the meantime, or even get an AA in business admin? In summary: 26 year old is currently in the legal field, but wants to switch over to business. Not sure how go about it.
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Mar 5, 2012 20:34
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Solaris 2.0 posted:I'm hoping you guys can help, I'm at a bit of a cross roads right now. I don't have my life figured out that well either. I'm 23 and in a worse boat than you. But from the sound of it, you really don't know what you want to do in life. I don't think you should look at what is more lucrative but find what you want to do. MBA's aren't that hot right now and the ROI is shrinking as tuition rises and starting salaries decrease. I am also researching this topic and what it comes down to is if you want it an MBA and aren't in a top program, get someone else to pay for it because it is useful but not worth the cost right now (unless you study MFA or prepare for the CPA exam, which you don't want to do). Have you considered a JD/MBA hybrid program? 3-4 years and you can combine what you want to do. I suggest staying at your firm or finding one that will pay for you to become a lawyer and throw in an accelerated MBA on there as well.
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Mar 5, 2012 22:36
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Solaris 2.0 posted:I no longer want to be a lawyer! ONEMANWOLFPACK posted:JD/MBA hybrid program  Anyways, you could always drop by a local MBA admissions office for a friendly chat. Your work experience is gonna be weak, so I don't see you getting into a top-tier program. But if your goal is just to change careers, I think you have a shot at a local/regional school. Not everyone has to work at some globe-trotting/wall street/web 8.0 job. could you try reconnecting with your deltasig/akpsi brothers for job connections?
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Mar 5, 2012 23:03
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Mandalay posted:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_JD/MBAs You made me feel crazy for a second there. Plus I read about it earlier in this very thread. I'm just restating stuff other people have said.
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Mar 5, 2012 23:05
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Mandalay posted:
I've definitely looked at some of my old Akpsi brothers for job connections, but the economy still blows, and quite frankly I was extremely lucky to get the job I currently have. I wouldn't mind doing a regional MBA program, in fact I'd actually prefer it, especially if it allows me to keep my current job and work while I study. I think you nailed it when you stated that not everyone needs to work on Wall-Street. One of the major reasons for my desire to change careers is that law is a dead end. Paralegals don't make much money, and never will. Lawyers, well, just read the law-school thread. I actually find business to be interesting, especially how the inner workings of companies and organizations operate and market themselves. I really did enjoy my marketing internship, and actually wish I had majored in Marketing, truth be told. The only thing holding me back is money, as MBAs (grad school in general) is not cheap (my law firm sure as hell won't pay for it). Which is why I was wondering if its realistic to do an MBA part time, or do you lose some major networking opportunities by not being on campus all the time?
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Mar 6, 2012 03:31
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Solaris 2.0 posted:I'm hoping you guys can help, I'm at a bit of a cross roads right now. Do you want to start a new venture? Business school can help with that. Do you have a specific management job that you would like to pursue, but you are not qualified for it? Business school can help with that. Is your company paying for your business education? Valid reason to go to business school. Are you bored with your current career prospects and have nothing better to do? You should probably think about a career plan before putting yourself in more debt. Getting an MBA is not like undergraduate. It is not enjoyable and you will be paying out the rear end for it without employer assistance. Have at least some idea of what you want to do with the MBA before you commit to a rather involved undertaking.
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Mar 6, 2012 03:53
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Cheesemaster200 posted:Is your company paying for your business education? Valid reason to go to business school. If my company is going to pay for the degree, should I just take it and run? I would have to take classes at kinda meh schools for a niche (Pharma) that will basically forever trap me in New Jersey for most career opportunities.
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Mar 6, 2012 05:09
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Jahoodie posted:If my company is going to pay for the degree, should I just take it and run? I would have to take classes at kinda meh schools for a niche (Pharma) that will basically forever trap me in New Jersey for most career opportunities. A pharmacy degree or a business degree? The standard I have seen is a 2-year commitment after your last credit hour. However, I have been told there are ways to get around it depending on the size of your company.
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Mar 6, 2012 15:15
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Cheesemaster200 posted:A pharmacy degree or a business degree? The standard I have seen is a 2-year commitment after your last credit hour. However, I have been told there are ways to get around it depending on the size of your company. It would be an MBA, I'm in sales/marketing support not any type of engineering or science position. I'm currently happy where I am, but they favor reimbursing certain kinds of MBA's. I don't know if my overall field/experience wants to be where I am in 10 years. I'm dabbling in added duties in Business Intelligence and CRM, but still haven't thoroughly researching specialized degrees in that vein. Also, these are more portable general skills then, say, Pharma Marketing.
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Mar 7, 2012 02:55
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Jahoodie posted:It would be an MBA, I'm in sales/marketing support not any type of engineering or science position. I wouldn't go for any specialty degree (Like Pharmacy Management). Go for the straight MBA from the best school possible. You should be able to focus your classes to what skills are required in your industry. This is why I say you should have a plan on what you want to do after graduation. You don't want to focus on finance classes when you are going into marketing.
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Mar 7, 2012 15:09
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Cheesemaster200 posted:
First off I really appreciate the honesty and the advise given in this thread. I'm thinking long and hard about this because of the time and (most importantly) monetary commitments involved. I would absolutely love to find a way get break into a career in PR/Marketing. I really do wish I had done the Business-Marketing track instead as an undergrad. I loved my marketing internship, though unfortunately it was for a very poor non-profit so I was never going to get a full-time job out of it. I've thought about ways I can break into the marketing field, and I figured getting an MBA could be one way.
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Mar 7, 2012 18:10
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I want to know about GRE in lieu of GMAT for admissions. My GRE is pretty good (710v 800q) on the old scale, and I have about 6 years of work experience, mostly teaching but also at an state run company in China, by the time I apply I will probably be HSK 5(reading/listening good enough to study at a university, but doesn't indicate spoken proficiency) Sorry if the GRE has been covered I tried to ctrl+F through a few pages, didn't see very much on its value in lieu of the GMAT. It scales to about a 750 GMAT, but I wonder if they view GRE scores like this as it's generally acknowledged to be easier. The problem is my crap GPA, culmulative 3.0 but about 3.9 in the most recent 40hrs. Any shot at the top 10?
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Mar 9, 2012 07:19
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Most schools will not accept a GRE in lieu of a GMAT. IIRC, some will if you are pursuing a dual degree and the other one requires a GRE?
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Mar 9, 2012 10:58
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Tyro posted:Most schools will not accept a GRE in lieu of a GMAT. IIRC, some will if you are pursuing a dual degree and the other one requires a GRE? actually quite a few do nowadays, I think 7 out of the top 10 do. I haven't looked further down the list though. It's a pretty good % now and will probably get larger year by year. http://www.ets.org/gre/institutions/about/mba/programs/ I'm just seeing if anybody has used GRE scores and if there's any reliable info about how the scores translate.
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Mar 9, 2012 11:53
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Well cool. Sorry I don't have any info on that!
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Mar 9, 2012 12:35
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Chicago Booth class of 2012 checking in. I'm wrapping up my penultimate quarter in the Full-Time program. If people have questions, I might be in a good position to respond. I can speak to coursework, summer internships, the application process, and general observations about the backgrounds of my colleagues (it sounds like there are a lot of "what background do I need?" questions).
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Mar 10, 2012 05:25
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What do you think about people in the Part-Time program (if you ever run into them)? I'm not in a situation such that I could take two years off for school, so I'm thinking about applying to the evening or weekend program.
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Mar 10, 2012 06:51
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sok2bametalhead posted:Chicago Booth class of 2012 checking in. I'm wrapping up my penultimate quarter in the Full-Time program. If people have questions, I might be in a good position to respond. I can speak to coursework, summer internships, the application process, and general observations about the backgrounds of my colleagues (it sounds like there are a lot of "what background do I need?" questions). I'd like to know what kind of background your classmates (and yourself) have—everything from the mundane to the super impressive/unusual.
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Mar 10, 2012 13:41
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Omits-Bagels posted:I'd like to know what kind of background your classmates (and yourself) have—everything from the mundane to the super impressive/unusual. I was a consultant at one of the "brand name" firms for a little over three years after studying business as an undergrad. Coming from consulting is a double-edged sword. It helps, because they do a lot to pave they way for you (recommendations, advice, etc.) but it can also be difficult, because there are some insanely accomplished people you're up against from other consulting firms. ... which brings up an important point. One important thing to recognize is that you're typically only competing with other applicants with backgrounds similar to yours in order to round out a diverse class. Everyone knows that MBA programs like diversity, so they want a wide variety of backgrounds. If you were a teacher before, you're not really competing with the consultants and bankers. This is why you end up with a crazy variety of people in your class. I know Navy Seals, teachers, lawyers, engineers, ex-NFL players, dairy economists, entrepreneurs, pilots, and White House employees in my class. I would say the recurring thing is that they are all people with incredible stories. Here's a personal anecdote to illustrate the point about interesting stories: I applied to schools one year after a very close friend. We were very similar applicants. Same ethnicity and gender, same undergrad University, same GPA, same office of same consulting firm after graduation, same industry experience, exact same GMAT score, recommendations coming from many of the same partners in our firm, applied to same schools, etc. He also helped me to edit my applications the next year when I applied. He was admitted to Harvard, Wharton, Kellogg, and Booth with some scholarship money coming his way from some of the programs. When I applied, however, I was rejected everywhere but Booth. One of things to which he attributes his success is that he was able to write about some really compelling struggles he's had with various medical issues during his life. Insight: good storytelling about compelling life experience seems to matter. Additionally, you should recognize that there is inevitably some luck that comes into play too. My friend and I also applied one year apart, so the several factors were likely different from year to year. You might be applying during a tough round of a tough year, etc. Note: I hope I don't sound like a douche trying to make excuses for not getting in to more schools. I'm simply trying to convey that having interesting/compelling life experiences can impact the application process. My friend and I have talked about that fact, and he agrees that having interesting life stories was helpful for him.
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Mar 10, 2012 18:41
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sok2bametalhead posted:... which brings up an important point. One important thing to recognize is that you're typically only competing with other applicants with backgrounds similar to yours in order to round out a diverse class. Everyone knows that MBA programs like diversity, so they want a wide variety of backgrounds. If you were a teacher before, you're not really competing with the consultants and bankers. This is why you end up with a crazy variety of people in your class. I know Navy Seals, teachers, lawyers, engineers, ex-NFL players, dairy economists, entrepreneurs, pilots, and White House employees in my class. I would say the recurring thing is that they are all people with incredible stories. How well were people with nonprofit experience represented? I'm considering working at a nonprofit since I'd like to do it at some point in my life and since I'm still young the pay cut won't really make a huge difference. Do you think it would differentiate me and put me in an "easier" bracket for MBA admissions? I can't measure up to the blue-chip ivy league kids in terms of straight academics or prestige so this seems like it could be a win/win for both doing something cool and potentially getting into a better MBA program than I otherwise could.
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Mar 11, 2012 22:13
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flyingfoggy posted:How well were people with nonprofit experience represented? I'm considering working at a nonprofit since I'd like to do it at some point in my life and since I'm still young the pay cut won't really make a huge difference. Do you think it would differentiate me and put me in an "easier" bracket for MBA admissions? I can't measure up to the blue-chip ivy league kids in terms of straight academics or prestige so this seems like it could be a win/win for both doing something cool and potentially getting into a better MBA program than I otherwise could. I tried researching this through our intranet, but I don't see any way to break down the class by previous work experience, so it's hard to tell. Many people with non-profit experience have also had other experiences. For example, I know someone who worked in private equity for several years in NY then spent a year as a missionary. I also wouldn't think of it as an "easier" bracket. People coming from a non-profit background may not have top GMATs (though they definitively still might), but they do have credentials that set them apart from other non-profit applicants (started a new non-profit, significant global experience, proficiency in multiple languages, etc.). I think the right way to think about it is that all the schools want to pick the most distinguished people they can find from each "bucket" of work experience. The things that distinguish an amazing banking applicant from other banking applicants might be different from the things that distinguish an amazing non-profit applicant from other non-profit applicants. The students here with non-profit backgrounds that I know personally have worked for some of the "sexier" non-profit. Differentiation is the key. The right approach is to sit down and think through what makes you a unique applicant. If you played the tuba for 10 years, write an amazing essay about it and pray that they want a tuba player in the class of 2014. My favorite example is someone in the class of 2011 that wrote about how they dressed up and played the Easter Bunny for the White House Easter Egg Hunt several years in a row. Application readers love that stuff. They see it and say, "I've got to meet this guy."
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Mar 11, 2012 23:03
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Solaris 2.0 posted:Then two things happened. Consider taking your paralegal talents to another firm where you can work on capital markets or M&A. Those are basically the two legal routes into business that admissions won't look and say wtf. That way all your work experience at least looks relevant come application time ("I got my paralegal chops doing litigation, this allowed me access to get into transactional work.") It is of course difficult to get those kind of gigs but it's something to pursue while you also look at getting out of law altogether. Also at 26 you are still OK to get a couple more years of work experience. After that you start getting a little old, and before long you're in the abyss of too old for an MBA and too young for an EMBA (early 30s). Take away is you should be making the career moves ASAP.
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Mar 11, 2012 23:31
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